186: Reach for the Stars, Part Twelve

Reach for the Stars, Part Twelve

"Quite the interesting device," Erin said, leaning over Neve's shoulder and tapping her computer. "So, that woman disappeared? Can she still see you?" 

"No, not anymore." 

"Ah..." Erin's crimson irises left the machine and landed on Neve. The healer was still not terribly good at reading her emotions, but she could sense there were many things Erin wanted to say, or perhaps ask about, that she wasn't sure how to communicate. "You mentioned you're bad at handling attention. Is that true?" 

"Yeah," Neve nodded, leaning back a little. 

"Well, I take it this has been a consistent problem over the course of your life given that you carry such a face." 

Neve's lips remained parted but no words emerged. The lamia gave her a proud and victorious smile. Neve could almost see her repressing the desire to pat herself on the back for that one. 

Neve looked away quickly. Unable to handle the pressure those eyes were applying on her. 

"We should probably just go and keep training, right? Get a few more hours in before..." 

A warm, calloused hand fell over her own right. Neve inhaled sharply, shivers went up the touched arm sending a wave of chills down her body. 

[It's too hot all of a sudden. What's with this atmosphere?] 

"Surely, we can take a moment to relax, can't we? After all that hard work we've done today?" 

[Uh... If this was real life and there was no System, you'd be right,] Neve told her internally. [But, unfortunately, because our skills are so high, we haven't gained any points from today's training.] 

"We could do a bit more," Neve answered, keeping her eyes away from Erin. "I think-" 

In the middle of her sentence, the hand that wasn't resting atop her own went to Neve's chin and pulled her face toward the lamia, so she could speak while making eye contact. 

"Yes?" 

"..." Neve hesitated briefly. "I... think... we should... stay focused." 

"On what?" Erin quickly countered. "Your target died, Neve. You're not chasing after anyone anymore. Your oxygen isn't running out here. You don't risk letting anyone get away because you took a moment to relax with me. What is it you are afraid of?" 

Erin didn't quite seem to understand this, but to Neve, that question may as well have been a 1-ton boulder carelessly dropped on her lap. 

Her instincts, built up and reinforced through years of keeping walls around herself, told her to try to get away. To try to ignore her summon and just leave. 

But, after everything they'd been through, those walls just weren't quite there for Erin anymore. 

And that prompted a little bit of honesty to spill out from Neve's lips almost against her own will. 

"I'm not ready." 

Erin tilted her head. 

"Ah, is this about what you said before?" 

"Yeah," Neve nodded. "I'm, uh... Not quite there yet." 

A sympathetic smile was cast her way. Erin finally backed off. 

"Very well. But, do you truly want to get back to training? Perhaps you should lay down for a while." 

"No, no," Neve stood up, quickly throwing her Angel Set back on. "I'm ready now." 

"... Alright then." 

---

{One Day Later} 

{Charlotte}

"Are you sure?" Roxy asked as she stood next to Charlotte. The journalist had her hands in her pockets, standing up straight and staring up proudly at what rested in front of her. "I can't help but worry a bit..." 

"It'll be fine," Charlotte replied. "Besides, I can't exactly keep living with you forever, dear. I can finally start getting laid again!" 

Roxy rolled her eyes. 

Standing before them was the house Charlotte had just bought. 

See, Neve wasn't the only one who began getting donations over the last month. Thanks to her unofficial title as "the one who gets to talk to Neve", a lot of people had been donating to her as well recently. 

Not nearly as much, of course, but enough to make it so that she did not have to stay at her ex-girlfriend's place. 

"Those psychos are still out there... Are you sure that living alone is going to be okay?" 

"Who knows?" Charlotte shrugged. "Might be, might not be. But, living in fear isn't really my style." 

Roxy sighed. 

"Alright. Let me know if you need anything, alright?" 

"I will." Charlotte nodded solemnly. 

As the two of them parted ways, the journalist walked into her house. 

