Only Wisdom Awakened - Chapter 185

Chapter 185: Outsider
Hans spent the whole night silently meditating, bathing in the abundant moonlight that emerged from the clear sky.

Only the following morning did he finally open his eyes to see the buildings in the distance painted orange by the sunrise.

‘Finally… all my mana is back.’

Hans clenched his fist feeling the stream of energy flowing through his body.

‘In this condition… attempting an A-rank gate raid alone is not madness.’

“Step… step…step”

Hans heard some steps coming from behind him.

They were light and smooth and didn’t disturb his peace at all.

“Good morning”

The boy said.

“Wow… I can’t believe you really spent the whole night on the sand, now I kind of feel bad for letting you sleep outside”

“Haha… there is no need to worry about that Clara”

“Or so it seems.

So…

What will you do?”

“Do I even need to answer that?”

“So you will butt in”

“Yeah, I will”

“And then what?”

The girl asked with a saddened look on her face.

“And then I’ll go back to where I came from”

“I see…

Will I ever see you again?”

“Maybe…”

“….”

“Do you remember when you asked me what it was like to be me?

Well… it’s not as you may imagine it.

I envy you a bit”

“You… envy me”

“Yes, the people around you, they would accompany you even if you were to travel down to the depths of hell, and they would sustain you even if your opinion disregarded the whole world.

It’s really a beautiful bond the one that you all have with each other, and I am afraid I won’t ever get to have such company.”

“Well… it hasn’t always been like this you know?

We were still children when we met for the first time.

At the time, even Christina was immature…

When the catastrophe happened, we all lost our parents”

Hans widened his eyes in surprise.

The people he was surrounded by were smiling brighter than any others he had met before, even with such a past.

It was truly… incredible’

“It was all thanks to Master Henry.

He took us all in when we had nowhere to go, fed us when we had nothing to eat, and shielded us when we had nowhere we belonged.

He was the only light in our lives at the time, to the point where we all see him as our father.

But it goes beyond that, he gave us something even more important so that we could stand even when his time to leave us would finally come…

He gave us each other…

And now, we all have five people to lean on whenever we struggle.

He was the one who gifted us with all this, it’s not something that came to be naturally, and we are all grateful for it”

“I see…”

“So? It’s about time for you to go isn’t it”

Her tone changed back to cheerful, while she smiled at Hans.

In response, the boy got up and turned around, watching Clara in the eyes.

“It is I guess”

“Then… see you around if fate allows”

“Yeah… see you around, and thank you for everything”

‘Fate.

I… do not believe in fate.

But I do hope we will have the chance to cross paths again.’

Hans left and headed toward the association branch, where a certain person had been working all night without rest…

“No! No no no! We cannot give in right now”

Preston shouted through the phone.

[b-but boss, we have no choice, we do not have the power to resist the pressure from the Twilight guild, if it continues like this, we will have to take it into the public discussion by the time the sun is up in the sky.

Instead of making a fool out of ourselves in public, we might save more face by giving up the gate’s rights from the start]

“That’s not the thing we should do! You know it as well, that gate could provide them with enough fame and money to let them overcome the association branch’s authority!”

[well… is it worse than seeing our city in shambles while the citizens fight for their lives in a battle they cannot win?

You know it boss… we do not have the power to clear the gate, and the only ones who can do it are them]

“I-I will ask Caleb for help, I will find the power, but I need you to win this battle for me… otherwise, our city will fall right into their hands.”

[Preston, you know Caleb is limited by his new contract, he cannot involve himself with this city’s matters anymore.

Also… even if our city fell into their hands, that might not be the worst outcome]

“What do you mean?!”

[I’m sorry Preston, but you are alone on this one.

If you really wish to humiliate the whole branch, then do it by yourself.

I will root for you when I watch the debate on TV.]

“Wait-

[beep… beeep… bee-]

“Damn it!”

Preston slammed his phone to the ground, completely cracking the screen.

‘I am doomed…

The gate will end up in the hands of the Twilight Guild, and with it, so will the influence the association has on this city.

This is all my fault…

All because I’m too weak.

If Caleb was here in my place, most of the awakened in the city wouldn’t bat an eye before accompanying him to fight.

But because of me, the association will now lose the upper hand in this city.

I have always told myself that I could help, that even if I wasn’t awakened, if I worked hard enough I would be able to contribute to this everlasting war.

I abandoned everything for this:

My life, my opportunity to form a family, and even the peace of mind over the last eight years…

And what did that get me?

Nothing!

All I did was ruin the association I was given by someone else!

If only… if only I was awakened.

This world is… so unfair’

Preston was lying there on his chair, waiting for the start of his downfall as everything he had worked so hard to create was about to be broken in shambles.

With the Twilight Guild gaining the upper hand and the Association branch losing its leader, it would’ve taken a lot of time for the Association to regain authority there.

At that moment of extreme despair, like an angel descending from heaven, Hans came knocking on Priston’s door.

“Knock knock…”

“I am sorry, I won’t be receiving visitors today, please excuse my inability to assist you right this moment”

The saddened and tired voice of the man came as a reply from beyond the door.

“Why is something the matter?”

‘This voice…’

“Hans… even you, please go back, I will pass by the house later so you can retrieve your bags, I am sorry but I do not have the energy to talk right now.”

“Is the leader of the branch this easy to defeat? Then what will it become of his subordinates?”

“Don’t start please, they are not my subordinates anymore, and I am not the branch leader either”

Hans decided to enter the room even if he wasn’t welcome because he knew something happened to Preston.

“So… tell me, what is the problem?”

Preston looked the young man straight in the eyes for a few seconds before sighing loudly.

“If you really want to know…

He explained what was going on at the moment, and the reason why he had to clear the gate at all costs

“… but now I’m done, all my guys have decided to abandon me, and I do not have either the political or the physical power required to make things work.

I will lose this job… And the association will lose the city, but what’s even worse, is that all this is happening because of my lack of abilities.

If I just had- no! If I had even half of the power Caleb possesses, maybe I could’ve done something.”

The man was despairing, but he still didn’t seem to give up.

Even with his eyes on the verge of closing from the tiredness, and his mind barely keeping him awake, he still refused to accept it.

“I’m beginning to think… I should just give up and concede, maybe that will at least save the association some face”

“Is that really all you can think of?”

Hans asked while sitting down in front of him.

“What else would I do?”

“You know, a wise man once said:

If you do not have the power, you can ask someone to help you, that in itself, is a form of power.

I am not really fond of that phrase, but I do say it’s quite fitting for this situation”

“I can’t, Caleb has been tied up by the contract with the Los Angeles Association branch leader, he mustn’t involve himself in this city’s matters anymore, and the new semester will start in just a few days, meaning she definitely won’t allow it”

“Sigh… I was not talking about him…”

“Then who are you-

You… you?!”

Hans smiled, hinting the other he had guessed right.

“You are crazy, the people won’t ever allow an outsider to meddle in their affairs, they would prefer the twilight guild straight-up ruling the city instead.”

“Well, that’s what will happen if we make it seem like I’m an outsider.

But not if we will use my power as the power of someone that belongs to this city…”