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Chapter 5** : Discoveries and Returns**

Surprisingly enough, there was something off about that breakfast setup.

Even though it's been just four days since I've been living at Las Lindas, I knew for a thing that the presence of both Diana and Randal by the kitchen was something common, if not always happening.

The woman would be reading quietly her newspaper while asking some questions either to me or to her son, engaging in mostly simple topics about the happenings at the farm or what was going on in town.

It certainly didn't help when the conversation would shift to a very curious interest of the lady, Minos having caught her interest from the first time he came to help me up with the crates I had to take back to the nearby settlement.

She would question some of his physical attributes, never lingering 'too much' over more-scandalous elements, but also inquire over his personality and the reasons that brought him to town.

This last one was kind of a routinely asked one, the woman showing palpable intrigue about the incredibly simple motivation that had the Bull Prime to come of this 'forsaken' bit of the Gossamer Region.

I wasn't adept in 'current' Geography, but I was skeptical over this almost-rabid curiosity of 'unraveling this mystery'. Since my knowledge of of Minos was limited to the interactions I had from our first encounter to now, I kind of failed to see why one wouldn't want to pick this place to spend some time to 'rest and think'.

I could only guess that the man had important connections, the strongest hints being how he managed to get a place to live in and all the expenses to pay all 'solved' by this enigmatic friend of his, and how this new individual he was somehow connected to, Naerie, had access over people's information and was legally capable of truly research on my strange predicament.

But while I had my fair share of questions regarding the Bull Prime, I wasn't that much threatened by his personality and character. At least not as much as Diana was.

It wasn't something she had said, but rather something I had seen in her eyes and face while we were chatting over this particular topic.

Randy would be silent most of the time this argument was brought up but… he would always be the one to break the conversation when things would end up turning odd for the woman.

She would adopt this aimless expression, her green eyes blankly at the table or at the paper in her hands as if in deep thoughts.

The Collie was crafty in the derailing attempt, either pointing out her interest was more physical than else. The accusation would be met with a bright smile as her cheeks would sport a proper blush in that cheerful turnaround.

What would follow would be a brief mirthful exchange between the two, in which I would throw a minor comeback or two, preferring to let the two banter in that friendly matter… as I analyzed what had happened.

It was an odd situation that… I had trouble to pinpoint its cause. Maybe it had to do with her daughter? Or could it be her husband?

While Randy was adopted, Mora wasn't and there had been not even a single mention of the young woman's paternal parent. It was a big possibility, but I held myself from asking as I knew that the ill effects it could cause to ask about this so suddenly wouldn't… be pleasant to deal with.

My distracted mind finally snapped back to reality as a particularly-spicy slice of bacon entered my mouth. My hand quickly went to the nearby glass of water and I took a sip or two from it.

Sighing, I noticed that Randal was now cleaning his own plate and Diana's share of the breakfast had yet to be touched. I frowned and tried to recollect if the older Prime had come to even greet that morning but...

I've yet to see her around the house.

“Randy?" I called out quietly, the Collie pausing just a moment as he cleaned his fork and knife, only an eye directed at me. “Where is Mrs. Linda?" My question was met with a sheepish smile before the young man returned to the chore.

“Oh? Mom had to go to the bathroom." He hummed calmly. “I guess she decided to have a bath." He finished, his attention now fully taken by his plate.

I stood up from my seat. “Her breakfast is going to get cold. I can pass and tell her that." I suggested, getting only a distracted nod from the Collie.

Blinking, I walked out of the kitchen and started to make my way to the door that led to the bathroom. My ears caught water running, but it wasn't… the bathtub.

I paused, eyes narrowing at the door as I pressed my ear over the surface and then knocked. “Mrs. Linda, breakfast is turn-ing cold?"

The door opened slightly as I softly knocked at it, hand retreating as my eyes widened at the water rushing out of the room. Without hesitation, I opened the door with a worried expression as I did recognize that the noise really wasn't from the tub, but from the sink.

