"This needs much more thinking than what I'm capable of at the moment…"
I took a picture for the photo then put it in its place while thousands of questions were playing all around my head.
The one in the photo was me, even if I deny it or not, it was me.
Or an exact match of me.
Silas was the same as the one I know, but maybe this one got a different attitude? And absolutely— that small girl was Adeline, or she too had an exact copy of her but in the same age as Hero.
"Too complicated."
Maybe this is all something this house did to make me suffer? Maybe it wasn't the real belongings?
Should I ask Hero when he woke up?
"Yeah; I'll just ask him."
Because again, if the problem weren't the house, then it's Hero, and if it's not him then it's me, and I was about to abandon everything this week's end, so this whole issue was already solved.
"Now, the clothes…"
I went to the main room again, and this time it was full of things that belonged to the owner.
Luxurious was the only word to describe everything, from the furniture to the type of socks he got…
That made me feel as if I somehow entered a shop and now I could choose whatever I wanted from it.
"Does he have any items? That would be very helpful."
There wasn't any.
And I didn't get the ability to know if the clothes itself had some kind of special effects or not; so I just chose random things here and there before taking a silver watch that I like the most.
Then I got out of the forest house to find myself again in the center of the city, homeless, and without any destination.
The only tasks on the list was: The Auction.
"No… there's another one."
My team leader was arrested, and I didn't even know a little about the whole issue…
Perhaps it was a made up thing, right?
"What could I even do if it was?"
Go and help him? Could I do that?
And, how to know what was going on?
Of course by asking the most puzzle-like person I've ever seen in my entire life…
So I called him, and he as always, replied after calling his name, as if he was a summon.
"What do you want this time? Did you find a way out or something?"
"No I didn't?"
"So?"
"Is there any new news from here or there?"
"News? What does it have to do with you when you are in a Vessel?"
"That—"
"What?"
His voice was so loud in my head that I thought that he's talking next to me for a second.
"Just by chance, maybe it will help me a little—Oh sorry."
I bumped into someone rushing through the crowd so I turned to apologize, but when I did, my catched someone behind him—
Someone I shouldn't have seen right at this moment…
So I ran for my life.
I didn't care whether people would see me as a madman or anything like it, I just ran because I knew that if Silas catched me, I was done.
He had no idea that I was here and not on a Vessel, and he would have torn me to pieces if I didn't just vanished somehow.
"Stop! What are you doing by running like this! Hey!"
"No!"
When I turned, I saw him running after me… and that was scarier.
Why would he even run after me? I thought that he was a composed man!
"Stop!"
"No!"
"You idiot! You're running into a car!"
"I know!"
There was a car in my way and I didn't pay that much attention. When I reached it, I vaulted over it then continued as if I was being chased by the police.
Five minutes after that, Silas was nowhere to be seen, so I stopped and entered a random store I found.
"This please." I took a water bottle and two juices to buy.
"How would you like to pay?"
"By card please." I handed my card to the man then took my things. When I turned to leave, I ended up freezing.
"Oh, Nathan… What are you doing here?"
"Just— buying things?"
"Where's Hero?"
"In his home," I think. "What are you doing in this place all of sudden?"
"My house is across the road." Drew answered, then casually took something off the shelf. "Would you like to come over, since you can't return to the apartment yet?"
"No, thank yo—" "Did you see Nathan near this place?"
Dean came out of nowhere, asking about me when I was in front of him.
"Nathan? Yeah… isn't this Nathan? Why all of sudden?"
"Silas just called to ask about it— Oh, Hi Nathan. Silas was asking about you a minute ago."
"Just tell him that you didn't see me anywhere."
"Really? You've already lost your chance to escape." Then there's Silas himself, who showed up on the door, panting from exhaustion. "You look just fine for someone who was running like that minutes ago."
"Ah…"
What does this even mean? Complement? Curse?
"We need to talk."
"About?"
"How and when did you end up here, maybe?"
"Then would you come over to our house? Talking about such things in public wasn't a good idea."
"Yeah, let's go." Silas just accepted the suggestion without a thought. "We have a lot to know."
"No, why making it a big deal when it's clearly not?"
"It's not?"
The three of them looked at me as if I said something unbelievably crazy.
"Yes."
"Is that true? The company is already putting prizes on your head."
…
Eh?
On my what?!
"On my head? Why? Did I steal something from them? Why all of sudden?"
"That's why we need to talk."
…
What was happening? I had no idea. I didn't even get to know if they were lying or not.
"Fine, let's talk." Gave up was my only safe card so I pulled it out. "But let me buy an Antacid first…"
Five minutes later, we were sitting in the largest living room I've ever seen in my life… no one spoke first, as if they were waiting for me to explain everything from A to Z.
And I didn't.
If they wanted to stay silent, then I'm staying silent.
"Won't you tell us how you got out of the Vessel?"
"First tell me what did you mean by 'put a prize on your head.'"
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Somehow Dean and Drew seemed too afraid of saying anything. Silas on the other hand looked like a demon that no one could argue.
"Okay." He just said that then stopped for a while before continuing. "They need you to awaken your specialization. That's why."
"...?"
"Oh…" Drew gasped. "That's because most of it came from a life threatening situation."
"So the company needed me to awaken my specialization whatever was the cost?"
"Yeah,"
"even if it killed me?"
"Then you're helpless and they just know it."
"...Cruel creatures."
Were they doing it because the Auction Vessel was pretty easy and they need me to stay in the company after this week?
Were they even thinking?
"When did this command take place?"
"Before the Kill Vessel, that room we were in."
Aha…
They weren't leaving me to live in peace.
"That makes a lot of sense now.". I relaxed on my seat as if it was nothing to be concerned about. "Then all I have to do is to end this week without getting caught, right?"
"And you talk as if it is too simple?"
"It's not?"
"No." Drew answered instead of Silas this time. "The prize is three ninety percent containment rate gems."
"...?"
"What could that even mean?"
"Something they could barely have even if they survived three A class Vessels."
Oh…
That was too much, wasn't it? But all of this just to kill me? Or kill me? (Since awakening my specialization was another form of death for me).
"I really hate this company…"
"Yeah, hate it as much as you could please, as much as you could."
"Am I supposed to ask you what's wrong with you, Silas?"
"No, no."
He simply smiled as if he didn't say something so suspicious a minute ago.
"Wait, about your team leader—" Dean sounded as if he just remembered the whole thing. "Was this the thing he got arrested because?"
"Got arrested?" I didn't expect that Silas would be the last one to know. "Team E's leader?"
"Yes, it was the most crazy news for today."
"How crazy—Why? Did they talk about the specific reason?"
"They say 'because he dares to doubt the higher console commands or something. Nothing about which command was that." Dean replied, then Drew continued. "But, as what we see. It may be the one about Nathan."
"Why would the higher console give a command just because of me?"
"That is the main problem! Why would the console itself move for you?!"
"Don't look at me as if I know the reason."
"I look at you like this so you could know that you are The Problem here. Yet you are acting innocent."
I'm acting innocent because I'm one!
Agh—
May the company burn today so I could feel better!