BXBX NOVEL Chapter 147 The Only Hope
The conversers weren\'t even trying to hide their gist in anyway.
"...yeah mate, I don\'t think that\'s what truly happened."
"Sir, I assure you, I do not jest! The stranger Xzavier did that!"
"But he was just recently awarded the title of Baron! You\'re trying to tell me that orc-slayer Xzavier, physically humiliated Eadweard of the Anjou clan, all because he disrespected an ordinary maid?! Come on!"
Another man in the small group lent his voice;
"I also heard about it. My best bud personally shaves the beard of the chief servant of the Anjou family, he confirmed it word for word."
The chief contender shook his head in disbelief.
"That is impossible. How can a mere stranger publicly humiliate Eadweard, and then receive a promotion weeks later? And all for what, some girl? Bah! It\'s absurd!"
The argument continued, rising aggressively at a point, and then cooling off melancholically at some point further the line. Babara leaned against the wall a few meters away and listened with rapt attention as the conversation continued. It turned out that there was still more to follow.
"If you think that\'s absurd, wait till you hear how that Xzavier fellow dragged out Eadweard from Spring by the scruff of his neck!"
The eyes of the others opened wide in disbelief as they all chorused collectively; "WHAT?!"
It was obvious that this was fresh news to the others. The narrator continued his bit happily.
"Have you guys been living under a rock all this while? What is wrong with you all? Where have you all been?"
One man angrily snapped.
"My friend will you get on with it!! What\'s the matter with you?! Tell us what happened and be done with it.
Clearly he was of an impatient disposition. It showed in his brash tone. He was eager for the information and the narrator was playing games with it. Others chorused their approval of his rebuke.
"Fine, I guess I\'ll indulge you ignorant bunch then..."
The man narrating the tale exaggerated some parts of the events, but some of the details stayed the same. He spoke of how Eadweard had kidnapped a maid that belonged to the Princy family, just so he could get revenge on Xzavier for his misdemeanor. The story had some semblance of truth to it. Even Babara who had been listening knew very well that Eadweard has a predilection for young girls. This was no secret.
So, with graphic details, as if he was there, he described how Xzavier had called down lightning and thunder on Eadweard\'s goons, laying waste to them all at once. He spoke of how Xzavier moved like a ghost and used dark magic to slaughter all of Eadweard\'s servants. Everyone knew that it was an abomination for a Baron to kill an earl, Eadweard survived of course. But the narrator told the story in such a way that made it look as if Eadweard had barely escaped with his life.
Babara listened with rapt attention. For the first time in a really long time, she wasn\'t totally submerged in her own morbid thoughts. She drank in every bit of information she heard about Xzavier\'s performance. Of course the whole part about him fighting was marvelous, but that wasn\'t what had kept her hooked all this time. It was the part where he played the role of a savior to a poor maid;
"...so, after he had completely decimated the Anjou family\'s heir, Xzavier descended into the cave where the girl had been kept against her own will, and used his bare hands to break the iron chains that had kept her bound."
By the time he ended his narration, everyone had gone quiet. They all pictured the scene with wonder on their faces. One of them voiced out what was on everyone\'s mind;
"Damn! That Xzavier must really be a psychopath!!"
The mumblings that followed reiterated this fact.
"Indeed! He is!!"
"What kind of man would willingly go up against the Anjou family?"
"Maybe it\'s because the Princy family is backing him!"
"Really? So this must be some kind of silent war among both families then?"
"No I don\'t think so, I think Xzavier is acting independently. There is no way any human alive can have such a man under his control..."
Deciding that she had heard enough, Babara quickly scurried away from the location with renewed resolve. Slowly color began to return to her face again, as a ray of hope came alive in her eyes. It was beginning to look like she had found her way in. Yes, Xzavier was the key!
As drank that night, she paced up and down that night in the living room of her apartment. Xzavier was a key player whom she had never thought would play a significant part in her life. As she allowed herself to sink into the fantasy of asking for Xzavier\'s hep, she remembered the cold warning Dale had given her regrading him on the night of his award ceremony.
Babara respected the Silver Knight so much. She had worked with him for a really long time, and she had never gone against his wishes or commands on purpose. But even as she remembered his word of caution to her that day, (it had been more of a threat than a word of caution really), Babara decided there and then to ignore his threat this time. It was a pretty bold decision for someone who had walked the straight path for so long that she had never had a misdemeanor. But Babara had already made up her mind. There was simply no going back.
Faced with the hope of a better tomorrow, Babara began to feel her insides warming up. She now had the drive that came with a new mission. It felt good, Babara couldn\'t deny it. Xzavier was her way in. So, she had to dig around on Xzavier\'s past. Who was he? Where was he from? What weaknesses did he have? Xzavier was a mysterious man. Right from the very start, she had washed him off as an ordinary fraudster who was driven by the promise of glory and fame.
She realized with a chill that Xzavier had indulged her. Never for once had he even tried to convince her of who he truly was. This wasn\'t lost on Babara. She thought deeper on it and realized that he had been playing mind games all along. This only made him deeper and more mysterious. Babara realized that she had committed a blunder with Xzavier. She was too proud to admit it. But at the end of the day, she had been wrong. Xzavier wasn\'t what others said he was- he was much worse than that.
With a new objective in sight. Babara finally had something to look forward to the next day. She now had purpose. And it was all because of a man she had ruled off as a nonentity. It seemed fate wasn\'t quite done with her.
Babara began her search the very next day. This particular investigation was a bit weird for her. She had been warned not to look further into Xzavier, so it would be stupid of her to try to search within any of the government\'s agencies. No matter how careful she was, the trail would definitely lead back to her. As an official, she was expected to sign in and leave her details each time she requested for a specific file on someone or something. This way, everything she looked up could be traced back to her.
It was common knowledge that a lot of top government officials had their spies secretly embedded in a lot of these agencies. As soon as they spotted someone who was sniffing around a hot topic or confidential information, a swift move would be put in place to checkmate such individuals. Usually, it was something passive and indirect. But the message was almost always clear- BACK OFF!!
Babara knew that a man like Dale would\'ve definitely set up a mechanism to catch anyone in the act. It was possible that his network of spies were already on the lookout for her specifically. So, she knew that she couldn\'t do this using the government\'s agencies. Therefore, with this in mind, Babara decided to go old school. Going undercover, she hit the streets and started to ask questions. Her target was not cut out yet. Strangers made up for a lot of her informants. Posing as an Xzavier fan, she asked questions that were popular so she wouldn\'t arouse suspicions.
By the end of a three day period of questioning, Babara reviewed the data extensively and discovered that almost all the answers she had gotten so far corresponded with each other. Looming over her work desk at home, she poured over all the notes she had taken from her various interviews. Babara wasn\'t foolish enough to stay centered on one single location. From the center of the city as her ground zero, she spread and fanned out to the four corners of the city.
It was indeed a long and arduous task. It was also dangerous for her as a woman to frequent these places where men loved to drink and talk. But nonetheless, she did it. And it proved to be the ideal gambit. At the end of the day, all roads pointed towards one indisputable fact- Xzavier was an incredibly powerful man. This was baffling for Babara. Here was a man who hadn\'t even the slightest trace of mana. And yet, he had managed to become synonymous with power in this iskeai. It was truly outstanding!
The people absolutely worshipped him. He represented something out of the ordinary.