Chapter 17:

Chapter 14 - Damn clues

Shadowed Love


“Seems like Catte picked the right book.” She commented as she flipped through the pages. “But also seems like they’re all not here.

It’s just the ‘fire of rage’.” She added, and went back to the page where she saw the ‘fire of rage’.

“Yeah, so we will have to search for other books. Lily, read that one for me.” Hazuka stood up and pointed to the book Lily was holding.

“Oksie, sir!” she saluted.

“Catte, come on.”

“Didn’t we already bring a lot of books?” I complained.

“Are you sure you are going to find all of the antiques in those books?” he asked sarcastically.

“Ahhh…. Hehe…” that’s just what I can say and scratched my head.

“Plus, the more the merrier.” He added and acted like he was excited.

Is this boy a book geek?

“It’s not merry at all.” I mumbled.

“What?”

“Hehe nothing.” I said and walked towards the other book sections.

“I know you just picked those books just because they have the word ‘ancient’ in them.” He approached me, talking about the books I brought earlier.

“Yeah, I mean, isn’t it connected to our topic?” I answered and I heard him sigh. I just laughed it off.

“What a work load.” He mumbled, but I still heard it.

“Whatever, Hazuka.”

I just got those books that have the word ‘ancient’ in them and an interesting title. I saw a book called ‘Ancient Places You Should Not Go To’ and immediately grabbed it. It must be connected to those antiques, you know?

“Here.” I placed all the books I'd brought onto the table.

“Woaahhhhh…. That’s some books, Catte. You going to read it?” she commented and looked up to me from the book. I brought about 10 books and they stood high on the table.

“Huh? No, I thought we were going to read it together?” I am confused. I thought we'd be going to read all those books together. I looked at the books Lily brought—only two!? What the fuck!?

“Hihi, yeah.” She answered and acted cutely.

“Uhhh…….” I stood there in shock for a while when Hazuka came and placed over 15 books on top of the table.

“What the fuuucckkk!!?????!?” I couldn’t stop myself anymore and cussed. This is driving me crazy. The librarian hushed me so I calmed myself.

“What?” Hazuka looked at me.

“T-that…. That many…. Book geek?” I asked while stuttering and with trembling hands as I pointed to the books he brought.

“Book geek? Who’s a book geek?” he asked back. I shifted my index finger, pointing at the books and to him.

“What are you talking about? We’re going to read this all together. Let’s suffer together, bitches.” He answered, then sat on his chair, leaving me speechless. I looked at Lily and she just smiled at me while equally distributing the books into three.

“So what did you find out?” Hazuka asked Lily.

“You won’t believe it.” She answered while staring into space.

“What?” he seriously asked.

“I found nothing.” She answered, then turned her gaze on Hazuka who was currently massaging his temple because of her answer.

“Just kidding, I know where it is.”

“Where?”

“I mean, not exactly, but just an idea.”

“That’s good, then.”

“Yes! Give me a head pat!” she said and clasped her fingers together.

“Where is it?” Hazuka asked, ignoring what Lily had just said.

“I won’t say it until you give me a head pat.” She acted childish and turned to the book to act like she was reading.

“I said where is it?” he firmly said and sat on his seat, not doing what Lily said.

“Oh, this is interesting!” she also acted like she saw something interesting in the book. She just wanted to ignore Hazuka.

“I said where is it, Lily?” Hazuka asked once again and it took me by surprise when he raised his hand toward Lily’s head and gave it a soft pat twice and caressed it.

Fuck, I feel like a third wheel here. These two act like they are a couple. Hey, I am still here, you know? Imma cry right now.

“It literally said ‘it is where the founder felt all kinds of emotions before she died.” She immediately said it after she got a pat in

the head.

“The orphanage?” I asked. Even though I look like a third wheel, I must still cooperate with them.

“Might be.” That was Hazuka’s short response.

“All right, I’ll take note.” I said and wrote our first guess beside the antique on a piece of paper.

“But where could it be?” Lily asked and skimmed the book.

“It’s an antique, so it must be where just a few people live.” Hazuka answered while looking at his left.

I don’t really know if he’s looking at Lily or at the book, but whatever. It is obviously obvious that he likes Lily.

“So where?” I asked.

“Catte, we all don’t know the exact location. That’s why we are looking for clues. Get a grip, man.” He said and I laughed on the inside because of how he roasted me.

I just continued on skimming through some books hoping to find more clues about the location of the other antiques.

“Oh, here it is! I got some clues!” I excitedly announced and, both of them looked at me.

“It said that the Dragon’s roar is just above the location of the ‘fire of rage’.” I said, and the both of them looked at each other before looking back at me and saying synchronously;

“The attic of the orphanage?”

“Might be. But did the alchemists seriously hide both of them there?” I asked them back.

“Is it not weird if they actually hid both of them there during experiment breaks when the palace is like 20 kilometers from there?” I added while alternately looking at them in the eye.

