"What the fuck? You fucking lied to me, yo! You—you—you saw me having a shitty time dealing with this fucked-up shit, and you never had the conscience to—you know what? Maybe I should become a human and help this much younger guy not go through the fucked-up shit I manipulated him into agreeing to. You are fucking disgusting."
It was 1 in the morning.
Zaire had just returned to Brew Lane.
Without wasting a second, he immediately dashed toward Amelia's residence.
There, oh, he spammed the doorbell.
He was furious.
A part of him even wanted to break in.
Of course, he wasn't that far gone.
He waited for Amelia to open the door. And he blurted everything out, all at once, when he saw her face.
Amelia, half asleep, groggily rubbed her eyes.
Ah, what now!
"Are you tripping balls, Zaire?"
Zaire immediately rustled through his pocket.
There he found the receipt that infuriated him—Nala's letter.
"You fucking lied to me. The contract is void. I'm fucking off from here. I couldn't care less what Messiah does to you. Deal with him yourself. You're more than capable. I'm out."
The incessant scolding helped Amelia come to her senses quickly.
Getting her vision back, she peered at the letter.
Oh fuck, it's night.
"Boy, it's too dark to read. Come in. Your maddening screaming might wake others up."
Zaire stood stunned.
What the fuck is wrong with this lady? I'm fucking leaving.
"Boy, stop. This isn't a fucking contract in a civilized 'society.' Nothing is void here. Contracts are fucked up, and those who sign them deal with it. So hurry, come on in. Don't put shit at risk."
Zaire had thought about this outcome.
That's why he'd threatened to leave rather than outright leaving.
But getting such a cold confirmation was nonetheless excruciating.
My life is on the line for absolutely nothing now... Fuck!
*****
Sitting on a sofa, the room lit with lights, Amelia read the letter's contents.
Nala had seemed like a meek child to her. Such proactive action by someone like that impressed her.
I seldom read people wrong. Good girl.
"Your girlfriend really is good. What's that saying? Good ones find the good ones..."
"..."
"What? You don't know either... Anyway, bad for her to spy on my conversation. She'll attract bad juju."
"... You really agreed to let Messiah have his way with Nala?"
"Yeah. I did. Why?"
"No, genuinely—what the fuck is wrong with you? You fear him, yet you send an innocent to him unflinchingly?"
"And?"
"... You really are fucked up. And thank you—now you've successfully fucked me over."
"You're welcome, haha."
"..."
"Zaire, I did turn a blind eye to Messiah wanting to fuck Nala. What else was I supposed to do? He was paranoid about you. He was blabbering on and on about how a normal man could beat such a beast. He was tweaking. He wanted some pussy. I wasn't going to put myself in a spot where I'm threatened, now was I?"
"..."
"Wrong answer. The right answer is 'no.' Absolutely not. So let Messiah do what he wants. I stay ten feet away, safe and sound. And by the way, fuck you—I saved you. Messiah wanted to kill you. I talked him out of it... by sacrificing Nala, haha."
Amelia snickered, and Zaire closed his eyes. He was feeling a bit hopeless.
Zaire threw his head back. Looking at the whitewashed ceiling, he started to zone out.
Seeing her distressed partner, Amelia rolled her eyes.
Standing up, she offered,
"Alcohol, weed, drugs, me. Seek anything, and you shall receive."
Zaire looked at Amelia's coy smirk.
Maybe she deserves Messiah... Fuck, I can't think like that. I'm better than that.
"Some weed, please."
"Okay, sir..."
*****
"You roll well."
"..."
"C'mon, boy, accept compliments."
"..."
"Haha, cutie."
Amelia was resting on the couch with a glass of red wine. Her feet were propped up on the table.
Zaire, almost robotically, was crushing the grass and making the rolls.
Sealing the second roll, he lit it up.
Tsuu...
Inhaling the first drag, he relaxed his body.
He was thinking about Nala, his father, Quill, Kristoff, and all the other people he considered dear.
He was worried, and he was scared.
Yo, Bot.
[YES.]
I'm Level 2, right?
[YES, YOU ARE.]
I can easily kill a Level 2 beast, right?
[THE DIFFERENCE IN LEVELS IS APPARENT NOT ONLY IN STRENGTH BUT ALSO INTELLIGENCE. YES, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH A LEVEL TWO BEAST. BUT THE 'YES' IS NOT CONCRETE, AS BEASTS ARE NUANCED.]
Buddy, you're hopeless.
[I AM SORRY FOR MY INCOMPETENCE.]
Oh man, sorry, bro. I didn't mean it like that. You're good, bro.
[THANK YOU.]
Hehe... I'm an idiot.
Zaire had made up his mind.
Looking at Amelia, who was eyeing him hungrily, Zaire declared,
"What were my conditions in the contract?"
"Kill Messiah and protect me, till death do us part."
"You'll fail your part of the contract regardless."
"Kill Messiah, then I'll tell you where Nala is. That's what I said."
"You still don't know where she is."
"Yeah, I couldn't care less about this skill, baby. You kill Messiah and I lose my skill. That's what I'm going for."
"And once the contract is void due to your failure, I don't need to fulfill the other condition, right?"
"... Hehe, why would I tell you that?"
Zaire no longer cared about Amelia's sneaky behavior.
He had made up his mind.
Standing up, he announced,
"Bring me vodka, whisky—whatever you have. I'll kill Messiah right now. I'll need to be just-before-wasted because I'm scared. After that, fuck it, we dip."
Amelia beamed. Raising her glass, she cheered,
"Cheers to that! We are coming, Teal City!!!"