Crownless: The Fallen World - Chapter 46

They were painstakingly waiting for their call to go through the albino doctor’s Holowrist. The usual small screen for calls was enlarged in front of them. 

After around two minutes of waiting, which was like forever, Cielle’s eyes were so close that they could see the fire flickering on her eyes along with her red eyes. 

“Well… hello there! Oh? You all are in the Excursion Island now? That’s horrible, you know? You should’ve waited for us and we can go there together! I could’ve stopped the people with me rampaging inside this town,” Cielle pulled her head back and they saw the town was now on fire. The townspeople were all running away from the raging warriors who were captured in the cave to make them as food. 

“What… what exactly happened? Where’s Bonham?” Axel asked straight away. 

“Guess what? The instant my companions entered their territory, they lit one building on fire saying that they just wanted some revenge for their fallen comrades. And hey, don’t get me wrong, I stopped them from doing it but they already lit one…” the albino laughed humorless, glancing at one side. “As to Bonham, he… well… he was on top of one of the burning houses now, shooting arrows everywhere…” 

“And what are you doing right now?” Zadie’s voice interrupted and Cielle’s eyes glanced over at the striking figure of the president. 

“If it isn’t the president itself! Hey hey, how are you now? You must’ve gotten older because of presidential work! But it’s good to see you alive!”

Zadie’s eyebrows twitched as she closed her eyes then exhaled heavily, “Shut up and answer my question.”

“You’re no fun at all, old gal. Anyway, I’m trying to save a life here. If you don’t have anything to say, I’ll hang up now,” Cielle said then showed her patient who was gritting in pain, face flushed red while sweat trickled down his forehead. 

The albino was stitching his arm back with a few drones beside her, helping her with working at the smaller tissues. 

“Ah…” Zadie was the first one to react, abruptly standing up from her seat as her lips trembled and hands quivering. 

All of their eyes turned towards the president, while Cielle’s face returned in the screen, continuing her work. 

The blonde’s eyes flickered and a few tears escaped her eyes until it became a waterfall. She cried loudly and hiccuped while she kept on wiping the tears away from her cheeks. 

The room was silent, watching their president cry her heart out while Cielle decided not to end the call as she continued the work of her hands. 

After a while, Cielle suddenly exclaimed, “Finally! Done! Stay here and I’ll get some people to carry you to safety. I’ll treat more people.” 

“Wait…” 

“Yeah? What is it, president?” 

“Can I see him?” 

“Who?” 

“The man you just treated…”

“I’ll call back and will show him later. A lot of lives needed me right now.” With that, the albino doctor hung up and left people dumbfounded at the behavior of their teammate. Though it was cool, it was still a disrespect towards the higher ups. 

But there was no violent reactions from the president itself, rather, her eyes softened and she fiddled with her fingers, waiting patiently for the call later. 

There were only two things that bugged their minds and would certainly be left unanswered until Cielle called them back. 

***

The sun was peeking from the horizon, canopies shaded those that were working and packing beside the vehicle. 

Aires’ face and clothes were painted with black spots as he held a wrench, standing in front of the opened hood. They were already working on this vehicle for hours but he wasn’t even getting sweaty. Back then, he would’ve sweated a lot and get irritated by it. But now when he doesn’t, he was kind of missing the sensation of it trickling down his body and getting dried then be sticky for the whole day. 

“In what age does this jeep belonged to?” Aires asked the butler, Felix, who was under the truck. 

“Dunno, lad. I only, sometimes, helped him in maintaining this junkie and never asked anything about it.” 

“This looks like a relic to me.”

“Might be. But it’s working just the way it was 20 years ago.” 

“There might be some integrations from here to there… should I try?” Aires’ voice was filled with enthusiasm when he thought of getting to know the junkie better than he was seeing. 

“You can definitely try if the madame permitted you to,” Felix released a few dry coughs then cleared his throat, “My throat is screaming dehydration. Need some water?” 

“Thank you. That would be great.” 

With a nod, the butler went off to the basin to clean himself first then headed to the cooler beside the camp. He smiled then checked on the engine of the vehicle. 

Before he could use his sleeve to wipe his non-existent sweat, which he grew in a habit, Hale suddenly appeared beside him and wiped his face in a rigorous manner. 

“Who- Hale! Calm down! I’m not even sweaty!” 

“I don’t really care,” when Hale was done, he threw the towel at the younger male, “If you’re done with the maintenance, be sure to come and eat then we will leave after.” 

When Aires was about to agree, he closed his mouth, eyeing the retreating back of the older male from him to the group where the girls were now cooking. 

He never knew that his eyes never left Hale’s figure until the butler threw a bottle at him which he unconsciously caught. 

“There, laddie. Cold water at your service.” Wearing the thick dirty gloves, the butler went back to work. 

By the looks of the boiling pot of reddish soup, it might be ready in a few minutes. Aires hastened his checking on the engine then the battery to every parts of the truck to be checked. He was desperately stopping himself from modifying the vehicle. 

Looking over for the last time, he then closed the hood of the truck. 

“Everything is fine now, Mr. Preston,” Aires informed Felix who slid out under the truck. 

“Great job, laddie. But Felix is fine,” he replied back. Having another pair of hands were indeed so helpful that they finished earlier that it normally did. 

Felix grabbed two canisters then threw one to Aires. “Wash your hands with that. Though we really need a bath.”

“I’ll take a bath then. I should inform them first. I’ll see you around, Mr. Pres… Felix.” 

“That was close, laddie!” Felix laughed. His stiff face that appeared older became youthful. As if he finally laughed after a few decades. His laugh died down and it was replaced with an old smile, “Yeah. See you around.”

Aires approached the small group. He didn’t go unnoticed until he called Hale a meter away from him. 

“Yeah?” Hale turned and gave a sour look at the taller male, “Why are you still dirty? Go shower.”

“That’s actually the reason why I came here. I’ll just take a bath in the nearby river. You can all start eating even if I’m not here,” Aires said. He didn’t wait for Hale to respond as he immediately walked towards the forest they were once in.