"I do know something about what I'm talking about."
Beatrice's face sank and darkened.
'I don't need to... no, I shouldn't pry into it,' Mathew thought. He then pressed his teeth together just in case his body was to go on autopilot and utter some bullshit outside of his control.
Beatrice was a commander of the police special task force despite being a relatively young person. As if the fact that she was a woman wasn't a hurdle for her to overcome enough, she managed to get this position and active duty without even reaching the latter part of her thirties.
Or, to put it in other words, there had to be something in her story that counteracted both her being a woman in this strictly patriarchal society that only the apocalypse smashed into pieces and also her insanely young age and relative lack of experience.
'Thinking about those two aspects and then about her remark... It's clear she had to do something in her past that was unthinkable for others but a heck of a lot efficient!'
Mathew then swallowed his saliva.
'That, or she went so far so quickly by sleeping around,' he thought, following his habit of at least attempting to take all the possibilities into account before judging them. 'But seeing how Norbert treats her...'
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtMathew took a deep breath.
'I find it highly unlikely for it to be the case.'
"Either way, going back to the topic," Mathew said as he took a deep breath. "Even if we could hope for some kind of system-related bonus to the people, I highly doubt we will get it," he said. "After all, not a single bonus we encountered could affect others. It's always nothing more but a tool we can use."
"That doesn't stop us from hoping, though," Beatrice said with a smirk. "Either way, outside of manpower and defensiveness, what bonuses do you think that place could offer?" she asked, proving that she had an easy time accepting the idea that the spirit of a location could end up translating into some sort of bonuses to those who occupied it.
"Maybe people will have an easier time training there?" Mathew suggested while leaning his head to the side. "To be fair, I don't really know what to expect," he said and then shrugged his shoulders. "And to be fair, it's not like I could predict how this system of mine would work with other things."
"So there is no point in trying to see through the logic that operates it," Beatrice summed up while raising one of her eyebrows.
"That's my point exactly," Mathew followed up with a nod of his head.
"Let's end this topic, then," Beatrice suggested. She then moved away from a higher part of the pile of rubble she was standing on. "They are already finishing up with the job on the street so it's time for us to wrap it all up."
Just as Beatrice suggested, all the tasks that one could find to do on the street on the school's perimeter would soon be completed.
Even the annoying and somewhat disgusting job of moving the corpses was already over with some of the survivors stacking up wood and other types of easily burnable fuel around the house that would serve as a crematory.
"Matty!" Nadia appeared right by Mathew's side, seemingly out of nowhere.
Yet, rather than sneaking up on him, she likely approached quite openly... just so fast that it eluded Mathew's perception.
"We are almost done. What about you?" she asked.
"We are done here as well," Beatrice answered before Mathew could even open his mouth. "Also, good luck with tomorrow," she said before giving Nadia a wink and jumping down her platform before moving along the school's side.
"Tomorrow?" Nadia repeated as she turned her eyes toward Mathew's face. "What did she mean by that?"
"An expedition," Mathew revealed in a short manner. "Starting first thing tomorrow, we will be heading out to accomplish two things. Find other survivors and possibly conquer a castle," he said while a small grin sprawled upon his face.
"I'm not even sure if I want to ask for the details," Nadia muttered. Her face didn't show any surprise, as if she was too used to Mathew pulling stuff out of his ass to care. "But I guess we can talk about it once we gather up," she added as she turned her head around and threw a glance toward the street.
Just like Beatrice pointed out a moment earlier, all the jobs out there were coming to an end. Some of the survivors were already returning, meaning, all the hunters and Mathew's wives would soon be freed from the task of protecting them and allowed to return themselves.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"That's a good idea," Mathew nodded his head. "It would be a pain in the ass to explain everything over and over again if I can do it all at once," he admitted.
"Oh?" Nadia smiled while raising her eyebrows in an inquisitive manner. "Is there something you have planned for tonight that forces you to save time?" she asked with a small smirk.
"That's a topic I actually want to talk with you about," Mathew said. He then took a step forward and reached out with both of his hands, placing them on Nadia's shoulders.
"Huh? What?" Nadia jumped a little, not expecting Mathew to suddenly get close like that. "Did something happen?" she asked, drilling her eyes into Mathew's face in search of something that would warrant her worry.
"Ah, sorry," Mathew initially turned his eyes away only to bring them back to Nadia's face a moment later. "It's just that..." he attempted to speak...
Only to end up blushing as embarrassment caught up with him.
"Now you are getting me flat-out confused," Nadia admitted. "Didn't we screw a lot already? How can you blush like that before even bringing a topic up?"
Mathew wasn't anxious. He was embarrassed. And that was enough for Nadia to see that she didn't really have anything to worry about regarding what was going through his mind.
After all, she has already seen how he would react when bringing up the topic of providing yet another woman with the benefits of his system.
Mathew took a deep breath. He then closed his eyes for a second before opening them back up and staring right into Nadia's face.
"I know it will sound weird, skewed, and unfair to others..." he started on a pretty bad note. He then swallowed his saliva once again. "But tonight, I want to spend with just you."