A Rising Star of the City

Ch.11: Brotherhood of Iron

Roland: Y/N?

As he stood next to the assistant sitting down, Roland's hand moved in front of his eyes, checking if he was still conscious. A long moment followed where he received no reaction until a single sound escaped his closed lips.

Y/N: Hm?

His eyes slowly turned towards Keter's Patron librarian. Upon realizing who he was talking with, his attitude quickly switched and a smile appeared on his face. A sweat fell down once more from the Fixer's forehead as he observed the expression he received.

The eyes staring at him were burdened by visible bags that grew more apparent as the days went by. At this point, the librarian was completely back to his "regular" self with the exception of said gaze showing signs of fatigue. He had the thorns needed to retaliate against Angela and the warm kindness to face the librarians residing in the Library, including the black haired guest.

Y/N: I was just thinking about something, do you need something?

He whispered to his interlocutor in an attempt to escape the ears of the AI currently observing their new guests. Her attention was unmoving along with the rest of her body, she was completely focused on what she was seeing. This made their conversation significantly easier to hide.

Roland: Uh... It's not really "something" that I need.

Y/N: What is it?

He raised an eyebrow out of curiosity before taking a glance at Angela, also using that time to take another peek at their guests. Unlike the previous ones they received, they weren't what one would call "fully human" in the sense that their skin and flesh were replaced with a robotic body.

This, of course, got the librarian's interest. In hindsight, it probably was the reason why the director herself was so absorbed in the sight they had considering her case.

Roland: You look tired.

Y/N: ..If you mean "tired of dealing with Angela's shit" then yes, I'm exhausted. If not, I'm fine.

After a few seconds of silence, the one receiving his words simply denied them and continued with an attempt to deflect the questions aimed at him.

Roland: You-

Y/N: You should focus on what's more important Roland.

Before he could slip in another word, Y/N casually cut him off and pointed at the small window they had to look at what the Invitation was sending them. Angela was expecting Roland to perform his duties flawlessly and now was not the time to fill his mind with worries, that was the thought Y/N had floating in the back of his head.

It was a reasonable statement considering the rather poor treatment Roland received up until now from the cold and selfish machine present in the room with them.

Someone had to be the "nicer" one.

Roland: ...

Their exchange came to an abrupt stop. With no subjects to revive the conversation, the Fixer relunctantly shifted back his attention to the guests they were soon going to receive. On the outside, the assistant did the same but on the inside, it was a completely different story.

...The outside was a pristine doll, wearing clothes made for him by the one playing the grave digger, lingering around a giant dollhouse made by his puppet master but the inside was rotten, ravaged by a malice that the director, the Grade 9 Fixer nor the doll himself could comprehend, suffering without a sign of rest.

Y/N: ...

Left with his own thoughts once more, the librarian sighed in his own head and pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to dissipate the fatigue he was experiencing. Many days have passed and they were starting to wear him out. Yet, no matter how tired he was, his mind forced him to stay awake.