Chapter 22: Dark secret

this is a fictional story by realTensai

“I want to join the student council!”

As soon as those words left Alvis’ mouth, silence awaited him. Their confused looks spoke volumes about how out of character it was for Alvis to ask such a question. Maya and Lia were not close to him, yet they knew something was off.

“Why?” Lia asked, her face indifferent.

Alvis already went through his answer in his head and now only had to recite what he had practiced.

“I want to start something new and contribute to the school!”

This answer was far away from his true intentions. Alvis did not care about contributing to the school, nor was he keen on starting something new. All he wanted was to get closer to Lia and by joining the student council, he could do that. Yet he could not just say that. That was why he told this lie.

Lia’s look did not change, though her eyes seemed to observe Alvis’ every move. Alvis knew she wanted to confirm if he was saying the truth or not. Though Alvis had a perfect poker face, so there was no way to see through him. This went on for a few seconds before Lia broke the silence.

“Alright. I have nothing against you joining.”

Those words triggered a sigh of relief from Alvis. When he first thought about his plan, he was not sure if it would work, yet it did. This was a tremendous step to clearing the level!

“Are you sure Lia? Don’t you think it is too sudden? Also, we know Alvis, he is not someone who would want to join the student council.”

“Hey, people change, you know!”

“There is no need to argue. I accepted his request because I believe him. Besides, we will have to search for new members, anyway. Last year’s third years won’t be in the student council anymore because they are in their fourth year now.”

Maya still seemed hesitant, yet she went along with Lia’s decision. The other member, named Chao, also accepted. And with that settled, Alvis officially became a part of the student council.

——

Right now, Alvis was patrolling the school grounds together with his student council buddy Chao. A few days had passed since he had joined the student council and he was starting to regret his decision.

Why, you may ask? Because his life became way too stressful!

Alvis valued a peaceful life with a lot of free time and freedom. However, those two things vanished as soon as he entered the student council. If Alvis did not have class, he had to do student council duties. Those could be patrolling the school and helping students when needed or doing paperwork for whatever stood on. Though every time Alvis thought he finished all of his tasks, a new one popped up. It was pure torture.

Yet Alvis had endured it without complaining until now. Yes, until now. But this was about to change. The only reason he had endured it for so long was because he hoped he could get closer to Lia by doing so. He even got closer to her, so close indeed they were speaking daily to each other. But this did not help him if she would not open up to him.

Alvis still had no clue what her problem was. He did not know what he should save her from. And the time was ticking.

All they ever talked about were student council duties or superficial stuff. Alvis tried to have deeper conversations with her, yet it never worked. He could not explain why, but they always got interrupted, or the conversation shifted to other topics. Alvis even got the feeling Lia did not trust him. Though that was probably just his insecurities.

He would have to try out new things to get Lia to open up to him. Though just in case he would fail, he would use other methods. One of them he already prepared. It would cost him way more money than last time, but money was not a problem if one could respawn.

“I guess nothing is going on today,” Chao said.

They were walking around for half an hour and had not yet encountered a problem. There were no fights or conflicts. It was a peaceful day.

“After having to deal with such an argument yesterday, this is the least I expected.”

“Ha, you are right, those two boys fighting was not a joke. We were lucky a teacher was nearby, else we would not have been able to separate them.”

“It was a beast man against a giant. Of course, there was nothing we could do.”

“What do you think? Shall we go back to the student council room?”

“Fine with me.”

——

“I am heading to the dorms now,” Chao said and, by that, ending his duties for the day.

“Good work today. See you tomorrow,” Lia saw him off.

With Chao leaving, Lia and Alvis were the only ones left in the room. This was a one-time opportunity for Alvis!

“You can call it a day too, Alvis. You don’t live in the dorms, so you should be going home now.”

She was right, yet this was the last thing he would do now. There was no way he would just give up on this opportunity.

“You don’t live in the dorms too. So the same applies to you.”

Lia looked at him, her green eyes making Alvis freeze momentarily. Even though she wore a smile on her face, Alvis could not decipher how she felt.

“I don’t remember telling you I don’t live in the dorms.”

Shit!

Alvis had done his research on Lia and found out that she did not live in the dorms. Though Lia had never told him that, so Alvis could not even know it. Yet Alvis would just play it off.

“Chao told me. He said even though you don’t live in the dorms, you always stay so late.”

“I see.”

This was the perfect lie. Alvis knew Lia would not ask Chao if it was true and she seemed to believe him. By that, he did not look like a creep.

Now Alvis had to go on the offensive!

