While Ash is fighting his old companion of genocides, I, “who consider myself not fortunate enough for my wish that both of them die in the battle to come true,” took advantage of these few hours of vacation from being the partner of the demented ogre with a human shape to clarify some personal matters, and those were Nair and Aghat.

  I met with the latter to talk about what I feel for Nair, and how I also feel that I am betraying him by doing things behind his back. So this morning, at my house, I invited him to breakfast.

  I will skip the moment of his arrival and my reception, so I will begin from the moment when the breakfast was on the table and the two of us were seated and ready to take it. For a moment there was an uncomfortable silence, which was dismissed when we began to consume the breakfast. We took a sip of our coffee and then ate a piece of our budaa. After finishing swallowing and sighing with satisfaction, Aghat spoke.

  —Well, what have you called me for? Za… although I think I have an idea.

  Dante, with determination, says:

  —Look, I’ll get straight to the point… you are my best friend, and I would never betray you. You’ve put up with me as I am and you always lend me a hand, and because of that I tell you that… I love her, Nair, and I’m going all in. It doesn’t matter if you are in the middle of the path, nothing will stop me, not you, not myself, not the damned Ash if he comes back. And well, that’s what I wanted to tell you. What do you say?

  Aghat just stays looking at me without even blinking, takes his cup, takes a sip, sets it down and, with a serious calm, tells me:

  —Ah, alright… that seems fine to me. So what are you waiting for? Go and take her.

  An attitude I did not expect at all. I thought he would hit me or, at the very least, get angry, but it caught me by surprise and, as a reaction, I asked him:

  —Doesn’t this make you angry? Or aren’t you planning to hit me?

  Aghat told me:

  —Why would I? You were honest and direct, and you told me. A good friend doesn’t deserve otherwise.

  Still surprised, I respond with:

  —Well, I mean… last night you saw us, we were together. If you hadn’t arrived, we might even have ki—

  —Kissed? Is that what you mean? —he suddenly interrupted me. Then, with a mocking smile, he said— Maybe it looked that way, but it wouldn’t have been, even if I hadn’t interrupted you.

  Now I grew curious, so I asked with one eyebrow raised:

  —Why do you say that?

  Aghat adjusts himself in his chair and, bringing his hands together like a controversial philosopher, lectures me:

  —Do you think that girl is that foolish? You know she isn’t. She knows, she knows very well the kind of person you are, and she still likes you. It’s not for nothing that I made this agreement with her, you know? I should congratulate you, because in these last few days you have improved yourself, but not enough to be with her. You still have to mature, and until you do, I can assure you that you won’t get anywhere with her.

  —Wait… what? Agreement? She likes me? What sinister conspiracy is this? —I spoke with surprised confusion.

  —Nair isn’t even my type, khariult! —he told me energetically, raising his arms like a call for attention.

  —What?! Then what is your type? —I asked him eagerly.

  —Guess, think. Are you really my friend? Prove it —he challenged me as if it were one of the most important tests of my life.

  So I began guessing:

  —Blonde girls with big asses?

  And dryly he said:

  —Warm, but colder than hot.

  I sighed, and then I began to think about when the last time was that I saw him looking at a woman. Whenever we spent time together, it was in a bar, on a bench in the park, or at one of our houses watching movies. The truth is, I couldn’t remember any moment when he told me to look at an ass or at a girl wearing revealing clothes during the summer. In fact, I think the only time he pointed someone out was about Nair, but only when the three of us started hanging out together.

  But then I remembered something: that time we were walking through the school hallway and a guy passed by us. He was new and came from abroad. When I turned to Aghat to comment on the reddish color of the new guy’s hair, I noticed that his gaze drifted downward, right where the boy’s round backside was.

  BAM! As if Ash had shot me in the face, the truth shattered my head. I stood up from my chair quickly and said:

  —THAT CAN’T BEEE...!

  A slow and sarcastic applause stole my attention.

  —Applause, applause, applause... Con, gra, tu, la, tions —Aghat told me, while looking satisfied.

  —But… since when? No… why didn’t you tell me? —I asked him, somewhat annoyed.

  —I told you more than once, but you were too busy drowning in the past or too na?ve to realize it. Besides, it’s not a problem.

