Ruben suddenly stopped and scratched his head a bit.
"What's wrong?" Basil asked.
"I should've told Prince Wang not to follow Jojo anywhere."
Basil grinned and tapped Ruben on his shoulder. "He will be okay, there is only so much damage J. Alder can do on his own."
"Yeah…" Ruben agreed as he shoved Basil's hand from his shoulder and turned back.
Basil frowned, 'one day, I'll bring an end to that arrogant tone in your voice.' He took a deep breath and smiled. "Where are you going?"
"I am going to look for them, I hope that they didn't stray too far away from the designated area." Ruben answered as he tapped a boy from the group on his shoulder, "I'll leave you in charge, right now you have the most potential from everyone here. Make me proud."
"Yes sir!" Lipin exclaimed.
Ruben chuckled and Elaine, a girl standing by Lipin joined him. "Okay, make sure to follow the map exactly and meet up at the bus," Ruben said as he dashed into the forest.
Basil tilted his head and glared at Lipin, "I will not take any orders from a commoner." He said as he carried his bulky blonde-haired self into the darkness of the bush. 'Those twins are always getting in my way, I swear, I swear I get rid of them all in due time. But right now I have better things to do.'
On the other slide of the forest, on a plain green grass filled swam the voices of students stuck in the midway between two dense looking forests rose second by second. "OF COURSE HE CAN!"
"Yeah, he is the one who brought us here. So he should have a way of setting us free."
The students protested against Joaquin, but the more energy they used the less active they became. Some of them were now waist-deep into the swamp.
"Anything? Are you sure want to make such a deal with me?" Joaquin said in an even lower voice before, his gaze sank directly into the Idol Prince's eyes. Luo and Beipan were also shocked by it, the air around them got colder and even harder to breathe. The Idol Prince almost touched the swamp when he snapped out of it and looked away.
"It's not about me anymore, those poor students are stuck in there while others are sinking because of us. We need to help them and in order to do that, yes I am willing to give you anything you want. No matter the price…"
"YOUNG MASTER! You can't do this, who knows what he could be plotting."
"Oh," Beipan exclaimed loudly. "But what can we do except appease demands, it's not like our glorious Idol Prince would just let his people sink to their death. If it was me I would also work with this monster, but sadly he seems more interested in those with power." He flicked his track top back and slid his hands into his pockets as he grinned, "rest assured my fellow students. Your Prince is willing to sacrifice an arm and a leg for your safety."
They started to smile, their faces brightened up and they spoke promises and only good about the Idol Prince. Joaquin, of course, was not forgotten in this moment of happiness, the students made sure to drag his name across the muddy swamp as they spoke.
Ains looked around nervously and tugged on Joaquin's coat. Also because the two of them were not using any mana to make the journey across easier they were barely stuck in the swamp. Only their feet were submerged in it, even so, the sensation of the muddy waters thrusting through their socks as they walked was not pleasing at all.
Joaquin finally gave in and looked at Ains, "Master, are you really evil?"
"What do you think?"
"Eh, thinking hurts."
"Fair enough."
The Idol Prince Wang had his head lowered, the world around him was spinning and all the words that came into his mind were mumbled and chunked up together. They were alien and he barely understood anyone, the beating of his heart accelerated. What if what he said was wrong, what if he endangered the students again? He thought and thought until he started feeling like he could cry.
Joaquin sighed, "you said you'd get me anything if I help you right?"
The Idol Prince raised his head and his sparkly eyes looked back to Joaquin who was still taller than him even sinking in the swamp. He didn't want to accept nor did he want to deny this help so he just stared at Joaquin not giving an answer.
"I'll take that as a yes and hold you to that."
His eyes strayed away from Joaquin and went toward the students struggling around in this swamp. Those who could looked back at the Prince with eyes full of pain, he thought he knew what to do, he thought he had the right answer. So he nodded yes.
"You can't do this, there has to be a better way of saving them. What if he demands something the young master cannot provide easily." Luo furiously turned to face Beipan. "Talk him out of this, if we give you the time you should be able to find a solution can't you?"
Beipan sighed, "if only we had time. Luo, don't be impossible, look at those people and tell me with a straight face that you want our Prince to refuse to pay a few tokens for their lives. But since I worry about my Prince also, I will ask him, please think about it carefully. Are those people who refused to listen to you and just charged in carelessly really worth the sacrifice you're about to make?"
'What the hell is he saying? He is the one who made them riot.' Joaquin thought as he shifted to face Beipan who was trying his best to look serious.
The Idol Prince turned around to face Beipan, then shifted his gaze to Luo who was too conflicted to even look back at him.
"Young Master, your safety is my priority. Even if that means getting everyone else, as long I can bring you back to your father in one piece I gladly do it." In truth, Luo didn't want to abandon anybody.
"The same goes for me, I am not here to give you emotional support but rather to help you make well thought out decisions. I will not think for you because I think that the Imperial father has taught you the difference between right and wrong."
The Idol Prince looked at the students, they started rioting after seeing his depressed face. "You brought us here."
"You can't abandon us."
"What's a few pennies for a life?"
"Our Prince will never abandon us."
"Our Prince is the best."
"Don't worry, we will make sure that the bleach doesn't live long enough to extort you."
"Master, why are they bullying him?"
"Have you never met people before?" Joaquin asked he flicked Ains on her forehead.
"The people at Ains's home are nice." She answered with a pout.
'That's because they're getting paid.' Joaquin thought.
"What are our options?" The Idol Prince finally spoke up.
"We are halfway across, the time you wasted here was exactly enough time for it to happen," Joaquin said as he checked his watch.
"For what to happen?" Luo asked as he marched forward.
Joaquin pointed back at the dense trees from which they had emerged. "Don't be scared, take your time to think about it. We are closer to going back but the swamp continues into the forest that way." Joaquin then pointed at the other students. "That crop of idiots is closer to my destination. But what's most important is that there is a ahh, how do I say this in stupid, aha a goblin shark beneath us."