"Come back to New Eridu with me."
Geno had heard those words from Old Master Timefield just a few days ago. Back then, he'd assumed it was simply because Twiggy had struck some kind of deal with the Timefields. But the way Old Master Timefield was acting now — it seemed like there was a lot more to it than that.
"Grandpa Tim, what are you planning to do back in New Eridu?"
"Mm. Now isn't the time to tell you all that. But in short — now that the Ravenlock side has made contact with the rebel forces, this is no longer just a matter for the Timefield family alone."
Muttering things Geno couldn't quite follow, Old Master Timefield leaned on his cane and left the hospital room, steadied by the old butler Arnold.
Lucia and Yuzuha, who had been watching everything from the doorway, finally stepped inside to check on Geno and Alice.
"Geno, are you feeling better? Hali's already come around — she's still a bit weak, but she's awake."
While Alice had been keeping watch over Geno, Yuzuha and Lucia had been in the next room looking after Yidhari. And the good news was that, just ten minutes ago, Yidhari had regained consciousness.
"I'm fine. And it's such a relief to hear Hali's okay — if something had happened to her, I'd have spent the rest of my life feeling guilty about it."
Geno let out a long breath. Even if it had been the influence of the Filth, he was still the one responsible for Yidhari's injuries. Hearing she was alright, he finally felt the weight lift from his chest.
And with that, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and made to head next door.
"Hold on! The doctor said you're not supposed to get out of bed yet!"
Alice nearly jumped out of her skin seeing him move like that, terrified something else would go wrong.
"I'm fine, look — never been better." To prove his point, Geno flexed his bicep with a grin.
"Just stay put, will you? The doctor said Hali needs her rest. Don't go barging in and disturbing her."
Yuzuha was not about to let this disaster of a person anywhere near Yidhari, and she and Alice promptly formed a united front to block his path.
"Alright, alright. Let's talk about you, then — what exactly happened back there in the Hollow?"
Yuzuha steered the conversation, pressing Geno for information that even Old Master Timefield hadn't been told. After all, Yuzuha had been there herself — there was no keeping her in the dark.
But the whole thing was tangled up in so many threads that Geno wasn't even sure where to begin.
"Well... it's complicated. Basically, there was this thing, and then that other thing happened."
"'This thing and that thing' tells me absolutely nothing!"
Yuzuha's eye twitched. This guy — of all the times to start being evasive.
"Fine. Let me ask you directly: why did you turn into an Ethereal back in the Hollow? And why did you turn back?"
Her almond eyes bored into his face with unblinking intensity. Geno squirmed a little under the scrutiny — but after thinking it over, decided she deserved to know. They'd been through hell and back together, after all.
"Okay. I'm going to tell you something. Just... please don't freak out."
"Relax, I'm professionally trained. Nothing scares me."
Please. She was an expert in the bizarre and uncanny. There was nothing he could say that would faze her. The Cunning Hares had been running that long — what strange thing hadn't she seen?
"The truth is... I'm an Ethereal."
Nope. Hadn't seen that one.
"...For real?"
"For real."
"Holy Eth—mmph?!"
The moment Geno dropped that bombshell, Yuzuha's mouth flew open — and Lucia and Alice clamped their hands over it simultaneously before a sound could escape.
"Mmph! #%@#%!"
"What's she saying?"
"She's saying: did the two of you already know about this?"
Geno, calling on his modest talent for lip-reading, played translator for the muffled Yuzuha. The little rabbit and the little lamb both nodded in perfect unison.
Yuzuha went glassy-eyed behind the hands still covering her mouth — struck by the particular despair of being the last one let in on a secret among friends.
A secret clique! And she wasn't in it!!
It took the combined and sustained efforts of all three of them to coax her back from the depths of that wounded feeling.
"Geno! Do you plead guilty?!"
Me? Guilty of what?
Geno pointed at himself, completely bewildered, staring at Yuzuha with the blankest expression imaginable. What on earth was he supposed to be pleading guilty to?
"You — you deceived the feelings of an innocent young maiden! Are you even a person — no wait, are you even an Ethereal?!"
...Innocent young maiden. Her?
Geno said nothing. But Yuzuha could read the faint, unmistakable shade of contempt in his eyes.
She knew she was being a little unreasonable, honestly. But something this enormous — she had to have some outlet for her feelings, or what was she supposed to do with them?
Keep it all bottled up? Absolutely not!
"Anyway — please keep this to yourself. Though I suppose the number of people who know at this point is... not exactly small."
Geno thought about it, and realized that ever since leaving the Hollow, the list of people who knew about his Ethereal identity had been quietly but steadily growing.
Certainly not because of anything he'd done.
(Thought Geno, who simply could not help swooping in to save people and revealing himself every single time.)
"Oh! Hali doesn't know yet, does she!"
Yuzuha suddenly remembered — Yidhari had been unconscious. She wouldn't have found out.
Which meant Yuzuha wasn't actually the last to know!
Yes! The clique was letting her in after all!
"Actually, I do know."
A somewhat weak voice drifted in from the doorway. It was Yidhari, one hand gripping a support rail and the other braced against the doorframe. Her face was a little pale; she clearly wasn't quite back to full strength yet.
"What?! (O_o)?? When did you find out?!"
Yuzuha's world crumbled. This time it was real — she really had been left out!
She looked at the other three, indignation rising. She'd been first for everything — first to meet Geno, first to make friends with him, and Lucia too!
So how had Yidhari ended up knowing before her?!
"Don't misunderstand — I figured it out myself. And besides, my eyes had already seen it. That bearing of his... it gave everything away."
Yidhari explained, still visibly drained. The others quickly cleared a seat and helped her sit down.
And with that, everything was finally out in the open between them. Using Geno's identity as the unexpected bridge, the bonds between the group drew a little closer than they'd been before.
"Hmph! Secret club — and nobody told me!"
Yuzuha crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks — but the irritation had already gone out of her by then.
"Alright, Yuzuha. As an apology — how about we all go get ice cream together?"
Alice tucked herself against Yuzuha's arm, her voice soft and coaxing.
Yuzuha's expression brightened considerably.
"Hold on — Manato doesn't know yet, does he?"
Yuzuha suddenly thought of one member who hadn't been around for a while and hadn't been kept in the loop. At that, her expression shifted again — this time into something that looked suspiciously like glee.
Geno, sensing immediately that some mischievous scheme was brewing, moved to head it off.
"We'll tell him ourselves later. We trust Manato — he's solid."
Honestly, with everyone else already knowing, leaving just one person out felt strange. And Manato really was trustworthy.
After all, who could you trust more than a six-foot-four gentle giant whose chest muscles were bigger than a lunchbox?
____
👻🔥+40 ch: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Samsara Game: Starting in The Long Dark with My Waifus
Let's achieve our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 extra chapter for everybody