“You actually make sense. But we never know until we actually go there. Besides, we don’t know what they are thinking during that time.” Hazuka answered and held his temple with his right hand and his right elbow is also on top of the table beside the book while his left hand is partially on top of it too and he’s staring at the book like he’s thinking about it seriously.

“Yep, maybe they are planning on burning those two to death since the orphanage was already deserted at that time so there won’t be any damage in the palace.” Lily added and rested her head on top of both of her hands while her elbows were on top of the table while she was looking down at the book.

“However, we now have a lead, for the ‘fire of rage’, so I’ll take note of it first and let’s move on to the others.” I said and opened another book.

“Right.” Lily answered and also grabbed another book.

Hazuka placed the current book that contains the clue of ‘fire of rage’ on the other side so it won’t get mixed up with the others.

“This is so tiringggg…… I don’t want to do it anymore….” Lily complained after 10 minutes of reading.

I laughed and said while smiling, “this is what you signed up for, Lily.”

“Yeah right…..” she answered, then continued on reading the book while having a look of almost crying.

“Today’s Sunday, so it must be a rest day, right?......” she mumbled and read the book like an elementary student being forced to do their assignment.

“I have read so many books, why can’t I find one yet?...”

“Ugh… I want to go home…”

Lily just continued on mumbling to herself and it started to distract me and Hazuka.

“Hush, Lily. Just do your task so we can finish early.” He said while still looking at the book.

“But what if they’re not all here?” I asked, and looked at all the piled books on my left.

“Then Hazuka will find them all. Mwehehehehehe.” She answered me and grinned while looking at Hazuka teasingly.

“Where the fuck is your cooperation, guys? This is a bargain. We don’t know the exact location so we’re looking for clues. Don’t slack off on your work.” Hazuka sounded pissed when he said that. He looked at us with his tired yet angry face and furrowed eyebrows.

“I’m just kidding, Hazuka. Now I can’t joke around you anymore? Of course, we will not put it all on you, especially if Sir Varean trusts us all three.” Lily said and laughed.

We’re like a group of students who need to work on their thesis and one starts to get tired and pass their unfinished work to the leader and the leader is pissed at us for slacking. This takes back time when I was still in the human world.

Hazuka just clicked his tongue and continued on reading with a serious face. That’s what Lily and I did too. As time passes, tension builds up between us three as we all want to find the location of other antiques so we can finally rest at home.

“Uhm…. Hey guys… I found a clue about ‘mother Earth’s nature’… uhm, do you guys want me to explain….?” I hesitantly asked the two of them who were seriously reading and turned their heads on me with a slightly annoyed face like their precious reading had been disturbed.

“Huh!?” they both reacted in synch.

“Uhh….” I avoided eye contact and looked at my side without turning my head.

“Oh great! Tell us, Catte!” Lily replied with an excited tone.

“Ahhhhh…. Finallyyy…….” Hazuka sighed and stretched his arms a little.

“Uhm, it says ‘mother Earth’s nature’ is where humans and vampires parts but also where the war started.” I explained.

“Damn, is this still a clue or a riddle? We just wanted revenge, what is this hardship?” Lily complained and scratched her head furiously with an annoyed face. She cussed! Lily cussed!

“Huh?” Lily looked at me when she felt I was staring at her in shock. She laughed at me when she realized why I was staring at her.

“Come on, Catte. I am not some saint who’s always so pure. I also cuss like ‘shit’, ‘damn’, ‘fuck’, ‘asshole’. Something like that.” She literally cussed in front of me and smiled like an innocent child.

“Hey, Lily.” Hazuka called Lily’s name with his warning tone.

“And that’s why you don’t hear me cuss just any time.” She said, referring to Hazuka’s warning.

“But anyway, where do you think it is?” she changed the subject, looking at me and Hazuka.

“I don’t have any idea.” I replied and looked at Hazuka.

“Perhaps a barrier where humans and vampires are separated?” he replied and looked like he started to think about a place.

Seriously, Hazuka is our MVP here. He’s lifting our dumb asses.

I suddenly thought of a place and it blurted out of my mouth.

“The portal?”

“Portal?” Lily asked.

“Do you mean the portal to the human world?” Hazuka asked for confirmation.

“Uhm, yes?” I replied.

“Oh yeah, that makes sense.” Lily commented and her face cheered up a bit.

“I’m assuming you know where it is, Catte, because you came from there. But take note of it first.” Hazuka said and smiled lightly at me, which made me cheer up a bit.

“All right.” I replied and took note of it happily.

Now I have a contribution.

“So we’re only left with the ‘glass of time’, huh?” Lily asked herself, and we all looked at the remaining three books.

“Okay, the moment of truth…” Lily mumbled and we all grabbed one each and started reading.

As I skimmed the whole book, my eyebrows met closer and closer as I didn’t see any clues.

I quietly closed the book and looked at the two who also had the same expression as mine earlier.

“Uhm…..” we synchronously hummed and looked at each other and had the same blank and hoping expression on our faces. We are each hoping that even just one of us has read about it.

“Did you guys find it?” we synchronously asked each other again.

