The Author's Playground
Chapter 44: Discord (3)

Chapter 44: Discord (3)

The campfire crackled, filling the air with the faint scent of burning wood. The warmth flickered against their faces, yet neither Quaso nor Elijah said a word.

They just sat there.

Staring at the fire.

Quaso shifted, glancing at Elijah out of the corner of her eye. She was chewing on a piece of jerky, then spoke. "Do you think it will be alright?"

Elijah, caught off guard by the sudden question, blinked. "What do you mean?"

Quaso swallowed her jerky, her eyes never leaving the flames. "Well, you know... We only have four hours left, and we haven’t found any clues for the artifacts yet." She glanced at him briefly. "And not to mention, everyone seems on edge right now..."

"Aside from the two of us, everyone seems to avoid each other..."

Elijah tilted his head, thinking for a moment. "Hmm, maybe you’re right." He grinned slightly. "But hey, not my problem. I don’t intend to solve it."

Quaso frowned, her fingers absentmindedly twirling a loose strand of hair. "I don’t know... I just feel like something’s off." She sighed. "The reason I enrolled here was to make friends with everyone... but it feels like we’re all drifting apart."

’Man, I didn’t ask...’ Elijah thought to himself, but the words caught in his throat. Instead, he remained silent, staring at the fire.

"The first time I saw you on the first day of class, I wanted to be friends with you Eli-chi." After a beat, Quaso glanced at him again, her expression slightly softened. "How about you, Eli-chi? Why did you enroll here?"

Elijah blinked, slightly thrown by the question. He leaned back against a rock, eyes still on the fire.

"To write a better story."

Quaso paused, her hand hovering midair as she prepared to eat another bite of jerky. She blinked a few times. "Pardon?"

Elijah shrugged, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I simply answered your question truthfully."

"Are you an author or something?"

"Pfft..." Elijah chuckled lightly. "You’re right. I’m one hell of an author."

He stood up from his seat with a stretch, popping his bones as he did.

"Let’s go."

"Where?" Quaso blinked, confused.

Elijah grinned. "I feel bad just staring at your face. So, I’ll find Lucian and talk to him."

At that, Quaso’s expression finally brightened, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm.

"Mhm! I’ll go find Astra-chi!"

****

Sitting on the ground, Lucian had long lost track of time as he meticulously cleaned his sword.

At this point, the blade was already sparkling clean—far too clean. He had been at this for minutes now, maybe even longer.

The motion of the cloth against the steel was almost hypnotic, that allowed his mind to drift.

Even so, no matter how much he polished it, the weight in his chest remained.

Only when the cloth he was using sliced cleanly in half against the blade’s sharp edge did Lucian finally let out a heavy sigh.

"I should apologize... right?" he muttered to himself. "Everything will be fine as long as I give up the leader role."

The words sounded empty, even to him.

If it was the source of the argument, it only makes sense to give up on it, right?

It was a logical choice, but it seems not everyone thinks so.

"Wow. Giving up that fast?"

Lucian nearly jumped out of his skin. His grip faltered, and his sword clattered to the ground as he whipped around.

There, crouched beside him with an infuriatingly amused grin, was Elijah.

"L-Lord Elijah?!" Lucian stammered, hurriedly reaching for his fallen weapon.

"Aiya, how many times do I have to tell you?" Elijah patted his shoulder with exaggerated disappointment. "Drop the honorifics, leader!"

"Elijah..."

"There you go!" Elijah’s smirk widened as he slung an arm around Lucian’s shoulder, pulling him in close like they were old friends.

Lucian stiffened at the sudden contact. He wasn’t used to this kind of casual familiarity.

"Now, come on," Elijah continued. "Tell your dear senior what’s bothering you."

Lucian exhaled, turning his gaze back to his sword. "It’s nothing..."

"Oh?" Elijah leaned in slightly. "Then why do you look like a guy who just got dumped?"

Lucian’s eye twitched. "I—It’s just..."

"Just?" Elijah echoed, prodding at him.

Lucian hesitated, then finally spoke. "Am I doing everything right?"

Elijah blinked, tilting his head.

Lucian lowered his gaze, fingers idly playing with the frayed edge of his glove. "I’m not really sure whether I’m on the right track or not. I have no idea whether I’m doing the right thing or just making everything worse."

The words spilled out before he could stop them. It wasn’t something he normally voiced—he wasn’t the type to show uncertainty.

But for some reason, sitting here, with Elijah’s annoyingly persistent presence, it just slipped out.

Then came...

Silence.

Lucian sighed inwardly. Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything.

’Perhaps he’s thinking I’m weird now.’

"Hey."

Lucian glanced up.

Elijah was watching him with an expression that wasn’t mocking for once.

"How old are you?" Elijah asked.

Lucian blinked at the sudden question. "...Seventeen?"

Elijah nodded knowingly. "Then you’re still young."

Lucian frowned. "What’s that supposed to—"

"It means," Elijah interrupted, stretching his arms lazily, "that everyone worries about things like this. And it’s always the youngsters who overthink everything."

Lucian scowled. "You’re barely older than me. Or maybe... younger even."

"Ah, but mentally? I’m leagues ahead." Elijah tapped the side of his temple smugly. "I’ve already seen this story play out a thousand times."

Lucian narrowed his eyes. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Elijah simply grinned. "It means you’ll be fine."

"..."

"I know very well, life is full of ups and downs, but if it’s you. You will be fine."

Lucian stared at him for a long moment, searching for something in Elijah’s expression—some kind of deeper meaning. But as usual, the guy was impossible to read.

After a beat, Elijah let out an exaggerated sigh. "Man, I can’t believe I’m the one giving a pep talk. That’s usually the side character’s job, you know."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Lucian let out a small light-hearted chuckle. "You’re a main character?"

"No- I am a background character... or maybe a villain."

Elijah sing-songed, hopping up to his feet. He stretched again, popping his back with a satisfied hum. "Anyway, enough sulking. Let’s go."

"Go where?"

"You wanted to talk with Astra right? Let’s go apologize together."

Elijah stretched his arms as he walked away from Lucian, feeling oddly satisfied with himself.

’Man, giving pep talks sure was tiring.’

He was more used to sitting back and watching things unfold rather than actively meddling.

"I am really not used to this..."

As he made his way through the dimly lit clearing, he spotted a lone figure standing near a tree.

Victoria.

She wasn’t sitting like the others, nor was she doing anything in particular. Just standing there. Watching. As if waiting for something—or someone.

Elijah quirked an eyebrow. "Oya, princess. Do you want my advice too?"

Victoria slowly turned her head, with her green eyes locking onto his.

A moment of silence passed between them. Then, she finally spoke.

"I decided to trust you, whatever you wanted to do. So please don’t break it."

Elijah froze.

His usual smug expression faltered just for a second as his eyes widened, genuinely caught off guard.

It wasn’t what he had expected to hear.

But before he could answer back, a scream echoed in the distant.

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