Published at 12th of August 2024 7:33 am

Chapter 96 Hunter And Tangerine

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Due to his uncomfortability, Elmer had gone ahead to wait in the alley beside the ingredients shop for the young man with a chimp who had offered him help.

Through all the time he’d spent doing that, he had kept his arms folded and leaned backward on the part of the wall closest to the one-way street of the Black Market in order to give his body a little rest.

At least as much as he could have.

He was not of the mind to fall asleep in the Black Market, so he kept his eyes halfway open, and the sounds of his breathing away from his ears.

Even though he no longer touched upon his heightened hearing as much as he used to at the start of his life as an Ascender, it seemed like the ability had already been engraved so much on his being that it sometimes worked in a lesser degree without him even activating it. And because of that, he could not entirely escape its effects like he used to.

Sure, he was avoiding the ability because it made him fall asleep, but since he was always so exhausted, then wasn’t that ability the one he should have been relying on the most? At least whenever he was safe within the walls of his room?

But sleeping in itself was not the problem he was having. His insomnia was not brought about because he couldn’t have himself fall into the darkness beneath his eyelids that came naturally with nightfall, it was because he could not stay long within it. The constant nightmares he always had one hour into his sleep never let him.

Even if he used his heightened hearing—like he’d already tried a few times before—or not, to instigate himself into sleeping, it did not matter. The nightmare haunting him would always come. Whether it was at night or during the day, it did not matter as well.

He was not tired because he couldn’t sleep. He was tired because he couldn’t stay asleep.

At that moment, through his relaxation, Elmer heard the playful hoot of a chimp, and his halfway closed eyes opened fully as a reaction. They were deep red, but only for a moment as he quickly filled them with the essence of vitality once again, replenishing the one that had waned.

Undoing the embracing of his arms upon each other, Elmer pulled himself away from the wall and brought his being out of the dimness of the alleyway he was in.

“I’m here,” he announced quietly as soon as he caught sight of the barely noticeable mole near the bridge of the pert nose of the tunic-dressed man with a chimp. “I think this is a good enough spot.”

The young man caught sight of him, and a few seconds later agreed with Elmer’s latter words with a bob of his head, his right hand tickling the belly of his chimp, while his left held a paper bag obviously filled with materials of some sort.

There was no snake heart’s smell, so Elmer figured that the items bought were not related to the basic ingredients of the essence elixir; at least not completely.

The man joined him in the alley then, both of them opposite each other, and Elmer instantly returned his back to the wall, his voice kept barely above a whisper so that it would neither be heard by anyone passing by where they were, nor unreachable to the man across from him, as he spoke,

“If I recall correctly, you said you could help me with pronouncing the words that I have written in Enochian?” Elmer started off their discussion with a question, his brain knowing that it was the first of more to come.

The man nodded, his chimp continuously hooting and toying with his hair as they both played with each other.

At that moment, Elmer quickly activated his spiritual eyesight and directed it at the man’s crest. And as his head had conjured up, the illusory green color swirling in a circle around the man’s chest confirmed that he really was an Ascender.

“I see.” Elmer heaved out a sigh at the man’s answer. “Thank you for offering your help, but I have a question that seems to be bothering me. How were you able to hear my conversation?”

He knew asking questions and doing things akin to a background check on someone who’d offered him help was basically him going a bit too far. But when the help had been offered to him in a way that raised questions, then the answers to those questions he had to have in order for him to be at rest. He only hoped he would not lose a genuine helper at that, so in that regard he was of the mind to keep it brief.

The child-like voice of the young man with a chimp came upon Elmer’s ears then with the words, “My heightened sense.”

Elmer’s heart thumped once at the contents of that reply, but it was only because his deduction had been further confirmed. He raised his eyebrows and nodded as soon as he’d had his answers.

