Child of Destiny

...

"So what is that thing that you want from me?" asked David as he sat on the driver's seat. He insisted that he was going to drive until they reached the academy.

Shin hesitated for a moment before saying with caution. "Senior brother, didn't you say that you originally come the Dark Continent?"

David slightly knitted his eyebrows before nodding his head. "Yeah. I spent quite a lot of time there."

"Then, did you also challenge the geniuses from that place?" asked Shin.

David didn't know why he was getting a bad feeling about this conversation but still nodded his head. "Naturally. That is where I came from, so it is pretty natural for me to challenge the forces there first before proceeding to the other countries."

Shin noticed the word 'forces' instead of 'talented individuals' which meant that David didn't only challenge the young talents of the same generation that come from that place but also the organizations behind them.

'His master is probably so strong for him to be confident at challenging those forces,' thought Shin to himself after deducing some of the information from what David had said.

But he quickly brushed off that thought from his head before asking another question. "Then you are most likely familiar with the talented individuals from there."

Despite the iffy feeling that David was getting, he still replied with full confidence. "It is not like I am boasting or something, but it is not an exaggeration even if I say that I know almost every strong individual in that place."

"As you know, Dark Continent is the largest known continent. But I pretty much travel every corner of that place!" he added with a prideful tone.

Hearing that, Shin couldn't help but scoff inside. 'I got you!'

"It is as if you are telling you to know every person living there," said Shin while trying to hold back himself.

David nodded his head as he answered. "Yeah, something like that."

When they reached this point, Shin knew that it was finally time to get straight to the point. "Senior brother, can you pull over for a second?"

David was slightly taken aback by the sudden request before giving Shin a sidelong glance. "Didn't I say that I will drive until you drop me off at the academy? Why do you want me to pull over the car now?"

Shin shook his head and quickly answered. "That is not it. Just move the car to the side of the road for a moment."

This time, the uncomfortable feeling that David was getting intensified. He really had a bad feeling where this conversation was heading.

Regardless, he still pulled over the car before asking with a serious tone. "What is it? Just tell me already and stop beating around the bush."

Shin didn't answer immediately as he took out a couple of photos from his pocket and hand them over to David. "Since you are familiar with the young talents of the Dark Continent, you should have known about this person."

He paused for a moment to focus his gaze at David, not willing to miss any change from the latter's expression before adding. "From what I hear, she is also a talented mentalist just like you, Senior Brother. Do you know who she is?"

David was caught off-guard with the sudden question, especially when he saw the person in the photos. But given that he was trained by one of if not the best Mentalists in the world, he was still able to hide what he was currently feeling and said with a calm tone. "Let me have a closer look."

He then took the photos from Shin and stared at them for a couple of moments before shaking his head. "I am not sure. This is my first time seeing this girl. Are you sure that she is from the Dark Continent?"

Shin suddenly frowned his eyebrows when he heard the response from his bluff. 'He didn't know her? Impossible! Given big sister Alyssa's talent, it is impossible for her to be unnoticed!'

"Are you sure about that? Can you take another look and recall if you really not met her?" asked Shin with an urgent tone, urging David to look closer at the photos.

Naturally, David knew why Shin was acting this way but he still chose not to share what he knew with his junior brother. The girl in the photos had a sensitive past that couldn't be revealed in the world yet.

Aside from her original background, the fact that she was the disciple of the person who was being chased by a lot of organizations would definitely put her in danger.

Despite learning under the same tutelage, the two of them were still training different sets of techniques. David inherited the Mentalism Techniques of his fallen Kingdom – all of the techniques of the different families and their history. On the other hand, this girl was the true successor of their Master's techniques.

Once the news about her being the direct disciple of Evangeline Rose, the greatest mentalism genius, then all of the organizations that were chasing after their master and her husband would definitely set their eyes on Alyssa.

No matter how much David wanted to share the truth with Shin and despite him fully trusting this junior brother, he still couldn't disclose this information to him.

'No. It is not time yet. We at least need to wait until Master and Sir Adam give us the permission,' thought David to himself before smiling bitterly and responding to Shin. "I know what you are trying to pull here, junior brother. But I must tell you that I don't know all of the people of that place."

"As from what you already know, Dark Continent is practically the home of most of the underworld organizations. And given their influence within that place, even the World Government is having a hard time investigating there."

He paused for a moment and turned to Shin before asking with a serious tone. "Now, tell me. With such a chaotic place, do you think that geniuses living in that place will just reveal their talent in the public?"

"Unless they like me who have a very strong Master or someone from a very powerful background, they are most likely going to live in seclusion while training themselves secretly, so it is practically impossible even for me to know every talented individual living in that place."

"Heck! Even those so-called geniuses are being assassinated left and right by the rivals of their organizations!"

After that, he took another pause to inhale deeply before continuing. "What's more, I also leave that place to travel around the world, so it is pretty natural for me not to know if another talent suddenly emerged out of nowhere."

He was quite satisfied with his answer. He was sure that Shin would not continue to inquire about Alyssa.

Unfortunately for him, he overreacted for a bit which was why Shin looked at him even more suspiciously.

Shin stared at David with squinting eyes. He knew that this so-called senior brother of his was hiding something from him. It might not be about Alyssa who was in the photo, but he had the feeling that it was something related to Dark Continent or something related to his 'missing' past.

But he didn't continue to inquire since he didn't want to look for it. They had 'abandoned' him for quite a long time, so he didn't have the intention of looking for them.

After calming the internal turmoil that he had, Shin quickly snatched the photos back from David's hand before saying. "I am just asking whether you know this person or not. Why do you have to overcomplicate it?"

"Tsk!" David clicked his tongue but didn't refute Shin's words. Though, he still curiously asked. "But why are you asking about that girl? Is she someone important? Is your secret lover or something?" while starting to the car and resuming to drive.

Shin turned silent for a moment before answering. "She is indeed very important. To me at the very least."

His words paused for a moment as he turned towards the window. "She is the first person who introduces me to the word 'kindness' when I truly need it."

"Sounds like a pretty good person," commented David.

Shin nodded his head and added. "She also brightened up my dull world during those dark times."

********

While Shin and David were heading towards the academy, there was a certain incident back in their house.

The other people from both houses were currently gathered in their backyard as they looked at the two girls standing a few meters away from them, facing each other.

"Looks like I really need to ask Uncle Sam to hasten the renovation of your house and build the training room underground as soon as possible," muttered Shiella as she looked at the two girls in front of them.

She had been called over by these two, asking her to oversee their 'sparring match'. And since she found this very interesting, she immediately agreed with them and quickly decided to slightly delay her plans for today.

The others were currently standing behind her as they immediately headed over to this place after learning that something interesting was happening.

Shiella turned her head to Cloe, who was currently wearing a serious look on her face, before shaking her head. "It is pretty rare for this girl to act this way. I wonder what happened."

She then moved her gaze towards Alice, who was also currently in the middle of fixing her clothes. "I knew that this is bound to happen. But isn't a little too soon?"

She released a helpless sigh before shaking her head with a bitter smile. "That little rascal is always creating trouble."

...…