Warrior Training System

Chapter 104: Friend?

"Go away!" She shoved him back, then turned and ran off. Cassian stood there for a moment, a surprised chuckle escaping his lips as he stared at his trembling hands. "I thought she was going to kill me..." he murmured, thinking back to the unexpected kiss he had dared to steal.

He'd been certain she would punch or kick him, yet she hadn't, and that caught him off guard. Robert's words echoed in his mind: "Women like bold men." Cassian couldn't help but smirk—maybe Robert was right. If he hadn't taken that chance, he would've never tasted Lumine's sweet, cherry-flavored lips.

Steadying his shaking hands, he left the training grounds, spotting Robert waiting for him. As Cassian approached, Robert's face lit up with a mischievous grin. "Did you make fun of Lumine? She looked pretty angry when she stormed out."

Cassian shook his head in confusion. The last time he saw Lumine's face, she was blushing—startled, maybe, but definitely not angry. Seeing Cassian's reaction, Robert's smile faded a little. "You should've thrown something back at her," Robert remarked. "She makes fun of us whenever she gets the chance—this was your moment to turn the tables."

Cassian just smiled, shaking his head again. "She's already embarrassed enough, losing the duel to me…"

'And I did something way better than throwing insults,' Cassian thought to himself, recalling the kiss he had stolen. Judging by her reaction, it seemed like it might have been her first.

He felt guilty doing so but alas she was the one who gave it to him, now what can he do, he even gave it back by kissing her back but she stormed out of there getting it.

Now feeling a bit more energized, both Cassian and Robert made their way to the office, but not before enjoying a nice cold shower.

"What's on the agenda today?" Cassian asked as he approached Cassandra and Dallas, handing them their morning coffees. It was one of his assigned morning tasks—to pick up coffee for his senior team members, just like Robert's.

"Nothing much, just the usual—questioning witnesses, searching for more leads... What part of this thrilling work would you like to tackle today, Constable Cassian?" Cassandra replied, her tone carrying a hint of irritation.

Cassian understood her frustration; after all, both tasks were mind-numbingly dull and time-consuming. He couldn't blame her for being annoyed.

Cassian understood her frustration; the tasks were tedious and time-consuming, but she often took it out on him. He knew better than to complain, though—Cassandra and Dallas were his seniors, and he still had to work with them for a while. Pushing back could easily make his job even more frustrating than it already was.

Fortunately, one of his seniors at least had a bit of sympathy for him. Cassandra shot a sharp look at Dallas, saying, "Don't take out your frustration on the poor guy, Dallas."

Dallas rolled his eyes but held his tongue, muttering something under his breath before taking a sip of the coffee Cassian had brought him.

Cassandra shot him a warning glance, clearly signaling she wasn't in the mood for his usual complaints. Cassian appreciated the small gesture of support, giving Cassandra a nod of thanks before he moved to his desk.

Ever since the day Cassian met her at the bar and helped her gather some information on the white-eyed guys, she had grown closer to him. He liked it—after all, before that, he only had two people in the department he could consider friends: Robert and Julius.

But Julius was often busy with his detective work and classes, and Cassian had to be careful about interacting with him too much. He didn't want to risk raising suspicion about any possible connection to Lady Katherine. As for Robert, he was in the same boat as Cassian—just another low-level guy in the department.

Robert was a good friend, but having a female friend, even an older one, was always something special.

Thinking about female friends made him consider Lumine. She was his friend too, but maybe, just maybe, he could make her something more. 'What was the term Robert used?' Cassian wondered, trying to recall Robert's words about friends who shared a bit more intimacy. "Sex friend," he remembered with a smirk.

The idea of that kind of relationship excited Cassian—something casual and physical, without the attachments of spending time together or getting too involved. He didn't mind hanging out, but Robert, being older and more experienced, had warned that it could get annoying. Trusting Robert's advice, Cassian figured it was probably true.

While Cassandra crossed her arms, looking between Cassian and Dallas with a thoughtful expression. "Alright, here's how we'll split this up," she said, her tone firm. "I'll take Cassian with me and head over to the scene of the murder. We'll see if there are any more witnesses hanging around or anyone who remembers something new."

