Chapter 12: Tattoo artist

Chapter 12: Tattoo artist

Edward Grant knew his son like the back of his hand. To say that Nero was passionate about school would be overselling it, but during the last few years at least he had put in some effort towards it. Still, seeing him jump out of a hospital bed in a rush to get to school was about as believable as the fog around Valeriya disappearing, revealing a wonderland behind it.

But he remembered what it was like to be a teenager, so he didn't point out how obvious his son was being. He only hoped that Nero was running away to go see a girl or something, instead of, you know, the usual of plotting revenge against his enemies.

"Here, take this," Edward said as he threw a money clip towards Nero, containing 500 Krims, the local currency in Kolar. "Your bag is gone and you're probably not going to be able to get your knife back anytime soon. But a young man shouldn't be without any protection, so on your way to school, buy yourself some of the essentials."

Nero was momentarily stunned by the amount of money his father had given him, but when he heard he'd have to buy a new knife, it made sense. 500 Krims was a lot of money, especially for a 15-year-old. Even after buying a very, very good knife, he'd have around 200 Krims left. For comparison, 1 Krim was enough to buy enough meal rations for one time for an adult. Of course, how many rations one could buy depended on their available quota, but the idea was still the same.

"You're making me very double minded about not getting hospitalised again," Nero joked as he jumped off the bed. His father snorted, but said nothing else. His clothes were folded neatly on a table beside him, so Nero wasted no time in grabbing them and changing out of the hospital gown in the bathroom.

"What time is it?" he asked as he walked out of the bathroom looking for his shoes.

"2:57 pm," Edward said while flipping a page. "Oh look here, there's a discount at Maxim's Card shop if you buy cards on the day you stabilise. Might want to stop by on the way. Looks like a good deal."

"I'll drop by on the way. See you later, dad."

"Don't forget to buy yourself a new phone," Edward reminded as his son rushed out of the door.

Something clicked in Nero's mind. His phone must have gotten lost or broken during the ordeal in the morning. No wonder his father gave him so much money. After buying a knife, a phone and some daily essentials, he'd probably have nothing left.

Without much ceremony, Nero quickly left the hospital. If there was any paperwork that was needed on his behalf to check out, then his dad would probably take care of it.

Outside the hospital was a rack of rentable cycles, one of which Nero pulled out and hastily began making his way towards the city. Public transport was only available along the main roads and important parts of the city, so a cycle would serve him better overall.

His destination was not close, and would take him about twenty minutes to reach, allowing him some time to finally reflect on what had happened. Just a few hours ago, he was fighting for his life in a building filled with invading terrorists.

But while Nero did not know all of their agenda, he knew that at least one of the terrorists had been targeting one of the Heralds, Invictus, at the behest of someone from the local community.

His grip on the handlebar tightened. This was just another example of the decaying corruption that filled Kolar. Nero had thought a lot about this over the past few years, and studied a lot to better understand the world.

He studied history, both national and international, in as much detail as he could. He studied gossip magazines and propaganda leaflets, alongside the official statements for various events. He even asked his parents about them, if they happened to be around. The one thing Nero learned was that the truth was always more complicated than it seemed.

"He's your older brother. It's disrespectful to call him directly by his name," she said in an instructing tone. "And don't you dare pretend like he means any less to me than any of you."

She let go of his ear and took a step back, her smile completely vanished now as she maintained eye contact with Nero.

"I never told anyone this, because I didn't want anyone to feel hurt, but before he was taken in, he knew it was going to happen. He came to me, and told me something was about to happen."

Nero raised an eyebrow as he was clearly hearing something new. Did his parents know about this?

"Your brother was a man, Nero. A true man. When he told me that something might happen to him, I thought he was going to break up with me."

Irene held up her hand and removed the glove from her left hand, revealing a small, round tattoo on her third finger. Nero felt his heart drop as he realised something he couldn't quite believe.

"Instead of breaking up with me, he married me. He tattooed this ring on my hand himself and promised to make it back alive and bring me home and officially introduce me to the family. So no, Nero, I won't forget my husband and just move on."

Nero trembled as he looked at Irene... no, as he looked at his sister-in-law in the eyes, and saw the depth of her emotions. Suddenly, a tinge of guilt appeared in his heart. He had been ignoring her for months, hoping she would forget his brother. There was no reason she should throw her life away. She was still young. But... but he had clearly underestimated her too much.

He bowed to her, to show his sincerity, but also to hide the welling emotion in his eyes.

"My apologies, sister-in-laws. You... it, it must have been tough these past few years, not telling anyone."

Nero's voice changed drastically, and no longer did he try to be distant. Instead, warmth and acceptance filled his voice.

"Come on, kid. We're family. No need for the formalities. Now take your shirt off, I'd rather we get right into work."

Nero nodded and made his way to a chair nearby and removed his shirt. Irene's innate ability was a unique one, and it was incredibly powerful too. She could use ink to replicate the effect of Eldrim cards, making her one of the few humans alive who could wield magic without the need for cards.

Of course, she had synchronised nonetheless. But the point was, she could replicate the effects of any card with her ink, regardless of their star level. It was a broken ability, which is why she hardly ever shared the details of it with anyone. He was one of the few people who knew about it.

"So does that mean you're not Irene Hammel anymore?" he asked, still wrapping his head around the fact that his brother secretly got married. Between the two of them, Nero had always been the crazy one, while Patrick was the responsible one. But maybe... that was not really true.

"It's Irene Grant now," she said, before placing her nail on his back. "Now let me focus, kid. I've been planning this one for years."