Seed of Titan-Chapter 76: Intermezzo

Realizing the awkward stares, Jian elaborated, "I mean, why do you always come out fully clothed, dude? It’s not like we’ll get aroused from seeing you in a towel or even naked—unless you’re very buff, then Drai would probably ogle you."

Drai finally realized what Jian meant by his earlier question, and it also dawned to him that what Jian said was true; he had never seen Christo’s bare body since the first day they met.

Walking to his bed, Christo dried his hair a bit more while saying, "It’s just a habit of mine. Why are you interested in that anyway? Don’t tell me..."

"No, dude! I like girls, okay? It just felt weird that you’re a bit too well-mannered for a roommate. You never cuss or manspread, and you lack a sense of dirty humor. I might understand if Drai were like you because he’s kinda naïve, but even he behaves more like a teenage boy than you. That’s why sometimes it feels like you’re merely a guest here, especially when you’re sitting there having that fancy tea of yours," Jian rambled as he stopped wiping his sword.

Christo let out a smile and put away his towel before sitting on his bed.

"Everyone has different upbringings that shaped them into the person they currently are, Jian. If you were in my shoes, you would probably end up like me."

Jian looked at Christo and sensed the enigmatic demeanor that he occasionally showed.

"You’re right. I’m just asking because I find it a bit strange," he said as he resumed wiping his sword. "But Christo..."

"Hm?"

"...do tell us one day about your past, okay? I don’t know why you’re being so secretive about it, but I don’t think we’ll change our perceptions of you just because of it, so don’t worry."

Hearing this, Christo’s expression somehow turned slightly rueful. He then proceeded to lie down on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Shortly after, he softly said, "Yeah, maybe one day..."

Meanwhile, Drai kept quiet while reading his study notes. Having spent a few months with his friends, he had quite adapted to social life, so he could sense that Christo had turned somber and probably wanted some time alone.

’His past and origins have always been sensitive topics. I agree with Jian though—Christo’s background probably doesn’t matter much for us. And since he’s helped us a lot, maybe there’s a way we can help him for a change if there’s something troubling him back home...’ Drai thought.

Back at the sofa, Jian was done with his maintenance. He held his sword straight and looked at it from different angles before putting it back inside a black and golden scabbard which matches the color of the sword’s hilt.

Jian then laid the sword on the coffee table. He looked at it smilingly and remarked, "It’s definitely worth ordering a custom scabbard for Full Moon."

Drai glanced at Jian and decided that he was in need of a short respite from studying. He turned off the projections and got off his bed, walking to the sofa.

"Your new sword really looks a lot nicer compared to your old one. But maybe I’m being a bit biased since I had a small beef with your old sword," Drai commented as he looked at the new sword on the table.

Jian was a bit startled upon being reminded of his rude antics on his first day here, but he quickly brushed it off and picked up the sword.

"Sandy told me that nobody in VV knows what the sword is made of since it’s been collecting dust for years in the storage room like many other items there. Auri must have gotten herself an interesting item too with all the strange trinkets lying around," Jian explained while slightly pulling out the sword, showing off Full Moon’s shiny blade to Drai.

"Hmm... Maybe I should’ve asked to look around the storage room too—I didn’t know there would be a lot of interesting stuff there. I’ll probably just do that if they can’t find the tiger that I requested," Drai said.

"I don’t remember seeing any weapon that suits you though," Jian remarked.

Hearing this, Drai looked at Jian with raised eyebrows. "Really? And what kind of weapon do you think suits me?" he asked.

"It should be something big and badass, maybe like a great mace or giant sword?"

"Mace, huh?" Drai mumbled while recalling the weapon James used during their spar a few days ago. "I still don’t know if I should wield a weapon though."

"Why’s that?" Jian inquired, looking intrigued. To his knowledge, weapons gave a certain advantage, and an armed fighter usually triumphs over an unarmed one.

"Well..." Drai scratched his head as he dragged out his words. He was unsure whether to tell Jian that all the titans he saw during his last vision didn’t seem to wield any weapon.

"... let’s just say that it really is satisfying bashing things with your own hands, the feeling of crushing things with your palms with all the obliterated pieces scraping on your skin. You get me?"

Jian looked at Drai speechlessly. He even began to wonder if Drai was not only a masochist but also a sadist.

Seeing Jian’s reaction, Drai scratched his cheek while smiling awkwardly. What he said was not totally wrong, but it wasn’t the main reason for his hesitation.

But Drai had decided against telling the whole thing since there’s a certain entity in the story that he would rather not think of at all in the present as it would only leave him with an unhealthy sense of foreboding.

Basically, Drai chose not to think of it as a problem and hoped that it would cease to exist as one, at least in his mind. After all, there’s nothing his current self or even the whole Gaia could do about it, so why not ignore it completely for the meantime?

"Anyway, what do you think of Nat’s dad invitation?" Jian eventually said.

Upon hearing the mentioning of Alancho, Drai’s eyes gleamed.

"Of course it’s great! We can meet the Great General himself! Oh shit... Now that I think about it, I should really stock a lot of posters so he can sign them all later. Do you think he’ll exchange contacts with us? And what gift should I bring? Do you think he likes pastries just like Nat?"

Seeing his friend suddenly turning into a fanboy and rambling about his idol, Jian shook his head helplessly.

"Dude, I’m asking about it because of the timing. Why would he invite us over during the Founding Day? Won’t he be busy? And won’t the capital be really crowded too with all the celebrations going around? I don’t really feel comfortable with large crowds," Jian complained.

Drai looked at Jian weirdly, saying, "Does it really matter? It’s Alancho that we’re meeting, Jian! Scarlet Streak Alancho, the undefeated fighter! Do you know he used to be a fighter in underground arenas before he entered the army? And do you know how he crushed an extremist movement in the far north in a matter of days when he was just a captain? I’ve been looking forward to meeting him ever since I realized Nat was his daughter! Fuck the Founding Day, I’ll sleep on his terrace if I need to in order to meet him!"

Jian looked at Drai with his mouth agape. So far, he felt that Drai was quite a reserved yet carefree person. He was a far cry from the energetic Combat Faculty students who usually began their days with challenging each other to a duel. But by the looks of it, Drai can be really spirited if he wanted to—of course excluding training-related matters which he had always been passionate about.

"I’m sure he’ll spare some time to meet us since he was the one who invited us over, but I think it will just be a short meeting considering the particular day he had chosen as well as his position in the military. This is what I’m concerned about," Jian said.

"It doesn’t matter if we only meet him briefly as long ask him for some training advice, get some pictures together, and have him sign my posters," Drai quickly remarked. He was now fidgeting due to his eagerness.

"Well, if you say so," Jian relented, shaking his head. He still couldn’t fathom how Drai could be extremely infatuated with Alancho.

’If Alancho was a beautiful lady—or a buff lady in Drai’s case—I could definitely understand, but we’re talking about a married guy in his 50s here!’ Jian thought. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Suddenly, Christo got off his bed and immediately joined the table. The two’s commotion seemed to have pulled him out of his somberness.

"What do you think about it, Christo?" Jian asked after Christo was seated across him.

"The invitation? I don’t know why Natalia’s father chose that particular day to meet us, but I have a hunch that his invitation is related to our venture, specifically regarding Natalia’s change after we returned," Christo replied while he grabbed a water flask and a cup from underneath the table.

"What do you mean by ’Nat’s change’?" Jian asked.

Meanwhile, Drai looked at Christo and thought, ’As expected, Christo was aware of it too.’

Christo poured himself a drink and took a sip before answering, "You can say that she’s envious of you two."