Aspirations

"Um hi?" Luck nervously greeted.

There was no response.

He looked at Chari who simply shrugged as he munched on his crackers, hadn't he eaten far too many crackers by now?

Luck tried again but this time his voice was a little louder.

"Hello, are you okay?"

The girl slowly turned to look at him, then placed her hand on her chest as if to ask. "Are you talking to me?"

Luck nodded.

The way she acted was as if she didn't expect anyone to notice her, or didn't expect anyone to pay her any attention. Her face was stoic but Luck could sense a vague hint of sadness within the stoic visage.

Why would a child be curled up in a corner instead of enjoying the party?

Luck bent down to offer her his cup of chocolate.

"Do you want some chocolate?"

"Hey, I'm stchill eatching that chu know," Chari said, speaking with his mouth full.

The girl looked at Chari and back at the cup that was now soiled with cracker bits then looked away.

Luck nervously smiled when he noticed his error, he quickly retrieved another cup and scooped up some chocolate. He was once again squatting next to the girl, chocolate cup in hand.

The girl looked at him with that same stoic expression and then her lips parted as she spoke.

"With your persistence I would think that you're trying to poison me."

Luck and Chari were taken back, she had been so silent that they forgot that she could even speak. And her voice…

Although what she said could have been considered funny or even a joke, there were no emotions behind those words. They were cold.

She then warily stared at the cup one more time before accepting it.

Chari handed her a cracker, mirroring her own stoic expression.

She accepted it from him and then..

Dip dip.

She plunged the cracker into the chocolate cup the way Chari had done.

"Attaboy, that's how it's done."

Chari dipped another cracker in Luck's chocolate and put the whole thing in his mouth.

"You've infected her with your bad habits."

"They are good habits actually."

"There is no difference between this and sticking your bread in a cup of coffee."

"What are you saying? I always dip my bread in my coffee."

"Dude! That is disgusting." The very thought of the wet bread in his mouth made him shudder.

Chari handed another cracker to the girl who accepted it without hesitation.

"You wouldn't know until you try it though."

Why was she so eager to take food from Chari but when it was him she acted skeptical?

Luck stared at her and she stared back as she ate another of the chocolate soaked crackers.

They decided to spend some more time with the girl before leaving, for whatever reason he wasn't too eager to leave her alone so soon but after sometime they had to leave.

"Try to have fun at least, you never know, you might just make some friends." Luck said as he was about to leave.

Chari simply handed the girl more crackers.

As they turned to leave the hall, they heard a faint voice from behind them.

"Thank you."

The voice was small, almost too low for them to hear but they had caught it.

"You're welcome."

They both said in unison.

***

Initially Luck wanted to eavesdrop on some of the clan executives but now that not only their father but Jane, Sarah and their mother were present it made it difficult for them to move around.

And so they left the hall, but not before Luck grabbed a chocolate covered apple.

They were now standing in the balcony enjoying the view, the sky was filled with countless stars and the moon's light was so bright that they could see well enough even without the help of a lamp.

The environment was peaceful as the soft tunes from the party found their way to the balcony. The only thing disturbing the peace was the constant crunch that was heard anytime Luck took a bite out of his chocolate apple.

"So what do you think about this new world?" Chari's voice cut through the silence.

Luck briefly glanced at him before responding.

"Hmm, I guess it's pretty fun. Enjoyable even."

"That's good to hear."

There was an awkward period of silence before Chari spoke again.

"Have you found a way to use that power again?"

"It's still locked, it looks like I have a long way to go before I'll be able to use it again."

He held his chin thoughtfully.

"I guess it's the same with mine then."

Luck could tell that Chari had something to say but he did not know why he wasn't being direct. Chari was not one to beat around the bush so it just made the whole situation even stranger.

'What could be so hard for him to say?'

Luck wondered as he watched Chari.

"What about the foo-"

"You're making me worry dude," Luck cut in not letting Chari finish his question.

Chari smiled.

"I guess I should get straight to the point then," Chari said before he began to speak.

"There is no doubt about it, you should know by now that we have potential, the potential to become extremely powerful."

'Was this what was so hard for him to speak about?'

"Yes, there is a good chance."

The whole ordeal with the bandits was all he needed to confirm this, he knew that the system gave him an edge but he didn't expect something of that scale.

What he used was just the second spirit technique, how strong would he be when he unlocked the third, fourth and the rest?

Chari leaned forward on the balcony.

"The phantom war."

"What about it?"

"What do you think about it?"

Luck had no idea where these questions were leading to but he chose to answer either way.

In truth Luck had thought about the war on multiple occasions, that was why he didn't have to think for long before answering.

"I'm going to stay as far away from it as possible."

There was a brief pause before Luck continued.

"I'm not delusional enough to think that I can just stride into the war and not suffer in one way or the other. War is a brutal place, all that death and suffering…"

"I have decided to enjoy my life in this world, war is not for me. I want peace."

He was being selfish, he knew it but he had made up his mind long before he was even reborn.

But strangely…

Chari let out a huge breath as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Yes, haha. That's the right way to go. You should enjoy yourself as much as you can!"

Chari looked up at the stars before he continued.

"I was beginning to think you might want to help out in the war after you asked me all those questions about it that day."

'So he has been bothered by it since that time, why was he only asking now?'

Luck then asked a question of his own.

"What about you? What is your plan concerning the war?"

Chari's mirth slowly came to an end. He stared ahead of him, looking at the vast compound of the estate.

"Did you really have to ask?"

Chari grabbed the railings a little tightly before speaking next.

"The phantom war…

…I'm going to end it."