Immediately after we woke up, we got dressed and went to the Bilgam Brother’s Territory. We didn’t really have any time to spare, because if we dawdled for too long, we wouldn’t be able to get in the BBG. Running like our life depended on it, we followed Cecily and Carter all the way to the other side of town. This was tiring, but it served it’s purpose. You see, if they saw how worn-down and out of breath we are, they’d be more inclined to hear us out.

Making it to the base, which looked like a smaller castle (or at least a fort), we ran up to the nearest gang member, who wore more professional looking attire than the gang members of yesterday’s battle. He greeted us with a peculiar-looking smile and started speaking in a pseudo-formal tone.

“G’day, chaps! What’s all this huffin’ n’ puffin’ yer’ on about?”

“The… (huff)… The Blue Lions… They attacked us out of nowhere! They thought we were part of The Brothers.”

His happy-go-lucky attitude had suddenly contorted into a serious-looking frown, he muttered something while holding his chin then said:

“We’ve been getting more and more reports on those ruffians attacking civilians, you may refuge in here for the time being and we’ll escort you all home after we deem it safe to do so.”

“Yer’… Yer’ not gonna do sumthin’ ‘bout this?” Carter asked between his breaths, “Y’know they’re jus’ gonna keep attackin’ us if y’all don’t smack sum’ sense into ‘em!”

“Rest assured,” answered the gatekeeper, “for we are looking into the matter as we very well speak, but unless they step over the agreed-upon line, we will not act rashly.”

His tone aggravated Carter to no end, but Ed intervened and calmed the situation down.

“I’m sorry for my friend’s temper! He’s still a bit shaken up from the attack. We thank you from the bottom of our heart’s for giving us a place to stay.”

“Ah, no worries, chap.” The fellow answered back, “We understand your distress, do rest as much as you can, and if you have any questions, look for Jorgen. He should know a bit more than me.”

“Don’t put yourself down so much,” Ed inquired, “to whom do we owe this favor?”

“Oh, you’re asking about me? I am William, a guard of this community.”

We told Ed we’ll be heading inside, but he said he’ll join us after he finishes his chat with the guard. His accommodation skills are coming in handy right now, befriending as many people here will do us plenty good. I wonder who this Jorgen is, though…

***

The BBG base of operations (henceforth referred to as “The Fort”) is, in short, a spectacle. We’re talking about a giant courtyard which looked more like a castle grounds than anything else, it spanned a few kilometers in both length and width with the main building being situated near the back. It was surrounded with large brick walls which seemed almost impossible to climb, at least with our 4 team climbing strategy.

There were multiple buildings in the area: the sleeping quarters reserved for members and refugees, the dining hall where everyone eats their meals, the gym where the muscle-heads spend most of their time, the generals’ office, the library and I believe I even saw some crop-fields in the back…

Honestly speaking, this was a beautiful community they’ve built, and seeing as the people who are situated here were all previously homeless, it just makes it all the more amazing. Thinking about it now, there really is no need for us to be in the inn, it’s just a waste of money in comparison…

We walked around the courtyard for a bit, getting acquainted with it more and more with each step, as we noticed how we’re garnering quite a lot of attention by the members. We noticed them looking at us with wary eyes from the start, and some even stopped us to check if we’re enemies. After having explained to them the same thing we said to the guard, they happily let us through and even offered some tips on getting along with the others.

The thing we most appreciated was info on the generals, whom we wanted to meet from the very beginning. Apparently, there is a total of 5 generals, with each commanding their own groups. This idea of leading was foreign to me, but the siblings assured me that this is simply how it’s supposed to be in gangs. The generals are all on equal standing, but Jorgen is by far the most reliable, as he was the founder of the gang, as well as the forerunner of most of their successful battles.

The other four were Maxwell, Julian, Quinn and Leonard. As I said previously, they are all meant to represent a pillar of Bilgam Brothers, but with how much praise Maxwell got from his own crew, Quinn’s crew disliked him by a proportionate amount. In a way, you could say that their reputation is more ‘local’, while Jorgen’s is absolute. Even still, we were told that infighting had little to no chances of happening, as all the generals maintained a friendly attitude of one another.

The next stop of our little tour was the dining hall, as we were quite famished from running all the way here. Making it inside, it truly did feel like a boarding school with everyone sitting around a long, room-length table on which the food is served. We were sat next to each other, and started digging in.

The food was… disappointing, to say the least. It was something that looked like stew, but honestly speaking I have no idea what it was. Cecily and Carter didn’t seem to mind at all, instead digging in with the same vigor as they always do. I had asked them about it, and they simply replied It’s war rations, dumbass, they don’t have the luxury of using meat as much as we do. After thinking about it like that, I felt a bit bad, so I still finished my plate, if barely.

Just then, a person sitting next to me asked for me to pass him the salt, so I obliged. He thanked me with an honest tone, I could feel no ill intent in his voice. I’m not sure if this was good or bad, since I still didn’t wanna let my guard down around them too quickly. They are gang members, after all…

***

After eating our fill, Carter went to visit the gym, while Cecily and I went to the library. I still didn’t understand many of the Hianic colloquial terms being tossed around, so I was hoping to find a more in-depth dictionary that’ll serve as an upgrade to my little handbook. I had no idea what Cecily was interested in, but she quickly orbited to the other part of the library, so I decided to leave her be.

