Chapter 89 Conversation

For some reason Zavier felt that the concern that Val showed towards him was quite real. There was not a shred of hypocrisy or duplicity in his words or his expressions. Zavier felt that either there was something wrong with him or his uncle Val really was sincerely his well wisher.

Zavier didn't interrupt him and his expression told Val that he was listening and wanted him to continue saying what he wanted to say to him.

"I know that you must be having a lot of questions and I might even have the answer to all of them. But I want to tell you something in all sincerity as is my right since I am your guardian at the moment. You are better off not knowing about anything right now. Let nature take its course and you will come across those answers by yourself some day."

Zavier looked at him incredulously with an expression that was quite a graphic representation of what he was feeling and he made sure that Val understood his meaning.

"You are thinking that I am talking bullsh*t. But believe me when I say that this is all for your own good. I don't want you to concern yourself with things that a kid your age should not have to burden himself with."

Zavier gave him a piercing glare and looked him right in the face before throwing his counter argument.

"Then do you think that those who want my life would stop coming once I stop asking about them?"

Val looked crestfallen at Zavier's reply. He had hoped that Zavier might not have known anything about it but his words had crushed whatever of it remained.

"Of course, they would not."

Zavier had known that Val wouldn't be able to answer that question of his.

"Then why shouldn't I know more about my enemy beforehand. Wouldn't that give me an edge over them and a way to survive as well?"

"You are a kid. You shouldn't have to worry about things like that. You should be enjoying your school life."

Zavier rolled his eyes and sarcastically replied, "Maybe I should tell this to my enemies. They might agree to give me an extension to enjoy my school life before coming for my life again."

Val looked slightly angry at this point. He was trying to talk to Zavier earnestly but he wasn't taking him seriously.

In fact, Zavier had never denied whatever Val was trying to tell him. He just didn't believe that he could actually live such a life. Ever since he had come to this world, he was either being assassinated or was being hunted down by S rank mages or was dying to monsters capable of killing everyone.

It was hard to take it easy once you had experienced all that in such a short duration. This was more excitement and more terror than all his previous life combined.

Zavier too got serious about the discussion that had taken him by surprise. He had to clear some of the confusions that had been hounding him until now.

"I want you to answer some of my questions honestly, at least those that you can answer."

Val took a deep breath and let out a sigh that seemed to imply that he had long seen that coming as if he had known that this day would come and Zavier would demand to know those answers.

"I know that you deserve to know those answers but I won't tell everything to you at this moment. I am worried about what you will do with that knowledge especially now that I know what you are capable of."

Zavier showed slight anger in his expressions. He wanted to know why Val was hiding that information from him.

"Why? Why won't you tell me everything?"

"Because you are too weak. You can ask me the the same questions when you have grown as strong as me and I will not hide anything from you. You won't be able to handle the truth with your current strength. I am worried that you will harm yourself if I told you everything right now. When you are strong enough you won't even have to ask me. I will tell you everything of my own accord."

At this point Val appeared unlike his usual self to Zavier. He had never seen him like this before. He felt mysterious and vague somehow.

"Do you know of any assassins trying to kill me?"

Val had seen the question coming from his earlier words so he answered what he was willing to answer.

"Of course I know. It isn't the first time something like this has happened, you know. Assassination attempts on you have been going on since you were born. We have tried our best to protect you so far and we want to keep it that way. I think that it would have been better had you not found out this early."

"Who is it?"

"What do you mean?"

Val tried to feign ignorance in an attempt to not answer the question but Zavier saw through it.

"Who is it that is trying to kill me ever since I was born? I want to know the culprit behind those assassinations. You told me that this has been going on for so long. You must have investigated everything by now. You must know who my enemies are."

Val showed a sombre look on his face and shook his head in the negative.

"I cannot tell you that. You are too weak to face your enemy currently. Knowing about such an enemy will only hamper your growth and will give rise to paranoia."

Zavier showed an understanding look as he was beginning to feel what his uncle Val was trying to do. The information that he could retrieve from him was quite limited since he would only tell him of things that he was able to handle.

Zavier felt that he would have to find out those things on his own later. Therefore he was going to ask as many questions as Val was willing to answer.

