In the main hall of the "Clear Sky" building were four people right now: me, TuTu, Jiao Jiao, and Lin Lin. The last sat right on my lap, from where I wouldn't let her slip away, though she'd tried multiple times, knowing full well the futility. Her grandpa preferred not to interfere in our talks and went to the second floor, as he said: "To water the flowers."
He apparently wants us to bring Lin Lin back to her old mood before the news she can't Cultivate, and doesn't want to hinder us. Anyway, it matches our plans perfectly. Seeing our dear friend like this hurts a lot.
"So will you tell us yourself what really happened to you?" Tilting Lin Lin's head back onto my chest, I started stroking her soothingly to lull the girl into a calm mood.
"...If you don't stop groping me, I'll scream and call Grandpa." With a stone face, she turned her head toward me and looked straight into my eyes. Ahem, forgot she's actually sixteen. Subconsciously, I still ignore it.
"...Don't dodge the answer. We have the next three months completely free, so we can keep you here a very long time." I removed my hand from her head and steered the topic right. Talking perversions with a cute loli on my lap feels a bit weird.
"Nothing to talk about. You probably heard it all from Grandpa already. I turned out so worthless that even without the dragging talent, I managed to screw it up." Lin Lin lowered her head so her bangs hid her eyes, her voice muffled. She was really upset. And hated... herself. Spiritual senses don't lie.
"Lin Lin, you're not at fault. People don't choose what soul to be born with. It's like born disabled blaming themselves for imperfection. Pointless." TuTu tried to cheer her friend, but it backfired.
"Exactly, I'm disabled! Failed mage! Eternal normal human! Someone like me can't become Hunter Queen! My whole life is meaningless!" Jumping off my lap when I loosened my grip, Lin Lin faced us with tears in her eyes, pointing at herself and screaming on.
"Lin Lin, it's not true! Your knowledge of magic theory, monsters, their habitats, and various Hunting aspects is incredibly rich! Even if you can't become a Hunter, you'll be an excellent consultant! We'd gladly use your services!" Jiao Jiao now tried to encourage her friend.
But she missed too. The girls just didn't understand what Lin Lin really wanted. I did. But couldn't just say it; that info is strictly confidential, known only to a very limited circle.
"I don't want to be a consultant! I must! HEAR?! MUST become Hunter Queen! It's not some whim, it's..." At those words, Lin Lin silently clutched her head and froze.
Tears streamed down her face, but she didn't care. Though our relations were very good, she still hesitated to entrust us her true life goal. And by her emotions, she planned to shut down again. No, won't do! Damn it all! Keeping conspiracy now would be outright swineish! I wouldn't forgive myself later!
"It's to avenge your father?" I broke the oppressive silence. Lin Lin's eyes widened in shock at my half-question, half-statement.
"You... how do you know?" Her gaze quickly turned wary. By her emotions, she even considered I might be involved in her father's death. Damn, this body was still playing in the sandbox when he died!
"Don't ask. Just get the letter from your father and read what's on the back. Seriously, you're a smart girl—how could you not investigate the only lead to his death all these years, naively clinging to the Hunter Queen title? Think it gives enough privileges to learn his death circumstances? No, it does... but not checking the letter is still dumb." I said it a bit sharply. Maybe her suspicions about my involvement in her father's death got to me.
But the girl ignored my sharpness, instead rushing to the second floor and returning a minute later with the letter still not fully unrolled. For her, it was a reminder of her life's greatest loss. That's why, after one quick glance, she left it gathering dust in her room. Until now.
With trembling hands, Lin Lin finally fully unrolls the letter, and her eyes widen at the previously unnoticed text. Which, ironically, was exactly the info she wanted access to by becoming Hunter Queen. Life's such a bitch sometimes.
"Crimson Demon? So he killed my father?" Lin Lin asked me timidly in a trembling voice, not tearing her gaze from the letter.
"Yes, him." I answered calmly, already knowing where it was going.
"Do you know what this creature is and where it's hiding?" The tremor disappeared from Ling Ling's voice, and her hands gripped the letter so tightly that it seemed it would tear at any moment.
"I know," I replied just as calmly, under the shocked gazes of my girls.
They were the only ones here who didn't understand anything at all right now. More precisely, from the outside it might seem like I was clearly connected to the killer of her father, but they knew me too well to immediately dismiss that wild assumption. In the end, what was happening simply made no sense to them.
But one thing couldn't be denied – color was returning to Ling Ling's gaze at a striking pace. True, it was fueled by pure hatred, mixed half-and-half with murderous intent and a drop of madness, instead of her usual confidence and determination.
"Where is he?" The girl's voice sounded very muffled and demanding. If any of her acquaintances heard her, they definitely wouldn't recognize her.
"I'm not telling," I replied just as calmly.
"WHY!?" A demon from the Underworld screamed back at me, and her bloodshot eyes stared at me with clear intent to extract the information at any cost.
"Because I'll only tell my friend who strives to become the Queen of Hunters, loves to eat cookies and roll her eyes when one of us asks an obviously stupid question. Only her, not the fury blinded by hatred." I looked her straight in the eyes, causing her gaze to waver and awareness of what was happening to return to her.
"What Queen of Hunters? You know about my situation. Just let me call Grandpa now, and you tell him everything? He'll avenge me, Father will be avenged, and I can continue going to school with a calm soul." Ling Ling tried to defuse the situation with a smile. But her eyes… they were once again turning dead and soulless at a terrifying speed, the kind that didn't suit her at all.
"What if I have a solution for your situation? What if I tell you that I can turn you into a fighter strong enough to avenge yourself with your own hands in just a few years? How would that change your opinion?" Still not tearing my gaze from hers, I asked her a series of key questions. Her reaction to them would determine if we could bring back our old friend. And she didn't disappoint me.
Ling Ling's gaze wavered, and her emotions were briefly overshadowed by a great surge of hope. But she hesitated, unable to fully believe. She just needed a little push, the tiniest nudge.
"You think it's impossible? That I'm just comforting you and giving false hope? But remember, wasn't getting rid of a negative talent considered impossible before? I solved that problem. And I did it quickly and easily. Playfully. What makes you think it won't be the same this time? Have I ever boasted to you about something I couldn't actually do?" I pressed further.
And there it was! That push from me was enough for the scales in her head to finally tip in the direction I wanted. The hatred didn't go away, but it dimmed, leaving only smoldering embers that would flare up only if fed more fuel. And it wouldn't be an uncontrollable blaze of pure, unmanageable hatred, but a campfire fueling her resolve. The usual firmness of spirit returned to Ling Ling's eyes. Not in its full measure, but enough for me to admit that I was finally talking to her, not the shadow of her former self.
"I'm listening." For the first time since our conversation began, her old golden eyes, full of their usual determination and a touch of arrogance, looked at me. Seeing them, I couldn't help but smirk. Now I could work with this properly.