A similar ability to mine… That proves more than one person can have the same ability… Hmph… Seems the unique characteristics are not so unique after all, seeing as more than one person can have the same heightened sense… I wonder if that’s the same for the main ability one gets as well…? Hmmm… I doubt that…

He was not particularly surprised since he already knew the man was an Ascender. The question he had asked had only come forth to quell his curiosity. And since that was over with, he could now move on to accept the man’s help.

There was one other question he had though, but even he knew asking that would be going too far.

Elmer exhaled and dipped his right hand into his trouser’s pocket as he said, “Thank you for offering your help.”

“You’re welcome,” the man said with a smile. “I go by the name Hunter, by the way.” An introduction came next, and Elmer found his attention slip from the neatly folded paper he’d brought out of his pocket, and toward the actual origins of the man across from him.

“Hunter?” Elmer blurted instinctively before he suddenly called himself to realization with a gasp. “Ah! Forgive me. I go by Floyd,” he quickly apologized and introduced himself respectfully as was befitting of a gentleman. “Nice to make your acquaintance.”

And with those words they both shook hands. But that delay caused Elmer to resist accepting Hunter’s help once again. This time for a different reason—a very important one.

“If you don’t mind, Hunter,” Elmer began as their palms left each other’s—his warm, and Hunter’s mildly cold. “How much are you planning to charge for the pronunciation?”

Yes… I need to know first… I have to check my spendings well since I still have to buy foodstuffs at the market…

And he also wanted to confirm if the currency he was familiar with was shared between all the cities. He had a feeling it was and another that it wasn’t. The former because the currency was that of the empire of Fitzroy, and the latter because of the variations in dressings he’d seen in this secret market.

Hunter shook with a dazed expression as though he had not thought about asking for a fee for the help he was about to offer, and surprisingly, so did his chimp. They both looked at each other then, and a few hoots poured out from the chimp as though he was communicating with Hunter, and the young man with wet brown hair nodded as though he understood the words.

Maybe he did? Was that some sort of ability? To be able to understand animals? Was it his unique ability?

And the first of Elmer’s recent thoughts was proven true not long after he had them.

“Tangerine requests for ten mints,” Hunter said, and his words left Elmer in a daze—his chimp’s name to be precise. Somehow that had caught his attention more than the fact that a human could hear the words of an animal. It almost seemed like the latter was a regular occurrence.

What…?! Elmer found himself slightly dumbfounded, his mouth almost falling open. Tangerine…? Like the fruit…?

“Ah, yes. I forgot to say. This is Tangerine, he’s my brother.”

And as if Hunter had read Elmer’s thoughts, he’d gone ahead to worsen Elmer’s shaken mind with a casual smile on his face—one ever so bright. If only he knew what he had done.

What bad naming sense…!

Elmer wanted to ask if Hunter was the one who had named Tangerine that, or if they had both decided on the name. But he could not do that. It would go against every act considered of a gentleman. He would not have himself be rude.

Still… There must be a reason for that name… There has to… I would have seen the vision if Tangerine was an orangutan, but as a chimp with a coat of black hair, I can’t seem to put my hand on why… Well, it’s not like it’s any of my business…

Following those thoughts, Elmer caged his amusement. Although, it seemed like Tangerine had already long noticed his state of mind before he could do that. The chimp was glaring at him somewhat, but he made no sounds of anger. He was seemingly mature.

“Brother?” Elmer asked in relation to the introduction of the chimp he’d gotten, and also as a way to escape the naming sitch his brain had wandered into.

“Yes,” Hunter resumed his play with Tangerine, and the chimp’s glare turned into a happy one in an instant. “That he is.”

Elmer downturned his lips and nodded. He was not going to ask how a human and a chimp came to be brothers, because he was not here for that, even though some interest lingered deep within his heart.

He took himself back to business in that regard.

Ten mints had already been brought up as the price for his prayer to be pronounced in Enochian. And with that, ten mints he counted out from the eighty mints left in his jacket’s right pocket, not considering his changes of pence and shillings, and brought it out to kickstart into effect the reason he’d come into the Black Market.