"Then, tell me this. Were you the one who secretly ordered that mission from our school? It was very odd that there was no mention of it beforehand but out of nowhere we were told to proceed on a mission. That had happened around the time you came back."

Val nodded and continued talking.

"Your reasoning is quite valid. It was indeed me who authorized this mission but we had no inkling as to what was waiting for you on that mission. The main reason for sending you away was that we wanted to send you away from school so as to protect you. I had gotten wind of the assassination attempt on you and I knew that since the assassin was still alive, he might have come back to finish the job because that's what assassins do. Sending you away was not only for your safety but also because I wanted to be at ease regarding your safety. Therefore, while you were away, I investigated the last attempt at your life in order to find out the culprit responsible. I couldn't just let such a threat to you roam freely after trying his hand on assassinating you. So I investigated the incident and found the real culprit behind the assassin. You don't have to worry since I have gotten rid of him. Let's just say that he won't be planning any more assassinations."

Val gave a smile at the end of his last sentence that was both enigmatic and charming. Of course Zavier understood the meaning underlying his words.

At the same time, Zavier was quite shocked for the reason that he was sent on the mission. At the time, he had even thought that Val was the culprit and the mission was a death trap he had designed for him to finish the job that the assassin could not. He was surprised that his uncle had been able to solve the problem that had haunted him so easily.

On his own, Zavier had tried his best to look for clues and had tried to investigate the people behind his assassination with the help of his perception system but to no avail. There was hardly a clue left behind by the assassin that he could have used to follow his trail. He remembered being quite exasperated at the time. But his uncle had solved everything in such a small amount of time with such limited information. This was quite a surprise to him.

At the same time, he was relieved because he now had one less thing to worry about.

He contemplated about asking a question that had been in his mind for some time but in the end decided to clear away all his confusions.

"Have you investigated this incident too? Why were we ambushed and what did they need from Alissa and me? Why target us? Does that have something to do with the…"

Val put a finger on his lips to indicate him to stop talking.

"Let me stop you right there. You need to understand that whatever happened to you or whatever you all encountered during this mission has been classified as a national secret and you are not allowed to divulge the details of the subject to anyone; not even me. So, when I say that I won't be able to answer that question for you; that means I truly can't. It is a top secret government file at the moment and any leak in information regarding the subject will come back to haunt you, so keep your lips pressed tight or avoid talking about the subject altogether. It isn't as if it is a pleasant memory that you want to discuss with your friends."

Zavier was disappointed since he wanted to know the reason behind the enemy's interest in Alissa. Had the enemy known about the monster inside of her?

Unfortunately, his questions had to remain unanswered at the moment. Zavier felt that he would have to slowly look for those answers on his own as he got stronger.

Zavier was eager to solve all the mysteries surrounding him but he also understood the reasons behind Uncle Val not telling him anything. He truly was too weak to handle the knowledge that the answers to his questions entailed. For example, had he known the enemy that was targeting Alissa, what could he have done? An enemy that was capable of sending out three S rank mages was surely more capable than that. Zavier would have been nothing more than a buzzing fly in front of him. Even though he had managed to live through the ordeal, he knew in his heart that he was very weak and had it not been for the multi system, he truly would have died in the wilderness or in the belly of that monster. Therefore, he understood what Val was trying to do by keeping that information from him.

The only hint that Val had dropped for him throughout the conversation was that he had to get stronger if he wanted to control his own destiny and wanted to get rid of those who wanted to get rid of him. The answer to all his questions and all his problems at the moment was to get stronger. Only with strength would he have the right to know who his enemies were. This only meant that his enemies were stronger than he could imagine and he had to at least have a fighting chance before Val revealed the rest of the information to him.

Val understood what was happening in Zavier's mind at the moment. Therefore, he patted his back with some strength in it to bring him out of his reverie that was taking him in the direction of self loathing and depression slowly.

"Don't show me that face. I didn't tell you these things so you can make a gloomy face like that. There is no need to be depressed. You Uncle here will take care of your problems until you are able to handle them on your own. After all that's what families are for. We struggle in the darkness and wade through rivers of blood and evil so that our families can rest at ease and live comfortably. Guess what, you are part of my family so I will do absolutely anything for you. I am willing to tell you everything once you have grown a bit stronger and the right time has come. But until that moment arrives, I want to ask one thing from you in return for all my effort and struggle."