Dallas nodded, a satisfied smile forming on his lips. "Sounds good to me. I'll stay here and handle the witness interviews that come into the office. Much more comfortable than trudging through the neighborhood."

Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Of course you'd say that. But fine, enjoy your cozy desk. Cassian and I will do the legwork."

Cassian glanced between them, trying to hide his relief. He preferred being out in the field over sitting in a stuffy office, and he couldn't deny that working alongside Cassandra might give him a better chance to learn a few things from her. He nodded at Cassandra, ready to follow her lead.

"Let's get going, Cassian," she said, grabbing her coat and gesturing for him to do the same. "We'll see if anyone's memory has improved since last time."

With that, the two of them headed out, leaving Dallas to his paperwork and the incoming stream of witnesses.

Cassian quickly shrugged on his coat and followed Cassandra out of the office, the air outside cool against his skin. The city streets were bustling with people going about their business, but the two officers moved with purpose, making their way toward the alley where the latest murder had occurred.

As they walked, Cassandra's expression softened a bit, and she glanced over at Cassian. "So, I heard you won a duel against an older opponent, huh?"

"It was just luck, Detective Cassandra," Cassian replied with a modest smile.

"Oh, don't be so humble... Taking a beating throughout the fight and managing to win in the end isn't just luck. That's called strategy," Cassandra said, an amused smile playing on her lips.

Cassian was caught off guard by how much she knew about the fight—he hadn't realized she was aware of the details. Curiosity got the better of him, so he asked, "Did you watch the fight, Detective?"

"No, my sister told me about it..." Cassandra replied with a smile, leaving Cassian a bit surprised. He quickly followed up with a question, "Is she also in detective Julius's sword fighting class? Who is she?"

He wasn't surprised that Cassandra had a sister—she had mentioned her recently—but he was caught off guard by the fact that her sister was training in sword fighting. After all, Cassandra herself preferred the spear and had reached the level of a 5th Circle Warrior with it.

Cassandra's amusement grew at his confusion, and she replied with a smirk, "She's the one you won against today…"

'Oh, fuck..' Cassian muttered to himself, a mix of shock and apprehension flooding through him. Not only had he just beaten the sister of a 5th Circle Warrior, but he also had her first kiss. The realization that Lumine was Cassandra's little sister hit him hard—their whitish-blonde hair and blue eyes made it all too clear.

"Sorry…" was all Cassian could manage to say.

Cassandra looked taken aback and asked, "Why are you sorry? You won fairly, didn't you?"

'She didn't seem to have mentioned the kiss,' Cassian thought, a smile creeping onto his face as he nodded. "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't be sorry, since I won fairly."

"Exactly, you shouldn't be," Cassandra replied with a smile. "But you really are a genius for beating an older, more experienced fighter after only training for less than six months."

As she said this, she turned to look at Cassian and added, "Did you have some kind of swordmaster training you before this?"

Cassian shook his head, pondering how to respond. Should he consider the warrior training system as his master? And, he had also received some personal guidance from Julius, but that didn't really make him a master, did it?

"I wouldn't say I had any formal training," he replied slowly, searching for the right words. "I've just been following this training manual found."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "A training manual? Sounds like you've got a unique approach to this. How does it work?"

Cassian shrugged, not wanting to reveal too much. He knew that discussing the system could lead to bigger problems than just dealing with tortures he had to go through if someone found about his connection to lady Katherine . "Well, it's not exactly a training manual. It just helps me keep track of my progress, that's all," he said.

"How?" Cassandra asked with a smile. Your next read awaits at m v|l-e'-NovelBin.net

Cassian shot her a slightly bitter smile, trying to signal that it was time to drop the subject, but she either didn't pick up on it or chose to ignore it. "I'm asking how it helps you keep track of your progress," she continued.

'I shouldn't have mentioned it at all…' Cassian thought, a sense of regret creeping in as he searched for a way out of the conversation. He found her behaviour a bit strange; she was asking him difficult questions that could easily expose his secret, yet she approached them so naturally, managing to coax some answers out of him.