“We both don’t live in the dorms, so how about we go home together?”

Alvis’ heart raced as soon as those words left his mouth. His heartbeat was so loud he worried Lia might hear it. Once again, he had to close his brain off in order to speak out those words. His brain would have convinced him that someone like him should not even dream of going home together with Lia. And with every millisecond that passed, this doubt became bigger and bigger.

“I am sorry, Alvis, but not today. I am going to meet with some friends after I am finished here.”

Alvis could not even listen to the other words, as the first three were enough to shatter his heart into pieces. Her words kept echoing in his head, and his brain was blaming him for acting so recklessly.

He just got rejected.

“O-Oh, okay, no problem. I-I will just go alone then.”

Alvis tried his best not to let his frustration show, though it was pretty obvious he failed. With a smile that did even reach his eyes, he said goodbye and left the room.

He had failed miserably. Alvis could not use this once-in-a-lifetime chance. As soon as he realized that, he knew he would not be able to save her in this run. This run still had a few days left, though as it was going now, there was no way she would open up to him. Now all Alvis could do was count on his information.

——

After finishing his student council duties for the day, Alvis made his way to the fountain in the backyard. He would meet him there in ten minutes. Time was on his side, though Alvis would still hurry. The last thing he wanted was to arrive late.

It took him five minutes to get to the appointed place. As he had expected, he was not there yet. Last time, he also arrived just in time, so Alvis would not worry.

Sitting on the bench, he waited for the time to pass. Even though Alvis knew he could count on him, he still was nervous. Alvis needed his information, or else he did not see a way to clear the level. He already respawned three times, yet he did not even know the reason. It was this thought that consumed all of his head.

What did he have to save her from?

It was the one thing he could not find out. That was why he needed him.

“Here I am.”

Those words pulled Alvis out of his thoughts and made him face him. It was not even sunny, yet he would not take off his sunglasses. Alvis wondered if he had ever seen him without them.

“Took you long enough, Victor. I even worried you would not make it in two weeks.”

“Well, you gave me a heck of a task. I am not gonna lie.”

“But you made it, did not you?”

“Of course. I am the goblin who knows everything, after all.”

Victor sat down on the bench next to Alvis and leaned back. Alvis just took out the money, not wanting to waste more time. He handed it to Victor, who counted it and then smiled.

“500 unions, exactly as agreed.”

Alvis had to use a good chunk of his savings to afford this. To make this money back, he would have to sell one item. Normally, he would have hesitated to spend so much money, though, because he knew he would most likely respawn; this was not a problem.

“Spill out what you have found out.”

“Alright boss. You asked me to get every bit of information about Lia that was out there. No matter how small or indifferent it may seem. I should also focus on her life outside of school, her family situation, and what she did during the summer break.”

“Yes.”

Alvis knew he probably seemed like a stalker right now, wanting to find out so much about her. Yet he did not care what Victor would think. Victor himself did not care as long as the payment was good.

“As I made my investigations, I found out that not much was known about her family situation, her past, or her life outside of school. This alone was suspicious enough, considering that she is one of the most popular girls in the school and also has a ton of friends. I dug deeper and found rumors that said her parents were dead, though I could not confirm them. The one noticeable thing was her social life and family were kept hidden,” Victor started his explanation.

Alvis just listened, not wanting to interrupt him

“However, she still would have had to send someone for the parent-teacher conference. Following this hint, I found something interesting. The person who was her ‘father’ was a vampire wearing all red. At first, I just found that odd, but later I found out that Lia had been sighted numerous times with people wearing all red. I am not sure who those people are, but I bet they are some type of organization or some.”

Alvis’ body froze, his eyes widening. Cold sweat overcame him as he remembered him.

A vampire wearing all red.

Flashes of his deaths and those of his loved ones started coming back up, and Alvis almost vomited. His breathing became stocking and his brain would keep showing him the memories of their deaths.

“Everything alright Alvis?”

I have to calm down.

“Y-Yes.”

Alvis took one deep breath in and out, trying to get his heart to beat slower.

It is already over. He is dead.

Like a mantra, Alvis repeated those words in his head. It took him a few more seconds to calm down a bit.

But now that he had calmed down, he had to face what he just heard. Lia was seen multiple times with people wearing all red. And her ‘father’ was a vampire who wore all red too.

Alvis tried his best to find other solutions, yet the answer was obvious. Even Victor knew they were some kind of organization. And Alvis knew what kind of organization they were. They were the ones who sent the vampire after him, after all.

They were assassins!