[LSB] Chapter 151: Acquaintance

The president of the Exterminator Association’s voice carried easily through the quiet of her office. She had invited Julian for coffee—though, as always, it was never about the coffee at all.

Julian didn’t drink anything but water, but he accepted anyway. Now a plain glass sat in front of him, untouched, while Aaliyah already had her second cup of coffee before they even truly started their conversation.

“What exactly are you planning by coming here, Mr. Julian Winters?” she asked at last, setting her cup on the table between them. She crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in her chair. “You and I both know you could’ve slipped through the system.”

“I believe it wouldn’t have been appropriate,” Julian said, brushing a thumb across the head of his cane, which rested beside the sofa. “I feel special enough already. I don’t want to act special.”

“Huh… you ain’t at all what I expected you to be.” Aaliyah squinted, eyeing Julian from head to toe before settling on his large hands. “After everything Hans had told me about you, I was expecting someone more… arrogant.”

“Hans…?” Julian tilted his head, trying to remember where he knew that name from. It took him a moment, but he let out a hum as soon as the memory returned to him.

“Cindy Solis’ grandfather.”

“Ha!” Aaliyah slapped her thigh with an amused laugh. 

“That’s right.” She chuckled again before shaking her head. “I guess my generation’s time really is over. Back in the day, it was the other way around—people used to call Cindy Hans Tauber’s granddaughter. Now no one even remembers who he is. Hans, the Legendary Ripper… heh. Good old days.”

Aaliyah rested her head back on her chair, exhaling all the aroma of the coffee from her mouth. Julian slightly leaned his head away from the scent, though the aroma had already claimed the entire office.

It was… acidic.

“Anyway, now I know you’re not here to create trouble and really just doing things like a normal person, I’m not gonna keep you,” she said, slapping both her knees once more before standing up. “Here.”

Julian rose as well, brow lifting when she handed him something. “A card?”

“Exterminator’s license. It’s yours.”

“But I haven’t finished all the tests yet.” He sat back down. “I don’t want to—”

“Boy, I don’t care what you want or don’t want.” Aaliyah cut him off, already heading for the door. “Your time’s better spent out there than in here. Now get your ass outta here before you cause any more goddamn tr—”

Her steps faltered. She pressed a hand to her chest, steadying her breathing before turning back toward him.

“You’ll have to forgive me,” she said with a slow breath, motioning for him to remain seated. Her voice slipped back into its more measured, professional cadence.

“The stress of everything that’s been happening is getting to me,” Aaliyah said. “The DCC’s demands are getting out of hand, and exterminators are dying left and right. Why did this have to happen while I’m the one leading this cursed organization? It used to be I sent people to save lives… now I’m sending them to die.”

Julian heard her fist tighten, the faint leather creak whispering into his ears. She motioned for him to stay seated, but he knew how easily older people could lose hours in conversation—if he lingered, the sun would be down before they were finished.

“What about you, Mr. Julian Winters?” Aaliyah’s voice softened, her eyes following Julian as he held his cane and stood up.

“By giving you that license… am I also sending you out there to die?”

“Hmm.” He glanced at the card, brushing it with his thumb before stepping closer. For a few moments, he didn’t answer. Then, with a sigh, he held it up.

“I’d be out there even without this,” he said. “Like I said, it’s just… formality.”

“Well…” Aaliyah leaned back into her seat with a faint smile. “…We both know that’s bullshit. You think I don’t keep track of who comes and goes from this dome? How you practically invite the drones outside to notice you? I locked onto you the moment your name appeared in the system.”

“Hmm.”

“Look,” she said after a deep breath, “I might have an idea why you’re doing what you’re doing. But don’t use this organization to stir up trouble.”

“You… don’t have to worry about that,” Julian said, humming as he turned to leave. “Thank you for giving me the card. I’ll—”

“I knew your pops, you know.”

Julian’s hand immediately froze upon hearing Aaliyah’s sudden words. He turned his head, first offering only his ear, then fully facing her.

“How?” He asked, but he didn’t step away from the door.

“I was one of the testers for the Otherworld Project… thirty years ago now?” Aaliyah’s posture sagged as she sank deeper into her sofa. “They asked Hans first, but he refused and recommended me instead. There was minimal risk, and the pay was good, so I took it.”

“And… you were my father’s friend?”

“Well, saying I knew your father might be an overstatement. I met him briefly—right before I died from being reckless. Obviously not here, but there. I think I was the first one in our batch to go.”

“Hmm.”

“It… was a beautiful world. The danger’s constant, so you’re always prepared for it, unlike here. I wish I could go back sometimes, you know?”

“How… was he? My father.”

“You’re more handsome, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“N—”

“Bwahaha!”

Julian instinctively took half a step back as her laughter burst through the air. The resemblance to Hans… was striking—so much so that Julian briefly wondered if she might be Cindy’s grandmother.

