Chapter 119: You Lack Class and a Sense of Humor
Meanwhile, Gromda had found her new favorite hobby: Watching construction.
Silas found her sitting cross-legged beside the future gym entrance. She hadn’t moved for nearly forty minutes. Workers walked past, machines moved, concrete poured, steel beams installed, and she watched all of it... intently.
"What are you doing?"
"Watching."
"I can see that."
"...Why?"
She pointed.
"Gym growing."
Silas burst out laughing. Gym growing. That was apparently enough explanation.
Later that night, the entire group stood on a second-floor balcony overlooking the estate. Construction lights illuminated the grounds, while workers continued moving despite the darkness. Huge machinery operated throughout the property.
The mansion felt alive. It was becoming something greater.
Silas leaned against the railing, the cool night breeze brushing against his face. Behind him stood Anna, Chloe, and Gromda. Alpha was also around. Apparently, he was going to move in with them after annoying the hell out of Silas and convincing the girls.
Just looking at him made Silas’s face wrinkle in frustration. He wondered where the cute, feminine Alpha had disappeared to. The current one was giving him murder tendencies.
"How do you keep getting in here?" Silas asked, his eyes glowing dangerously, but Alpha just shrugged and winked at him.
"I live here now."
"No."
"Too late."
"That’s not how ownership works."
"It worked."
"..."
The girls quietly watched the ongoing construction, completely ignoring the two maniacs who were arguing like one had stolen the other’s chicken off their plate.
For a moment, nobody spoke. Then Chloe suddenly smiled.
"This feels nice."
Silas glanced toward her. "What does?"
"This." She gestured toward the estate. "The house, the renovations, and the people. Us."
Her voice softened.
"It feels like we’re building something."
The others fell silent because she was right. The estate wasn’t just a mansion anymore. It wasn’t just an inheritance, nor was it just a luxury property.
Little by little, it was becoming their place. A place where they could grow stronger, train together, fight together, laugh together, and live together.
Silas looked toward the massive construction site that would soon become one of the most advanced private awakened facilities in New Liberty and smiled.
It was a genuine smile.
"Yeah. It does."
Far below them, workers continued transforming the estate. For the first time since inheriting the property, the Ashard Estate no longer felt like something left behind by the dead. It felt like the beginning of something new.
***
Dinner at the Ashard Estate had become... an event.
Not because the food was extraordinary, although it definitely was, but because putting Silas, Alpha, Anna, Chloe, and Gromda around the same table was somehow equivalent to locking five completely different species inside one room and hoping evolution sorted everything out.
The dining hall itself was elegant.
A long walnut table stretched across the center beneath a crystal chandelier, while warm lighting reflected off marble floors. Steam rose from several dishes spread across the table: roasted chicken, ironically, grilled steak, seafood pasta, vegetable soup, baked potatoes, fresh bread, and enough desserts to give a nutritionist a heart attack.
Silas stared at the roasted chicken and slowly looked toward Alpha. Alpha looked back.
"Don’t."
"I’m not saying anything."
"You thought something."
"I didn’t."
"You absolutely did."
Silas sighed dramatically.
"I was wondering if its family is looking for it."
Alpha placed his fork down. "I regret surviving that Rift Break."
Anna covered her mouth, trying not to laugh. Chloe lowered her head, while Gromda tilted her head.
"Chicken."
"Exactly," Silas nodded seriously. "They have families too."
"They tried to eat us."
"So? They deserved happiness before that."
Alpha rubbed his temples. "You are exhausting."
Silas smiled proudly.
"I’ve been told that before."
"By who?"
"Myself."
"..."
"I believe in self-awareness."
Alpha muttered, "I believe in murder."
Dinner continued peacefully... for exactly eighteen seconds before Silas suddenly looked toward Alpha.
"So."
"What?"
"You’re short."
Alpha froze, Anna immediately looked away, Chloe bit her lip, and even Gromda stopped chewing.
"..."
"..."
Alpha slowly swallowed the food in his mouth.
"I’m five-foot-six."
"Mhm."
"You’re six feet."
"Mhm."
"That isn’t even a huge difference."
Silas nodded. "It is when I look down."
Alpha smiled.
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"I understand now."
Silas blinked.
"What?"
"You’ve mistaken height for personality."
Anna snorted, causing Silas to point accusingly.
"Don’t encourage him."
"I’m not encouraging him."
"You laughed."
"I sneezed."
"You sneezed ’Pfft’?"
"...Yes."
Silas wasn’t finished. He leaned forward.
"You know..."
Alpha narrowed his eyes. "...Here we go."
"If I put a bowl on your head..."
"..."
"...it’d become a helmet."
"..."
Silence. Absolute silence engulfed the place. Chloe’s shoulders shook. Anna had already turned away completely. Gromda, however, looked genuinely curious.