He was not sure if the pronunciation Hunter would give him would be the correct one—who knew? It might be a scam—but he still decided to go on with it regardless. After all, he barely had options. If it didn’t work then he would just look for another way.

The money spent would hurt him, but it was better than sitting at home and trying methods he had the lowest surety about.

Hunter ceased his plays with Tangerine in order to receive the money Elmer had stretched forward. But when he did, he immediately gave it up to the chimp on his shoulder who scrutinized the piece of money in between hoots in what Elmer guessed to be fake-checking.

“Tangerine likes to take his time, I see.” Elmer chuckled a tad as he instinctively felt the passage of thirty seconds.

“Do not blame us,” Hunter said, shrugging stiffly so he would not shake off Tangerine from his shoulder. Elmer wondered how the young man could take the weight consistently. There was the fact that Tangerine moved about on both shoulders, relieving one to burden the other occasionally, but still… “Where we’re from there’s a lot of scary scammers. You receive money from someone, not knowing you’re not receiving money.”

Woah…! There’s fraudulent crimes everywhere, but the way you’re making it sound, it seems like that’s the prevalent one where you’re from… I wonder what it’s like to give money without giving money…?

Elmer’s head jerked backward, and he couldn’t help but laugh softly. He made sure it was kept from the young man across from him though, but he knew Hunter would have heard regardless. That was if his heightened hearing was still active.

Wait…! All of a sudden Elmer’s brows narrowed at Hunter who was seemingly in a conversation with Tangerine. That would be impossible, right…?! If his heightened hearing is active, then shouldn’t he be feeling a bit sleepy, if not worse…? He’s not giving off that sort of feeling…

His head tilted indiscernibly to the side next.

Hmm… It’s possible that the ability is not actually active right now, and in the shop maybe he’d just activated it for a short moment so he wouldn’t fall asleep… I know I used to do that… But wouldn’t that mean he was actually listening in on my conversation…?

Why…?

What for…?

I can’t be wrong, right…? It was either that, or he could use his ability without being affected by its effects…

Elmer’s eyes widened considerably. And at that moment, Hunter turned back to him, his smile very evident, while Tangerine was done with his checks.

What rank of Ascender is he, and how in the world is that possible…?!

Elmer was about to let his lips loose with the questions he was having, but he immediately held himself back.

Anything said would make known his knowledge of the heightened sense of hearing to Hunter. And since he already knew that him being an Ascender would obviously no longer be a secret to Hunter, what he was avoiding was not that, but the revelation of his own abilities to a stranger.

Sure, the young man had freely given up his, but it could be because he did not feel any threat from Elmer. While on the other hand, Elmer felt threatened by this young man. Hunter was not of a rank lower than him, nor were they of the same rank.

Hunter was far higher!

At that conclusion, Elmer’s body tensed up, and his left hand tightened upon the base of his revolver.

He tried his hardest to ensure his posture had no major changes, but still he had to be on guard. He was taking no chances.

“Is there a problem?” Hunter asked, his smile unwavering.

Elmer shook his head in response. “No. None at all.” He took a glance at Tangerine and the money he held. “Are you done?” The chimp flared its nose in an unfriendly manner at him, and Elmer nodded in understanding. “Well, here it is.” Coolly, he brought out the paper of the reaper’s prayer and handed it over to Hunter.

“Hmm…” Hunter raised his eyebrows as soon as he caught sight of the words on the paper. “Fine Enochian writing,” he praised at first before halting the next words that were about to leave his lips.

Elmer already knew what the young man had wanted to say.

“You wonder why I can’t pronounce it?”

Hunter nodded, undenying. “That I do. But it is not my place to ask. My job is merely to pronounce.”

Although, Elmer guessed Tangerine did not share the same thoughts as Hunter. The chimp made noisy, erratic hoots as he pointed here and there on the paper.

Hunter’s smile gave way to downturned lips for a moment as he took his eyes to Tangerine, who was now on the left side of his shoulder, before turning back to Elmer.

