Chapter 127: Concept of Friendship is Transaction?

"What are you doing here?"

"Why did you follow me?"

The four classmates were finally reunited. But the instant they did, they simultaneously asked a question.

Aisha decided to tell them a partial truth about why she was here since they had already overheard her conversation with Nykos and the man with the tracking ability.

"I’m here to look for my brother," she explained. "I heard he went missing on the day of my annulment ceremony. And his crewmates were recently seen in Sector Nine to ask them."

She didn’t need to go over the gory details of how her search went or how two lives were taken for the sake of it. Aisha didn’t want these young classmates of hers to know such things too early in their lives.

For somebody with the mentality of someone who was years older than them and knew what danger lies in every corner, it’d be wrong for her to take the happiness and innocent layer of their lives away because of her issues.

Sabel looked at her in concern. "No wonder you were acting strangely when we were sparring earlier. You should’ve told us first."

"That’s right." Vesper agreed.

Finally, they understood why she was so out of it when they were at the house she was staying. It turned out that it was because her adoptive older brother had gone missing. She must have received information and had to head out in secret to find more.

Aisha was startled by what they said. Her brows furrowed before she softly asked, "Why should I?"

Vesper and Sabel stiffened at her words. They both looked at her in disbelief.

Kane stepped forward with a frown. "What do you mean, Aisha?"

Aisha also wanted to ask what they meant just now. She said, "This doesn’t have anything to do with any of you. Was it really necessary for me to tell you?"

"Aisha... do you know what you’re saying?" Sabel exhaled.

Aisha nodded. "Yes. What happened to my older brother has nothing to do with you. So, you didn’t have to follow me. And I don’t want you to—"

Before she could tell them she didn’t want them to put themselves in danger for her, Sabel interjected fiercely. "What the hell? We followed you because we wanted to help!"

That confused Aisha even more. Why would they help her? She hadn’t done anything tantamount to get their help in finding Zenick.

"If you helped, I won’t be able to compensate you enough."

Her words seemed to bring some shock to her classmates. Aisha felt she wasn’t wrong to say this. After all, finding Zenick and making sure he was alive would require a lot more effort and force to make it successful. Even with all the money she had in her account and the items she owned, she felt it wouldn’t be enough to compensate the three of them.

Then, there was also Zenick and his men, who had helped her track her older brother. She would need to pay them back for that as well.

That was how she was always. Or at least, how her previous world worked. You don’t get help for free and expect somebody to wave it off with a smile. Anyone who offered her help or helped her asked her for something. And if she couldn’t produce anything, they’d make ruthless attacks on her.

That was why she had left her team in the past and became a vagabond. She had no more use, and they couldn’t continue helping her. So, her team wanted to throw her to the mutated humans as bait so they could go to another base.

Fortunately, she overheard their discussion and escaped in time.

Friends? Families? Lovers? Teammates? None of that mattered. Aisha believed that the only truest form of relationship was through bargaining. A simple you help, and I repay you. No one has ever helped in her world before they secured a way to get paid for helping.

Thus, she had no idea why the faces of her three classmates had suddenly turned between white and red, as though they were upset with something. Was it because she said she couldn’t compensate them and they were disappointed they wasted their time following her?

"Let me be clear about something." Vesper took on a serious face. Gone were his usual goofiness and bright smile. He narrowed his eyes at Aisha and said, "You don’t want us to help you because we’re just kids and not strong enough, right?"

Aisha showed some hesitation, but she still nodded.

"This is bullshit..." Vesper held some hope she wouldn’t respond in this way, but the reality ruthlessly debunked his expectation. "Fuck, this is our fault for sticking our nose in somebody else’s business. Fine, that might be right. But, Aisha, we tried to do it because we thought of you as friends!"

Aisha nodded again. "But I still don’t know what to give you three..."

The concept of friendship has long been diluted into nothing ever since the world she formerly lived in fell apart.

She was relieved that Vesper understood her worries as well. She had no doubt they were capable, but they were still kids with a long and bright future ahead of them. Vesper was right about that.

"Ha..." Vesper couldn’t believe she even nodded to that.

He was surprised she agreed so easily without even hesitation and said those words again. Vesper felt so disappointed and frustrated. Without another word, he turned around and started to drag Kane with him toward the door.

Aisha watched him and Kane leave, the door shutting behind them with a loud bang that made the decorations on the wall rattle.

"Aisha... I’m really not sure how to feel about this. But... you’re wrong to think we want to help you so you can repay us." Sabel sighed.

Like her two male classmates, she looked at Aisha with saddened eyes before leaving.

Aisha watched Sabel close the door behind her, a little softer this time. But somehow, she felt that the gaze they had given her just now was strange.

Her hand subconsciously touched her chest where her beating heart was. There was some tightness inside that she couldn’t understand.

"Upset they left you behind?"

Nykos appeared beside her. He had left her side to allow her and her classmates to talk. Now that they were gone, he didn’t need to watch them with interest.

Aisha surprisingly shook her head. "No. I’ll meet them again when I’m done here."

Once she was done here and secured Zenick, she would invite them back to her place and spar with them.

Nykos glanced down at her, eyes glinting red, before he said, "You really have no idea, do you? Or you’re just as heartless as I am."