Page 2256

At that, Hector had to shake his head. 'I'm not so sure that's true, Garovel. If I'm going to win any amount of trust from Ericoros on this, then... I need to go personally. To show him how serious I am about it.'

'Maybe, but that's a huge gamble,' said Garovel. 'Even if the mission succeeds in every conceivable way, there's no guarantee that it would move Ericoros' heart--or that we could trust him if he claimed that it did.'

'But it would be a big step in the right direction,' said Hector. 'I know it's a risk, but I can't just sit on my ass and expect Ericoros to fall in line. I've gotta do something to prove myself, and how many other opportunities do you think we'll get? Especially with how stubborn reapers are? Another chance like this might never appear, Garovel.'

'Okay, first of all, that's stereotyping, and I resent the implication. And second of all, the problem isn't that it's "a risk," in the generic sense of the term. If you slip up, it's not just YOU that you're putting in danger. It's all the citizens of Atreya. Can you really tell me that you're okay with that? Especially when we could just send someone else? Impressing Ericoros isn't that important, Hector. In fact, doing something so reckless might even have the exact opposite effect on him.'

Agh.

Hector sat down on the edge of his bed. That was a really good point, he felt. As much as he wanted to keep arguing with Garovel, it was difficult.

Was there even a good decision to be made here? It seemed like both options came with huge downsides.

'And besides,' Garovel continued, 'the Killer of Krohin is no joke. That motherfucker is internationally famous for a reason. In the event that you had to fight him, you shouldn't assume that you could handle it.'

Hector breathed and tried to be rational. 'How much do you know about this guy?'