There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 200 - 194. Felling A Tree

Chapter 200: Chapter 194. Felling A Tree

"I will register myself as Ishtera."

Zein looked straight into the Elder’s eyes, which were shaking before. Now, those eyes were blinking in surprise. He stopped talking, letting his words sink into their mind.

"Y-you mean...you’ll take your father’s legacy, Young Master?" the Elder asked, with a small trembling in his voice.

Zein swallowed his sigh. He waited until the police officer--Cohen--finished serving the tea before explaining himself. "I’ll say this upfront; I don’t intend on reviving the clan," he said, sweeping stern gaze to the Elder and the middle-aged man, Senan.

"Then..."

"What I want is to take the name that both my parents left me. I think I owed them that much for birthing me into existence," Zein rubbed his wrist, feeling the pulsing vein beneath. "But the clan, and the organization, I would like you to stop."

"I...have no intention to accept Setnath’s descent. So the seed died with me, your duty ends with me," Zein shifted his gaze toward the youngsters, the young man and woman standing behind the Elder’s chair. "You should forget about any sense of responsibility toward me and life for yourself."

The young man, Arlo, flinched under the gaze. He felt like he was being called out, as if those blue eyes penetrated his mind and read his thought. Indeed, Arlo had been thinking exactly that; feeling that their so-called duty was pointless, hating the fact that he couldn’t freely do what he wanted to do because he needed to abide by the clan’s rule, living as a servant of someone who might or might not exist.

"Young Master..."

"I’m thankful," Zein raised his palm, signaling that he still wanted to talk. "Your loyalty, I respect that. Perhaps if my life went differently, I wouldn’t mind it. But..." he paused, frowning slightly, before letting out a sigh. "I have no intention of becoming the head of a clan, or leading people I didn’t know of. Your loyalty lies with the clan, but I am not a part of that."

"You’re an Ishtera--"

"That doesn’t make me a part of the clan," Zein interjected. "I am as much of a stranger to you as Bassena and Logan here."

The Elder closed his parted lips, staring at the stern blue eyes that left no room for negotiation. Zein didn’t come here to negotiate after all, just to tell them his thought. He already said it during the last meeting, but he wanted to convey it again right now, maybe while trying to sound less like a jerk.

"I am not a part of the clan, so even if you want to maintain it, I will not take part in it--especially not as the head," Zein repeated, voice firm and gaze steady. In the next second, however, his tone softened a little bit. "I am not a part of the clan, but I am Alteroan’s son. So I will take his name as mine."

The Elder, as well as Senan, took a deep breath. While they were still struggling to accept that Zein had no intention to continue the Ishtera and the Templar’s legacy, the fact that Zein affirmed he was Roan’s son filled their heart with glee.

Staring at the calm surface of the blue eyes, Senan closed his eyes for a bit before responding. "I understand."

"Senan--"

"Elder--no, Uncle Boden," Senan looked at the old man, "We...we have no right to demand Young Master Luzein for that, for anything, because we have failed that day. The clan had failed, and the person we need to protect had to defend himself as a result."

The Elder’s lips quivered as the memory of that incident flooded his mind. His eyes caught the sight of Bassena Vaski, and he recalled the story the esper told them, about Zein’s life in the red-zone. And as he met the blue eyes, so familiar and yet so different, he couldn’t help but lower his gaze, clutching his cane tight to quell the pain in his chest.

"I...understand," he said quietly. The Elder took a deep breath and raised his gaze after a moment of silence. "What would you like to do with the inheritance?"

"I want to give out the shares of the company to you--"

"No, please don’t," the Elder interjected quickly, shaking his head with hardened eyes. "While I was the one who build the company, everything else--from the land, the building, and the capital--belong to House Ishtera, to Master Roan. We are but a caretaker, Young Master, and taking it would be a betrayal of Master Alrick’s trust."

Zein stared at the old man’s firm eyes. Just as Bassena had told him, these people--or at least the Elder--would reject it. It was weird, to think that he could find this kind of loyalty, even when the masters were already dead. Even when he basically said he’d abandon them.

But that was exactly why, Zein wanted them to be free. This...subservient--as someone who was treated as a slave for a decade, Zein didn’t like it.

"If the Templar is dismissed," Logan, who had been keeping his silence, suddenly spoke from the side. "The whole ninety-six percent belonged to the heir."

Zein leaned back and crossed his arms, tilted his head as he looked at the Elder and Senan. "If it’s mine, then isn’t that mean I can do anything I wanted to it?"

"That’s..."

"There’s a clause that said the profit from the company has to be used for the sake of the clan," Logan said, holding the copy of the will in his hand. The clause must be there to prevent any misuse of the fund, to avoid personal benefits, and to make sure the Templar kept on running to find Lucia and her son.

