Life didn't get easier, even in another world.

Chapter 196 - Maybe You've Gotten A Little Bit Smarter?

After talking to Reyan a little bit, Kairen fell asleep again. After using that power he was too tired that it was hard to keep his eyes open for more than an hour. After he woke up once again it was already sunset and Reyan was also gone.

"So that man was unit 6's previous team leader?"

Kain nodded his head.

"When I entered the team, he was the leader. Back then unit 6 was considered one of the best units, even better than unit 5 so I joined it without hesitation."

Kain was leaning back on his bed and answering Kairen's questions.

"He was a nice man. He taught me a lot of things and cared about his subordinates a lot. His older brother was the commander of SMF so a lot of people thought that it was because of the commander's help that he had become the team leader of unit 6, but he proved them to be wrong with his perfect performance."

Kairen tilted his head.

"What happened to him then?"

Kain shrugged.

"I don't know. He was reported dead in that incident. Actually, I saw it with my two eyes. The part of the building he was standing in crumbled and then exploded. Even before that, he was badly injured in a fight."

Fidget Fidget

Kain was fidgetting with his fingers and fiddling with his bracelet.

"That incident? Do you mean the one when the capital was attacked for the first time?"

Kain nodded his head.

"Yes. That was when the previous commander and team leader of unit 6 both died. Our unit was... nearly whipped out. I don't even know how I survived. They were killed by Philomns. At least that's how we thought. We thought it was 'him' who did that."

"Him?"

Kain looked around at the room seemingly thinking about how to explain things.

"Umm... Kairen, do you remember what I told you that day in the hospital?"

That day in the hospital?

There were a lot of days they talked in the hospital, which one was he referring to?

"Ah! The one that got interrupted by Asa?"

Kain nodded his head.

"I told you before. In one of the missions, we met someone who worked for Philomns but surrendered and helped us instead."

Kairen nodded his head.

"After that... He kept aiding us. He revealed their plans, making us able to stop Philomns countless times. A lot of events happened, a lot of time passed since then, and he somehow gained SMF's trust to the point that he joined our unit."

"He joined your unit? You guys let a Philomns member join you?"

Kain chuckled and shook his head.

"He did a lot to gain that trust. He truly deserved it. It took a few years for the commander to finally trust him to some point. He sent him to his brother's unit so that he could have more control over him and be able to stop anything if he was ever to betray them. But then, the plan designed by him to capture the Philomns members in the capital ended up to be a trap."

While saying those words, Kain's pupils were slightly shaking.

"Long story short, we were mascaraed. After that, one of those special bombs went off in the center of the city. That was the start though, they attacked the city and killed people, burned houses, and destroyed everything. The commander went to the scene to defend the city but he too was killed in the chaos."

Kain closed his mouth after saying that. No one talked and the room was silent. 

"You don't know who killed the commander?"

Kain shrugged his shoulders while wiggling with his bracelet.

"The city was on fire. Explosions went off here and there. One of the strongest units was whipped out. Terrorists were roaming around in the city. People were in panic. Everything was a mess. Then the commander suddenly went somewhere alone to fight without telling anyone anything. Everyone thought he would take care of things well just like he did every time. No one would worry about him, who was the strongest. They thought things would be fine now that he was on the move. But after a few hours, he was found dead."

"...."

"We thought it was that man's doing. He had gotten fairly close to the commander so we thought maybe he had lured him into a trap somehow."

"...."

Kairen tilted his head from side to side.

"Isn't his death really suspicious? Didn't anyone ever investigate it? Even his family?"

Fidget Fidget

"The commander's family had a really hard time after that, keeping their position and doing everything they could to prevent their fall. They didn't have the time and power to search the case properly..."

Kain lowered his head.

"...Or maybe they decided not to do it on purpose..."

Hide things on purpose.

Kairen thought about those words.

"The team leader you thought was killed is alive and works for Philomns. Claire Raid called him The First, that sounds something related to that man called The Fifth. He also said that he was the one who killed 'him'. I don't know which 'him' he was talking about but it can be both the commander and the man you talked about. Also, the commander's death is just too fishy."

Kairen shrugged his shoulders.

"Did he work for Philomns before the attack or started to work for them after that? Either case, isn't he a traitor?"

"...."

Kain looked at him blankly for a moment before nodding his head. He didn't say anything for a few moments and just kept on playing with the thing around his wrist.

"By the way, Kairen!"

"Hm?"

Kairen, who was about to fall asleep again, rubbed his eyes and looked at Kain.

"What did you do to this thing?"

Kairen also looked at the bracelet.

"I don't know. I just put some of that power into it."

"...."

Tak

Tak

Kain tapped on the bracelet with his fingers.

"There is power inside it..."

