May Peace Grace Us

Chapter 24: Albert

As soon as Aila was given a go signal by the psychiatrist her parents had found for her, she immediately went to find Albert as she had planned. The counseling has greatly helped her stabilize her state of mind to be at least less unpredictable. Although she still has some episodes of aggressiveness and panic, she can more or less restrain herself not to cause trouble.

Aila knew how dangerous she was. She is not the strongest among the hyenas, but she learned many tricks that can kill people unaware and unguarded. She has more or less used these methods unconsciously and consciously in the last few months to save some problems from obviously unfriendly entities. These ways had made her workplace less bloody and dark with her presence.

As she is a foreign soul, the people here are more or less repellant to her at first sight. Even if they get to know her well, most of them hold a mindset that never truly holds her in good. For example, her workmates. For professional reasons, they avoid troubling her as much as possible. But once in a while, they do play some tricks to have the managers sanction her.

In retaliation, she also did some tricks on these people. With her mind basically more inclined to destroy the root of the problem than trimming them, she has more or less almost killed them at various times. Using her cleverness, she has sent at least five workmates to the hospital with injuries, all of them judged as workplace injuries without having been traced back to her.

So, when her parents took her to a doctor, she opened up about this episode and was identified as a psychopath who has sociopathic tendencies. It was no surprise that the assessment resulted in that. It really alarmed the doctor to appoint her some more appointments to console her. It was a bummer, but she understood why the reaction was so big.

Anyone who lived like she did will more or less develop this kind of character. Only that to a peaceful society these attributes are needed to be monitored for the sake of many. No one wanted to suddenly hear some news of a serial killer roaming free and living charmingly like a normal person. That is just dismantling the morals and peace of everyone’s lives.

It took Aila a few weeks before the psychiatrist allowed her to be more unsupervised. Perhaps out of this incident she has a good excuse to quit her job without many issues. Though Jemma hunted her for a while to make contact with her. Apparently, she had gotten so used to her presence that she felt weird not seeing or hearing from her.

Arriving at the vicinity of the city hall, Albert awaits her in a small coffee shop nearby. The hyenas were more or less aware of her appointment with the doctor, so they knew that it was really hard for them to meet up normally. In fact, Albert was the first one she met for the last few weeks, and setting up a date where he is available these days is so hard.

It was clear as the summer skies that the protagonist had his eyes on Albert. If the guy was the one who returned back in time, he would surely go to target people who could be useful to him in the future.

At the end of the day, this friend of hers was a well-known supernatural water person. He had built some fame during their brief stay on a base arranged by Felix's family, as well as when they were roaming around the land. Once in a while in his narrow dark heart, he helps people by providing them with enough water to last for a while. For example, one base officer who was a little kind to them, filled their tanks by himself in just hours. A feat that most supernaturalists cannot do as it could potentially kill them from using too much of their abilities.

With these on his resume, it was no surprise that the rebirth protagonist wanted to bring him over to his side. A strong person is better than many if they are used well.

“Finally you’re here,” Albert said as Aila took a seat before him. “What delayed you?”

“Resisting my reactions not to somehow make a scandal or a crime on the street.” Aila felt so burned out as she said. Who knows that the world was so small that she met people she didn't want to meet on the road? The Leighs were really the bane in her lifetime.

“Who did you meet to be that mad?” Albert raised an eyebrow when hearing that. Although he heard how bad her mental state was, he knew Aila was more rational about not not acting on them unless stimulated. Therefore, he is really curious who has made her react that violently.

"I met Vincent on the road." Aila called the waiter to place an order for a cappuccino and a slice of cream cake. "He and his buddies were out to have fun and I unfortunately crossed paths with them."

"Did you do anything to them?"

"As much as I am tempted to, I did my best to avoid them. The doctor had advised me to stay away from my triggers as much as possible, so I avoided it. Only that it cost me too much time on the road to arrive on time." Aila expressed her regrets for teaching the boy a lesson. "I could have let him be injured or crippled back then. The opportunity was just wasted because I am not allowed to act."