I wanted to use this situation as much as possible, so I browsed some of the popular books from each shelf before leaving. The fiction section was quite eye-catching, it explored the idea of magical powers with the most popular fiction being the “Guide to Magic” series. Each volume was given a name corresponding with the different colors of Iro, and every one of them explored the shenanigans of a different main character. It seemed interesting, so I spent my time in the library reading the first volume.

After an hour or so of reading, I put it back in the shelf and went to search the next section. Remember, I’m known in my home village as the Great Bookworm, after all…

The next section was an interesting one, it was scientific in nature and seemed like it had some merit to it: mechanics, or more specifically, “The Wonders of Inventing” written by a local engineer in Bilgam. The book was amazing from start to finish, within it were in-depth explanations and schematics of some appliances we used in our day to day lives like the transport wagon’s engine or the streetlights systems. This book really made me want to learn more, but sadly when I asked the librarian if there was anything else like this, he simply shook his head.

Thinking about it now, the Sun has already set by this point, and Cecily still hasn’t shown up, so I went to look for her and hopefully scare her. I know libraries are places of peace and quiet, but I gotta get her back for almost slicing my leg into mince-meat somehow.

I spent a couple minutes looking around, then finally found her huddled up to a bookshelf looking as if she’s really into the book in her hands. I decided my plan was to spook her by popping my head through the bookshelf then whispering something into her ear.

Slowly leaning in to her ear, I could feel her breath getting more and more out of sync. She was so engrossed in her book that she didn’t even hear me approach her. Leaning right up against her hair, to the point where it’s actually tickling my face, I had slowly whispered her name in hopes of sounding scary.

She shivered, or was it a quiver? Either way, she responded in surprising fashion. She probably heard me coming from a mile away, so she’s playing along right now.

“Lune… Don’t…” she replied with a soft-spoken tone.

“Don’t what?” I answered back in earnest.

She suddenly realized what was going on and jumped up, tossing her book to the ground in the frenzy. She was bright red and heaved heavy breaths. Did she catch a cold or something?

“L-LUNE! Wawawawhat are you doing?!?” she screamed out.

Just like that, she slapped my face through the bookshelf. Thank goodness she showed kindness and did so with her non-dominant hand, otherwise it’d probably sting a lot more…

Still bright red, she panicked a bit more while shouting Not funny! at me laughing at her. I really got her good, I thought to myself, but why’s she so upset? She ran out of the library a couple moments later, leaving nothing but me and the book she was reading in the library.

The only logical explanation is that I interrupted her reading time, I thought, but that’s hardly a reason to get so mad. I was intrigued at the book, though, so picking it up I went to read the title:

“Love Between Us: A Heart-Pounding Love Story!”

……

…….

…………………………………….

Ooooooooookay, let’s analyze this:

She was reading a love story. The dog-eared page she was reading contained pretty graphic depictions of the two characters engaging in skinship. Her face was as red as her hair, and she was panting like crazy. She moaned my name even though she didn’t know I was behind her.

With all these pieces of information, it didn’t take a detective to figure it out. I suddenly started getting red in the face as well, honestly I wanted to throw the book on the ground myself after just reading a few words! But wait, does that mean she…

Nonononono, it can’t be! But then again… No! Why’d that be the case?!? But… These thoughts occupied my head for the time being as I left the library and slowly made my way to the sleeping quarters…

***

As I was about to enter the quarters and recollect my thoughts, I was immediately pushed outside by Ed and Carter. They were holding back their laughter as much as they could, but it finally burst out after they closed the door from the outside.

“PFFFFFFT-Hahahhahahahahahah! What the hell happened in that library, Grim??”

“Y-Yeah…hah…th’ hell happen’d, bro? I left y’guys alone fer’ a second and she comes back home bright ‘s a tomater!”

Guess their little wingman shtick was coming in at full force. I gotta clear my name otherwise I’ll feel really bad for Cecily.

“Oh, shut up! I didn’t know, okay?? I just wanted to prank her, that’s all!” I explained to them.

“Of course you’d do that, Grim.” Sighed Ed.

“Ser’sly, ya’ got no tact with these things, man. How ya’ gonna get her ta’ like ya’ if y’act like that?” Lectured Carter.

At this point her feelings were obvious even to a dense idiot like me. To be honest, I wore a pretty flushed face from the ordeal myself, so I might have actually caught feelings for her too? By the Gods, I don’t even know anymore!

Making my way into the rooms, Cecily was laying in her bed wearing her new pajamas I had bought for her a couple days earlier. Her back was turned towards me, and honestly, saying anything to her was gonna be really awkward. So as not to end the day on sour terms, I mustered up the courage and said the only thing I thought was appropriate:

“Uhmm, that book… was a pretty good read…”

“!!!- YOU READ IT?!?!” She screamed out as she jumped up from her bed.

Apparently, even with that characteristically cute reaction of hers, these weren’t the words she was expecting to hear from me at all…