Chapter 23 - TWINKLE

EDMUND was extremely panicked when the general disappeared once again. He was just talking to Leland on his Terminal one second and the next, the general who he thought was eating on the side vanished life a puff of smoke. Of course, the first thing he felt was panic. It was not until he told the lieutenant what happened and Leland almost roared at him to quickly find the general that he moved from where he was sitting.

Once he calmed down, he realized that the general must be still in the vicinity. After all, no matter how strong he was, he didn’t have the ability to fly thousands of miles in just a few minutes. He was probably just within the vicinity of this land. Thus, his search for the general began once again.

Edmund was the best tracker among the Fenris Squad. That’s why even though he was the least reliable among the three captains of the squad, the lieutenant still gave him the job of searching for the general. 

But no matter how good he was in tracking, it would be useless if the one he’s following was careful in not leaving any trails. He suddenly wanted to cry without tears. He was now doubting whether the general hated him. If not, then why would he ran off and add more work for him when they should just be staying put until the people Leland sent arrived? Well, granted the words ‘staying put’ didn’t really go well with the general. But even so.

Despite the lack of trail to follow, Edmund still managed to trace the steps of the general. Although it took quite some time for him to do that. It led him to the direction of a large lake that was located down the mountain where they emergency landed. 

He jumped on the branch of a tree and quickly saw the figure of the general in the distance. And he wasn’t alone. The general was holding the arm of a teenage boy. Even though Edmund was still a bit far from where the two was standing, he could still see clearly what was happening. And that included the appearance of the said teenager.

He had the rare black hair and black eyes. Because he had both, the combination was even more lethal. Making him look even more eye-catching. And he seemed to be glaring at the general, as if he couldn’t wait to punch him. Did the general do something to him?

And that’s when he took into account the state of undress of the general. He was even looking at the teenager with ‘that’ expression. The one he often had whenever he saw something that interest him. 

Wait- was it possible that the general was attracted by the teenager’s beauty and he began to harass the other? That was certainly not good. The lieutenant would definitely punish him if he found out that he not only loss the general, he even let him harass one of the locals. He had to stop the general before he did more damage. 

He jumped off the tree he was standing on and shouted, “General!”

The same time he did, someone from the opposite side shouted something different;

“Aster!”

It was Reas. He was planning to just stay put at their house until Astrid messaged him that he could bring their parents to the lake when he suddenly felt anxious and irritable. It was not the first time he felt that. Every time in the past when Astrid was in a potentially dangerous situation, he would feel that way. It was the same for his brother. The only explanation the two of them could think was because their twins. They had a certain connection that normal siblings didn’t have. And because the two of them were also really close, that ‘connection’ could sometimes manifest this way. 

The moment he felt that, he quickly ran out of the house and rode his bike. When he was near the clearing where the lake was located, he immediately spotted his twin. And there was a naked man holding him. No matter which angle he looked, that bastard was clearly harassing Astrid. 

Unprecedented anger filled him. He jumped off from the bike he was riding and ran towards the direction of the two at the highest speed.

Meanwhile, the two who was in the center of attention…

[General? Was this exhibitionist actually a soldier?] – that was Astrid’s first thought when he heard that call.

On the other hand, Wulfric’s train of thought was in a completely different direction. Hearing the name ‘Aster’, he was certain that whoever shouted that was calling this little guy here. If he remembered correctly, the word ‘Aster’ meant ‘star’ in one of ancient Earth’s many languages. 

He stared at the teenager in front of him, his black eyes still shining brilliantly like cold fire. What a fitting name. 

“Is Aster your name?” he asked not really expecting an answer. He leaned forward, closing the distance between their faces. And then he smirked. “Then from now on, I’m going to call you ‘Twinkle’.”