PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

71 Chapter 71 Gifts and explanations.

Upon leaving Paulina’s house, Desmond adjusted as much as he could the shirt that he borrowed from the closet in the room, he tried to take the least feminine garment possible so he ended up wearing a somewhat striking but neutral panda shirt.

Watching the sunrise from the horizon, Desmond realized that, apparently between the battle in the defense of the north wall, the fiasco in the escape of the military, and his little anti-stress exercise in pairs; It had already been the whole night since he had left Claire at home.

Remembering Claire and how he started this day with a romantic date with her only to end it in another woman’s bed, guilt flooded Desmond, he could only blame himself for resorting to his old habits; Desmond was not foolish enough not to realize that for years he had used sex as a kind of emotional crutch to deal with his trauma and guilt in the past. And although he had dealt with much of his unresolved issues, not only were the old habits hard to break; the traumas of the past were even harder to forget.

All the violence of last night and the massacre that he left in his path took its toll on Desmond’s emotional and mental state, that’s why when he found himself in bed with Paulina in a moment of passion; He relied on sex again to let all the stress out of him. His only consolation was that he at least this time he did not treat the girl only as a tool and gave her a memorable night; this of course in his own opinion.

As for the subject of Claire, he would face it when he got home, for now, Desmond was on his way to another particular place where he had a “gift” to collect. The day before during his escape, Desmond realized that it was unrealistic for him to escape with the briefcase full of military rewards, as it would affect his combat prowess; so he had hidden the briefcase shortly before coming face to face with the Esper squad last night.

So Desmond, with an attitude that completely disproved the fact that he was a fugitive currently wanted by the military, strolled through town leisurely spending a few credits here and there buying a few things for breakfast. In the eyes of the military who continually patrolled in search of the fugitive, Desmond was just a young man in a strange panda shirt buying breakfast.

After all, the only thing the military knew about the masked man, was that he was around 1.90m and had a robust physique, Desmond having already removed the armor that made him look robust with the tunic on top of him, he had also left his high boots at Paulina’s house and grab some simple black sandals that are barely long enough to wear; But he hardly found a clothing store, he changed his sandals for some black sports tennis shoes.

From the beginning Desmond had taken various measures to keep his identity as protected as possible, which was clear from the fact that he had commissioned Elaisa to purchase the mask weeks ago, Desmond assumed that sooner or later he would be involved in situations that required a strength that he is not supposed to possess.

Arriving in a certain alley, with a large shopping bag from the clothing store, Desmond dropped the box of his new shoes and quickly packed the briefcase hidden behind a garbage can.

.....

But as much as Desmond wanted to continue delaying his return home, he was aware that delaying the inevitable was useless by definition, on the way home nervousness took hold of him, in an attempt to lessen the possible repercussions of his night slip; He ended up buying one of Claire’s favorite crepes and a cappuccino just the way she likes it. Of course, he knew how naive his thinking was, but no one could blame him for trying.

Upon opening the front door, he found a Claire asleep on the sofa, only slightly leaning on one of the armrests and covered with a small blanket, obviously, she had been waiting for Desmond all night to come home.

This only served to increase the guilt that Desmond felt, with no other option he woke her up with a light kiss on her forehead and a touch on her shoulder.

′′ Mmm oh, Desmond you came back, welcome home, did something happen? ′′ I express drowsily as she rubbed her eyes in an attempt to push the dream away from her.

′′ Sorry for being so late Claire, I brought you breakfast, eat a little while I tell you about what happened last night. ′′

The exact moment Claire saw the crepe and cappuccino in my hands, her eyes lit up like stars in the night, both of which were soon taken from me at breakneck speed.

Seeing Claire eat with a smile from her breakfast, I removed with a finger something of the cream that remained on her cheek, and after putting it on my lips to taste it; With no other option, I began to narrate the events of last night for Claire.

I started by telling her about the mutant beast attack that took place last night and the role I played in defending the north wall, as soon as I finished narrating that part Claire asked like a girl who sees a toy on Christmas Eve to show her my bow and daggers. So after taking them out of a sports suitcase that he took from Paulina’s house, Claire spent a good time observing and playing with them.

Of course, Claire seemed somewhat concerned as he described some of the scenes in the battle and even more so when talking about my encounter with an entire squad of lizardmen, there was also some degree of doubt in her about the origin of my current strength, but she seemed to trust in which I would tell him sooner or later.

When talking about my encounter with the military and the outcome of things when I was forced to escape from a military barracks, Claire seemed genuinely alarmed, but I calmed her down by telling her that it all ended well and I even managed to keep my identity hidden at the same time I stole the military’s reward briefcase.

As I progressed through my narration, I started to get nervous as the part I most dreaded telling Claire was approaching, but with no other option than to be completely honest with her, I kept talking hoping to see what kind of reaction she would have.