It was a cheap place. Just barely larger than a studio apartment, a quaint little yard, and a garden. But, it was far enough from the more populated parts of Starlight City that Charlotte could finally rest without having to sleep with one eye open. 

[The only person who knows I bought this place is Roxy. The Hidden Blade Guild shouldn't be able to find me.] 

On that note, Charlotte walked in. 

Locking the door behind her, she took in that new house smell as she walked over the wooden floor. 

One of the very few positive aspects of the Unity Trials was that the existence of the Inventory basically reduced any need to hire moving companies and the like. 

Charlotte just reached into her Inventory, plucked out a fridge, and placed it down. Then, she did the same with some counters, tables, her bed, some chairs, etc. 

Once she was done, the only sign that Charlotte had not been living there her whole life was that she had no coffee readily available, as she usually did. 

Looking down at her watch, though, Charlotte smiled as she saw she had something more important to pay attention to. 

She sat down in front of one of the tables and placed her laptop on top of it. As she turned it own, she typed a quick message to the healer who carried the hopes of the city. 

"Video call?" 

And, thankfully, Neve replied "Sure", once again. 

---

{Neve} 

The journalist appeared on Neve's screen. 

Neve's eyes briefly roamed down, looking at her outfit. Wearing a black turtleneck, some glasses, and her rose hair tied into a ponytail, she looked more like a stereotypical journalist today than she had any other day they'd spoken. 

"Salut," Charlotte greeted her.

"Hey."  2

"I... see you just got done training." 

Neve looked down at herself. 

[Oh. I'm sweaty as shit.] 

Pushing away some hair that had plastered itself onto her forehead, Neve answered: 

"Y-Yeah, I just did." 

"Heh. So, any progress?" 

Neve nodded. 

"Not much in the Floor, but... In terms of training? Yeah." 

Neve gave her stats a glance. 

Over the course of this day of practice, her Blade had gone up to 45. Surprisingly, Erin's Unarmed had finally also gone up as well, bringing it to 71. 

Minor steps, of course. Neve had a long way to go before her Blade could stack up to the challenges she was facing now, but she felt that if the plan she'd thought of recently worked, she may end up not needing it. 

Which, brought her to the matter at hand. 

"Charlotte." 

"Yes?" 

"Could I ask you to do something for me?" 

"What is it?" 

The journalist adjusted her position, leaning back with crossed arms. She was curious. 

"I need more donations," Neve said. "I found a way to get stronger, but... I need tokens in order to use it. I'm gonna stream later to ask people myself, but I wanted to see if you could help." 

"... Is that so?" 

"Yeah. Uh, let me explain..." 

At that moment, Neve proceeded to explain the basics of the {Reconstruction} Technique to her. How it worked, what she needed to sacrifice, and how she could grow stronger as a result.

"Really?" Charlotte asked once she finished. "Your {Fireball} spell does that much damage?" 

"Yeah," Neve nodded. "But, there's more I could do. And, uh, I'm kinda running out of items to sacrifice." 

Charlotte considered what Neve said for a while. Neve shifted in her seat slightly. 

"I would be happy to do so. You likely shouldn't expect the same number of donations as you've been getting so far, though. Things have... Intensified, as of late. So, a lot of people are using their tokens on themselves." 

Neve pulled back. 

"What?" 

"Outbreaks," Charlotte stated. "They were always common, but these days, they're happening every other hour. Lots of people are checking into hospitals, lots of people are buying equipment, and trying to prepare themselves, in case an outbreak happens right next to them. Things are quite intense out here." 

Admittedly, Neve barely heard any of that last part. Mainly, because as soon as she'd heard what was happening, she began to wonder about a different, but rather important question. 

Why? 

And, the first answer that came to her mind made her blood simmer. 

"Charlotte, can you do something else for me too?" 

"Heh, you're in a rather demanding mood~" Charlotte giggled quietly. "What do you need?" 

Neve breathed in. 

"I need you to track these outbreaks. Or, um, the... the spikes in activity. Can you do that for me?" 

Charlotte raised a brow. 

"Certainly." 

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