Chapter 209 - A Peaceful Evening

"Ehem," the soldier cleared his throat, "As I was saying-"

"Before you actually say anything," Rynold quickly interrupted, "Why don't we take a seat?"

That said, Rynold moved first without waiting for a response. He found a seat attached to the side of the new building, next to a bunch of vending machines. It was a bench, nothing special about it.

Seeing Rynold get slightly comfortable, the soldier could only follow suit. He didn't want to be rude to Rynold, considering how he was so mercilessly beaten before. And, at this point, the soldier wasn't holding any other grudges now. Well, with Rynold extending a helping hand, how could he?

Rynold sat down and leaned forward with both elbows on his legs. From where he sat, he could see people walking about and doing their jobs. A sense of normality and calm washed over him. It's been a long time since he last saw something like this — people going about their day.

"You ever look at these people and wonder what's making them do what they do?"

It was a loaded question. To which, Rynold directed it at the soldier who was about to sit down next to him. He hesitated upon hearing Rynold ask him such an obscure question.

"Er...," the soldier awkwardly responded and sat his ass down.

"Heh. Guess not," Rynold scoffed as he leaned back ever so slightly. "Would you believe that I wanted to be a soldier back then too?"

"No," the soldier answered without skipping a beat. "It might be rude for me to say this. But. You aren't exactly the type to be a soldier."

"No, no. It's not rude at all," Rynold chuckled, speaking as if he was in a friend's company. "I didn't follow through, anyway. Back then, it's always study, study, study. It's kind of hard to ignore the thing you knew how to do. No matter how much I hated it, I can't ignore something people expect me to do."

Rynold knew that talking like this was a bit out of place. But, right now, he completely ignored it. That's because, right now, it was moments like these that made him feel back to when before the New World started.

In other words, Rynold was reminiscing.

"It wasn't until the New World that I started to feel comfortable with my own life," Rynold sighed as he leaned back fully. "For some reason, it always felt like I needed to fight. It wasn't until now that I realized I like being at risk for it all. Putting my life in danger for someone else. It felt right; you know what I mean?"

"Can't say that I don't," the soldier scoffed and leaned back as well. "If you were in the military, we'd probably get along well."

"Yeah, maybe," Rynold nodded as he watched a person walk past. "And, if you weren't in the military right now, we'd have probably met someplace out in the world."

"Yeah, yeah...," the soldier answered and trailed off. He nodded and looked at the same things Rynold was. People passed by and did their own thing, living their own life.

"Rynold, by the way," Rynold scoffed as he extended his left arm to the person right of him. "You don't have to tell me your name. And..., I'm giving mine because Elle would've probably already called me 'asshole' or something."

"David," the soldier replied and shook Rynold's hand, "And, don't worry, she already did."

"Heh," Rynold gave a weak chuckle before continuing. "So, David. What else did you want to say back then? You know, before Nea cut you off."

"Oh, right," David answered and cleared his throat. "The madame specifically stated that you are not to walk around uninhibited. Do not, under any circumstances, go into any other buildings aside from this one. Lastly, a soldier will come by here tomorrow morning to escort you out of the premises."

"So, you're staying in one place all night and can order room service?" Rynold recapped everything the soldier just said, albeit in a simplified manner.

"Y-yes," the soldier awkwardly confirmed, "That's it."

"Wow, she really didn't hold back, huh? I'm assuming that some people are monitoring my actions too? Otherwise, it wouldn't be quite a military base, would it?"

Rynold briefly paused but didn't let David answer. It wasn't like he was going to say yes, anyway.

"Seems simple enough," Rynold added with a deep exhale, "Although, I still can't believe that she got to be an 'adviser' in the military. If I had known that would happen, I wouldn't have given her the spell in the first place."

"What do you mean?" David curiously asked.

"It's about your 'madame," Rynold answered sarcastically, "Elle wouldn't have survived without my help. And, even if she did, she wouldn't have gotten out unscathed. Besides, after the first piece of advice she gave, she hasn't done anything noteworthy since then. Isn't that right?"

That was a guess at most. But, Rynold could've sworn that he had guessed correctly. Out of everything that Rynold could have assumed, this was the one he was the most confident in saying.

And, much to his expectations, Rynold was right. Even though David didn't say a word, Rynold could tell by his reaction that he was, indeed, correct.

"If that's the case," Rynold leaned forward once more. "Whatever it is your superiors have planned for you guys, it's not going to end well. I'm not trying to scare you. But, if you want to fight monsters and magical creatures, you need to up your magic game. That goes for everyone."

Rynold wasn't going to join their fight. Hell, that's why it's 'their' fight. It was, by any means, nothing that involved Rynold. That said, though, giving a piece of advice to David wasn't the end of the world.

However, even when Rynold did go out of his way to say these things, it still wasn't guaranteed if David would listen to him. David was a soldier, after all, while Rynold was a Magic User. Their worlds were fundamentally different.

