章 17: DREICH GALLERE

ARGENT took a deep breath. She hated it when people touched her. Especially if it's a stranger. In this case, a stranger who's equally dangerous as he was mentaly unstable. She had no doubt about that, considering all the things he's blubbering about. "Let go."

"Don't wanna," he stubbornly said while rubbing his cheek on hers.

She took another deep breath. She needed to calm down. He's physically stronger than her. He would overpower her in a second if she tried to fight back. She doesn't have any Gift that she could use against him. So she could only fight him psychologically. She went through everything that happened since she entered this cabin. He said that his skin was covered with poison - attributed to his Gift. The slow decay of some parts of her clothes proved that. Which meant he probably never experienced human contact before.

That's why he's currently beyond wonder right now because he found someone he could freely touch. For however long he lived in this world, this was the first time that he touched another person. So Argent understood his enthusiasm. She might even symphatize with his plight. But not to her expense. Not when she's the one being groped all over.

If she understood him correctly - and she hoped to high heavens she did - her opinion of him would greatly matter. Because she's someone 'special' to him. The only person - to his knowledge - who he could touch. He wouldn't want her to have a bad impression of him. Although at this point, she couldn't really think how it would be possible for him to leave her a good impression.

"If you don't let go of me right now, I will hate you with everything in me," she said, calmly.

Argent felt him stiffen, then slowly, he released her. His expression turned down cast, like a puppy who's been suddenly kicked. "Please, don't hate me."

Argent couldn't believe that an assassin who could nonchalantly kill three people - and he probably killed a lot more than that, being an assassin and all - would act like this just because of what she said. She almost felt like she's bullying a small kid. She sighed. "I don't like being touched by a stranger. A stranger who's job is killing people no less."

Viper pouted sulkily and stood up. "I told you, I don't kill without contracts. I only kill people because someone paid a great deal of money for them to be killed. I don't kill senselessly. That's one of the most important rule of our group."

Group? So he belonged to some kind of assassin group? "Yeah, like that really change a lot. Look, I don't know you and you being an assassin doesn't really help. So let's just pretend that all of these didn't happen and I won't tell anyone that you're the one who killed the Xing delegates and their translator."

"No! How could you say that? That's mean. Do you know how long I've waited for someone like you to come? All my life! So no, we won't pretend that this didn't happen. We're part of each other's lives now."

The thought of this guy being a permanent part of her life just weirded her out. "So you don't care if I tell the captain about you?"

"Oh you don't have to care about that. I already left my card for the good captain last night. He already knows that an assassin from Dreich Gallere was responsible for those three deaths. He will probably announce the news to the whole ship today."

"Wait- what?" Argent asked, not sure if she heard him right.

"Another rule. Once we finished with our kills, every assassin in our group leaves a card. It's like a signature, to let everyone know that the deaths of the people we killed was done by us. It adds up to our infamy. Which in turn leads up to more clients for us."

"Is it really okay for you to tell me all these things? I'm sure your superior from that group of yours won't be happy with you tattling all these to a seven year old kid."

"It's fine. Everyone who's not living under a rock pretty much knows about our group's modus. Besides, as I've told you, you belong to me. I give you the right to know these things," he said smiling as if what he said was the most logical thing.

"Listen, I'm not a thing that could just belong to anyone."

"Of course not. You could only belong to me." He reached down and touched her cheek. "You're made for me."

Argent could see in the gleam in his eyes that he probably wouldn't listen to anythings she says. Now she could see that his interest in her was probably not that simple. "Mister... Viper, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a boy. So what you're doing right now kind of creeps me out."

"But it shouldn't. I don't particularly care if you're a boy. Even the world doesn't care if a couple both have the same gender. So you shouldn't either."

Argent felt a headache coming. She couldn't believe how hard it was to argue with someone so illogical. "I do care because I'm not into that kind of thing."

"Oh don't worry, I'm also not into child sex. I'll wait until you're mature enough to do the deed."

Argent felt her whole face heating up. More of indignation than of embarrassment. There's really no way she could reason with this guy. All her brain cells would probably burn out if she spent another minute reasoning with him. She took a calming breath, one after another until she was back to normal.

