Capítulo 19: Introductions Are In Order
[I can explain.]
Max's eyes scanned the faces looking at him with a mix of curiosity, suspicion, and right after his synthetic voice said that, all shifted to doubt.
[On second thought, maybe I can't really explain it.]
Maya opened her mouth to speak, but Max immediately raised a finger and leaned forward.
[But! I can assure you I knew what I was doing.]
The doubt grew even more. Apparently they all thought he was some sort of child or something. He honestly took offense to that.
"Did you, though?" asked Ryu. "'Cause all my friends here said you almost passed out. Not to mention, you risked your cultivation by adding Insulation."
[For the last time, that was not Insulation.]
"Then what was it?"
Max's eyes went back and forth between Ryu's demanding face and the blinking text cursor on the ReadyScriber app on his Iris. How was he supposed to get away with…basically every strange thing he had shown them that day? Without revealing Nami's existence of course.
Standing by the snack counter and leaning her back against the wall was Leo. Ever since they all gathered in the room after depositing all their hard work in a secure location within the HQ, Leo had been silent. She had her arms crossed and her sharp blue eyes looked as if they were trying to bore a hole through Max's head.
[Listen, okay? It's already past my bedtime. I'm tired, you're tired. Can't we just postpone the questioning until tomorrow?]
Lukas was seen snorting. "Max, we all know you often stay up all night. Your means of making money isn't called a 'night job' for no reason."
Max frowned. [How much do you all know about me, anyway?]
Lukas shrugged. He was about to answer before Max continued.
[Oh, let me guess. You dug up everything about my past and shared it with the class. Am I right or am I right?]
Lukas' response came in an innocent grin. "I trust them with my life, though. So you can trust them, too, since you trust me. Right?"
Max gave him an accusatory look. How dare the boy talk about trust when he had been hiding the fact he was in The Revolutionaries this whole time?
It was then that Leo decided to finally speak up. "Maximilian Michael Jin, eighteen years of age. Date of birth, November eleventh. Father, Feng Jin, deceased. Mother, Sarah Grayhide-Jin, deceased. Twin brother, Phineas Charles Jin, deceased. Family used to own a big mana-powered electronics company before—"
[Wait, okay, hold up!]
Leo finally stopped speaking.
Max heaved a long sigh. [I get it. You know all about me, as far as my real identity goes. But don't you think it's unfair that I don't get to know who you guys are, as well?]
Dylan smiled before raising his hand. "Dylan Kye, twenty-four years old. Talent in electric mana. Currently in the process of forming my third ring. Which is why," he fished out a black bracelet from his pants' pocket, "Leo gave me this not too long ago."
So, it seemed like the color of the bracelet people here were wearing corresponded to their cultivation stage.
Maya then raised her hand next. She even looked excited to introduce herself. "Name's Maya Radu. I don't wanna tell you my exact age; just know that I'm slightly older than Dylan. As you already know, my Talent lies in light mana. Currently in the process of forming my second layer." The woman then showed off the blue bracelet she was wearing on her right wrist. "I'm actually the only one here whose cultivation is below the third ring. I'm a late bloomer, you see. Meaning, I Awakened much later than the ideal age, just like you."
[What's the ideal age, then?]
"Ten to fourteen years old," Travis replied. It was a little odd that he chose to be the one to answer the question, as he didn't strike Max as the talkative type. But it seemed like he did so because he was about to introduce himself next. "I'm Travis Fischer. Twenty-six years old. Also a late-bloomer. Actually, a lot of us here are late-bloomers. I'm on the 3rd Layer Formation stage."
After that, Ryu introduced herself. With her boots resting on the table, she looked nonchalant as she spoke. "Sora Ryushima. But I prefer being called Ryu. Not a mage."
Dylan suddenly narrowed his eyes. "You know what I've noticed? All this time, we've been talking about second layer this, third layer that, and everything. But you never seemed to wonder what these terms mean. Apart from the first ring, we haven't exactly explained the rest to you."
Shoot. Max had totally forgotten about that. He was reading the transcriptions of their introductions and nodding along as if he totally understood all about cultivation stages. And he really did understand. But the fact that his lesson had come from Nami and not them had flown over his head.
