Shadow parasite

His remark drew everyone’s full attention to him yet again. Gorn was satisfied by their reactions. Seeing that he stopped talking, Rebeca, the most talkative among the bunch, asked: “Like what?”

Gorn let out a small smile: “There is a very safe place for us to go. The only downside is that it is a little tricky to get there.”

Rebeca made a confused expression: “Are we going there now?”

Avoiding the question, Gorn extended his shadow in the form of a plate. It was eight meters long, and wide, exactly the amount his stealth ability could cover. His shadow tentacles let everyone go, and they fell on what looked to be a black platform. If they didn’t see it, it would be very hard to believe that that was his shadow, after all, it looked similar to some kind of solid material.

Taking a few wild berries, and wild apples, Gorn threw them to the girls: “I’m considering if we should go there at this point, or wait a little more, for better conditions.”

“No matter what you decide, we will support you fully,” said Lora from the side. It was her first words in a while. Amelia, and her sister Emma came to her side, and it was apparent that they agreed with what she said.

“Same here,” quickly added Elisa from the opposite direction. Her face was full of seriousness, and sincerity.

Gorn scanned everyone with great attention. Those words seemed to be genuine, and from the bottom of their hearts. This kind of support was well received, and very nice to have.

“Wonderful!” the corners of his mouth turned into a beautiful smile. “Mara, come by my side,” continued Gorn.

Mara was surprised by his gesture. It was a first since the whole Norman fiasco started. She nodded, and quickly came to his left side. On his right was her twin sister, Nora. Together, they looked quite charming and unique.

Mara was wearing a black skirt coupled with a white shirt. Her long black hair was masterfully arranged into two braids that fell on top of her generous chest. She looked exactly like her sister, albeit her personality was somewhat different. Mara was more timid, and calm, barely talking all this time. Of course, there was the small mole above Nora’s right eye that could tell them apart, but that was very inconspicuous, and hard to notice at a first glance.

Gorn looked to his left, then to his right, and said with a solemn expression: “From now on, Mara and Nora will become my personal guards, and maids. They are to be by my side at all times. Of course, only if they are willing to do it.”

Except Nora, the rest did not even imagine that he would say such words. The wind blew harder all of a sudden, but this time, no one paid any attention to it.

“I am willing!” said Nora firmly, then looked at her sister with an expectant look in her eyes.

This was very sudden, but it only took a few moments for Mara to make up her mind. “I am also willing!” as a matter of fact, she was eagerly waiting for a chance similar to this. Seeing her sister being involved so much, while she was left to the side, was a very awful feeling for her.

Gorn grinned, almost wanting to laugh out loud in excitement: “Great! Your job starts right from this moment.”

Elisa made a worried expression: “Wouldn’t that be too dangerous?”

“I won’t lie, it might be dangerous at times. That’s why, I need their full consent. Furthermore, they can quit at any time. However, if they do that, there won’t be a second chance for this.”

There would be benefits as well, but that was only natural, and he felt no need to say anything at this moment. The fact he helped them reach a power level of five hundred was more than enough as an initial payment.

Elisa looked at the twins, then back at Gorn: “You wouldn’t intentionally put them into very dangerous situations, right?”

Gorn sighed: “Of course not.” If it wasn’t for his peculiar condition, there wouldn’t even be a need for this. Even so, he planned to avoid unnecessary dangers if possible. Unfortunately, the situation was a little more sensible at the moment.

‘I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but I think that controlling the shadow has become a little more easy,’ thought Gorn, hoping that he wouldn’t lose control in any dangerous situations, or better, at all.

It only took a single glance at her daughters to find out that they wanted to do this kind of thing, and persuading them otherwise would not be easy. Furthermore, they were already in a pretty dangerous situation, and she doubted that Gorn was going to voluntarily put them up to do something that was above their powers, and capabilities.

“Alright then,” said Elisa, calming herself down. In a way, she thought they might be even safer this way.

“Can I also be your guard, and maid?” asked the little girl from the side. She was unusually quiet up to this point. Apparently, the last events brought/* a few changes in her behavior. She seemed to be a little humbler right now.

Gorn gave her a gentle smile: “I’ll think about it, Ella. However, in the meantime, you will remain by your mother’s side, and take good care of her.”

Ella nodded: “Alright.” For the first time, she actually didn’t complain, or try to sugar talk the situation the way she wanted.

Gorn felt his heart ache a little, the girl was maturing at a very fast pace. Unfortunately, that was the type of world she lived in. Things were hardly safe, or stable.

The next few moments were rather quiet. Each person had various thoughts, and ideas about the whole situation. Trying to ignore the very dangerous high altitude, they struggled to reach a comforting point. In the end, no matter how hard they tried, Gorn was the only durable shoulder to rely on. Unfortunately, this solution was not infallible, and they knew it deep down their hearts.

Lora broke the silence: “About what Norman said…” this question was on everybody’s mind since the very beginning. It was very hard to ask about such sensible things, but they really wanted to know his opinion on all that.

Gorn remained composed, or at least that was what he was showing in his external appearance. “There is no need to pay too much attention to the words of a stranger. We barely even know him. What if he has mental problems or other peculiar conditions that affect his judgement?”

She was hesitant to make eye contact: “You also seem to have something in common…”