My Trash Talent Is Actually OP!

There were too many unanswered questions.

If Zero was truly a traitor, why keep her alive for so long? If he had calculated correctly, she had been in the asylum for about a year now.

He thought about the information she might have something worth dragging out her death.

More importantly, who wanted her dead badly enough to stage an execution in Highgate instead of killing her quietly?

Sinnett ran a hand through his hair. "You think the Warden knows we're coming?" he said, pulling Asher out of his thoughts.

"They will soon," Asher muttered. "The guild's contact on the inside gave us an opening, but that won't last long."

Nova frowned. "Who's the contact?"

"Zero herself and his spies," Asher said simply. "Someone with access to the lower levels. No name, just a codename....Number 4. He'll guide us to Zero, but after that, we're on our own."

"He's reliable enough," Sinnett said with pride as he flaunted his hair, earning an irritated gaze from Nova.

Asher ignored him. "We need to be ready by tomorrow night."

Sinnett sighed. "I didn't really intend to use my abilities for things like this."

Nova rolled her eyes, muttering something inaudible as she shifted her gaze to Asher beside her. "Do you want me to do anything for you while I'm awake?"

Asher turned to her as soon as she spoke. He stayed silent, making sure he had heard her correctly. When she repeated herself, his eyes darkened.

"You don't sleep?"

"Sleep is for the weak," she said with so much determination that Sinnett choked, barely holding back laughter, while Asher nearly scoffed.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, heaving a long sigh before finally saying, "Get some sleep. We'll need you at full strength."

Nova rolled her eyes but didn't argue. "With all due respect, Master.."

'Master?'

Sinnett froze in his spot, his mind racing with possibilities, each one multiplying.

"...I do not need sleep. I didn't even let the guild give me an apartment, you see. That shows how strong I am."

Nova spoke with her head held high, as if making a declaration. Of course, she didn't need to sleep, she was on missions twenty-four seven. She never even had time for it.

If she wasn't fighting, she was spying. If she wasn't doing that, she was paralyzed by something. Or maybe she was trapped.

Asher understood perfectly. He was just like that, playing games non-stop to prove he hadn't wasted a fortune on them.

But for a girl, he saw it as something wrong.

He knew girls loved sleeping. From his memories, Alya was one of them, she slept because she loved it.

Emma, too, but she slept because she got tired easily due to her energy imbalance, a result of her fast mana flow.

Even Naomi had added sleeping for at least nine hours daily to her schedule, just to maintain that beautiful glow she always had.

Every girl he knew liked sleeping.

Except for the ones he had just met recently.

Take Yumiko and Zero, for example.

But judging from how nonchalant and unbothered Yumiko was, he was sure she must have liked it too.

Annoyed, he grabbed Nova's ear and turned her to look at him while Sinnett watched silently, slowly chewing.

Asher expected her to exclaim or show pain, but she simply gazed up at him blankly, almost smiling, if not for the fact that he pinched her ear and withdrew his hand.

"Don't you have a family?"

"Wiped out. I thought you knew this."

He mumbled a hmm and spoke up again, "Friends?"

"My only friends are you and Yumiko, and she doesn't like anyone intruding on her personal space. And you are only my friend because I am indebted and serving you."

She stated it without hesitation, confirming Sinnett's suspicions. Then she crossed her arms. "I could stay up here and be on guard if anything happens. I'll also try to get in touch with Zero..."

"I'll tell Alya to prepare a bed for you," he said before she could finish, causing her to snap her head toward him with a confused expression.

"I don't sleep. I never sleep. It's not a trait of a powerful individual like myself," she paused to breathe and then turned to Sinnett. "You know this too, you barely sleep at all."

Sinnett simply laughed, an annoying sound that touched every nerve in her body before he finally stopped.

"I sleep more than everyone in this city combined. Three days of no sleep is only because I've got stuff that's ninety percent worth doing… if not, I'd barely even step out of my apartment."

He explained and then shifted his gaze to Asher. "Hey, can I spend the night too?"

"No… never…" Asher trailed off once he caught a glimpse of black hair coming up the stairs and a hum he could recognize anywhere.

He pushed himself up from where he sat and walked over to send her back, but Sinnett grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him back before he could.

Asher forcefully pulled his hands away and turned to say something when Alya spoke up behind him.

"Asher… it's cold. Why are you still out?" She asked before moving her gaze to Sinnett, who winked at her, and Nova, who just waved and rose to her feet.

The moment she noticed the people before her, the irritated expression on her face returned. "Why do you always meet up with your friends on the roof?"

"Eh?"

"Dinner was ready five minutes ago, and it's too cold to be out. Why?"

"Alya," Sinnett called calmly. He watched as her expression slowly softened, replaced by a slight pink tint on her face. "Forget about your brother. He's just ignorant."

He took a few strides to her side. "You were just waking up, right?"

She nodded slowly, shocking Asher that she could be so calm. For some reason, he felt even more furious than usual.

Sinnett chuckled softly and placed a hand on her cheek. "Let's go. Let me get you some milk so we can get you back to sleep."

Alya leaned into his touch, unaware of the invisible smoke rising from Asher's head as he clenched and unclenched his fists. He wanted to move, to pull Sinnett away from her, but Nova held his shirt to keep him in place.

Then she uttered, "Leave her alone. She'll eventually end up with a guy soon. You should be glad it's someone you know and… trust."

"Trust?" He scoffed and crossed his arms. "He's too insane to even give a pencil to hold. Instead, he'd break it."

"At least he hasn't told anyone about you or Ria. And the fact that he knows that means he even knows about Dragons… and he still hasn't told anyone. So you should at least trust him. I believe he trusts you too."

He replied with a scoff and an inaudible, "We'll see about that."