It was over-flowing, water slowly dripping from its edges. Then my sight turned at Diana and panic exploded outwardly at what I was looking at.

The woman was crouching with her back pressing on the nearest wall, trembling in complete pain as she held her right arm close with her left one. Her teeth were gritting, holding back any noise trying to dignify the excruciating torture she looked to be in that moment.

I moved before speaking, but my lips managed to call erratically for Randy as I rushed to help the Cow Prime. I was hesitant in getting her up, unsure where exactly the pain was coming from and then… I noticed the strange marks in her right arm.

At first sight, I would have taken these as simple tattoos, something quite odd to find the woman to have, but then I noticed that those were… too prominent to be a product of mere ink.

My hand went to unroll the partially moved sleeve and… I touched the furred skin. I went still as I felt a sudden wave of cold grip at my chest, my entire body suddenly having trouble to actually move from that pose.

Green eyes widened a little more as her sight locked onto my frame, Diana seemingly noticing my presence now and she slowly calmed down, her trembling starting to subside and… she fell forward.

I was quick enough to catch her before she could have dragged us both down but I soon realized that I felt a little winded from what had just happened. My breathing was a little labored but I still managed to get her up from the floor while helping her to stand up.

I heard a quick gasp as Randal had finally arrived, the Collie went to quickly help me up with his mother, going to one of her sides as I went to another, pulling her arms over our necks as we slowly took her back to her bedroom.

Diana was still unconscious as she was put back in her bed, incredibly tired from the look plastered on her face. And while I was giving my greatest effort to keep the utter confusion running in my mind, I couldn't help but blink quickly and still appear a little tense.

The marks- Why those reacted like… that?!

Before I could think more about it, maybe as I slowly started to relax once again, I felt a hand patting my shoulder and I glanced at the uneasy look on Randal's face.

“I think we need to talk about this..." He said with a nervous tone.

Moments later, we were sitting by the kitchen's table once more, the Collie looking quite somber for whatever revelation he was trying to give me. I didn't pressure him to talk, knowing that it had to do with what had just happened.

And since it was his mother we were going to talk about, I decided to let him have the time to think before explaining.

He sighed calmly and nodded to himself. “There is a reason why I've decided to not tell you what was mom's sickness." The Prime began, his tone quite soft and slow. “Her conditions could be seen as a taboo for our culture, the Prime culture." He paused, glancing at the table as he tapped once the edge.

“The marks?" I pointed out with some hesitation, making him tense just a little.

“A telling sign of her unique situation." The young man answered. “The traits of a failed attempt to be turned in a Narakhan." Another pause, more confusion for me as I didn't recognized the term used.

Narakhan, why did it feel so… wrong to even think about it?

“Mom never said when did this happen, nor who tried to turn her into that, but she has been suffering for the negative effects of the failed attempt for a long time now." Randal admitted with a frown. “The symptoms aren't a novelty for these cases but… there isn't a clear cure to it."

...What?

“No cure-"

“People either recover from it with time or by sheer luck." The Collie interjected, almost hissing at the interruption. “But the chances are good only when treatment is started by the time the first signs are noticed and… mom's treatment has been going just for six months now."

He stopped to talk, possibly to give me time to fully understand his words.

The illness was… unexpectedly worse than I had thought it to be early on. Certainly not something from 'my' world, but possibly one of the worst I've heard about.

“Randy-"

“The moment I learned about mom's conditions, I was there to help where I could." He pointed at the sink behind him. “House chores, working at the farm and even keeping a cautious watch over mom's situation."

He blinked, eyes half-closed. “I've even tried to call Mora, tried to at least get some more help but- I couldn't find her anywhere. Always moving, hardly stopping more than once and she has my phone number blocked." His voice cracking a little and sighed at the plight Randal had to endure.

I had expected some stress by the incredibly tiring situation, but to this extent? I admit I should have given a little more attention to it. He was giving his hardest to make sure that everything was fine but…

Nothing was going to be fine forever.

