Every now and then, there were reporters who came to Cardinal to ask about Faust, thinking they were getting big scoops on an elusive man.
What kind of person was Mr. Faust, they'd ask, and most of the time, the response was a long silence followed by a word—nice—and that was it.
Well, he was a real person. They saw him around the guild or on the newspaper occasionally, but that was it. Some might say he was a bit humorous and others would say that he was a bit dull and moody. They just sort of knew him and sort of not needing to know more about him.
Albert thought Faust was a strange human. How exactly? He wasn't sure.
Watching the hunter, Albert sat back and said, "Did you finish considering my offer?"
"I don't want to kill the dragon," Faust replied.
Albert blinked. "If you don't kill it, the Light Dragon will kill everything in this realm."
"If I were to fight against the dragon, what's the chance of my survival?" the hunter questioned with a slight shrug. "I'll likely end up dying no matter which I choose. If you want my help, you'd need to give me something a lot better than my death warrant."
Smiling, the man was unfazed. "I see. You lack a heroic ambition."
"I just don't like it when people breathe down my neck." Faust eyed Albert as he remembered the man in his giraffe form. "Figuratively and literally."
Albert batted his hands dismissively. "I suppose you lack the vigor of a dragon slayer but not the greed and ambition of a human being."
Faust drank his beverage slowly.
"Fine," the creature said decisively. "For every ten boxes you bring me, I'll teach you something new."
"You haven't taught me the spell you promised yet." Faust looked at him skeptically. "There's not much trust between us right now, I'm afraid."
"Don't be afraid. I'm getting to it as soon as I get a little bit more power," Albert scoffed. "So, how's that deal? By the time I've regained my full power, you'll have become a powerful ally, in human's standards of course" Albert nodded his head narcissistically. "And if you die while fighting the dragon, I can absorb your power. It's a win-win situation."
Faust considered it for a while.
In the end, he was also a thrillseeker, just like everyone else. "Okay," Faust replied with a nod.
The agreement drew a smile on the face of the creature who was used to having his way.
Faust did not agree easily. Albert clearly needed someone to help him but that someone didn't have to be Faust. What if the creature decided to go find another hunter and tell them about his power? At the end of the day, Albert was a creature who could speak so he was either really sly or really dumb and neither of those was the type of creatures who would keep Faust's power a secret.
"Well, here's an abridged version of what you need to know," The ex-giraffe cleared his throat. "As you know, I came from the light realm and I'm pretty high up the ladder in terms of power. Because of that, I'm seen as a great threat to the dragon. I got wounded pretty badly when it tried to kill me. To avoid dying, I split my soul into a hundred small pieces and hid them with my trusted followers."
"How long has it been?" Faust asked. He then clarified, "Since the attempted murder" for the lack of a better word.
"Almost five century," Albert replied in a tone that was rather venomous. "You want to know why I'm gathering the pieces now and not sooner or later." At Faust's nod, the man said, "When you open that white gate, I was able to escape the hive. In the light realm, I cannot do anything or the dragon will find and finish me. Now that I'm in a different realm, it's the perfect time to gather myself without getting noticed."
"..."
Faust opened his mouth but before he could ask his question, Albert said, "When I touch the boxes, the pieces inside will start to merge with me. Have you seen soul fusion? I'm sure you've done some. Soul fusion takes in a large amount of energy and that's what will alert the dragon. That's why I need your help to get the boxes."
"...How weak are you right now?"
"Hey, don't get any bad ideas. I'm still strong enough to smash this whole floor, including all your precious hunters, into oblivion."
Faust coughed. To be completely honest, this wasn't a creature Faust could confidential face. If this was barely a hundredth of the power of a creature, how powerful was the Light Dragon? If he really were to inherit the power of the Light Dragon like the Dark Dragon had told him to, how powerful would he become?
"You said you want to kill the Light Dragon," Faust said. "But I was told it'll only be killed by passing down its power."
Albert shook his head but didn't deny his statement. "You're talking about Inheritance. Dragons undergo Inheritance when they're tired of ruling or are about to die. They pass down their power to their heir before going into eternal sleep."
Faust nodded. That was what the Dark Dragon had told him but with less detail.
"However," Albert said, leaning forward with a glint in his pale eyes, "what I'm talking about is Deposition where the dragon is killed and the one who kills it becomes the new Sovereign."
"You intend to take over."
