n

n

n“*sigh*… It’s so boring without those two. I can’t help but admit that they have some good chemistry despite them not being very friendly with each other,” Findir muttered before throwing down a queen.

n“Shit,” I muttered before tossing down my hand.

nHow can he get so lucky…

n“Well *sniff*, then how about we do some *sniff* friendship bonding,” I muttered before standing up and pumping my fist into the air.

nI was planning on hitting up an amusement park since it was the end of the day and a new rollercoaster popped up, but it seems Findir didn’t feel like it.

n“Can we just go to your grandpa’s house? I want to see that sniper again,” Finidr muttered, and I soon remembered what he had just gone through.

n“Ah, *sniff*… You started the tatting process, *sniff* right?” I asked.

nDark elves, the natural enemies of forest elves, better known as just regular elves, have a certain tradition that runs through the bloodline.

nI wouldn’t say it’s the coolest, as even though the tattoos look appealing, most of the time, they aren’t for good reasons.

nTo be honest, I don’t fully understand the process, and I know asking Findir would be considered rude, so I just kept it to myself.

n“*sniff* So, which one did you get?”

nThough, I think I can ask which tattoo he got as it’s pretty much public knowledge.

n“Crow…” He muttered through gritted teeth, and I tried to suppress the worried expression that tried to claw onto my face.

n“Well, you’re going to have *sniff* one hell of a life, aren’t you?” I chuckled a bit, but he didn’t laugh.

nAfter a few minutes of awkward silence, we then left the cafeteria and walked towards my house, as I guess that is what he wanted to do.

nFindir and I aren’t the greatest of friends, but we share some interests, such as weapons and combat… that’s pretty much it.

nBut now, it’s nearly nowhere near as awkward as the first year we became friends.

nIt was just a mutual relationship as we were both friends with Cy and Orion.

nWe finally arrived at my house after about half an hour of kicking rocks down the dirty and now dilapidated road.

nIt was just as broken down and tattered as the slum roads.

n“Well, *sniff* rich boy, I hope you enjoy my humble abode,” I grinned, and he just grinned back before stepping into my house.

n“Oh, boy! You’re back!” My grandpa shouted in his scratchy and deep tone while he ran down the creaky wooden stairs.

n“Sorry, I forgot to bring the cake you like. We kind of came here on short notice, but I’ll bring a large one next time,” Findir apologizes.

n“Well, **, I was really looking forward to some sweets,”

n“Sorry about that….”

n“Whatever, come on in. I already prepared some coffee so let’s drink it,” My grandpa smirked after wrapping his arm around Findir’s shoulders.

nHe has pale gray eyes and grayish-blue hair that somewhat resembled my own.

n“Grandpa, I’m here, y’know,”

n“Yeah, yeah. Come on in and say your prayers,” He said before yanking Findir into the shrine room without mercy.

nI could only sigh slightly before giving my prayers to grandma and walking over to the kitchen table where the coffee sat.

n“Weren’t you guys going to drink the coffee?!”

n“No! Just leave it there for now! Also! Come in here!” My grandpa shouted, and I heaved a heavy sigh before stepping into the shrine.

nOf course, I removed my shoes and glanced at the pale gray and white shrine that sat pretty in front of me.

nAnd in the very center of it was an extremely old sniper without a scope.

nI wished yet another few prayers to my ancestor before jogging over to grandpa, who was excitingly holding a sniper like he was a little kid.

n“Watch this,” He muttered before aiming at a target across the room.

nBAM

nHis large, modern sniper tore through the target and then the wall, causing a few crumbles of dust to fall from the ceiling before landing on us.

n“Grandpa! I just repaired that wall!”

n“Shut up, kid, and just watch,” He muttered, but this time he was different.

nDammit… Is he seriously going to show Findir that? Wasn’t that supposed to be a secret that was supposed to be passed down through the family?

nI groaned slightly before stepping back and then moving next to Findir, who was intently watching grandpa.

