The Guardians' Legacy

— I'll go first. Bring your guest too, Garta. — said the Manager determinedly in a demanding tone. — We'll have a very hearty dinner.

— Yes, of course, Manager — she replied, lowering her head.

The experienced and intimidating man turned his back and calmly walked out of the room.

Colth was immediately bothered by the guardian's sudden change in posture. Aldren and Celina noticed it too.

— What was that?

— What? — The woman disguised herself poorly.

“He doesn’t know, does he? The Manager didn’t know I was here. You were keeping me hidden.” Colth tried to be subtle, but the demanding tone was unavoidable.

— Bertha! — Garta gritted his teeth and glared at the girl in the corner of the room.

— I'm sorry. — Her regret was tiny. — I should have warned you, but I ended up getting caught up in creating the...

— Ah! Whatever — interrupted Garta, slightly calmer. — Now it's too late.

— Can you at least tell me who this guy is? — Colth made his lack of patience clear.

— The Manager is the one who calls the shots around here — Bertha butted in without noticing. — He's the one who runs the entire North region. How can I put it... He controls things behind the scenes.

— What? — Aldren was surprised, as was Colth. — Wait a minute. You mean we’re about to have dinner with the shadow chief of the North?

— Shadows of the North? — Colth spoke up, waiting for answers.

— Yes. — Aldren’s eyes widened and, in a terrified tone as he grabbed Colth’s arms, he continued. — An old criminal who was never found. He led a small group of assassins who committed several crimes. Today, he lives in hiding... What if, dinner is us? What if...

Colth couldn't help but feel his colleague's fear, and amid Aldren's heightened despair, he sought answers from Garta.

—That's not exactly it—the guardian replied, wavering.

— Isn't it? — Colth waited patiently for answers.

— Don't believe her, Colth. These people are not trustworthy. — Aldren continued with his cowardly tone, no one listened.

— Good. You've already met most of this group, Colth... You can draw your own conclusions.

— Have you met him?

— Yes. Runa and Oskar.

— Including. The Manager doesn’t know you’re helping them too, does he? — Bertha said as she put away her tools.

— Bertha! — Again Garta's angry posture emanated.

— What's your problem? Do you really need to keep everything a secret from everyone? — Aldren gave him his most judgmental look.

— Ah! — Garta closed his eyes angrily to calm himself. — Listen, you guys. The Manager is complicated. He is very strict and has a unique way of doing things. So, don't ask questions or contradict him. We better go, he doesn't like to wait.

The restaurant remained closed to the public, only one large table was occupied in the dining room among many others. Garta, Colth, Aldren, and Celina accompanied the man sitting at the head of the table like a true host.

The Manager satisfied his hunger with the fancy dishes that the waiters brought, incorporating all the necessary etiquette. Carefree and comfortable in his place, the man was constantly the target of curious and, at the same time, fearful looks from the others at the table.

Colth tried his best to enjoy the great food, or at least give the impression that he was enjoying it. The exchange of nervous glances with his colleagues was inevitable. The tension reached another level when the Manager placed his cutlery on the plate, showing his satisfaction. Immediately, the waiters removed not only the man's empty plate, but all the others.

— I'm not done yet... — Aldren tried to argue, but the waiter simply didn't listen and took away the delicious meal that was still half-eaten. The young man gave up on his steak when he noticed the tense atmosphere becoming even heavier on his colleagues' faces.

— So, this is Tera's guardian? — The man pointed his nose at the two girls on the left side of the table.

— Exactly, sir — Garta said in an exaggeratedly respectful tone. — This is Celina Buregar, she came from...

—And you still haven't discovered the ability she carries?

— We've tried a few times, but we still haven't found any clues as to what it could be. — Garta replied, humbly lowering his head, sweating coldly.

— Hmm. You know this is important, right? — The Manager's tone was serious as he placed both elbows on the table and stared at the woman. — I need you to be able to discover this skill.

— Yes, I'm sorry. We're trying and...

— Enough! Stop apologizing. — The man raised his voice, interrupting Garta's words. Then he took a deep breath to appreciate the scent of the room as he lifted his nose. He looked back at Garta and continued in a more subtle, yet threatening tone. — We don't need apologies, we need the ability of Tera's guardian.