"I want to go back to the deck. My sister is probably already looking for me."

"Okay. I'll go with you." He reached out to her hand and held it firmly.

Yes, she could definitely feel that headache coming.

----------

Just as Viper said, by noon everyone in the ship knew that the person responsible for the three deaths was an assassin from Dreich Gallere. Captain Morgan found a card stuck on his cabin door. The words 'Dreich Gallere' was written on it and a picture of a snake. The snake was a signature of a particular member of the assassin group - Viper. Apparently every member has a particular animal counterpart that they used as their sign and code name.

Dreich Gallere was an assassin group well known throughout the five continents. According to most people, they only have a handful of members. But every last one was as deadly as another. They were all trained by their elusive leader - a mysterious person with a Gift people believed could level the world. They were efficient and very professional. They would kill anyone for the right price and they wouldn't kill without one.

Or at least that's what her mother told Argent when she asked her about the said assassin group.

Argent looked around the dining hall, they were currently having lunch. She could no longer feel the tension in the air she felt this morning. All because they found out who killed the three people who died yesterday.

"Mother, why is no one panicking when there's an assassin currently roaming around the ship?" she couldn't help but ask. "They couldn't honestly think that whoever did this jump off ship after he's done?"

"No, it's because he's an assassin from Dreich Gallere. They're professionals when it comes to their job. Once they left their card, it meant that they're done and there will be no further deaths. Thus, this effect."

"Not everyone is so calm. I saw the captain yelling at his crew earlier. I think he's very angry," Aurum chimed in.

"How come I didn't see it?" Argent asked, though she had no doubt that Captain Morgan would be pissed instead of pleased when he found the card left by Viper.

"How could you, when you're busy spending time with that ugly girl," Aurum answered pointedly. Her brother suddenly disappeared when they were on the deck earlier but when she returned she was with that ugly girl. And that girl stayed with them for the next three hours, cooing and touching her brother. She almost pulled the bracelet stopping her Mana so she could fry the girl's brain. That's how annoyed she was.

"Aurum, that's not very nice," Anthea chided before turning to her other daughter. "So, who's this girl?"

"You're probably going to meet her soon, Duchess. She's walking up to us right now."

Argent sharply turned to the direction where Felicia was looking. And there was Viper, cheerfully sauntering towards them.

He walked up behind her chair. "Good afternoon, Your Grace," he greeted her mother.

"Well, hello. I heard you befriend my son," Anthea said, a bit amused.

"Yes. Actually, I plan to marry him when he grows up."

Aurum forcefully put down her fork and narrowed her eyes on Viper. Anthea only laughed. Argent, on the other hand, immediately stood up.

"Excuse us, I need to talk to her for a minute."

Argent pulled Viper outside the dining hall. She didn't stop walking until they reached a somewhat isolated space.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I just want to spend as much time with you as I could. I have to get off on the next port for my next assignment. This ship would probably reach that port in a week. I only have a week to spend time with you. I don't know when I'll be able to meet you again."

That was probably the best news she received today. She would probably go crazy if she had to spend time with him until they reached Amexem. "If you spend every minute of that week with me, then after a week you get off this ship, and the person you're currently impersonating gain back her identity, what do you think my mother, sister, and our maid would think when she suddenly stopped showing interest in me?"

"Don't worry, that girl is also supposed to get off this ship on the next port."

Well, that wasn't so surprising. He's a professional after all. He probably planned everything out the moment he took this job. "Then don't just show up when I'm around my family."

"But you're always around them."

"Then I will make time for you," she forced herself to say. "But only two hours a day."

"Okay. But you have to go on a date with me when the ship docked on the next port."

"Date?"

"Yeah. Andromeda usually stayed docked in a city for a day before it sails again. So, what do you say?"

She sighed. Does she really have a choice? "Fine."

Yup. That headache was already turning into a migraine.

*****

Mini-theater:

Viper: We're going on a date! I'm so excited! Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

Argent: (Maybe I should just jump off ship and drown myself.)