“Seems like no one found it.” Lily commented and held her head with both hands and looked like she would cry.

Meanwhile, Hazuka leaned on the backrest and looked up with his crossed arms and legs. He seems like he is begging to end this torture immediately.

“Ughh….” I groaned and rested my head on the book with my arms just hanging on both sides.

We stayed like that for a while until Hazuka sighed.

“Don’t give up everyone. Let’s grab two books each and if we still do not find it. Then that’s it, we will continue this tomorrow.” He said and stood up. Me and Lily also immediately stood up, thinking that we didn’t want to experience this kind of torture again tomorrow.

Unlike earlier, I grabbed books which I seriously think will help us find the last antique.

We’re all on our own now. It means that once we grab two books, we will return to our table and start reading them.

They were already reading when I arrived, so I also started.

To my unluckiness, I didn’t find any clue in the first one. The moment I closed the book, my eyes landed on Lily who looked like she was about to cry, covering her mouth in shock while still looking at the book grabbing at Hazuka’s sleeves. She looks like she can’t believe what she just saw.

“Hazuka…. Catte………” she called out our names.

Me and Hazuka both looked at her with a confused face but still hoping that she did find it.

“I….. I... finally found it…..” she said and looked at us with watery eyes.

“You did?” Hazuka asked for assurance.

“I did, Hazuka…. I can’t believe it…” she replied and showed the book to us.

“Huh? This is the ‘glass of truth’, Lily. Not the ‘glass of time.” I said with a face that looked like my hopes had been shattered.

“Huh?” Lily checked the book. Hazuka’s face became blank, looking at the page saying ‘The Glass of Truth’.

“Oh no, wrong page. This!” she turned the page backwards and the real truth, the real hope, showed up in front of us.

“Thank god!” I commented in happiness. Then Hazuka sighed in relief.

“I really am the great and mighty Lily!” she proclaimed as she smiled brightly.

“Kids, one more noise coming from you and I’ll kick you out.” We all flinched when a scary voice suddenly interrupted our rejoicing. It’s not loud yet, it’s scary.

I looked forward while Lily and Hazuka looked behind them. It’s the librarian.

“A-ah, sorry…” Lily apologized.

“We’re sorry.” I said, while Hazuka bowed slightly.

“Huh? The antiques?” the librarian asked when he unintentionally picked at Hazuka’s book when he bowed.

“Hm?” Hazuka turned to the librarian.

“You guys are a fool. Don’t you know that you cannot find the antiques unless they come for you? You’re all working hard for nothing. Those clues are all a scam.” He said and looked at us with pity and a slight mocking face.

“What……?” that was Lily, who looked at both of us.

“It will be much easier for us if they come at us on their own. But we know that it’s impossible, so we’re doing our best to solve the clues.” Hazuka answered the librarian with a serious face. Lily and I both nodded our heads.

After all our suffering and hardship, this librarian will only say that now? Whatever he said and the difficulties we’ll encounter in the future just to find it, we’ll definitely find it. We won’t give up now.

“All right. It depends on you. Good luck.” The librarian said with his benign smile and walked away.

“Uhm, so…. What does it say, Lily?” I asked her.

“Uhhh…’the person who accepted all their pasts will have it. However, even they have no clue that they have it.’ That’s what it says.” She replied then had a confused face. “So someone already has it?” she added, with a question.

I got confused. Not because it said someone already has it, but because Hazuka is smirking.

“It’s no problem. We just have to focus on finding the other three.” He said, trying to stop his smirk.

“Okay then. That’s what you said.” Lily replied and closed all the books but still left a bookmark on where we found the clues.

“Should we take this home or no need?” she asked.

“I believe Catte has already taken note of it all, so no need.” Hazuka answered and peeked at me. I gave him and Lily a thumbs up to confirm what Hazuka said.

“Okay. Finally…” she sighed in relief while taking out all the bookmarks.

“Should we all return this together or we’ll separate the books?” Lily asked when we'd been heading to the books section.

“Why separate it?” I asked her back.

“The enemy might be spying on us, you know?” she whispered and slightly looked around.

“Separate it. Make sure it’s hard to find.” Hazuka interfered and answered Lily’s question.

In the end, we placed all the books separately where they would camouflage with the others.

“Oh shit, it’s 7:30!?” Lily asked when she looked at her phone. “Come on, let’s have dinner!” she pulled me and Hazuka by the hands and we went to where we ate lunch.

After that, Lily insisted on accompanying me to the apartment with Hazuka. I refused but she still insisted, so I just let her. I think they immediately left when they saw me entering the apartment.

I also texted the group chat if they came home safe and they said they’re alright, so I rest assured.

It’s already 10 o’clock so I slept because I still have classes for tomorrow.

--

“Ugh….” I groaned and grabbed my phone on the bedside table.

8….

8:30!?

I immediately stood up and wore my uniform and grabbed my bag.

To hell with taking a bath!? I’m already late!

I just washed my face and sprayed a lot of perfume before running to school.

continue next chapter~