— Yes, I know — she replied, lowering her head even more in respect. — I will work harder.

— More effort? — The manager tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. — Girl, dear. You bring me a guardian with no skills, disappear for several days, hide these two. — He pointed at Colth and Aldren who remained silent — And you tell me you're going to work harder?

— Excuse me, sir. Won't you acc...

“I told you not to apologize!” The veins on the man’s face bulged and his features turned an angry red. “You’re a guardian. Stop acting like a child.”

—...

The Manager took another deep breath, rubbed his eyes in exhaustion, and then returned to his previous mild tone.

— You know I wouldn't do anything to you. Nothing. But with those other two...

As the man with his slow words intimidated Garta, Aldren and Colth swallowed hard and held their breath so as not to be noticed.

— No. — Garta got up from her chair in distress. — Please, you don't need to worry. Take this ability for granted.

— Huh? — The Manager was surprised by the attitude, shook his head negatively and continued in a calmer tone: — Whatever. Just don't go and die to protect riffraff like that.

The man stood up and straightened his suit, looking into each of their eyes in silence. Then he turned and walked towards the restaurant exit.

— Next time I see her, I want to see this girl with her skills. Until then, get rid of these profiteers — said the man leaving the place.

Garta showed reverence in reflex. The rest of the people at the table remained silent for a few more moments. That man had an intimidating presence that persisted even after he left.

— You two better go back to the apartment. — Garta broke the established silence.

Colth gave space to the strangeness that had been eating away at him for some time. “Garta even seems like a different person compared to this guy.” He thought before asking the question:

— What did this man do to...

— Just do what I say! — she replied irritably. She took a deep breath, calming herself down. — Celina and I will have a long night to... You know, figure out this damn ability.

—Okay. Sure — Colth nodded hesitantly.

Aldren did the same, with a little more resistance, and after a tense exchange of glances between them, they left the restaurant and headed to the other side of the square.

                                                ***

— I have no idea how to make your abilities blossom — Garta said in a worried tone as she sat on the sofa in the center of the room above the restaurant, only she and Celina were present there. — We've tried everything, I'm starting to think that...

— That you're not a good instructor?

— Huh? — Finn's guardian didn't hide her annoyance. — You don't mince words, do you?

— I think that choosing words just to please my listener is a simple waste of time.

Garta didn't hide her confused and judgmental look at Celina's words.

— Oh, girl, how is it possible for you to be so clueless?

— I don't understand. What do you mean by that? — asked the youngest, truly in doubt.

— Ugh. Forget it — he shook his head — About your abilities, I'm definitely not the problem. Without a doubt, with everything we've tried, your abilities would have manifested by now.

“So, I’m a useless guardian?” Celina asked in a neutral tone, even though her words were somewhat aggressive towards herself.

— No. Why do you say that? — he asked strangely.

—I don’t know. I’ve heard that a few times. — Celina’s sincerity was as cold as the feeling of loneliness that the silent night brought.

— You're not useless. — Garta's morals didn't let her say otherwise. — Listen, how about we leave this aside, just for today?

—Wouldn’t the Manager be mad at you? He looked stiff.

— Yes. You're right. — He thought for a second, until he gave a conclusive smile. — So, how about I teach you how to shoot?

— I don't understand, what would be the relationship between this and the possible guardian abilities?

— Relationship? — The woman looked away, thinking of an answer. — Oh, of course. It is important for a guardian to know how to defend herself well. Therefore, it is my duty to teach you, since you will be my ally.

— I see. It makes sense. — Celina calculated the arguments of the woman who was trying to convince her. — Besides, you really seemed to shoot well during the Defense Ministry exams. Except for the last shot.

— I already told you. It was just a distraction. — Garta pointed the palm of his hand at Celina and, in a flash of light, they were both in a completely different place.

On a large stone slab, with the sun shining warmly overhead. Finn's guardian walked over to some wooden crates near the slate wall at the end of what looked like a lookout amidst a beautiful natural view surrounded by mountains. From one of the crates, she took out an old blackpowder musket.

— What is this place? — Celina asked, observing the horizon.

— This is Finn's world. Come, I'll teach you how to shoot.

— Alright. — Celina nodded and followed in her instructor’s footsteps.

— Have you ever done this? — Garta handed the gun into the girl's hands.

