Chapter 13: Priceless Cost【P2】

Jiro

“No, nothing.”

He clicks his tongue, shaking his head slightly. “Whatever we have is history. Not much after—”

“Wait, isn’t everything in here hist—”

“—the Great Fruit Depression in the Third Generation is available. Where exactly was your source from again?”

“Oh, just... something I saw online. I hoped I could try one of those ‘famous’ kiwi drinks now that I’m finally on the island,” I shrug. “But it looks like I missed the boat.”

“That’s why they’re called rumors.” He shrugs higher.

“Thanks anyway, Rai—”

“Ryota.”

I knock against the counter with my knuckles. “Right, right. Good to know The Chronicle League is as reliable as my… other source said.”

“Yeah, sure, anytime.” His chair squeals across the floorboards as he stands. He heads toward the back room, tossing a wave over his shoulder. “Have a great evening!”

“Evening?”

Bells start tolling from somewhere beyond the wall. The deep chime draws my eyes to the windows, where the blue sky has already bruised into purple.

Sayoko

“Great, now you are both crippled and useless.” I point the ferrule of my umbrella right at Fukimi’s limping knee.

“Both?” Jerome asks beside her, his arms strain to anchor her upright.

“It was all worth it.” She sighs, leaning more of her weight against his shoulder. “I almost beat the reigning dance champion! You should have seen the look on her face in the final round.”

Shifting my weight, I watch beams from the disco lights behind them dance across the darkening sky above the lake. “But you guys are leaving so soon? The party looks like it is just getting started.”

“It’s actually a whole new crowd,” she pipes up. “Big groups just swarmed the entrance wearing these uniforms that—”

“Started?” He cuts in.

With his knees buckling under the weight, he dumps her unceremoniously into the dirt and straightens his stance.

A squeak flattens into a low groan on the ground.

Rolling his shoulder back, he continues, “We’ve been at it for hours! And where have you been? We waited around forever, even ordered drinks for you—”

Her hand rises between us from the ground. “Don’t worry, they were taken care of.”

“—Did your ‘business trip’ go international or something?” He steps over her, closing the gap. “You could have called! Or texted at the very least!”

“It could not be helped.” I lower my umbrella, poking her cheek. “This place has a tendency to form lines wherever I go, it was—”

“Sure, sure.” He bats away my words with his arms. “Hey, if you don’t want to be seen with us, then you should just tell us that—spares me the cost of a drink.”

“Jerome…” She props herself up, dusting the dirt from her knees. “I’m sure that—”

“No!” He chops a hand toward her. “This place isn’t like home where there are only three shops to look through. You don’t get to just disappear without a word and teleport back like nothing happened. If you aren’t going to communicate, why should I care?” He glares deep into my eyes.

“You’re right, Jerome,” I say, keeping my voice level beneath his stare. “This place is not like home. So do not expect me to start carrying the weight of your unprocessed emotions.”

“Sayo!” She flinches upright from the ground.

“Fine!” He pivots away. “Clearly, ordinary ‘business’ is beneath your royal schedule. Don’t want to be in her majesty’s way.”

“Jerome, please!” She grabs his shoulder, but her weak knee gives out.

He keeps moving, dragging her over the dirt as he plows ahead.

She twists her head back, eyes flashing a lightning strike at me.

Like a fencing sword, her free finger points right at my face. “You and I are going to talk about this later, princess!”

Her limp form dissolves into the crowd, though the phantom steam of their fury seems to trail over the moving bodies—any reason I had for staying here going with them.

I guess this is what they mean by being late to the party.

The upbeat bass keeps booming over the lake behind me in its ignorance, but fails to puncture the silence left behind.

Click.

I head in the opposite direction.

Alone.

* * * * *

Discover what happens next in: Chapter 13: Priceless Cost【P3】

Written by Limited_Infinity. Extras, official publishing platforms and updates are publicly available only on the Patreon page “_Limited_Infinity_”

To support this series, you can engage with it and rate it

* * * * *