"I don't know what they have planned for us," David answered with a somewhat defeated tone, "All I know is something big's happening. Really soon. From what I can tell, they're gathering a lot of resources for this one mission. That's why there aren't many of us around the base."

"And, let me guess," Rynold interrupted, "That's why you guys are assembling at the entrance. Things are going down, David. Better hope that you don't go down with it."

"Yeah...," David answered with a slightly anxious nod.

"Anyway," Rynold cleared his throat and leaned back on the bench. "In this day and age, people shouldn't go blindly following orders. Especially not from someone like Elle. I'm not saying this because of my history with her. It's just that — there's a lot of things you don't know out there. So, really, take it from me and try not to follow the crowd."

"I'll... uh...," David hesitantly responded, "I'll think about it. I'm not usually called out to the front line anyway. I'm more of just a guard."

"Right, right," Rynold nodded in acknowledgment. "You should probably get going, man. Elle's going to get suspicious if you don't report soon."

After saying that, Rynold stood up, and David soon did the same. The two faced each other and exchanged glances.

"Thanks for bringing us here. And, uh, sorry for the trouble I caused."

"Water under the bridge," David answered, "Besides, I'm just doing my job. You know how it is."

"Ah," Rynold acknowledged, "Alright then. I'll see you when I see you."

Extending an arm, Rynold and David had an amicable goodbye. With David heading out the way they came, Rynold walked towards the room where Neana entered. His heart, for some reason, fluttered in nervousness.

After taking in a deep breath, Rynold entered the room and found nobody there. It was, well, disappointing, but it calmed Rynold down all the same.

"Man, she should've at least locked the door," Rynold said as he closed the door behind him.

"Rynold? Is that you?"

Neana's voice called out from behind another door. She was in the bathroom, taking the chance of cleaning up while Rynold stayed outside. Rynold had come into the room just when Neana finished.

Opening the door and stepping out of the bathroom, Neana wore more comfortable clothes. An oversized T-shirt and some sweatpants were nothing but sleepwear. Although, for reasons unknown, Rynold found it comforting to see her like that.

"Hey," Rynold smiled and awkwardly waved. He didn't really know how to react to all of this. He was, for the most part, stumped.

"Go take a shower," Neana ordered as she moved to the side. "It's actually decent. There's hot water and everything. Although, it could use a little bit more variety with its amenities."

"It's fine, Nea," Rynold walked forward and stepped into the shower. It was spacious and clean. Rynold would've taken this for what it was and been satisfied with how he used it. "Can you check on how the kid's doing while I'm cleaning up, though? I'm kinda worried."

"Yeah, I'll take care of it," Neana answered with a trustworthy tone, "Go ahead and relax. You've earned it."

"Thanks, Nea."

That said, Rynold closed the door and took his time doing what he needed. Stepping into the shower and closing the glass door, Rynold turned the shower on and started scrubbing. The whole thing took about a few more minutes than he'd like, with all the blood and stuff.

Regardless, Rynold sure took his time. It wasn't in every mission that he would have access to a shower like this. And not to mention the hot water was pretty great too. Eventually, he finished and wiped himself down with a towel.

Following this, Rynold then approached the sink and inadvertently looked at himself in the mirror. He wasn't one to express vanity or anything like that, but it was hard not to notice what he's become.

'Since when did I look like that?'

All those nights spent in the workshop gave him more muscles than he's ever needed. All the battles he's gone through gave him some scars here and there, making Rynold look tougher than he really was. All in all, Rynold had unintentionally gained a more toned and well-built body.

As he looked at himself in the mirror, Rynold noticed that at least some things stayed the same. His face was mostly the same as it was before, just now with a better, more defined jawline. Rynold still can't grow any facial hair, though, and his hair was still a mess.

But, as for everything else, Rynold changed. It's been almost a year in the New World. Who would've thought that it would have changed him so much?

'Ah, whatever.'

The New World hasn't changed much of Rynold's personality, though. He finished up with brushing his teeth and putting some new clothes on from his inventory. As for the blood-stained ones, though, Rynold opted to leave them in the bathroom hamper. There wasn't a need to bring them along with him. He might as well have thrown them away.

Rynold opened the door and stepped outside the bathroom. With him all cleaned up, Rynold could finally relax for a bit. He sat down on the bed and took a deep breath.

"You sure took your time," Neana called out to Rynold while her hand was on the phone intercom.

"Yeah," Rynold chuckled and laid his back on the bed, "There was a lot to clean."

With a relaxed expression, Rynold closed his eyes for a bit. His exhaustion built up, and now was the moment he released it. In such a comfortable state, Rynold would have soon fallen asleep. That is until Neana interrupted by hanging up the phone.

"Hey, come on," Neana approached Rynold and gently patted him. "Don't you want some food, first? I mean, it's already here, and it actually smells pretty good."