“Tangerine wants to know what the words are for,” Hunter began, confirming Elmer’s thoughts. “But ignore him. He’s a curious one. We were not paid to ask questions, so—”

“It’s for a short story,” Elmer answered by cutting Hunter’s words halfway. He’d already planned to do that right from time—say what the words he’d written in the paper were for.

He knew that anyone who had knowledge on Enochian was obviously a person with a deep well-pool of understanding in the supernatural. Such a person would know a prayer when they’d seen one.

The reaper was not a famous entity as the police force had been trying their best to keep his murders away from the news. But once he was able to make his contacting easier, more jobs would come in, and the newspapers would no doubt be unable to be held down, hence the publishing about his exploits would prop up in due time.

Taking that into mind, and the fact that his postiche could only mask his face to some degree, he knew he had to divert the mind of the person who would pronounce the words of his prayer away from dwelling too much on it. That way they would easily forget the words they’d come across.

Well, considering Hunter, who was going to be doing the job of pronunciation, was obviously not from Ur, Elmer felt the weight upon his shoulder disappear somewhat.

The tales of the reaper would never spread farther than the City of Time, so even further diverting the mind of this stranger away from it would benefit him greatly.

“A short story?” Hunter asked since Elmer had obliged to answer the previous one.

“Yes,” Elmer said. “I’m a beginner novelist. And in order to make my stories very realistic, I need to be well learned on the things I’ll be putting in there, don’t you think?”

“Ah, I see.” Hunter nodded. “Just like that author, Fors.”

Fors…? Elmer’s brows knitted, causing his expression to take on a slight frown of contemplation.

He had never heard of such an author, and he was a person who used to love reading fictional books back at Meadbray.

Or maybe she was quite a very popular author in the cities, and so her books were expensive.

Seemed more like it. That would make sense as to why none of them were at Meadbray. The locals couldn’t purchase such.

“Well, I’ll pronounce the words then,” Hunter announced, and Elmer snapped back from his mind and returned to the dim alley scenery he was in.

“Put some gaps in between the sentences, if you will,” Elmer beckoned Hunter. “I’d like to grasp the pronunciation in one fell swoop.”

That was partially the reason he’d brought that up, but the one that took precedence was because he didn’t want the prayers to have any impact here. He did not know what would happen, and so the constant breaks in between each word or sentence would prevent the prayer from kicking into action.

Granted, the altar was nowhere to be found, so in hindsight even if the words were not broken far apart nothing should happen. But Elmer knew better than to take the supernatural for granted. Any idea he had to reduce any risk of something unfathomable from happening, he would grasp tightly.

Hunter nodded, and with that, spoke in Enochian, taking a five seconds break in between each sentence,

“I pray to the mysterious hunter who roams the night… The silent reaper in a pale mask… The Angel of Night… May the essence of the Heavens serve as the emissary of my words… And whisper them into thy ears…”

To Elmer’s ears what had been recited sounded like a bunch of gibberish, but he grasped it all regardless.

“One more time, if you will,” Elmer requested, and Hunter did not refuse.

Though this time, Elmer joined in with the recitation, only he said the words in his head, taking the same breaks as Hunter as well. All he’d done to confirm that he had actually gotten it all correctly.

“Thank you,” Elmer said after heaving out a soothing exhale. He had gotten what he wanted.

He took the paper back from the smiling Hunter, and dipped it back into his pocket while his left hand was still cautiously in his jacket’s pocket and over his revolver.

“Good luck with your novel.” Hunter turned around without wasting a second, his right hand bidding farewell to Elmer with a back wave.

And at the young man’s disappearance into the throng of the Black Market, Elmer finally relaxed his grip on his revolver.

With a sigh then, he held his cap’s visor and tipped it forward in a bow.

Well, I guess I’ll have to find another person to actually teach me Enochian… Hunter is not someone I should stay too long with… If anything breaks out, I’m no match for him in my current state… That man is definitely in the Upper Echelon of whatever Pathway he’s in…

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