Yet I couldn't certainly let this predicament continue now that I was aware of it and… I nodded.

“Then I guess you will have to tell me how to help you." I replied quietly, my words trailing a little in the silence as his brown eyes widened just a little at the suggestion and he started to shake his head negatively.

“No- Look Matt, I know that you want to help and all but-" He tried to deter me but I was already interrupting him with a sigh.

“I know that you don't want to cause problems to me, Randy, but I can't certainly let you deal with the burden alone." I said with a stern tone. “I understand your politeness, but I can't just have you deal with this without some proper help. Once I'm back from the Market, I will help you around before I have to do my job for the farm."

There was some visible hesitation at my determined words, but the Collie was quick to concede and… he asked just for some 'minor help' rather than a full-fledged equal distribution of chores for this case.

I would have asked for more burden, which was quite contrasting with my need to rest, but doing this for Diana was but just a little sacrifice.

With that situation settled and with more questions to ask to Minos himself, I went to prepare myself for my usual walk to work with the Bull Prime.

In the mean time, Randy spent half of his time keeping an eye on the still-sleeping woman while the rest was devolved in the remaining chores around the house.

Closing the entrance door behind me, I greeted the ever-punctual Minos with a nod as we both walked towards the small carriage, ready to start another day at the Farmer's Market.

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If there is something that Minos always found quite interesting about humans, it was their capacity to display a vast array of emotions in a single expression oh their faces.

In fact, it was something that was quietly entertaining him as both he and Matt walked to the local town from the farm where he was currently working for.

The young man was showing confusion, sadness and minor distress, something that was born from something that had happened prior to their meet-up.

It wasn't just in the way he was looking at the road in front of them, but also in the slow but good pace he had taken, the way his shoulders were sagging a little lower than usual and how he was distracted from the path forward multiple times.

Matt was still attentive enough to give his own to pull the carriage, maybe a solid 30% of their combined efforts, and that was more than enough for him to not call out this strange behavior.

The human was odd, very trustworthy but also genuine in his ways. Something that made Minos glad to have him actually found someone like the young man.

Very polite, but also informal when possible with those he deemed his friends, the Prime was more interested on him because of his personality rather than because of his unique situation.

The circumstances that led him to suddenly appear in Gossamer were indeed worth of looking for and with Naerie taking the lead for the investigation, a speedy process was the only conclusion to this curious situation.

Ambar's daughter was quite the hard-worker, having been responsible for a majority of improvements to her mother's flawed designs.

Even the High Prime was keen to leave mistakes around, mostly willingly as she knew that someone capable, like her eldest child, was going to fix masterfully.

Still, the former member of the Empire had a simpler reason to stick around the normal and incredibly calm individual and that was his overall social attractiveness.

Not of the romantic kind, but rather connected to the fact that the young man was unconsciously a magnet for lonely people like the Bull Prime.

Minos being the first and Taffy, the waitress at the bar, being the latest.

It wouldn't be shocking to him that more people were going to tag along this quiet train, just for the sake of escaping the endless madness happening all around them.

A calm sea within a turbulent ocean of trouble, developments and (un)lucky happenings.

Yet it wasn't that much of a surprise to see why they were both hovering around him. He was 'unique' enough to stand out from the usual crowd of people in the town, but also relatively quieter and more soothing than anyone there.

Matt was relatively harmless, very perceptive and a good talker to have around just for the sake of living an entertaining but safe day.

There was no particular reason to be worried of being pulled in some crazy situation with him around, differently from his previous experiences with Geecku, Ambar, Kayin and the other members of the former crew.

Not that he disliked having them around but… even Minos had some limits to the insanity that ensued with the 'fun' bunch.

Only Grace proved to be the only one able to give him that kind peace, to a degree far higher than anything Matt could provide to him.

The woman had been his light to shed some of the confusing bits of Neo-Earth, but now that she had a family it wouldn't have been proper to disturb her for little things.