Of course, if Julian could actually see, he would know that wasn’t the case at all just judging from her skin color.

He waited for her laughter to fade. It took several seconds before she finally gasped for breath and calmed down.

“I apologize. The stress, you know?” Aaliyah exhaled, waving it off. “Anyway, your pops was cool. Very different from you. He… never took himself seriously. There was always something about him that drew people in—a ray of sunshine in a world filled with lies and death.”

“You said you didn’t know much about him.”

“I tend to be judgy.”

“Hmm.” Julian waited for her to say something else, but when she didn’t, he asked her another question.

“Do you know anyone named Prince? Maybe my father or anyone mentioned him to you?”

Prince. That was the name his father mentioned before in his memories… the one who possibly brought his mother to Earth.

“Prince…” Aaliyah murmured, rubbing her forehead as she squinted at Julian. She studied him for a few seconds, then let out a heavy sigh.

“No,” she said.

“Are you lying?”

“...No. Like I said, I barely knew the others there. Why not ask Victoria?”

“She doesn’t know.”

“Wow. That’s new.” Aaliyah scoffed. “That woman usually acts like she knows everything. Boy, seeing you here is bringing up some wild memories. So—how does it feel? Knowing all these powerful people? Hell, now you know me too.”

“Do… I need to feel anything?”

“That right there is the right attitude.” She pointed at him. “Now, I’d love to chat more, but the older you get, the more work piles up. Say hi to Victoria for me when you meet her.”

“...Okay.”

Julian sighed and turned as the door behind him slid open on its own.

“Goodb—”

“Be careful with Thatcher.”

Aaliyah spoke up before he could leave, cutting his farewell off.

“I know that all of this performance of yours is to bait him. I would do the same if the same thing was done to me,” she said, the tone of her voice deeper than before. “Thatcher’s related to a couple of underground organizations here on Earth. He also has his hands dipped into several politicians. His network is incredibly huge.”

“Bigger than Humanity Engineering?” Julian asked, and Aaliyah immediately snorted in response.

Aaliyah snorted. “No one’s bigger than Humanity Engineering. I’m just saying—be careful.”

“Thank you. I’ll—”

“By the way—”

Her voice stopped him again.

“So you don’t cause any more trouble, I helped you out.”

“Hmm?”

“I just announced you’re the newest S-rank Exterminator to join the war.” A slow grin spread across her face as she waved him off. “You’re welcome. Honestly… I haven’t been this worried and excited since I quit the field.”

“W—”

“Also, before you leave…”

Once again, she cut him off.

“I heard you made a dagger for Hans,” Aaliyah said. “Can you… make one for me too? I swear, I’ll make it worth your time.”

“I…” Julian tilted his ear toward her, then quickly turned away as he stepped out of the office. “...Maybe another time. Thank you again.”

He quickened his pace, afraid she might call after him yet again. Truthfully, he had almost said yes the moment she asked. But… ever since waking from his coma, he hadn’t touched a hammer. Hadn’t forged a single thing.

It didn’t feel right.

 It wouldn’t feel right without Silvie beside him.

“Mr. Winters. Are you done?”

Hannah, who had been waiting in the hall, approached with a bright smile.

“Then, let me esco—is that a platinum license?”

Her smile faltered the instant her eyes locked on the card in his hand. She gasped, choked, and somehow did both at once before nearly stumbling back. After a few moments of flustered recovery, she straightened in front of him.

Julian couldn’t help but notice—people in the Exterminator Association were unusually animated. Not that he minded. It made it easier for him to understand what they were feeling.

“Sorry. It’s just… we haven’t had an S-rank Exterminator in a long time. I mean, it was obvious you’d qualify, but… now?”

“I also didn’t expect to receive this now.”

Julian was about to slip the card into his pocket when Hannah suddenly grabbed his wrist—only to pull her hand back almost as quickly.

“S-sorry! I just… can I take a photo with you? We’re allowed to once in a while with exterminators. Please?”

“Hmm.”

“Ah, great!” Hannah rushed to his side, flashing a peace sign as she leaned toward him. Julian simply turned his head toward where she was facing and raised his own hand in the same gesture.

A flash of light engulfed them for a brief moment. Hannah stepped back, palm open, as a holographic projection flickered above it—revealing a crisp 3D image of the two of them.

“Look!” she exclaimed, holding it out toward him—then quickly lowering her hand when she remembered who she was talking to. “S-sorry… you really can’t see?”

“No,” Julian said. “But I can sense things.”

“Right… well then… uh… let me walk you to the entrance.”

The walk was quieter than usual. But it was only the quiet before the storm.

Because the moment Julian stepped beyond the Exterminator Association’s dome, he was swarmed.

Hundreds of people.

***

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