Lisan Al-Gaia: Tales of the First SSS Human
Chapter 74: What Are You Hiding?
Silas remained in the bathtub, staring at his friend with growing suspicion.
Darius had not merely stopped by. He had dragged a chair beside the bathtub and settled into it comfortably, as though he intended to stay for a long time. More importantly, he looked as if he had been waiting, waiting specifically for Silas to come looking for him.
"I had a sudden stroke of inspiration after you left," Darius said calmly. "So I came here, waited for you to return, and thought I’d tell you about it."
His words were smooth and perfectly organised, lacking any obvious flaw. Yet Silas did not believe a single one of them. The more he thought about it, the more something felt off.
Still, he eventually nodded for Darius to continue.
"I think the best place to set the trap is inside the mine itself," Darius said. "The mine is protected by numerous garrison posts, staffed by plenty of soldiers and Enhancers, and guarded by several powerful individuals. There should be at least a few B-grade Enhancers stationed there."
He paused, seemingly waiting for a reaction, but Silas remained silent.
"Out of all possible locations, it’s the strongest option."
Silas considered the suggestion for a few moments. The reasoning was sound, supported by several convincing arguments. Yet the unease lingering in his heart refused to disappear.
"Anything else?"
He continued staring at Darius, who simply shrugged.
"That’s all for now. I’ll stay here, though, in case you need to ask me something else."
The implication was impossible to miss.
’He knew I’d come looking for him.’
’He knew I’d have questions.’
Silas narrowed his eyes. He was now almost certain that Darius was hiding something.
’Then again, so am I.’
’As long as he’s willing to help, I can leave it alone for now.’
This was neither the time nor the place for a confrontation. Pushing the matter aside, Silas gave a small nod.
"I’ll think about it. If I need anything else, I’ll come ask."
For some reason, he felt that Darius’s help would not be needed only once. Despite his doubts, he decided to follow Gaia’s advice and place a measure of trust in his friend.
Soon enough, those doubts proved justified.
After returning to the Time Mind World, Silas discovered that Darius’s suggestion worked remarkably well. The plan progressed smoothly at first, only to fail because of an unforeseen complication. Unsurprisingly, the issue was connected to Darius like before.
Silas emerged from the special world and found Darius exactly where he had left him, waiting patiently beside the bathtub. After hearing the problem, Darius provided an answer without hesitation.
When Silas returned to the Time Mind World, he was astonished to discover that the solution worked flawlessly, fitting into the plan like a missing cog in a machine.
The same thing happened again and again.
Each time the simulation revealed a flaw, Silas would leave the Time Mind World, describe the problem, and receive an answer from Darius. Then he would return and watch that answer resolve the issue with uncanny precision.
After repeating the process countless times, it gradually became routine. Gradually, Silas grew accustomed to Darius’s strange interventions, yet his suspicion deepened with every answer.
At one point, Darius suggested they would split up and not move together. This sounded ridiculous, especially with a dragon chasing after them. And yet when he went inside the Time Mind World, it proved to be the best option they would do, as the reason Darius casually gave worked perfectly into the plan.
Another was a dilemma of which way to move after reaching the mine, with Darius suggesting something that proved to be correct again. Silas couldn’t tell how his friend kept knowing the right answer every single time.
’Even my Time Mind World couldn’t provide me with an answer!’
The most shocking answer came when Silas encountered the final flaw in his plan. They successfully trapped the dragon, but the dragon needed to be lured at some point to a place to let Silas perform what he wanted.
’He suggested for me to use the flower to lure the dragon away.’
Silas frowned. While the shadows kept playing a successful ending for the plan.
’Yet I never told him about the flower before.’
’I never told anyone about the flower.’
The realisation sent a wave of alarm through him. Yet at a point, Gaia’s voice repeated again in his mind, forcing him to bitterly smile.
’It seems I’ll need to trust you this time, my friend.’
He shifted his eyes towards the five shadows, with the dragon’s big shadow falling between them.
’Whatever his secret is, it has only helped me so far.’
Twelve hours passed in the blink of an eye. Eventually, Silas reached a point where he no longer needed to seek advice.
’It works.’
Before him, the shadows of his five companions fled with the dragon blood, escaping the pursuit of the dragon while completing the mission intact.
The plan was far from simple. It contained numerous variables, hidden risks, and several difficult hurdles that had to be overcome along the way.
Yet despite all that, it was solid.
Silas did not rush out of the water. Instead, he continued testing the plan again and again, refining every detail until he had repeated the process more than a dozen times without encountering a single failure. Only then did he finally gain enough confidence to trust it.
When he eventually climbed out of the bathtub, Darius was nowhere to be seen. He had left without a word, as though he already knew his presence was no longer needed.
"Darius... oh, Darius."
"What exactly are you hiding from me?"
Silas shook his head with an amused smile. He could not even begin to guess the nature of Darius’s hidden ability, but he was certain it had something to do with those strangely precise suggestions he always seemed to provide, as well as his uncanny awareness of when he would be needed and when he would not.
Not to mention his absurd knowledge of things Silas kept to himself.