  —And Nair?! Does she know?

  —Pfff, hahaha —laughter suddenly struck the room. Tears from his eyes came out like moisture, and he grabbed his belly as if his insides were about to jump out— My dear friend, you were the only one who wasn’t aware.

  —Ahhhhh —I sighed, and suddenly, bursting from my head like the fire of a dragon exhaling, all those phrases from my brother, from Agnar, from Aisha, damn it, even from the madman. “I”, me and nothing but me, was the only khariult who never realized that my friend prefers men. I held my head as relief to endure the fact that I am an idiot, how I could have been an idiot for so long.

  —If you knew I wasn’t noticing, why didn’t you make me aware of it? —I told him, very agitated.

  —If I had done that, you would never have learned. I mean, just remember how you learned to set limits when drinking.

  I felt my skin prickle and my hair stand on end. By pure reflex I shouted a warning at him:

  —Nooo! Noooo! Nooo! Don’t say that, nooo —I covered my ears and began saying— lalalalalala —so I wouldn’t hear what he was about to remind me of.

  —Alright, calm down already, there’s no need for you to be so childish —he resigned himself to continue— Ah, and by the way —he told me while I was still digesting what came before.

  Aghat just looked at me, waiting for me to finish my epiphany. But then he mentioned:

  —Not to rub salt in the wound, but the moment the genocidal man saw me, he understood it completely.

  —NOOOOOOOOOO! —I fell to my knees, shouting at the ceiling— That’s enough, please go away, I need to process all this embarrassment. We’ll talk later —I asked him tragically.

  He, completely calm, and I looking like a bad drama actor lamenting on the floor. He finished his coffee and then left without saying anything.

  It took me about an hour to recover my composure. Not realizing things as common as that generates a very aggressive personal embarrassment, the kind that becomes a memory with a will of its own and, whenever it pleases, appears in your head at the most unexpected moment, making you feel that shame as if it were the day it happened.

  In truth, it’s not something serious, at least compared with other much worse experiences I have had. But it is not pleasant knowledge to know that the mountain of mental garbage in your brain keeps growing and accumulating, without being able to dispose of a trash can where you can throw all that shit. In the end, it is like everything bad in life: you have to live with it.

  Already calm and ready to continue my day, I got prepared and went out to meet my people, to deal with whatever matters needed dealing with. Above all, while Ash was away, I had to make the most of the fact that he wouldn’t be able to kidnap me whenever he felt like it.

  It’s not that I had skillfully processed everything that happened today. What keeps me thinking is the relationship Aghat confessed he had with Nair. I don’t know whether to feel happy or worried. She likes me, but she doesn’t want to be with me. Maybe if I offer her parents half of my fortune, I’d have a good chance… nah, I could give them all of it and make a new one afterward, and if that isn’t enough, I could give them an even bigger one. Za… although even if that worked, the last word belongs to her. Still, a little purchased support never hurts.

  I was distracted, looking out the bus window while traveling seated, when suddenly my cellphone started ringing. At first I saw two messages; I didn’t manage to recognize the senders, because the moment I looked again my screen was flooded with several more messages. I was surprised, and hurriedly began checking what each one said. As I started reading them, I realized they were all mockery, messages that said “Congratulations” with the clapping emoji, repeated several times in each message.

  —Aghat —I murmured with a calm but angry breath.

  There’s nothing like friendship between men, the classic tradition of throwing your best friend into the hyenas’ pit. They devour me with laughter at the expense of my lack of awareness.

  When I arrived at the base, by habit I went to Agnar’s office, and of course… he wasn’t there. I briefly forgot that he had gone to Zhong Guo to supervise the confrontation of the lunatics. However, his office wasn’t empty, and of course, the one there was…

  —Ahh, shit —I sighed, cursing.

  I’m not someone who makes enemies wherever he goes, much less someone who looks for fights for no reason, but the one sitting at his desk doing paperwork was Süld. When we saw each other, we stared with displeasure. For a moment an angry silence ruled the room. During that unpleasant moment, I noticed how his green eyes radiated pure dislike at me, as if he could transmit it telepathically.

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  Without manners or social protocols, rudely, he said to me:

  —What do you want?

