Chapter 137

                                    

                                          
A few minutes before the bomb blasts, Eugene and Jade were on their way to the merchant headquarters after securing lodgings for the night at the local tavern, when Eugene stopped in front of a small stall that was selling accessories.
"Are you going to buy that?" Jade asked, seeing Eugene pick up a pack of hair ties from a tray.
"Hmm?"
Right now, Eugene was in a dilemma as to what design to select between a fox and a rabbit. 
"Ann keeps losing them and Noah said he wanted one too, cause she took his" explained Eugene, weighting between the two animal designs. 
"I can't handle hearing them bicker back and forth. This has to end"
While the fluffy rabbit hair tie was pleasing to the eye, it didn't suit Ann's temperament and fox-shaped ones seemed cliche.
'Why is it so hard to choose a single hair tie?' Eugene's ears perked up as he seriously debated between the two animals.
"Just pick one" Jade complained, massaging his throbbing head. 
For about thirty minutes, Eugene had been stuck in the same position over the purchase of a small trinket. They were getting funny looks from the people that passed by the shop.
In an effort to relieve his boredom, Jade ran his eyes through the rest of the merchandise.  Among the distinct accessories on sale, the one that caught his eye was the silver necklace showcased on the top shelf. 
It had a peculiar design with a pendant the shape of a leaf enclosing a blue pearl. Suddenly, the picture of a beautiful woman crossed his mind. 
'Wouldn't this suit her?' Jade's expression softened, imagining Melina wearing the necklace.
The necklace added to her elegant charm and soothing aura so much it seemed that it was made for her. 
Realizing what he had just done, Jade shook his head to rid of the thoughts.
'What am I thinking?!' 
In fact, Jade was embarrassed that he had thought of Melina in such a light when the village Chief had been taking care of them since they were kids. 
Aside from Eugene, the rest of the Nero mercenaries were comprised of orphans who had lost their parents due to various reasons. It was the village Chief that gathered them together and brought them to the village.
Even Ann, who had joined them a few years back, had a complicated past that she was unwilling to disclose, was welcomed into the community.
Though he was a strict old man when it came to rules, they were eternally grateful to the Chief for giving them a place to call home. 
The longer Jade stayed at the stall, the more he was reminded of Melina. To stop his delusions from spiraling further he urged Eugene to select one soon so that they could return.
"Hurry up!" 
Eugene ignored Jade and concentrated on the matter at hand.
After contemplating for a while, a thought popped up in his mind. 
"!" 
He swiftly placed the pack of rabbit hair ties back on the tray and paid for the fox ones. 
"I'll take this" 
The reason for this decision was simple. If he were to give her the rabbit-shaped hair ties he chose first, Ann would use that as an excuse and pull him into a snuggle session.
Having learned from his past mistakes, Eugene knew what he had to do in order to stay away from Ann's radar. Although her intentions were pure, the way she expressed it ended with him being put on the pedestal.