This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange - Chapter 793: Coffee With a Side of Lies

Chapter 793: Chapter 793: Coffee With a Side of Lies

Kain and Airalai sat across from one another in a corner booth that smelled like scorched espresso and cinnamon. The coffeehouse was one of those Dark Moon fixtures that college students swore made the best studying fuel in the city and professors dismissed as “too loud to think in.” The walls were brick, the lights were warm, and the tables were close enough that elbows could have brushed if someone leaned too far, leaving little sense of privacy between conversations.

They hadn’t ordered yet.

They hadn’t spoken, either.

They were simply… looking.

Kain folded his hands on the table, doing his absolute best not to fiddle with the spoon in front of him. Airalai mirrored him—hands clasped the same way, shoulders relaxed, posture impeccable—so similar it was obvious they’d once lived under the same roof, picking up the same habits as kids and now unconsciously repeating them as adults.

For a long, awkward moment, they stared as if each was waiting for the other to blink first.

Kain’s thoughts: Okay. She’s real. She’s older but—yeah, that’s her. Same eyes. Same expression she used when Bridge tried to cook soup in a teapot.

Airalai’s thoughts: He grew into his features. His face had sharpened with age, losing the roundness she remembered, and now carried a sternness she didn’t recall. She had a feeling that taking over her position as the eldest child had likely made him mature faster.

Of course, she didn’t know that his fast ’maturation’ was due to him already possessing the soul of an adult when reborn.

Kain did a tiny, involuntary head tilt. The last time he’d seen her, he’d been ten and she’d been thirteen. She had more height now, a cleaner jawline, and the kind of poise you only get from either military training or years of lying without blinking. Her hair—still that deep, unmistakable purple—fell over one shoulder, catching glints of amber from the chandelier above.

He was suddenly and acutely aware that if anyone from the orphanage walked by, this would be the most explosive event in the orphanage since the kitchen fire (Bridge had wanted to test out the recipes he’d learned in his spiritual cooking classes at the college…he has since been banned from the kitchen…and the college course).

A barista placed two glasses of iced water with the practiced kindness of someone who had seen too many dramatic breakups conducted over caramel foam. “I’ll give you a minute,” she said, before looking at them both with pity, clearly misunderstanding something.

They continued to say nothing.

Kain considered three different openings—Where have you been?, Are you alright?, and Blink twice if you’re here to kidnap me—and discarded all of them.

Airalai’s internal debate was equally hectic. Start soft. Smile. Do not over-explain. Do not mention a greater cause. Definitely don’t mention the word “Abyss.” Or “Black.” Or “Dawn.” Or experiments.

They both inhaled to speak.

“Where—” Kain began.

“I—” Airalai said at the same time.

They both stopped. A gesture. “You first.”

“No, you.”

“I insist.”

“I insist more.”

They ping-ponged courtesy back and forth like two diplomats arguing over who should sit closer to the king until the barista returned to ask what they wanted and accidentally broke the stalemate.

Kain ordered a black coffee because he suddenly missed pain. Airalai ordered the same while flinching, having no intentions of drinking the bitter bean water.

Kain cleared his throat. “Please… explain where you’ve been.”

Airalai’s smile did not slip. “It’s a long story,” she said softly.

’Great,’ Kain thought. ’My favourite kind. The long fictional kind.’

She folded her hands again, eyes on his, voice steady. “After I disappeared… I don’t remember much at first. I woke up far from the city. A household took me in—merchants. They travelled often, so we moved from place to place. They were kind, but… protective. I didn’t know how to reach back. And then the years just…” She exhaled. “…stacked.”

’Merchants,’ Kain’s brain repeated dryly. ’Right. The travelling kind who specialize in the abduction-and-indoctrination import-export industry.’

“I didn’t even remember my name clearly for a while,” she continued. “It came back in pieces. Little scenes. The orphanage. Bridge yelling about catching insects. You, always racing somewhere with a scraped knee and a serious face.”

A corner of his mouth twitched at the childish memories in embarrassment. Although he’d had an adult’s mind, he did let his youthful body and Bridge’s energy drag him into acting like a real child…leading to some rather embarrassing dark history.

“I saw you on the broadcast,” she said, eyes brightening just a fraction. “At the tournament. There was this moment where the camera held your face and—I knew. It clicked. I came to find you.”

’Not like this was my first year competing. I guess one could argue you just didn’t watch last year, but—let’s be honest—even I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’m pretty famous. A single glance online would’ve jogged your memory. So NO, you showed up now because you—or the people behind you—want something from me.’

He put the cup down. “That explains the timing,” he said aloud, gently. Pretending to buy the tall tale she was weaving.

She nodded gratefully, as if encouraged. “I’m sorry I didn’t reach out sooner,” she said. “I thought—I thought it would hurt everyone more if I came back so suddenly. I thought it’d be best to make contact with just you before barging back into your lives.”

’How thoughtful…’ He thought sarcastically. But still, he was slightly grateful for the foresight—not because he believed she actually cared about them, but because she clearly wanted to reach him first, her likely ’target,’ without wasting time on the others. Getting entangled again with her long-lost family will just delay the completion of her mission…whatever said mission was…

The idea of her near his family made his skin crawl. With the straight-faced ease she was lying with, he almost wondered if killing her would be safer than letting her linger around them…