  Those impulses people sometimes have deep inside, without name or purpose, the kind one ends up wasting while staring at the ceiling, were required for me to gather patience to speak with this man. So I told him, trying to be as direct as possible without wasting too much saliva:

  —I was looking for Agnar, but I already remembered about that matter. Just tell me where the rest are.

  He looked at me seriously and then relaxed his frown, and said arrogantly:

  —I heard you’re a mercenary now, and that you’re on a good streak at the casino. What a surprise… who would have thought that Abel’s grandson would succeed by being a bad boy. If he were alive, I wonder if he would consider locking you up now.

  The bastard has a great talent for making me angry.

  —That doesn’t answer my question —I replied coldly.

  He stands up and walks around the fine and elegant wooden desk, sliding his hand across it delicately. He stops and leans against it, using his arms as support.

  —Jealousy? —I said with irony and contempt.

  Then he crossed his arms and, with his dark face, put on a poker expression to answer me:

  —Not at all, “I’m happy for you.” Now it’s more likely that you’ll die and stop hanging around here.

  At the comment, I could only react with a laugh that I barely held back, and smiling at him with complete honesty I said:

  —As if I could.

  And then I left. There was no other remark or action that would waste more of my time on him, and moving on with my life, I went to look for the guys on my own.

  I was willing to play hide and seek, but after that encounter, the desire I had to spend a good day today disappeared. So I simply took my cellphone and called Nair.

  When she answered, she greeted me and we got straight to the point. It seems each of us was busy with a personal matter, and no one would be meeting today. Of course it was possible that Aghat was wandering around somewhere, but I still didn’t know how not to be affected by the embarrassment of how oblivious I was, or rather, still am.

  So I resigned myself and decided to spend the day alone. It was already going to be past noon, so I supposed it was a good moment to go eat lunch somewhere, and today I could indulge myself and eat wherever I wanted.

  I headed to a pleasant area where tourists usually go to get to know the city. When I arrived, I saw the streets packed with people, people from different places wearing clothes unfamiliar to me. I also noticed beings of other races: some lively orcs, some alfars showing a serene expression, and I couldn’t help fixing my gaze on a trio of beautiful nymphs who passed beside me and winked at me. All of them, immersed in their own matters and plans underway, enjoy the shops and surroundings of the region, and I was going to be just one more among them.

  The street I was walking along stands out for its natural and architectural beauty. The sidewalks are decorated with birches, white-trunked trees, slender for the most part, with crowns of green leaves stretching upward. The ground, covered with black ceramic tiles, shows a face carved with lunar and flaming symbols, a way of displaying Mongol wealth. And of course, the buildings that occupy the large blocks, tall like kaijus, white like clouds, and many of them covered with dark windows that form a curved surface.

  Since money wasn’t a problem for me, at least for the most expensive mundane things, I decided to enter a nice restaurant I had always wanted to visit. I walked in, and a beautiful lady was at the reception and said to me:

  —Hello, welcome to “Kanikh Gurvan”. Do you have a reservation?

  That was the greeting with which she received me.

  Politely I said:

  —No. Is there any wait?

  The beautiful brown-haired lady smiled at me and replied:

  —Luckily, at this hour there are always free tables. Please, go ahead.

  As I walked in and saw the tables, I understood the good mood of the beautiful woman: there was no one. It seems the place is packed at night, but during the day barely five people come by to eat something. It wasn’t something that bothered me anyway; in fact, it feels good to be the only one being served. It’s like today you’re the special customer who deserves to be given a delicious meal. So, with great enthusiasm, I took one of the tables in the center and waited for them to come take my order.

  A pretty girl came and took my order. To drink, I asked for a classic suutei tsai (mare’s milk tea with sugar and butter). To eat, while the main dish was coming, a couple of aaruul (salty dried mare’s milk cheese), and then I would eat some delicious khorkhog (roasted lamb with carrot, cabbage and sweet potato).

  When she brought the breads, I thanked her and took the first one. Just before taking the first bite, I closed my eyes and bit down to savor its crunchy and sweet texture. My teeth sank into it and I felt its soft filling; my tongue tasted its rich buttery flavor, and the salty touch complemented the pleasant experience of eating it.