nHe began to squeeze his chest, and his pale gray eyes turned emotionless before he rested his hand under the body of the sniper… then,

nBAM

nHe shot again and managed to shoot cleanly through the extremely small hole he had just created a few seconds ago.

n“Wow, what was that?” Findir asked.

n“It’s a technique passed down by my ancestor,” I replied while my grandpa tried to reignite his emotions by beating his chest with his fist.

nIt took a few minutes, but he eventually returned to his cheery and weird-ass personality.

nHe wrapped his arm around Findir’s shoulders once again before dragging him to our dusty kitchen, where we drank coffee until night fell.

n…

nIt was currently deep in the night, and grandpa brought up a question that made me cringe.

n“So, does she have a boyfriend yet?” Grandpa asks with a sly smirk before nudging my side a bit.

n“U-Ummmm…”

nFindir didn’t know how to respond, but this was a normal question, so I handled it calmly and said,

n“Nah. I won’t end up like mom,”

nAfter mulling over a reply, my grandpa gave me a slightly blank stare before opening his mouth.

n“You’re going to end our **ing bloodline,” He laughed aloud, and Findir laughed the same way he laughed with Orion.

nThese two were like bread and butter once the ice had broken, but since they couldn’t see each other all the time, grandpa had to break the ice every time they met again.

nI would’ve probably laughed with them if I didn’t realize what my grandpa was about to say.

n“Stupid old man,” I muttered before kicking his chair and then stupidly storming off to my bedroom, where I buried my head into my pillow.

nI won’t end up like that whore… She can go die for all I care.

n…

nThe next day, Findir wanted to go to my old man’s house again, and as the other boys weren’t back yet, I shrugged and led him to my house.

nThis time though, he brought a large chocolate cake, and once my grandpa noticed it, his eyes glowed bright stars.

n“GOOD MAN! LET’S FEAST ON THIS NOW!” He shouted before dragging Findir into the house once again.

nI just lay on my bed, doing some image training as I held an invisible sniper in my hand.

nBut, eventually, I got bored and threw my legs out of my thin sheets.

n“Ugh, I’m thirsty,” I muttered before getting out of bed and making my way toward the kitchen.

nI noticed the sun had already set, and just as I was about to turn into the kitchen, I paused behind the corner and eavesdropped on a conversation happening at the dining table.

n“Wait, she hasn’t opened up about her past?!” Grandpa exclaimed, and my eyes widened, but just as I was about to turn the corner, Findir spoke up.

n“I already know it’s **. I don’t want to pry, and the other boys don’t want to either. I mean, Cy may be a bit of an asshole, but he understands,”

n“Geez… Well, want me to tell you about her past?”

n“I’m fine. Don’t feel like prying….”

n“No, it won’t be prying because I’m sure, once I’m gone, the girl you see will change for the worse. She needs more pillars in her life, and you boys seem to like the perfect candidates,”

nFindir visibility gulped before sighing heavily.

n“Fine, but I won’t be telling the other boys. They’ll have to come to you,”

n“Go ahead. Now, where should we start… ah yes,”

nI was a scaredy-cat when I was young, and having a mother who worked at a scary place such as a brothel made it worse.

nWe lived in the red light district, and I saw scary people hook up with my mother every day.

nEvery day was a fight for survival, and when my mother beat me, it only made me lose more hope.

nI had no idea who my father was, but I prayed every day for him to save me from this hell I was trapped in.

nBut, somebody else came… my grandpa, on my mother’s side.

nI was wary of him in the beginning, but gradually our relationship grew closer.

nI left the red light district and started a new life in the slums… and well, everything went up from there.

nThat was probably the simplest way I could put it.

n“Oh wow…”

nFindir was a bit speechless and couldn’t say anything.

n“Yeah, well, most of this was due to our ancestor. My daughter wouldn’t have ended up as a whore if it wasn’t for my ancestor’s record,”

n“May I ask who this ancestor is?” Findir asked, and I grit my teeth.

n“Simo Hayha,” I muttered as I stepped out from the corner.

n“Huh… Never heard of him,”

n