It's been three weeks now since she had last spoken to her.

The kind woman was now married and dealing with her growing children, two lovely daughters that were going through two different yet similar path of lives and it was high time for someone like him to stop to pester her around with his own insecurities over the world's unknown elements.

That's possibly why Matt managed to get him interested in his conversations. It was just so peaceful and lacking the slightly annoying quirks of some of his friends.

It was a little breath of air away from the craziness he was so accustomed too.

But much to his blissful ignorance, that calm was going to abruptly end moments later as the young man was going to ask him quite the… explanation from him.

“Minos, can I ask you something about… what you told me yesterday?" The human suddenly asked, his tone being rather… nervous. “It's a term I caught in a book I was reading this morning and… it didn't expand much on the book itself. I think it's kind of a bad word but-"

“Just ask." Minos sighed calmly, a tiny smile on his face. There wasn't much that could seriously get him that scandalized and even then he-

“What are… Narakhans?" Matt's tone was quiet, yet Minos could discern some minor nervousness about it. And for good reasons.

The Prime flinched at the unpleasantly familiar term, having been aware of it for most of his first two decades of his life. How could he forget about a problem still hurting the world even now?

It was good enough for him that Gossamer was void of scums of that kind.

He sighed. “The still-present scourge of humanity and the Prime race." His voice was sporting just a glimpse of uneasiness, unwilling to give up too much information about this specific issue because of the risk of offering hints about his real nature. “Descendants of the last loyal servants of the Emperor, still living with the hope of bringing him and his rule back."

His mind was bringing up some unwanted memories of his past and thus he cut the explanation short.

The human blinked, a confused look now dominating on his face. “But how does one discern a Narakhan from a Prime?"

The maniacal sense of devotion and faith to the Emperor? A penchant to commit the most heinous crimes for the sake of a laugh?

“Black marks." The Bull Prime replied quickly. “The natural evidence of their corruption by the taint of those defying the Gods' gifts and turning to the darkest depths of their souls."

He could still remember when he would lead squadrons of loyalists against the Knights, against the Crests.

He could still remember being butchered by Ambar in their first encounter.

Minos hoped that this topic was going to be shelved now, the edge in his voice hopefully being more than enough to discourage any-

“So they are just born from other Narakhans? Shouldn't they have died out if their community was limited to that-"

“Matt." The Bull interrupted with a stern tone. “Explaining this already requires an immense amount of trust and effort, this isn't a pleasant subject." His red eyes stared strongly at the young man. “Do you wish to voice the real reason behind this sudden interest of yours?"

At the fierce request, the human tensed a little, his eyes turning away for a brief moment before giving a wide-eyed surprised look. “W-What?" He asked weakly, trying to appear clueless to the fact he hadn't hidden that well the intrigue over the Narakhan's culture.

“You aren't the kind of person that linger over these topics." Minos pressed on. “There is something that urges you to know more about this and… Matt, I hope this isn't anything dangerous-"

“N-No, no." He shook his head furiously, a panicked look on his face. “It's just that..."

A sigh left his lips and he nodded. “This is… something I wish that stays quiet. So if I tell you-"

“Nobody will know." Minos assured quickly. “I can promise you that."

Another nod and then Matt started to explain about the conditions afflicting the owner of Las Lindas.

At first the Prime was surprised to learn about the fact that the sickness the woman was suffering from was 'that' one, especially since he knew full-well that botching that dangerous transformation was an incredibly rare feat.

In the past it was easy to ignore those things, people hardly trying to turn to the Narakhan, especially with how extreme their culture was back then…

But now the process was more common than before the end of the Empire as the newer generations had taken a more moderate approach about everything, especially the integration of 'newcomers'.

Yet there was something off about the story he had just listened to… and about lack of clues regarding the possible culprit behind the sickness.

“I'm sorry to ask but are you aware of the main requirement that a turning needs to truly happen?" Minos inquired calmly, the town was nearby and thus it was good to conclude this conversation quickly.