The Elder, who seemed to still hanging on a thread of hope that Zein would come to them, exclaimed loudly. "T-that’s right!"

"But Sir Zein has no intention to continue with the clan. As the new head, he had the right to dissolve the clan and the organization under it," mercilessly, Logan cleaved that thread of hope.

"O-oh, right..."

Essentially, whatever these people decided, Zein could just enforce whatever he wanted as the patriarch. But he told them to do it themselves instead of doing it forcefully. Zein had a thought to just forcefully disband them, taking away the fund which was his inheritance so they couldn’t function anymore. But that would be an insult to their loyalty, and Zein wasn’t black-hearted enough to attempt it.

"For the sake of the clan..." Zein muttered, the corner of his lips curled. The room grew silent as he tapped his fingers on the armrest, as everyone watching him in rapt attention. "Rather than funding an organization that had lost its purpose, I will divert the fund to something else."

"...yes?" the Elder and Senan replied in united confusion.

"If you are that adamant about giving me the money from your own hard work, I’ll turn them into something more useful," Zein said with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"In this district, there’s an agency dealing with trust funds, putting them to good use in helping other people," the blue eyes gazed out of the window, which, coincidentally, in the direction of the commercial district, the office of the Cornucopia Foundation.

"Ah..." Cohen exclaimed quietly.

Was that why--the reason they had this meeting in Neyta?

"I’m building an orphanage in the red-zone, but it doesn’t have to end up with just one program in one place," the guide continued.

Except for Bassena and Jock, everyone in the room widened their eyes in surprise, even Logan. He recalled then, that Zein had said he wanted to visit another place after this meeting, and it clicked in him where that place was.

Senan parted his lips and managed to speak after a few seconds. "Are you saying..."

"That account that you said belongs to me, I will use it to build a foundation, in the name of House Ishtera," Zein looked at Logan for confirmation. "Would that be possible?"

"Yes, it’s technically doable," Logan nodded and Zein turned toward the Templar’s members.

"What do you say?"

The youngsters--Cohen, Arlo, and Lisa--looked at the Elder. After all, they didn’t really have any say in this matter. The Elder was their ’acting’ patriarch, who made the decision in their household.

The one who replied first, however, was Senan: "Like you said, Young Master: it’s your inheritance. You may do what you please with it."

"And you?" Zein tilted his head. "Are you pleased?"

Senan blinked, staring at the piercing blue eyes. He knew Zein could just enforce his will. "My...thought shouldn’t matter, but..." but he also knew that Zein still asked them as a show of respect, and it brought a smile to his lips. "Yes, I’m quite pleased. Elder?"

He turned to look at the old man, who was still keeping his silence, only staring at the blue eyes and the beautiful face. The Elder felt his heart clenched at the man; a perfect blend of Roan and Lucia, even in the way he acted and think. That fierceness, however, was all his.

"I...I think Master Alrick and Master Roan would be glad, to have...the name of Ishtera immortalized in such a way," the old man finally said.

"Good, that settled, then."

Zein nodded, exhaling softly as he reached for the tea that Cohen had prepared, taking his time to give the other a chance to digest this upcoming chance. Logan, on the side, had already pulled out his tablet and typed something--probably making the revised version of the will.

"Ah, if you have any idea on what kind of program might be good to utilize the money, feel free to tell me or Logan," Zein put the cup down and glanced at the attorney, who put an okay sign nonchalantly.

"But what...what should we do now, if the Templar is no more?" the youngest, Arlo, suddenly asked. His boyish rebellious expression wavered into anxiety.

"What do you want to do?" the guide asked, blue eyes staring into his soul.

"H-huh?" Arlo stuttered. He had been wanting to get away from this so-called duty all this while, but when he was faced with freedom, he realized he actually didn’t know what to do.

"I can see that the older member have steady jobs on their own, like Mister police officer here," Zein pointed at Cohen with his thumb. "You’re an esper, surely there are a lot of things you can do, compared to the civilians."

The one who responded was the girl next to Arlo. "Can I--" Lisa almost yelled, before stopping and pressing his lips. When she opened her mouth again, the voice was filled with subdued excitement. "That foundation that you’re going to make, can I be part of it? I mean...can I work there too?"

Arlo looked at his cousin with widened eyes. The other adults also seemed to be surprised, as if they didn’t think the member of the Templar could have aspirations outside of the organization. It was then that Senan realized why Zein wanted to dissolve the organization, and why he asked for the youngsters to be included in the meeting.

With a calm smile, Zein gave his answer. "It’ll be helpful if there’s someone from this side keeping an eye on how the money will be spent."

Lisa pressed her lips again, as if trying to hold back from exclaiming. But it was clear from her clenched fists how excited she was.

"So," Zein shifted his gaze toward the senior members. "Do we have a deal?"