"If someone hears you saying this, are you not afraid of being locked up if something happens to them?" Albert took a glance at his phone as it rang with a new message received. His father is calling him to his office again.

“Nah, if I did get ransacked because of my thoughtless words, I could get out in a few months' time.” Aila did not mind sitting in prison for a while now that almost everything she needs to do and prepare is now in the final phase. She could afford to be delayed in going home. As she heard that that prison is a chaotic place, she thinks it is a good warm-up to stay there now than she thought in the first few days she had returned back in time. “Serving a sentence hardly matters when the time comes.”

Albert hummed as Aila’s order arrived. They stood like that for a while, basking in each other’s presence that both could admit they missed. Just being casual and not playing a role others idealize them to be.

“My father wants me in his office in a while.” Albert notified Aila. “That same man is there again and my father wants me to entertain him. Is he also like you? He seems too particular about some things you are concerned with.”

Aila drinks the last of her coffee before she answers. “I think he is. The man was a famous person before I returned here. I do not remember something like this happening back then, so there is a high probability that he is.” And he is aiming for you.

“Him coming here might mean he wants to build his base here,” Albert said. “No wonder that guy was so keen on certain individuals and places. He is just too far-sighted.”

“Which is not too bad actually. His presence here is a good indication that at least a good portion of the population will survive under his leadership. Among the people I remember, he is one of the most humane powerhouses.” Aila tries to be optimistic in regards to Alfred. He might send her into hyperventilation at the mere mention of his name. His actions, no doubt, could help more people than she could ever do.

“If you say so,” Albert said, as he kept some thoughts to himself. “Will you accompany me later then? I need someone to keep me distracted from the guy. From what I could understand him, he wanted to recruit me or something like he did with some people he already has. Was I famous or something to him for making too much effort?”

“Yes,” Aila simply answered. “In fact, most of our hyenas are somewhat famous. Better not let him figure out that we are all acquainted with one another. “

“‘I figured it out that much.” Albert shrugs his shoulders with a smug smile on his face. Too pleased to know they are still people who can make others look up to them. Aila might have told them a few things from what she knew, she never told them outright the details necessary for them to make a clear picture of things. “Are you coming or not?”

Aila briefly hesitated as she weighed the pros and cons. It would do her a favor to see the man to get used to the idea he was nearby. A risky move, but quite a way to not send her to panic every time they come across him. Like they said, you have to be desensitized by what makes you afraid to no longer fear them.

In the apocalyptic world, the world is already too small for everyone to bump into people way too frequently. She also wants to see him and study with him. She wanted to know if he was the same as she about him. A man who would stand in the frontline and be the beacon of light in the darkest time ahead.

However, she gives her characters some benefit of being different from how she had penned them in her pen. The one who will be standing in front of her will definitely have some differences from who she characterized. It does not help that this guy is also an individual who has been rebirthed, meaning most of her understanding of him is different from what she knew. She had to confirm herself to make appropriate measurements against him if necessary.

“I’ll go.” Aila said as she wanted to overcome her issues as much as possible.

“Great! Let me send a message to everyone first, not to bother us unless necessary. That guy is just too enthusiastic to help out to bring him closer to his goal.” Albert said as he sent a message to their GC.

His message made Aila’s phone ring for a while with others asking for details about their circumstances. No doubt they thought of the words, Aila had to calm them down before she asked them not to bother her and Albert for a while. Telling them that they need absolute peace of mind before going onto the field.

“They do get too riled out,” Albert said. He argued against a video call as he did not doubt it could get too loud for his own earphones to bear. “They were never this hassle, as far as I could remember.”

“Considering what I dropped during our stay in the villa, they have the right to be this nosy.” Aila said, as she understood their concerns. “Though I bet if you are in their shoes you are worse than them. As far as I can remember, you are the most excessive in grilling others when concerned.”

“Shut up.” Albert blushed as little as he messaged his father about bringing a friend with him. Excusing that they had an appointment first and it was rude for him to just leave them alone because he asked for it.

His father’s reply to his message took a few moments before a reply was returned. Albert knew he had asked his guest first for his opinion before he sent this reply. A sign that his father was treating the other far above what Albert thought he was.