Mavin stopped himself to think. He watched the roads with bare interest before he decided. “Gaul,” he said, “stop the camper, and let’s camp out this time.”

“Aye, Boss.”

Mavin lifted his butt off the booth’s seat. Walking out of the camper, immediately, he placed the journal back in his satchel bag, and stared at the asphalt road leading west to the borders. They were crossing the main desert road. Close to the rocky plateaus and rocky formations, and the bare desert foliage. He looked at the side trunk, took out a foldable chair, and placed it next to the side entrance of the camper alongside the fire pit they brought. Miss Wendy Otto eyed him, he took notice, and said, “Miss Wendy, please stay in the Camper. I promise that you will be able to go home, but you must keep yourself in the camper for safety reasons.

“I understand.”

“Thank you, we only want you back home, that’s all,” Mavin said. He prepared the foldable chair, and plowed the dried grasses. He took the charcoal, placed it on the fire pit, and lit it up. The sun starting to rest, he sat on the foldable chair while he whistled for Gaul Stacker to come.

Gaul Stacker went out, and then sat on a chair on Mavin’s right. Mavin stared at the burning coals on the fire pit before whiffing in the cold and warm that had mixed in. He buried his boots on the pale clay ground before lifting his eyes up.

“Did Aunger die in that fire? I read from his journal that it was in Champier. Who did it?”

“I don’t know, but I know that Father had taken care of them, Boss.”

“So did he?”

Gaul nodded. Mavin quieted down and squeezed his eyes.

“When I was woken up, were you there? Who knows other than Stefanie and Edward?”

“None. We were the only ones allowed to know.”

Mavin could tell that there were no changes on him as he said that. Mavin took out the journal, and opened it to the ripped pages.

“Was he the one who ripped the pages out?”

“I don’t know, Sir. But I only found out about that journal three days ago after Stefanie called me to Holmia.”

“Where were you?”

“I was out of the country at the moment, Boss.”

Mavin kept his gaze on Gaul. Unperturbed by his gaze, Mavin moved to his next question.

“Does Stefanie know? About the contents of the journal?”

“I think she does. It has been seven years so I think that she should have an idea on its contents.”

Mavin rested his back on the foldable chair. He looked up to the stars where his eyes went dull for a moment before he squeezed his eyes, the dull look disappearing. He leaned forward, and stared at the fire. He had many questions to ask, but he found himself unable to ask anything more than that.

“Is that all, Boss?”

“Yeah, prepare the meal, I’ll return to the Camper.”

Mavin entered the camper, and sat on the booth again. “You should go outside for now, Miss.”

Wendy was about to speak when she saw the look on Mavin’s face. She zipped her mouth, and went out of the camper, taking a seat on the chair.

Mavin tapped his fingers on the table rhythmically.

Mind wandering to god knows where.

 

They had a meal later on. Mavin ate two pieces of chicken meat that Gaul served after cooking it over the fire. The road was good enough to salt their tongue and create this simple taste.

Mavin told the two to take a rest while he watched the road. Eyes trained on the asphalt road, Mavin thought of the world that had moved on without him. Fifty-seven years worth of hardship, and compared to what he had done. Mavin felt like he had used them too much.

When he had offered them a hand. He gave them a choice. That choice was to either help them or live a good life. Other than the Storm Vanguards, and Robert who had asked for that sacrifice to wipe out the demifiends of the demifiend region.

For all of that work. In the end he had always found the easy way out. Mavin hated reading some of the parts that Aunger wrote. He thought of him as someone grand, when in the end, Mavin thought of himself as nothing more than a selfish jerk who chases on an impossible task. All that he had done was take advantage of them and usurp the boons for himself.

I gathered because they were the ones who would stay loyal. They were the people who were gullible enough to do what I wanted, Mavin thought. And yet as years passed, many things have changed, he’s dead, and there is nothing to do about it. 

Mavin spent time chasing after something, not even knowing, wondering, what the hell it is for. Lazon had been ravaged when he ‘died’. And the peace he made in Flost was all for naught. He might have accomplished two things...but the reason he fought for was gone. He admit that it was all for the genocide of the demifiends. And the death of the exiled one who threatened Lazon...but he wasn’t thinking of Lazon. He thought only of the family that he had been with. But now that family had long passed, moved on, and had continued on with their lives.

What was he doing this for?

And his gift to me was this.

A world where he wasn’t needed. He left the dangerous one to him and took care of the easier targets while he was clueless and remembered nothing. Mavin thought of what he needed to do and the resolve he needed.

But if Aunger did take care of them.

Then his resolve.

And everything that he had to do in order to reach this era meant...nothing. Mavin found out that he couldn’t even be mad about it. Aunger’s spite and gift made him confused and lost.

Mavin looked at Aunger’s journal once again. He opened the pages, and flipped the next pages until he reached the last entry. To have a goal was what he wanted. The ability to live on knowing that he had something that must be needed to be done.

But that was stolen from him. Aunger stole that from him out of spite. It was the gift that he wanted to give. 

Mavin could stay awake for days. He could run for hours and not feel tired. He could probably sprint on the side of walls and  plant his legs on the ground after jumping five hundred meters off the air.

And yet he felt tired.

Not yet, Mavin said to himself. He drowned those heavy thoughts and placed it on the back of his mind. Need to get Miss Wendy to Finia, and then after that I have time to ruminate on this.

Mavin saat cross-legged. His eyes pointed everywhere.

When morning came, he got off the roof, took the chairs and tables back in the side of the camper’s trunk, and had Gaul continue on moving. He stayed in the camper, and operated the manpack installed on the camper where he could contact Stefanie.

“I read the journal,” he said directly. “I thank you for your service. I know that you are eager to help me, but know this dearest Stefanie, you are your own master. There is no need to do what your father did, what Aunger did.”

“I know,” Stefanie went quiet for a moment. “But Sir, I think that you need time to adjust, and if I can help then let me do so. I am doing this out of my gratitude and if you had read it...then this is my father’s spite and gift to you as well.”

“Aunger...he’s too good. I couldn’t ask for any better right-hand man other than him. One thing, what he said in the last entry, did he?”

“Yes. And if there are others left. I assure you that Gaul and I had rooted out of their places. My father had spent his last years hunting them down. He said that it would make you mad...lost. Truthfully, he wanted to see how lost you would be.”

“Hah, he did a good job on that,” Mavin said bitterly. “What are your plans after this?”

“That will depend on you, Sir.”

“Then I’ll give an answer once Wendy is returned. How are the eyes in the sky?”

“Lovely, Sir. I checked all frequencies and military encryptions. They are still trying to suppress the revolt in Knia. In a few days, they might start searching for her, but you should be able to cross the borders without anyone noticing that she’s with you. Most of the factions led by the antiwar forces had been culled in the last few days.”

“Got it, I’ll have her out of Holmia soon.”

“Good luck, Sir.”

“One last thing, Stefanie.”

“Thank you, for putting up with this.”

“No problem, Sir,” Stefanie laughed lightly. “After all, in a way, this was the spite that my father had wanted to give you, Sir.”

Mavin turned the manpack off. He looked out of the camper. His mind was heavy, and yet all he had to think about for now was to keep Miss Wendy safe until she’s able to return home.