“That you need to be a… Prime?" The young man guessed, getting a 'no' from the Bull Prime much to his annoyance. “Okay no, I don't."

“The process requires that the unturned partner… to be willing to take part in the attempt." The man replied calmly. “Their souls need to be laid willingly for the taint to take over. Will and determination for the process to happen are a must for this to truly happen."

He almost tripped at hearing this, his eyes shooting wide open at the discovery and… then he sobered up quite swiftly.

“I-Is that so?"

Oddly even.

“Yes." Minos confirmed quietly. “But I advise you to keep silent about this with the other people in town. Even Taffy." He specified the Bunny Prime, unsure that the girl knew or not about that specific and 'antiquate' subject of their culture.

The human nodded slowly and soon they were walking through the settlement's gates. And while his curiosity had been satisfied, the Bull Prime knew that the young man was now going to deal with the newly-acquired knowledge, to struggle and doubt about what he had until now.

But knowing that Matt wasn't the usual man was more than enough to put Minos at ease. If there was something that the human was good at, was fighting himself while searching for _ his truth _.

Still, with this little opening to the day, there was something that was sure to the Bull Prime now.

_ This wasn't going to be the usual day, it would seem. _

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This wasn't-

This couldn't be possible. Maybe she had been hypnotized to willingly lay out her soul? Maybe there is some spell that could force people to compliance and do this but-

What if there wasn't truly an excuse? What if Diana had tried to be turned in a Narakhan and… she couldn't for some reason?

It was surreal to even consider the woman willingly go and become one of the most hated aspects of Prime society. She was just too genuinely kind to be truly capable of this and… there has to be another reason!

My inner struggles were safely kept away from Minos as we started to prepare the stand with the products from the farm. My worries lingered for a long time, even while I focused on selling the vegetables I still felt that nagging sensation of something missing from the context.

Something important, something that… could really help me with proving her innocence before my eyes-

But what if she wasn't? What if she was 'guilty'?

Would it truly matter if sometime in the past she tried to do that horrible- actually, was it truly terrible?

My knowledge regarding this taboo part of their culture was incredibly biased, because no matter how impartial Minos could sound he couldn't be that much experienced about those to the extended degree I required, and without a more objective point of view I was left to deal with some troubled judging before he returned back home.

Would she be angry if she learned that now he knew too? Would she yell, would she scowl, or would she just shrug at it?

The last one oddly enough felt fitting for the woman he knew but… did he knew her that well?

Randal trusted her, she was his mother, but what was she to me?

_ Your savior? _

I felt my brain reply with sass and with a reasonable motivation too. She did take me inside her house, gave me a place where to sleep, to eat and… where to live.

If Diana had truly wanted to cause harm to me, she would have had enough opportunities to do so. In fact, these examples actually ended in the best outcome for me… always.

She actually lost some of her peace by 'hiring' me to her farm and I knew that such a decision was driven by heart rather than any shady plot-twist around the corner.

The woman looked just too tired to be really hiding something about her mannerism and slowly I was seeing how the Bull Prime's words were influencing me in the worst way possible. Not that Minos was meaning it, but I was seriously letting his depiction of the 'clan' get to my head a little too easily.

Diana wasn't a Narakhan, thus that shouldn't be a problem to begin with. She was a lovely lady that had the heart to pick someone like me, a complete stranger, and give me a chance at life.

It felt so… impossible, yet I was granted another try at things. Was it the best? No, but this was the real world, not certainly a Game where people could just do whatever they wished to do at a mere snap of fingers.

And having issues about trust? The only problem was that she was giving me too much of hers, if I have to be honest. Almost five days here and I was like some worker that had been here for decades and… I felt like it was just so unbelievable.

Any secondary purposes behind her kindness? Nothing that could work better than blackmailing me.

