After reminiscing for a while, Haruto sighed and cautiously picked up all the parchments. Extremely careful not to peek at the blur again.
He placed two of the books on the fluffy bed, and sat on the chair beside the table. He poured oil into the lamp and reached out for the matches.
Without him noticing, the night had come and the room was getting dark. The previous night, he had been too tired to think about light. Of course, he'd even prefer sleeping in darkness…uhh a few days ago…, but he had studying to do.
'Crap where's the matches'
He scowled and stood up. After angrily searching for the matches like needle in haystack and not finding it, he sighed and exited the room.
…he was going to ask the little girl below.
***
The corridor had not changed, and he still wouldn't get used to it.
Putting his hands in his pocket, Haruto tried to act cool. But then, he gritted his teeth.
'Curse cool! I still hate torches!'
Walking briskly, he reached the staircase and started his descent, his footsteps echoing against the dim space.
Reaching below, he found the reception just the way he remembered it. The exit was just ahead of him — a wooden door. The trio sofas on the right with a short, wide table amidst them and yellow torches in the corners of course. And lastly, the receptionist table on the left.
As usual, the little girl was…scribbling on her tattered note.
Hesitating for a moment and maintaining his spot, he opened his mouth to speak. But before he could, the little girl interrupted him.
She was suddenly attis, with her hands crossing her chest and all her fingers folded except the first two counting from the thumb.
With a serious expression, she said:
"Sentinel Haruto! Good evening!"
Haruto froze.
How the hell did she know that he had become a Sentinel officially?
That was the same salute that the commander had taught him. Of course! He hadn't taught him for fun.
He replicated the little girl's action and said in a serious tone.
"Good evening, Sentinel…"
'Damn it!'
He had forgotten that he didn't know the little girl's name. There had not been free time to ask since he'd come here.
Seeing his pause, the little girl helped out however.
"Sylvaine Delamort"
Haruto nodded.
"Good evening, Sentinel Sylvaine!"
'Sylvaine? Didn't that mean she was English? How did she pronounce my name that fluently'.
Sylvaine didn't have the pronunciation deficiency like Mr Grey had, she had to have been brought up in Japan.
Sylvaine however smiled, relaxed and took her seat again.
"Surely, the weather is nice! Though it's cold but the lights help so we don't have a cold feet. Surely that wouldn't be nice. Why do you come here this late Sentinel Haruto?"
Haruto thought for a moment and looked away lightly:
"I was hoping I could get a matches"
The little girl looked at him, no expression written on her innocent face. Then she pulled her drawer, and withdrew a gold box.
Was It a box, or a cuboid? Whatever. Collecting it, Haruto was puzzled. He asked.
"What is this?"
"It's a gold lighter" she replied.
His face lost colour.
'I know it's gold you kid!'
Sighing, he asked in an even tone.
"How do I operate it?"
The little girl withdrew another one from her drawer, raised it to her face as if avoiding error due to parallax. Then, placing her thumb firmly on the top right of the gold box or gold lighter as she had called it, she slid it sharply.
It made a metal sound, and immediately, a small fire lit up in its middle.
All the while, Haruto watched with awe. He truly wondered where the fire was coming from. Then he nodded.
'What a dangerous equipment'
It was time to leave, he had achieved his aim after all, and there was nothing else to say. But, he couldn't just leave the girl like that. He had to keep her company a little.
Come to think of it, he had questions too, and judging by how the little girl suddenly knew he was a sentinel, she was bound to know a lot.
As the torches flickered silently, exuding slight licking sounds occasionally, Haruto broke the silence by clearing his throat and asked in a horse voice:
"Any idea where the Captain has been? I've not seen him around"
Hesitating a little, Sylvaine raised her head and said thoughtfully:
"Surely it is a secret but it won't hurt to tell a fellow sentinel"
Sylvaine lowered her head.
"Captain had said something about a disagreement amidst the council"
Haruto frowned.
"What council?"
Haruto thought he saw discomfort slowly creeping into the girl's little face.
But why? He wasn't forcing her to say anything. It was fine if she didn't want to answer, he didn't have any problem with that, all the more beneficial to him because he had a lot to do as it seemed. Except of course…
"There's a Council of Astral Order. They're a bunch, governing the affairs of Sentinels and distribution of resources. Apparently, as a result of what happened last year. There's an internal conflict among the branches on who should have the most resources. Although the weakest, Branch V can't back out, it's simply too risky."
Weren't things getting a little confusing? This is the second time he heard this. Just what exactly happened last year?
"What happened last year?" asked Haruto.
Instead of an answer however, Sylvaine smiled. The sight of her smiling in the dim lit of the reception appeared rather comical.
"I can't tell you that," she replied.
Haruto frowned.
"Why?"
Smiling weirdly, the little girl replied.
"Because it's not a secret"
Haruto frowned even more.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? She spilled a secret and chose not to spill because it's not a secret? He doubted he would ever understand Branch V.
He spent more time with Sylvaine, discussing a lot of things and trying to make it as brief as possible.
Apparently, all Branches wanted their sentinels to grow stronger before the expedition. Talking about resources, he had learnt something new today. Horrors were not only found during the expedition every year.
Even sentinels did not understand how but, more frequently than normal, unknown horrors would try to open what they called a breach into earth, each having its boss or mastermind. By killing these horrors, sentinels could grow stronger.
'So that's the reason for the conflict…it's worth fighting for .. really'
He had learnt many more, but majorly, he had finally solidified his theory! The little girl had confirmed that all sentinels indeed had a Curse. One that tore deep into their perfection and created imperfection.
The little girl — Sylvaine, her ability was that she could take a peek into the future past and even the present not directly visible to her. She was basically a Time Paradox. That was what she said the sentinels had referred to her as.
But her curse. Haruto gritted his teeth as he ascended the stairs. It was cruel. Unless you told her it wasn't a secret, she couldn't keep her mouth shut. She'd spill.
Now, he understood her discomfort earlier. It all made sense. Now, he made up his mind.
He found the creator of the enchantment to be someone worthy of praise, masterfully creating limitless beings and giving them limits. He thought it was cruel, but it really wasn't. That powerhouse probably wanted them to just surpass that limit.
It didn't matter how much danger he'd put himself in, he wanted to know more. He wanted to discover more.
But, did he have the power to defend his knowledge? Who knew what he'd attract from the abyssal depths of the unknown.
That's why…
That's why he had to grow stronger no matter what.
…He was going to do it!
But, what was that thing Sylvaine said? It was crap!
Gritting his teeth, Haruto recalled.
"Sentinel Haruto…"
Puzzled by the sudden call, Haruto asked.
"What?"
Sylvaine looked at the floor and asked a rather weird question.
"Why do you think fruits hang to trees?"
Confused by the question, Haruto thought for a moment, before he finally answered.
"Because they have no choice?"
Sylvaine smiled.
"And what do you think they do when they have no choice?"
Haruto was puzzled all the more.
"Uhh I guess they just pray really hard and trust that the tree won't let them go"
'Wait a minute…Trust?'
Haruto's expression darkened.
"What are you driving at?"
Sylvaine smiled, the dim lights of the torches, reflecting in her innocent eyes. And giggling, she said.
"...A word is enough for the wise"
…she was soon scribbling on her note again.