Chapter 159: Childhood Best Friend
’Stop crying—’
Pak—!
Cillian suddenly found himself being smacked on the head by Kash, who wore a triumphant expression as if one of his goals had finally been achieved. He kissed his hand and watched Cillian glare at him.
"Heh."
Kash only gave a confident smirk, as if provoking Cillian to try smacking him back. After a few seconds of staring at the arrogant Kash, Cillian then looked toward Melissa, who was sitting beside him, with the other two women approaching her to comfort her.
Melissa tried to stop herself from crying, but tears just wouldn’t stop falling from her eyes. Then, she started telling the reason for her sudden outburst.
"I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to cry. It’s just that... I don’t know how to say this... I’m glad to have friends like you. Everyone in this group has been very understanding of my situation, even though most people don’t even receive this kind of attention. Seriously, I’m just happy. Thank you, Willow. Thank you, Ivy. Thank you, Kash."
"Oh Melissa..."
Willow hugged her best friend. Ivy then hugged both of her best friends. Kash almost teared up, but he decided to man up and simply watch the situation.
"Hey, I’m not your friend—"
Just as Cillian was about to ruin such a wholesome scene, Kash immediately stepped forward and covered his mouth. His instincts told him that Cillian was about to say something funny again, and he wasn’t wrong to stop him before he could say anything.
"Cillian made you cry, right? He did, right?"
"We’ll do something about him later, okay? Please don’t feel burdened. We’ll protect you from this treacherous playboy."
Willow joined in as she teased Cillian, sticking her tongue out at him. Ivy then added fuel to something that wasn’t really what had happened.
"Hehe."
It made Melissa laugh.
"Hey, when did I become a playboy? That role belongs to Aster—!"
"Shh..."
Cillian wanted to retort so badly, but Kash always found a way to cover his mouth. Eventually, he grew annoyed with Kash covering his mouth, so he cast a Fireball spell and aimed it at him, only for Kash to counter with a Water Bullets spell that was much stronger than his own.
However, their fight never happened, as both of them knew they were only messing around with each other.
"Haha!"
Kash smiled and undid his spell.
"Pft."
Cillian chuckled.
Cillian knew everyone was only messing around, trying not to burden Melissa with unnecessary thoughts. However, the experience made his heart feel lighter and changed the way he viewed the group.
The main cast wasn’t as bad as he had assumed.
...
"Let’s go meet my father tomorrow, Melissa."
"All right."
The group started to go their separate ways after talking for another hour at the shop. Kash and Ivy stayed together, their faces showing how much they had enjoyed their time with everyone, while Melissa was left alone since the house she had rented was located farther away from theirs.
Willow and Cillian were alone as they walked together.
"I appreciate you helping Melissa."
After a few minutes of walking together in silence, Willow suddenly spoke.
"She’s the kind of person who gives a lot to people, but people took advantage of that and used her instead. That’s why I always helped her."
Willow scratched the bridge of her nose, feeling the fake glasses she was wearing press against it before removing them and tucking them between the collar of her dress.
Then she added.
"She’s a smart person, but she often finds trouble with those who are real to her and those who aren’t."
Cillian didn’t speak and continued walking, not even sparing Willow a glance. His gaze remained straight ahead while being aware of his surroundings.
[White Flags x8]
’Should I assume the flags that weren’t moving and were just watching around us are her guards? If so, that’s a lot of them.’
Cillian pondered inwardly, feeling the urge to sigh. However, he stopped himself, knowing it might make Willow misunderstand something.
He hadn’t even spoken once since they were alone, and he didn’t want things to become awkward between them because of his weird antics.
Though her next choice of words caught him off guard.
"Why did you do that to your childhood best friend?"
Silence.
’Of course she’s going to ask this. They probably talked about it before.’
Willow was obviously referring to the time when the previous Cillian bullied Melissa when they were children. However, right before the bullying started, he wasn’t really like this.
Even with the constant pressure from his parents, he was still hanging on... until he finally gave up and snapped.
The only reason Cillian could think of for why the previous Cillian became a bad person was that his parents had taken things to another level by forcing him to do things just to get closer to Fergus.
It was really a complicated chain of events that led to one thing after another, leaving the previous Cillian hurt while Melissa, despite her strong outward appearance, was heartbroken, as she was also just a fragile little girl back then.
Could the current Cillian really ask for forgiveness for something he didn’t even commit?
Or... did she perhaps know that the current Cillian wasn’t the person she had once known, just as Phillip, Vin, and Fergus had thought about him, and chose to forget everything?
Is that the reason why Melissa can continue talking with him?
’I’m dealing with this shit when I didn’t even do it. Heck, how could I have even bullied someone when I was little Raymond back on Earth? I was a nerd who read books in my spare time, then became a handsome, smart dude in high school. Though I was already getting a lot of girls back in the day...’
Feeling that his thoughts were drifting away, Cillian halted his steps, forcing Willow to stop as well.
Then, his gaze locked onto hers. His dark blue eyes met her white ones as neither of them backed down from staring at each other.
Suddenly, a soft smile formed on Cillian’s lips.
"The previous street is the fastest route towards your home. You’ve already passed it."
"..."
Willow was confused at first since the answer was completely unrelated to the question she had asked, until she soon remembered the task her father had given her, which she had to follow strictly.
"Haha..."
As if she had been found out, Willow suddenly sighed before shaking her head.
"I didn’t know that you knew the direction of the entirety of Viola that much. I underestimated you."
Cillian shrugged, as he was merely trying to probe things since he had no way of confirming anything. If Willow hadn’t reacted to his words, that was fine.
But if she had, Cillian was very curious as to why this woman continued sticking around him, especially with so many guards watching her from the shadows.
But there’s no need for her to know that.
Cillian then retorted.
"These days, I like to walk around. Not that you need to know, anyway. So, now confess. What is it that you want, daughter of Finn Montolov?"
As if she were left with no choice, Willow smiled and said.
"The Whisper Broker is one of the highest intelligence groups working in the Undercity. My father wanted to speak with your father, the other Sparrows, and your uncle, who is the current leader of the guild. Could you please pass this message on to them? My father would like to invite them to the upcoming discussions about the charity work my family is planning. However, he wants to arrange the meeting secretly."
Then, Willow handed Cillian the box she had been carrying earlier and added.
"This is a token of appreciation for taking the time to listen to me. It is a gift for the entire Whisper Broker, as my father hopes to establish a good relationship with your organization."