"Hm?"

Kain wiggled with the bracelet even more.

"There is some strange power inside this thing. I can sense it. It is similar to the power of nature..."

"...I see!"

Kairen blinked as he stared at Kain's face.

"How was that water barrier created? How did you remove it?"

"...."

Kairen thought about the things that had happened this morning. He sat straight and rubbed his eyes once again while yawning.

"That red light was probably activated because of my power. I'm not sure but it almost looked like a mechanism? Since my mana is a little bit different, it is possible that it did something and caused the bracelet's appearance. Also, the water barrier was created the moment I used my power. If it was created later, everyone else would've died by my power..."

Kairen's voice trailed off a little bit when he reached the part about him killing everyone else.

"Ahem. Anyway! Just before I used my power, I saw the bracelet reacting to your blood."

"My what?"

"Blood! Your blood dropped on it and the bracelet changed! Also, isn't it safe to assume that as the mechanism was activated with my mana, the bracelet could also react to my power?"

"...."

"Then maybe, that water barrier was also created because of some strange stuff happening between my power, your blood, and that bracelet?"

Kairen shrugged.

"Again, I don't know how I was so sure about the way to remove the water barrier."

"....."

"Haaa!"

Kairen yawned again and opened and closed his sleepy eyes.

Blink Blink

Kain blinked as he stared at Kairen.

"Kairen?"

He suddenly stood up and ran to Kairen.

"Y-yes?"

"You-"

Kain placed his hand on Kairen's forehead.

"Do you have a fever?"

"...."

"Are you feeling well?"

"...."

Kairen pushed Kain's hand away.

"What are you doing?"

Kain stood back and stared at Kairen's face with a serious look.

"Kairen!"

"...Yes?"

"That power of yours..."

"...."

Kain looked directly at Kairen's eyes as if he wanted to see through him. He came closer again and grabbed Kairen's shoulders.

"Does that power... make you smarter or something?"

"...."

Kain shook Kairen.

"Does it?"

"...."

"...."

"...."

Kain blinked a few times as he stared at Karien, and then suddenly stepped away from him, who was glaring at him with a mixture of hurt and angry expressions.

"Um..."

"Get lost!"

"I... Just thought you sounded a little bit... less stupi-"

"Kain!!"

Kain coughed and turned around.

"Anyway! Ahem! What you said sounds kind of reasonable, and not reasonable at the same time. Ahem!"

Kain looked at everything but Kairen's face while walking back to his bed.

SLAM

Before Kain could sit down on the bed again, the door of the room slammed open.

"Brats!"

And a man whose face was covered with bandages jumped inside.

"You, older brat!"

Without even waiting to look at the two people's startled faces, Alan strode over to Kain.

"Let me see it!"

"What?!"

Kain took one step back, but Alan grabbed his wrist anyway without paying any mind to him.

Tak Tak

He tapped the bracelet with his finger while frowning, though only one of his brows was visible as the other half of his face was hidden under the bandages.

"Hah!"

He let out a small chuckle as he let go of the bracelet.

'Right! I wanted to ask him about the bracelet!'

This old man here clearly knew something about the bracelet. He wasn't sure if Alan would just spit things out if he asked, but he had to try at least. Kairen opened his mouth to ask the question in his mind, but he had to stop and look at the door once again.

"Mr. Kairen Steyton?"

Two bulky and masked people in black uniforms were standing by the open door of the room. 

'When did these people come...'

Kairen, as well as two other people in the room, stared at the two masked men.

"Mr. Kairen Steyton?"

The man repeated his question again. The two people stood by the door, completely blocking the exit. 

"They..."

Kairen couldn't hear Kain's faint mumble and also couldn't see how his face paled while looking at the symbols engraved on the two people's uniforms. 

Kairen was a little bit tense as well. He sat up straight and looked at the two men.

"Yes? That's me!"

The bulky man replied almost immediately with a cold voice.

"You'll have to come with us."

"Pardon?"

The two of them stepped inside the room, walking towards Kairen.

"Please cooperate."

"What is going on?"

Once Kairen turned towards the other two people with his confused face, he saw Kain looking at the two men with an almost panicked expression.

Grab

At that moment, Kairen was grabbed from two sides and was pulled out of the bed.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"Please don't resist!"

And was dragged towards the door.

"Where? Hey? Help!"

He heard the voice of the bulky man on his right side.

"This is the order. Please don't resist."

"O-order??"

These two people were too strong! Kairen was dragged towards the hall like he was just a light bird feather.

"Wait!"

Kain ran to them and grabbed one of the men from behind.

"You can't take him like that! He still needs to rest!"

"There is no need to worry he will be fine."

Kain was ignored and Kairen was dragged out of the hospital helplessly.