Thankfully, it was Leo who decided to come to his rescue. "Dylan, and the rest of you, I'd like to talk to Max alone."
Or not. It appeared that she would be grilling him instead.
Everybody did as she said and left the room. Max was suddenly left alone with the ever-serious Leo. The room always felt so stifling whenever the woman was around.
She pulled the chair Travis had sat on before, and took a seat across from Max. The round table separated both of them. This was giving Max deja vu.
Not wanting to beat around the bush, Leo got straight to the point. "I'd like to meet that fairy of yours."
Max shouldn't be surprised at her words, since he had sort of suspected that the woman knew about Nami, somehow. Yet, he still found himself caught off guard. He reflexively gulped, his palms starting to sweat. Nami herself was feeling the same way.
"You don't need to be nervous," Leo said. She was actually trying to sound reassuring, but it didn't make a difference to Max who could only read her transcribed words. "I've known about her existence ever since you set foot in this underground facility. I'm very familiar with fairies, after all. Too familiar for my liking, in fact. Which is why my first impression of you was quite bad. I thought you were a government spy or something."
Max couldn't help but furrow his brows. He looked at her quizzically. However, his confused expression instead caused a smile to appear on her face. It was the first time he'd seen her smile. And he had to admit, she was quite beautiful. The freckles on her nose and cheeks just made her look even more appealing.
"That's the look I like to see," she said while pointing to Max. "That means you really don't know what I was talking about. And that is good news. For both you and me. 'Cause if it turned out that you did understand what I said, who knows if you'd still have your head attached to your neck after that."
Sweats trickled down Max's forehead. The woman just kept making him go on an emotional roller coaster.
Leo chuckled lightly. "But like I said, you don't have to be nervous. There's a reason I sent you to that heist. Well, apart from the fact that we truly were in need of a safecracker."
She leaned closer and clasped her hands on the table. "Remember how I said that assignment was a part of your examination? I wasn't lying. By observing you throughout the mission, I was able to glean a lot from your behavior, and by extension, your fairy's. And I have come to the conclusion that neither you nor your fairy have any intention to target my organization. In fact, from the footage I saw on Lukas' drone camera when he was chasing you above the rooftops, I could tell that you didn't even know about the existence of mages before today."
Max absent-mindedly nodded, agreeing with her last statement.
"Now, I'll ask again. May I meet your fairy, please?" Leo asked. "Just like how both of you don't mean any harm to me or my people, I don't mean to harm you, either. I can assure you that I'd keep my mouth shut, as well. In fact, while I'm at it, I'd like to enlighten you about the truth that most members of The Revolutionaries already know about. This is actually indirectly related to you, miss fairy."
Seemingly convinced, Nami finally flew out of Max's pocket, without wearing her mana cloak. She zoomed forward and landed on the table, her long white hair billowing in the wind before she slipped it behind her ears. At that moment, she re-established her mental connection with Max, seeing that there was no point in hiding anymore.
'I'm surprised you understood what she said. Have you familiarized yourself with the Elysian language?' Max asked.
'You may not know this, but fairies are fast learners. Still, I'm not proficient at it, yet. Hopefully it's enough to hold a conversation, though.'
Max switched to his mana sight and watched as mana waves converged around her mouth. When she spoke, his audio sensor was able to pick up on her voice. "Hello!"
Leo raised her brows in slight surprise. It seemed she hadn't expected Nami to greet her in such an adorably innocent manner. "I've got to say, seeing a fairy being this friendly sure is such a breath of fresh air."
Both Max and Nami tilted their heads at the same time. They were obviously wondering what she meant by that.
Leo understood their silent question. "This is exactly what I was going to talk to you about. And why I was so wary of both of you at the beginning. But first, may I have your name?" she asked the fairy.
"Nami," answered Nami unhesitatingly.
Leo nodded. "Nice to meet you, Nami. You can call me Leo."
"Hi, Leo!"
Leo gave her a smile before turning serious. "Now, let me begin by telling you that the government as well as the majority within the parliament of Prime Elysia aren't actually run by humans. Our country is under the control of fairies, and they're seeking to enslave us humans."
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