She knew what my real name was and she had been very secretive about it around Randy. Nobody in town considered me with my original name, those that knew me addressing me with just 'Matt' or 'Mr. Newcastle', thus the woman didn't tell any of her 'friends' there about my situation, or at least to that extent.

It took me twenty minutes or so to finally give my fullest attention to the shop process and… I managed to avoid getting entangled by those thoughts while at the job.

People were buying, the crowd of clients was a little bigger than last time and thus the work-day ended an hour earlier than last time.

Everyone was satisfied, the money gained was going to help a lot in the careful budget of rebuilding the farm and fix the debts still lurking from the bank's deep pockets.

Minos had been quite happy to accept my attempt to divert the topic to the usual calm and normal series of things that had been happening around town and I was mostly out from my inner conflict… when I tall woman making her way to the stand.

She was a Cow Prime, but differently from Diana her fur was white with black spots. Even some of her locks were black compared to the rest made by white hair. She was wearing a sleeveless pink shirt that showed part of her cleavage, not too much thankfully, and a pair of yellow short pants.

A pair of sunglasses rested on her head as she went to greet us both. “Good morning and… I see that you are already closing up?" She paused, blue eyes noticing that we were indeed starting to pack the stand up.

“Yes, today we sold everything quickly and we are closing because… we don't have anything else to offer." I replied with a small smile. “I'm sorry if you-"

“I am not here to buy anything." She admitted with a sigh. “Only trying to see how this little stand was faring today and… I see it's doing more than two days ago." She commented with a strange tone.

“Thanks. It's mostly the good quality of the products and the trust of the clients to those rising." I hummed quietly while picking two more crates and setting them on the chariot.

The woman blinked and then stared quietly… at me?

She leaned on the stand, her head tilting a little on the side as a small playful smile was on her face.

“It has to be quite difficult to go at this pace." Her voice was soothing. “I can only guess that you work really hard to bring those results in." Her eyes narrowed lovingly at me and… I sighed.

“Look, I know what you are trying to do and… I'm not that kind of guy." I interrupted with a flat tone, making her unbalance a little and almost lose her focus on standing by the wooden structure. Her eyes widened but I continued before she could speak back at this.

“I don't know for whom you work for, but I can tell you that I have to decline whatever offer you have." I said quickly. “I don't wish to lift any senseless hopes as I've obligations to-"

“Diana Linda." She interjected calmly, then she sighed. “Yes, I know about your commitment to Las Lindas, Mr. Newcastle, but I wish to address the fact that I'm not here to recruit you… rather I wish to know what kind of person you are." The woman revealed with a small smile.

I blinked. “What?"

“Your Curriculum Vitae can offer just so much about your true self, Matt." The woman continued, her tone shifting to something a little… serious, business-like. “So I decided to see by myself if there was truly a 'moral obligation' you hold toward Las Lindas." She sighed at the end of the explanation, her hand stretching towards me.

“I think I should properly introduce myself. I'm Alejandra Coldthorn, CEO of Alexandria Dairy." She greeted again and… I recognized the name from the last few days.

“_ I'm Tootsie Roswell and I'm a close confident to the current CEO, Alejandra Coldthorne." _

I blinked, my hand slowly going to shake hers. “Matt Newcastle- and you are Tootsie's Boss?"

The blunt question was more than enough to have her composure stumble once more, this time an annoyed sigh was followed by some words. “She did present me too, didn't she?"

From her tone and her groan, I knew that this was a common situation with the blonde Mouse Prime.

“Only as a mean to better recruit me." I admitted with a nod. “But she was fairly convincing-"

“But her efforts were wasted if you are truly inclined to continue to work for Las Lindas." She pointed out with a sigh. “She can be very persuasive but-"

“She didn't go overboard, if that's what you are alluding at, Ms. Coldthorn." I interjected with a smile. “Still, I don't understand why you of all people would come here and-"

“Just wanted to visit Gossamer." Her tone was tense as she interrupted me while I was making that question. “This place… I grew up here for most of my childhood." She assumed a nostalgic edge to her words. “It's impressive how things hardly change here compared to the urban life."

