Elsword: Silver Lining

To Trust or Not To Trust

I shot my head up from the table and locked eyes with Chung, he stared back at me with raised brows.

"Y-you asked why I wanted to resume our mission?" I repeated tentatively, those fateful words felt foreign on my tongue.

"That's what I said," he answered nonchalantly.

"I am quite curious to know your answer as well." Eve poked her head out from behind Chung. "Raven was also wondering the same thing."

This is our chance! Eun beamed.

Their sudden interest completely rendered me speechless. I've gotten so used to their hate and rejection it almost felt wrong to receive their support.

"Well? Are we just gonna keep staring at you or what?" Chung snapped me out of my mindless daze.

"S-sorry, I-I was a bit caught off guard. I-I didn't actually think anyone would be curious..." I trailed off until my voice faded into nothingness. "A-anyways, I brought up the mission again because of a few letters I've been getting."

Chung's eyes seemed to brighten at my response," letters? Do you know who sent them?"

I shook my head," the author only stated they were an ally." I elaborated, darting my eyes side to side.

Once I was sure we were clear of any Red Knight captains, I proceeded to reveal the letters to them. They listened without interruption, simply bobbing their head with each new piece of information.

"That all sounds really cryptic." Raven said once I was finished.

"The detail in each note scares me." Eve admitted. "That leads to another question; how much should we trust these letters?"

"W-well the second letter was accurate." I began without confidence, if I had known these guys would genuinely curious about the letters I would've put more thought into them. "I-I bet the others are too..."

No one responded.

This is hopeless, I thought grimly. I doubt they'd believe me, but I can't blame them. I was the one who messed up their lives, they have every right distrust me.

"I don't think it's smart to rely solely on these letters." Chung finally shattered the silence. "It could be a trap for all we know."

I knew it. Why did I even think of telling them in the first place?

"But it concerns me how they know about the El Shards," Eve added. "Not to mention their knowledge about our mission."

"Ara, are you sure you don't know the one behind these letters?" Raven asked, almost accusingly. He was most likely suspicious of me and my connections.

"I-I swear on my life." I answered in an instant, though that alone didn't seem to assure his trust in me.

"Maybe we should go find El Shards again." Amos piped in softly. I nearly squealed at his response.

"We can't," Raven pinched the bridge of his nose. "I wish we could but we're not qualified to carry out the search."

Someone in the hall dropped their fork on the floor, releasing a pitched ring into the vast space.

"That being said," Chung's eyes wandered our surroundings before continuing. "The demons are probably out there looking for them while we're stuck here trying to defend the castle."

"I am sure the new search party will resume the mission promptly." Eve sounded as if she was trying to convince herself. "T-they must take on the mission soon, considering the rising casualties of this war."