"Would it?" Alpha said, slowly standing up.
Silas pointed dramatically. "Violence! He’s choosing violence!"
"I’ve been choosing violence since I met you."
Alpha sat back down.
"I’m done."
"You haven’t eaten."
"I’ve lost my appetite."
Silas nodded sympathetically.
"Happens when people discover the truth."
"What truth?"
"Gravity likes you."
"..."
"Because you’re closer to the ground."
"..."
"..."
Anna couldn’t hold it anymore. She burst into laughter. Even Chloe giggled.
Gromda looked toward Silas. "...Funny."
"Thank you."
Alpha looked horrified.
"Don’t validate him!"
Several minutes later, the topic somehow changed. No one knew how.
"So," Silas said while cutting into his steak. "What weapon are you settling on?"
"The rapier."
"Still?"
"I like it."
"It looks like a toothpick."
"It is elegant."
"It pokes people."
"It fences."
"It pokes."
"It thrusts."
"Pokes."
"..."
"..."
"It has style."
Silas frowned. "Style doesn’t kill monsters."
Alpha looked at him like he’d just committed a crime.
"It absolutely does."
"It doesn’t."
"It does."
"It doesn’t."
"It literally has centuries of history."
"So?"
"So?" Alpha looked genuinely offended. "You uncultured barbarian."
Silas proudly nodded.
"Thank you."
"That wasn’t a compliment."
"I accepted it anyway."
Anna quietly sipped her drink. "I feel like I’m babysitting."
Chloe nodded. "They’re worse than children."
Gromda raised a hand and asked innocently, "Can children punch chickens?"
"..."
"No."
"Then they are better."
"That’s..." Anna was rendered speechless.
Alpha picked up his rapier training manual from beside his chair and flipped through a page. How it had appeared there will forever remain a mystery.
"Look."
Silas leaned over.
"What’s that?"
"A proper stance."
"...Looks uncomfortable."
"It isn’t."
"It looks like you’re trying to impress pigeons."
"It maximizes reach."
"It maximizes looking weird."
Alpha inhaled deeply.
"Silas."
"Mhm?"
"I genuinely need to ask."
"What?"
"How do you survive?"
Silas looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"You solve everything with one punch."
"So?"
"You don’t appreciate finesse."
"I appreciate winning."
"You don’t appreciate elegance."
"I appreciate surviving."
"You don’t appreciate culture."
"I appreciate food."
"You don’t appreciate art."
"I appreciate punching."
"You don’t appreciate subtlety."
"I appreciate louder punching."
Alpha slowly closed the book and looked at him with an expression "Thomas Edison would make after discovering the mechanics of a light bulb."
"I’ve figured it out."
Silas smiled.
"Oh?"
"You..." He pointed dramatically across the table. "...lack class..."
"..."
"...and a sense of humor."
Anna immediately looked down at her plate while Chloe froze.
Silas slowly placed his fork down.
"I... lack humor?"
Alpha nodded. "Yes."
Silas looked toward the others.
"Did you hear that?"
Anna coughed. "I heard something."
"Chloe?"
She looked away. "I don’t want to be involved."
"Gromda?"
She answered honestly. "...Sometimes."
Silas clutched his chest dramatically.
"Betrayal..."
He stood, walked around the table, stopped beside Alpha, placed both hands on his shoulders, and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Alpha."
"What?"
"I forgive you."
"..."
"For being objectively wrong."
"I wasn’t asking for forgiveness."
"You have it anyway."
"I don’t want it."
"Too late."
Alpha slowly stood.
"I’ve changed my mind."
"About?"
"I’m no longer trying to surpass you."
Silas smiled proudly.
"I knew you’d recognize my greatness."
"No."
Alpha’s smile became frighteningly calm.
"I’m trying to become rich enough to hire someone to annoy you twenty-four hours a day."
Silas gasped.
"You monster."
"I learned from the best."
"I taught you well."
"I hate that sentence."
The table erupted into laughter, and even Anna had tears in her eyes. Chloe laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth. Gromda looked around before smiling too, though she clearly didn’t understand why everyone was laughing anymore.
She just liked seeing everyone happy. Silas leaned back into his chair with a smug grin.
"You know..."
"What now?" Alpha sighed.
"I think we’re becoming good friends."
Alpha stared at him for several long seconds.
"I dislike how correct that statement is."
Silas pointed triumphantly.
"Aha!"
"You admitted it!"
"I admitted nothing."
"You just did."
"I absolutely did not."
"You literally said..."
"I refuse to elaborate."
Silas laughed.
"See?"
"What?"
"You do have a sense of humor."
Alpha groaned so loudly that one of the workers walking past the dining hall nearly burst into laughter.
Alpha looked toward the ceiling.
"Can someone open another rift?"
Silas grinned.
"So you can hide?"
"So it can eat you first."
The room exploded with laughter once again.