It didn’t take long, less than ten minutes, for Nova to reach the village, and right outside the gate stood Cassidy with a hopeful look on her face.
As soon as she saw him, she hurriedly said, “Come with me. See if you can convince Jack to change his mind.”
“Mhm.” Nova only let out a sound of acknowledgment and silently followed her to Jack’s house.
Click.
The door leading to the courtyard opened once again, and Jack, without looking back, languidly said, “You’re back already? Where did you go in such a hurry?”
“I’m back. I’ve brought someone with me,” Cassidy said as she, along with Nova, whose gaze was fixed on Jack, stepped onto the grass and strolled over to him.
Hearing her words and the sound of another set of footsteps made Jack curious, but he felt so relaxed that he didn’t even bother to turn his head to see who it was. Instead, he asked, “Oh? Who is it? Is it someone I know?”
Cassidy turned to Nova, her eyes silently asking if he wanted her to answer Jack’s question, but he shook his head. Nodding in understanding, she sat down on the chair and, just as she had before, stared ahead as if whatever was about to happen was no longer her concern.
Meanwhile, Nova walked directly in front of Jack, blocking the sun and casting a shadow over his face.
‘Is this really how he spent the past two months? Just relaxing and doing nothing while everyone around him worried themselves sick? Does he not understand the situation?’
The calm exterior he had struggled to maintain crumbled as his hands clenched tightly.
With Cassidy not answering his question and the sunlight no longer warming his face, Jack opened his eyes to see what was happening, and found the most familiar face staring down at him from less than a meter away.
At first, he was startled, not having expected Nova to return without a word. But then he looked at him and smiled, saying, “I didn’t know you were here. Grab a chair and sit down with us, the sun is especially good today.”
Nova didn’t move from where he stood, still coming to terms with his friend’s situation.
“Hmm? Is something wrong?” Jack asked after taking a closer look at Nova’s face and noticing his clenched hands.
“I didn’t know…” A whisper escaped Nova’s mouth as he looked down, his eyes colder than ice.
Jack tilted his head to the side. “What didn’t you know?”
“You could be so dumb,” Nova finished coldly.
Lying on the chair to the side, Cassidy listened to everything but acted as if she were a stranger, as though whatever was going on beside her was none of her business, although ripples of emotion coursed through her eyes.
A frown appeared on Jack’s face as he said, “I don’t understand. What are you trying to say now?”
Nova lowered his head to stare straight into Jack’s eyes.
“You know, before coming here, I was mostly angry and disappointed with Amelia for what she’d done. Leaving you because of a single failure, and right when you needed her most, was a really scummy move, one I could never forgive, but…”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
His voice dropped low, and he enunciated each word clearly.
“Seeing the pitiful state you’re in now, I can’t even bring myself to blame her.”
For a time, Nova’s cold words were the only sound present in the courtyard, echoing in both Jack’s and Cassidy’s minds.
Cassidy couldn’t believe what Nova had just said. She had called him here to help, but his words were so merciless that she now doubted whether she had made the right choice in inviting him. That sliver of doubt, however, lasted only a moment before it was wiped away by her resolve.
So far, nothing we’ve said has worked on Jack. If these cold words are what he needs to wake up, then so be it.
The thought crossed her mind as her eyes narrowed.
On the other hand, Jack’s eyes trembled as if a rock had been thrown into two still ponds, creating a series of ripples.
He had been immune to every word his friends had spoken to him over the past months, but there was one that truly struck him deeply.
Amelia.
It was just a name, but ever since she left him, he could count on one hand the number of times he had heard it spoken by his friends, all of them too afraid to hurt him.
And they were right.
While he didn’t have a problem saying it himself, whenever others said her name, they always wore sad, pitiful, or even apologetic expressions that constantly reminded him that she had truly left.
But this time… Nova’s expression held none of those emotions.
No.
His words were filled with the ridicule and mockery of someone who deeply understood a concept, watching another person proudly preach that same concept while failing to understand it at all.
And, to add insult to injury, those words weren’t spoken by some stranger.
They were spoken by the person he considered family. The weight they carried was so heavy that it rendered Jack speechless.
Nova, seeing his friend’s eyes quake, didn’t stop.
“You don’t understand, do you?”
“Of course you don’t.” He answered to himself. “If you did, would you even waste precious time relaxing under the sun? No. If you truly understood, you wouldn’t even sleep, you would train. You would’ve done everything in your power to become stronger. But here you are, enjoying a sunny day as if everything is going well.”
By the end, Nova started chuckling, but it wasn’t from happiness. Quite the opposite. He was so angry at seeing the dumb look on his usually smart friend’s face that he couldn’t control himself and began laughing.
The more he spoke, the more Jack’s eyes trembled. Yet, summoning all the willpower he could, Jack gritted his teeth and growled, “What do you mean?”
Nova lifted a finger and tapped repeatedly on Jack’s forehead as he said, “You were too weak, so she left you. But instead of training to become stronger, you relaxed, becoming weaker every day. Not only that, you’re still hoping she’ll come back. Isn’t your weakness the reason she left? And now you plan to get her back by doing… nothing?”
“This is the biggest joke I’ve ever heard in a while, and I never expected it to come from you.”
While his eyes remained locked on Jack’s, he straightened his back and said aloud, “Let’s go. Leave this dumbass to rot on his own until he figures it out.”
Then he turned without a second glance and walked toward the entrance.
Cassidy stood up and stole a quick glance at Jack, whose eyes had now lost focus, before sighing quietly and following Nova.
The first thing she noticed upon entering the apartment was Nova taking deep breaths, his hands clenching and unclenching.
He spoke so coldly before but it must’ve been hard for him to see Jack in that state…
She thought, patiently waiting for him to calm down.
When he opened his eyes, she murmured, “Was that really necessary?”
Earlier, she had stopped herself many times from interrupting Nova, worried that his words would hurt Jack even more. The only reason she hadn’t intervened was because she trusted both Nova and the deep bond that existed between the two.
That, though, didn’t mean her worries had simply vanished into thin air.
Nova nodded.
“I’ve already told him how things are. If he can’t pull himself out of this situation, then it’s best he stays here and safely lives in his fantasy, there’s no point in training anymore. For now, tell the others to stop visiting him.”
Then, before she could say anything, he continued.
“Now…” He opened his Inventory and dumped all the elemental materials and ores he had gathered over the past few months. “These are for you. I wanted to have a proper chat, but I’m not in the mood right now. We’ll meet another time.”
Without even giving Cassidy a chance to snap out of her daze and say anything, he vanished, leaving her alone in an apartment now overflowing with piles of materials and ores.
“Just how many civilizations did he rob…”
She muttered to herself while glancing around at the mountains of items.
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