Chelsea couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked no one in particular, "So yeah, uh, how did Chisaru become deaf 'n all?”

  Everyone turned to Chelsea and stared in somewhat bewildered silence at her question, seemingly taken aback by Chelsea's blunt question. Brittany was the first to speak up, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "You pick the worst times to ask questions, Chelsea. We're brainstorming a plan to infiltrate a high-security location, and you're like, 'Hey, I'm curious, how did Chisaru lose his hearing?'"

  Malika rolled her eyes, facepalmed herself, and sighed. "This is a perfect example of why I question why I keep you around…”

  Chelsea shot Malika an offended glare. "Hey, I was just curious! It's not like I was trying to derail the conversation," she protested defensively, her voice tinged with indignation.

  Cassie nudged Chelsea with a smirk. "Hey," she began, leaning closer to her, "I'll tell ya what happened. Ya see, me and Chisaru were sparring for funsies, and then..."

  The scene replayed in Cassie's head, with Chisaru launching a sound projectile at her, while she responded with a reversal skill, sending the projectile back at him with double the strength.

  After Cassie told her what happened, Chelsea nodded, her eyes wide. "Ohhh...yeesh, man.”

  The others snickered and shook their heads at the story, finding a mixture of humor and pity in it. Brittany let out a laugh, her voice dripping with humor. "Only you could find a way to get your buddy deaf just from playing around."

  Malika rolled her eyes once again, but a hint of a smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. "You and your antics, you never cease to amaze me, Cass."

  Danemon's stoic expression slightly shifted, revealing a hint of concern. "Poor bastard got hit with his own attack, ouch," he commented quietly.

  Cassie grinned sheepishly at everyone's reaction, amused by the situation. "I didn't mean to deafen him, honestly! We were just sparring and things got a bit out of hand."

  Lotte, with her usual matter-of-fact tone, spoke up, "It makes sense that Chisaru lost his hearing, then. He got hit by a very powerful sound projectile."

  Meanwhile, Chisaru seemed blissfully unaware of the conversation being completely about him and quietly watched as the others talked and chuckled.

  Courtney spoke up at last with her monotone voice, "I know sign language.”

  Everyone's attention turned to Courtney with surprise at her sudden comment. Brittany, trying to confirm what Courtney said, asked, "Wait, you do? When and how did you learn it? And why the hell are you just now mentioning it?"

  Danemon, just as intrigued, furrowed his brow. "That's a useful bit of information. How come you never told us before? You never said anything about knowing sign language."

  Lotte, ever observant, nodded with acknowledgment. "Court, you've been keeping this secret well hidden.”

  Courtney, as stoic as ever, replied in her usual dry and unchanging tone, "I learned it some time ago. I haven't found an opportunity to mention it."

  Danemon let out an exasperated sigh and facepalmed himself. "Ugh, I swear, Courtney, you have a knack for withholding important information... and the worst timing possible."

  Chelsea, with her usual lack of filter, chimed in, "Wait, how long have you actually known sign language? You could've mentioned it like wayyyyy earlier!”

  Brittany rolled her eyes at Chelsea's remark. "Yeah, tell us how long you've actually known sign language, Courtney," she added. "Seriously, knowing this could've been useful to us much sooner."

  Lotte, still the voice of reason, interjected, "To be fair, when exactly was there a situation where knowing sign language was needed before? We never really encountered any deaf people, not that I can remember."

  Courtney shrugged nonchalantly, as if it didn't matter, "A year, give or take.”

  Chelsea's eyes widened at Courtney's response. "A year? A whole freakin' year? You've known sign language for that long and you're just telling us now?! For real?!"

  Vilho let out a frustrated sigh, shaking his head in disbelief. Brittany shook her head in disbelief. "A year and you never thought to tell us. Classic Courtney."

  Lotte, still ever the rational one, asked calmly, "Did you intentionally keep it a secret, or have you genuinely just never found the right opportunity to mention it?”

  Courtney crossed her arms over her chest, her expression unchanged. "I never intentionally kept it a secret. It just never came up in conversation," she replied, her voice maintaining its usual monotone.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Brittany, still annoyed, pointed out, "Oh, come on. There were a ton of times where it could've come up. Anytime we were in a place where there might've been deaf people around, or when we were talking about different languages or communication methods. But you just never decided to bring it up? Not even once?"

  "You say that like we're close friends," Courtney shot back flatly. "I saw no reason to bring up knowing sign language for the sake of it. Now that I'm aware that there's a deaf one among us, I decided now was the proper time.”

  The others exchanged glances, somewhat taken aback by Courtney's blunt honesty. Brittany sighed, her irritation seeping through. "Aight, ‘guess that makes sense, given how closed off you always are. But it still doesn't help that now, just as we're planning to infiltrate the palace, we find out you're the only one who can communicate with our one crew member who's deaf," she remarked.

  Lotte, as usual, was the calmer one amongst the group, trying to ease the tension. "Let's not focus on the timing right now."

  "...ANYWAYS—" Malika jumped in, helping Lotte calm the situation, "So, Court, how did you learn sign language, actually?”