“It's part of its charm." I replied happily, a smile plastered on my face. “I guess that there isn't any of the quick pace that only cities know about."

Alejandra nodded. “I can see that..."

“Still, if you want, I can give you a tour of-" I tried to offer but I was interrupted by her.

“N-No." The woman waved dismissively, her blush reappearing. “I'm merely visiting. I will back to work by lunch and… thank you for offering." A small smile appeared on her face as she nodded.

“You are welcome." I said cheerfully while placing the last of the empty crates on the chariot. “Is there anything else or…?"

She sighed again then she sported a strangely sad look. “I know I shouldn't ask this so suddenly but… is it true that Diana is sick?" There was some minor concern in her voice and… I felt my face clenching at the reminder of the conversation I had a few hours ago. “I understand if you don't wish to say-"

“She is." I nodded quietly, interrupting her. “She has been for months now." I concluded with a simple sigh.

There was some sad silence from the Cow Prime and… then Alejandra nodded back with a soft pace. “I see..." She replied, her eyes wandering to the small envelope that was now in her hold. “If it isn't too much to ask, could you please give this to her? It's… important." She held the paper towards me and I looked at the letter.

Why I feel like I'm forgetting something… something important about her of all people.

Slowly, I nodded as I went to pick it up from her hands, mind still struggling to understand the sudden sensation. “I will make sure she reads it..." She smiled and nodded.

“Then I bid you a good day, Mr. Newcastle-"

“Matt." I interjected with a smile. “You may call me Matt."

She blinked, her smile widening a little. “Alej." The woman said in response. “And I bid you a proper good day, Matt."

“Likewise, Alej." I replied mirthfully and saw her slowly retreat away from the stand.

It was like a snap, but the moment she turned around and started to walk away… I remembered why she looked this familiar.

The pictures back at Las Lindas, the one with Randal, Mora, Diana and-

“W-Wait!" I lifted my hand towards her, but she seemed to ignore me because of the noise coming from the still-active crowd. “Y-You are Patches-"

The woman stopped instantly as I said that nickname, her entire body going still and tense as her head turned to grace me with a wide-eyed look of surprise.

“Aren't you?" I ended the question, waiting for her to answer and… then she merely turned around returned back on her path, but not before giving a little almost-unheard reply.

“ I was."

The two words left me stumped as the woman disappeared from my sight and… I blinked while turning to Minos.

“Quite the interesting individual." The Bull Prime commented. “Pa-"

“No." I interrupted him, causing him to lift a surprise eyebrow. “That is sadly not a story for me to tells. And please, don't use that nickname with her." I explained, gaining a slow and unsure nod from him.

There was any further interest in continuing that little topic, but soon my mind was forced back to deal with the fact I… had mistrusted so easily Diana.

The woman was far too kind for… someone like me.

I was glad that I found Randy and her…

I blinked, turning to stare at Minos and then… smiled. “Before we got back, I have something to buy… nothing too pricey."

My words got a frown from him and… we spent the next ten minutes in town trying to find a flower shop and then I found what I was looking for.

I returned to Las Lindas with a bouquet of Heather flowers.

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AN

And it's here!

_ It was about time, young man. I had to intrude in quite a lot of your stories- _

WITHOUT MY OWN PERMISSION!

_ ...There is no need to shriek like a madman and… yep, it's time for some proper thinking over the chapter above. Can we start with the flowers? _

Heather (or Lavender) represents loneliness and solitude, but also admiration of a quality or more. Gratitude is mostly recurring for those flowers.

_ Truly a curious decision, but what about the little insight over the Narakhan. Are you planning to go further from the little, lovely farm? _

There are plans of expansion for a sequel. Nothing biggie… just something about the Cancelled Bonus Comics.

_ Oh? Which one in particular? _

I've found Learning Curves… maybe also go for a minor pre-Knighthood scenario too.