  But my pleasant culinary concentration was interrupted by the flooding sound of the door opening. By reflex, and since there was nothing else capturing my attention, I turned to look, and for a moment my heart sped up. Not from excitement or adrenaline. An enormous concern struck my whole body for a second. I thought my momentary peace had ended when I saw a figure wearing a black trench coat.

  “Ash!” I thought, frightened. But after a moment of observation, I realized it wasn’t him. If I think about it carefully, Ash’s coat is a very dark green, and compared to the individual I was seeing, this one was pure black and longer than Ash’s. And above all, he wore a black hat. I don’t know about hats, but this one was large, with a fairly wide “disc,” and the tip of the hat was flat and square, I could say. And what caught my attention the most was that the little I could see of his head —because the angle I was looking from made his hat hide most of his identity— was that I glimpsed some white hair.

  So I thought, “A relative?” and, with curiosity stuck in my throat, I kept observing the mysterious person. I saw that he stopped between the boundary of the entrance and the dining hall, looking from one side to the other, and then fixed his gaze in my direction, not taking his eyes off me. Cautiously, with gentle steps and a mechanical posture, he approached me. I simply remained there watching, and as my attention steadily focused on the man walking toward me, I slowed the pace at which I chewed my delicious lunch.

  The traveler reached his destination and I finally managed to notice his face. I was seated and he stood in front of me, so from a lower perspective I observed the face of a “young” old man, with very pale skin, though less white than that of an undead. Subtle wrinkles of age were drawn beneath his eyes, whose irises and pupils were smaller than those of a human, and were a striking light-blue color, like that of a clear iceberg in the ocean. And as I had already noticed, his hair was gray, but unlike mine, it had once possessed pigment in his life. And to finish, that appearance showed a kind and gentle smile with which he said hello.

  But the first thing he said upon reaching me was:

  —Excuse me, young man, I’m not very good at enjoying solitude. Could this humble old man accompany you and chat for a moment? I’ll even pay for whatever you wish to order.

  “What luck… for him,” I thought, not because he offered to pay for my meal, but because it was me who received the offer and not Ash occupying my place today. And if I had rejected such a refined and respectful request from an elegant old man, I would have looked bad. Besides, my mother taught me that food tastes better with good company. So I swallowed what I had finished chewing and, with a gesture inviting him to sit, said yes.

  The man brightened and pulled the chair to sit down, but before doing so he removed his hat. In his elegant hairstyle I noticed two white horns that curved backward like his hair and seemed fragmented into sections. However, they were immaculate. Another thing that stood out to me were his ears, longer and more pointed than those of an alfar.

  I thought aloud and mentioned:

  —Oh, you’re from the end of the world —a supay, a race descended from the god Inti.

  At the same moment I realized what I had said and showed embarrassment while apologizing, but the man only laughed cheerfully, revealing his pointed teeth, and told me:

  —No problem. In fact, I love hearing the name of my country, although we call it Ona—sin.

  That relaxed me, and to keep the conversation going I asked him:

  —I must say that until a moment ago it never crossed my mind that you were a foreigner. Your Mongol is very good. Have you lived here for a long time?

  —No, not at all, I’m just a tourist who has a lot of free time. By the way, I’m Kutri.

  The old man extended his hand to greet me and waited for my response.

  —Akyane Dante —I said while standing up and returning his greeting.

  I was impressed by how well he greeted me, because unlike other foreigners I have met, his handshake was firm and brief, and he also inclined his head respectfully. Then we sat down, I gave him the extra bread I had, and we began to talk.

  Kutri settled into his seat and then, resting his arms and his hands —whose fingertips could only be described as claws— said:

  —I suppose you’re Abel’s grandson, aren’t you?

  —You suppose correctly. In fact, I think it’s hard for anyone not to notice —I replied.

  —And what do you do with your life? Surely, being an Akyane, you have a successful life. From important scientific figures to famous entertainment stars, I wonder what you dedicate yourself to —he said with eloquence.

  “Mercenary” crossed my mind first of all, but I couldn’t answer that being the grandson of a man who dedicated his life to peace. So, without exactly lying and without exactly telling the truth, after a brief pause I answered his question:

  —I work in security.