— No. Never. I only saw how it's done in a vade-mecum.

— Um, what? — he asked with all his might.

“A manual book,” Celina explained. “I thought you liked books. You were so engrossed in one when I met you.”

— Oh, that? — he remembered the little green-covered book he had given his brother. — No, I was just passing the time. My brother is the one who likes that kind of thing.

- I understood.

— Okay. Now, here — Garta drew the girl's attention to the musket. — See that bottle on the table, next to those boards leaning against the wall? Try to hit it. Don't worry, I'll help you. This part is called the threshold. Place it lightly on your shoulder area and...

Celina remembered perfectly the theory from the sniper's manual book that she had read on one of her endless days of solitude.

Garta was surprised. Even before her instructions, the girl had already performed the movements in an exemplary manner. She narrated her movements as if she were following the instructions in the book:

— Align the grip with the front sight, breathe slowly while relaxing your shoulders, and then... — Celina pulled the trigger at the end of her speech.

The bottle on an old table a few feet away from the shooter was undamaged, instead a hole had appeared in the wooden planks resting just behind the intact green glass of the container.

— Ah? — Garta was surprised again, the girl's shot passed so close to the target, it was incredible for a total beginner.

— I don't understand. I followed all the procedures in the manual. — The girl lowered the gun.

— It's obvious that you wouldn't hit it the first time. — Finn's guardian hid her surprise and puffed out her chest proudly. — It takes many years of training and dedication to achieve a target like mine.

— On paper, it looks simpler.

Even though Celina's tone remained neutral, almost without feelings as always, Garta noticed the girl's discontent. She tried to go back on her own words:

— Don't be discouraged. You did well.

—Really? — Celina doubted. —That’s not just a choice of words to keep me from getting upset, is it?

— What? Of course not. — The woman smiled in disguise. — Listen, you did well in all the theoretical part, but there are things that cannot be put in manuals.

— Are there such things?

— What kind of question is that? — Garta was tired of finding the things Celina kept asking strange. — Look, you have to take your weapon into consideration. All of them, even those of the same model, have differences. For example, this one has a small upward recoil and a slight deviation of the projectile to the right.

— Ah. — Celina was slightly shocked, she had felt these characteristics in her hands, but she hadn’t understood them until now.

— Also, your target is relatively close, so you should focus more on matching your movements than on your breathing. Remember that your target will probably be moving, at this distance, he wouldn't give you time to breathe like this. — Garta explained while pointing with his fingers at each point of his instruction. Celina was really interested and didn't stop paying attention. — One more thing, this is an open place, the direction of the projectile may be interfered with in a place like this. However, this can be disregarded for a Sathsai musket, a weapon similar to the one in the Defense exam, it doesn't suffer from the wind, this is because its projectile is the crystal's own energy, the interferences from the environment are different.

— Impressive. You must have read a lot of books to know all this.

— I didn't read. I don't read. — Garta was confused by her pupil's unqualified statement. — I mean, I know how to read. I just don't like it. Everything I told you is just my experiences.

— Experiences? I've never had any experiences.

— Because you lived hidden in a mansion. I know. By the way... — Garta hesitated. — What was it like being locked up all that time? Didn't you get lonely?

— I don't know. — Celina replied in a neutral tone.

— What, you don't know?

—I never stopped to think about it. I always had plenty of books to read. Defense manuals, biology, biology of dark creatures, geology, botany...

— What are you talking about? I asked if you were lonely. If you weren't afraid of being alone or apprehensive about not having anyone. I didn't ask if you were bored.

— Oh, well. — Celina continued, struggling to understand. — I guess I wasn't afraid. Aldren was always there too, so I didn't have to worry about that.

— I understand. Having someone who cares about you makes things easier, doesn’t it? — he asked with a distant look.

— Should I worry about Aldren? I guess I do.

Garta had his attention brought back closer when he noticed the incoherent, futile question. He held back a comical smile.

— It's so weird, it makes Bertha look normal. — he teased before continuing with the question — Well, you really like that short guy, don't you?

— Like it? — Celina tilted her head and showed her eyes in question.

— Why do I always get surrounded by weird people? — she whispered to herself. — Forget about it. Come on, try another shot. Remember what I told you about the muskets...

- It's OK...