  Courtney took a moment before replying, her usual calm and detached demeanor making it difficult to read her true feelings. She took a breath before explaining. "When I was younger," she began, her voice still in its neutral tone, "I briefly stayed at a deaf-mute orphanage for a period. There, I met a mute nun who had a book that let her copy Void Magic abilities from other Void Mages. I picked up some basics from observing."

  Malika raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Wait, you stayed at an orphanage? You've literally never told us about that."

  Courtney shrugged, "Did I have to? It was a long time ago."

  Chelsea, her interest piqued at hearing about Courtney's ex-friend, asked, "A book that lets her copy Void Magic abilities, eh? She must've been something else.”

  Courtney nodded in affirmation, her expression as calm as ever. "Yeah, she was," she replied, her tone somewhat nostalgic, hinting at some sort of fondness for the memory.

  Brittany, hearing the rare tone in Courtney's voice, couldn't resist teasing her. "Aww," she teased, "Is little Courtney reminiscing about her friend?"

  Courtney's eyes narrowed at Brittany, her usual poker face slipping for a moment. "Shut it, smartass."

  Brittany leaned in close enough that Courtney could feel the other girl's breath, her smirk still intact. "Gee, why the attitude all of a sudden?"

  "Because I want you out of my FACE," Courtney countered with sass.

  "Well, I ain't movin'," Brittany teased further, almost touching noses with Courtney's before Danemon put a blade made of hardened clouds between their faces, making Brittany lean back.

  "No infighting between Cabal members," he warned, his eyes holding no room for further discussion.

  The two immediately backed away from each other, both annoyed and slightly embarrassed that Danemon had to interfere. Brittany hmph'ed, crossing her arms across her chest while Courtney averted her eyes away from the group, her cheeks slightly flushed.

  Malika chuckled at the interaction, watching the two with a mix of amusement and fond exasperation. "Y'know, sometimes you two argue like an old married couple.”

  Brittany rolled her eyes at Malika's remark. "Oh, please, I'd rather jump off a cliff than be married to this ice queen," she retorted, casting a side-eye glance towards Courtney.

  Courtney, still visibly flustered but her usual mask quickly falling back into place, shot a glare back at Brittany. "Trust me, the feeling's mutual," she shot back, her voice slightly sharp.

  A short silence then ensued, but the quiet was broken by the ever so faint sound of cars driving on the rough terrain below, chasing after the group on Malika's magic carpet.

  "Looks like we got company," Lotte pointed out in her clinical tone of voice, her keen ears picking up the sound of the cars far below.

  Malika glanced behind her and looked down below. "Damn it, the Black Snake mob really aren't playing around," she grumbled, her tone laced with annoyance. "We have to lose them. It's too risky to let the Black Snake mob follow us to our hideout."

  "Lose 'em?" Brittany said with a scoff. "Hell nah, if those mobsters want a fight, let's give it to 'em!”

  Malika shot a stern look at Brittany, her expression unwavering. "I know you love a good fight, but we can't afford to engage in a battle right now. Our mission is to find the World Core, and getting sidetracked by a gang of thugs isn't gonna help us achieve our goal. We have to prioritize what's more important, and right now, finding the World Core comes first. Got it?"

  Brittany pouted, looking a little dissatisfied. "Fine..."

  Danemon nodded in approval. "Yeah, save all your excitement for the grand finale, girl."

  Chelsea, coming up with an idea of her own, suggested with a cheeky smile, "Hey, Nyx told us she wants Kinsey to pull her weight in the group, right? So how about we let Kins go for the World Core while we clear out these mobsters who will a hundred percent follow us like roaches in a luggage?”

  Malika paused for a moment, contemplating Chelsea's proposal. "Hmm, ya know, that ain't a half bad idea," she acknowledged.

  Danemon considered as well, "Chelsea's suggestion sounds promising. It would be a good opportunity for Kinsey to prove she can pull her own weight and help us with our mission. Plus, if she can find the World Core faster than what would take us, it's a win-win situation.”

  Vilho nodded, seemingly in agreement. "Yeah, getting the World Core quicker would save us a lot of time and trouble. And letting Kinsey handle the job could also be a good test for her and see what she's capable of."

  Lotte gave a brief nod as well, her expression slightly less clinical. "Agreed. Kinsey is a new addition to our group and hasn't had a chance to prove herself yet. This could be a good opportunity to see what she's made of."

  "All she needs is a little gaslighting from Nyx and Kinsey-Kins will be raring to do the darn thing," Chelsea said, forcing a maniacal grin.

  "Gaslighting?" Malika said incredulously. "Geez, Chel, you make us sound like no-good manipulators!”

  Chelsea shrugged, unperturbed by Malika's reaction. "What can I say, Mal? Gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss," she quipped with a devious smile.

  Malika rolled her eyes at Chelsea's response, a lopsided smirk on her face. "God, Chels, you're such a pain in the ass, ya know that?"

  Brittany snickered at their exchange, finding amusement in Chelsea's carefree attitude and Malika's slightly frustrated demeanor. Meanwhile, the swarm of cars below gained on them with no let-up. With Chelsea's plan now in motion, a few members were entertaining the idea of making an example out of the mob.