  —Oh… police? guard? bodyguard? or bounty hunter?

  Turning the idea around and making uncertain sounds, I only said:

  —It’s complicated, but I can say for now that I have some small vacations and I’ve been able to give myself some time.

  Mr. Kutri looked at me and, expressing dissatisfaction, accepted the answer and continued:

  —Well, it’s not as if I can give a direct answer either.

  That sparked my curiosity, and I returned the question to him. He answered me with:

  —To be precise, I am a priest. I was guided by the will of the creator and wander the world finding the end and bringing it about —he said with theatrical gestures.

  And since I’m not a great interpreter, I asked him:

  —Do you work with the ISW?

  The old man frowned and, respectfully, told me:

  —Young man, that is almost insulting.

  Embarrassed, I apologized and then changed the subject with:

  —And are you going to stay in the country for a long time?

  —No, I only came to greet an old friend. I will leave tomorrow, but I calculate that within about six months I will return, just in case.

  —Just in case?

  —Yes, anything can always happen.

  —You’re telling that to the right person.

  —Did I guess something in particular?

  —I have a rather… “particular” companion.

  —I suppose you didn’t choose him.

  —He chose me. He extorted me and forced me.

  —I will skip the question of what he threatens you with, so instead I will ask: what makes him so bad?

  —Well, to start with, he’s a foreigner, so I don’t really understand his sense of common sense. Another thing is that he eats a looooot, but a looooot. Then there’s the fact that he seems quite interested in interfering in my life, although I might understand that a little, since he seems to have history with my family. Another thing is that he seems to experiment on me. I don’t know how, but he knows a lot about chemistry and he has given me some pills that are quite effective for a certain matter.

  Kutri looked at me with suspicion and discretion, leaned slowly toward me and, whispering, asked:

  —You’re not involved in certain illegitimate pharmaceutical businesses, are you?

  I think I shouldn’t have mentioned that last part, but embarrassed I answered him:

  —No, no. Not at all.

  Kutri returned to his place and said:

  —I hope so. It would be a shame if you ended up becoming a criminal. And about your companion… he wouldn’t happen to be a vampire, would he?

  —I would say he’s more like an ogre, but he doesn’t seem to be either of the two. Why the vampire?

  —I assumed he might be someone I know, but I don’t think that’s possible. And… what about your social life? Family? Friends? Girlfriend?

  I sigh while looking into nothingness, then make eye contact and tell him:

  —It’s complicated.

  Kutri, with the dissatisfied expression of someone who wanted to keep watching more of his television series full of mysteries to solve, tells me:

  —I think you don’t have as much free time as I had thought. It seems you have many things to fix.

  —In fact, I came here to distract myself from all that, but I suppose no one can escape their problems in the end.

  —That is good.

  —Having problems?

  —Yes, because they are problems, not facts or mistakes. Problems can be solved, the rest cannot. And besides, they help you grow, to improve yourself. It is like a video game: when you lose, you get another attempt, and maybe you keep losing, and keep going, and keep going. But there will be a moment when you try things in a different way and still lose, but you will see that you did things differently and they ended differently. Maybe not to your liking, and that counts as experience. And the more experience you absorb, things will no longer seem strange, difficult, or unknown to you, because you have lost so many times that all that remains is knowing how to win. Although of course, if you die, it’s over. So you must be careful and cautious.

  Ironically, I think about how I have known that unconsciously for a long time, but never paid attention to it. Maybe because I have always thought about how I failed, and not why I failed. Having reflected on all that, only one thing remained: TRY! So I stood up and said to the kind man:

  —Thank you! I no longer have doubts. I just have to move forward, do everything in my power, and accept the result, whatever happens.

  —I’m glad for you, young man —Kutri says calmly, enthusiastic— It seems you have something to do, so go, don’t worry about me.

  —Exactly, but before that… —I take out a bundle of bills and leave a generous amount— Here, as thanks. With this you can order whatever you want, and I will not accept the money back.

  —Well, if you insist. I won’t waste more of your time. Good luck, Dante.

  And with that, I leave toward a new attempt.

  

  

  chocolate is law.