"Nonsense, of course, I do. And when I do, I will make you my left-hand man. Unfortunately, I can't make you my right-hand man but if you win against that idiot who currently holds the position, you can take over his spot."
Faust was extremely uninterested in the positions. "Can you really defeat a dragon?" he asked, not hiding the skepticism in his voice. "I don't think a giraffe stands much of a chance against a dragon."
"I'm not a giraffe," Albert said heatedly. "I simply prefer that shape because I'd never seen one before."
"Then what are you? An orc?"
"Oh please, that's an insult. I can't tell you what I am but what I can tell you is that I'm a very, very majestic creature."
"Are you a sloth?"
"..."
"A horse?"
"...No."
"A panda?"
"Stop it."
Faust smiled. So it was a narcissist creature with a temper.
Clearing his throat, Albert tapped the coffee table to get his attention and began to tell him about the boxes.
There were a hundred of them guarded by four different types of creatures.
First was the rabbit-like creatures called vulders who were treasure hunters and mindless loyal followers of Albert. It was nearly impossible to steal or forcefully take away something from them because they guarded their items in an invisible space that no one could access except themselves.
"I gave a tenth of my soul to them," Albert told him. "I can't give them more or I won't have enough valuables to trade them back. I'm certainly glad they hold my souls to such high regard, but they're also very greedy traders. Fair, but greedy."
After the vulders were the phoenixes. There was nothing special about them, Albert said, but they were chosen because one of them was his right-hand man. "I gave them a tenth as well so they don't complain. I hate it when that idiot screeches in my ears."
"Then I gave a little less than half to the nymphs." Albert frowned as he tried to remember. "I remember giving one to a really beautiful dryad I met but I forgot who else I gave the boxes to. Don't worry, I'll try to remember and even if I don't, you can always ask a nymph you come across. They somehow all know each other."
"Why are you so unorganized?"
"I was in a hurry to not die. I didn't think I'd get attacked." Albert glared at him. "Now, after the nymphs, there's my favorite fiend the wraiths."
"...Fiends?"
Albert nodded as if he was proud of himself. "They're weak but vengeful and greedy creatures. Creatures like them love power the most. They promised to watch over my boxes in exchange that for every century the boxes remain unopened, they get to eat one. So they've eaten about four of them by now and I'm counting on you to not let them eat the fifth one."
"I didn't know you're such a generous person."
"Well, the wraiths are like containers too. If you kill a wraith who's eaten a piece of my soul, you can get the soul back." Albert smiled his creepy giraffe-like smile. "I'm counting on you, my left-hand man."
* * *
They found the dead giraffe an hour later and Faust was called up to questioning.
Albert left to walk around the city and familiarize himself.
Faust didn't want to let the ex-giraffe roam the city like a menace but Albert told him that he was, to quote, 'a law-abiding future Sovereign.'
Upstairs, Talcot was concerned that the dead giraffe was an attempt to disguise another escape but Nathaniel and Ms. Emilia both confirmed that the creature was very much dead. There was not a single drop of mana left in the creature.
However, that didn't really put the president at ease. He put the building on alert and as he dismissed them, he also told them to keep an eye out for anything strange. To him, the giraffe's death was simply too quiet and sudden.
Faust was tired so he let Nathaniel drive and settled in the passenger seat, lightly dozing off.
But every time he closed his eyes, he remembered the half-dragon he killed. It'd depleted nearly half of his mana reserve just to kill that one creature.
Just as he thought, insects and small creatures were the only things he could properly handle without backlash.
Nathaniel tapped the steering wheel a bit loudly to get his attention. "Nori called and—"
"Nate, I don't want to date your sister."
The driver threw him a glare. "Well, you tell that to her."
"If I do that, you'll probably beat me up."
"Correct."
Faust sighed and leaned back into the seat again. "Go on. What did she say?"
"She starting working at your dad's hospital yesterday," Nathaniel told him. "She says she'll take good care of him and you can call her if you ever want an update."
That was good news. This way, he didn't have to rely on Collin and his mother. "Tell her thanks," Faust muttered. "And tell her I'm really not interested in a relationship."
"You don't go on dates and you don't go out for team dinners. What do you do in your spare time anyway?"
"I spend time hoping you'll get a girlfriend and move out and leave the house to me."
Nathaniel pulled to a stop at the red light a bit too abruptly. "Wow, reminded once again why I don't like you."
At that, Faust turned his head over. "Well, what about you, Nate? You don't go on dates and you don't do anything besides hunting, beating people up, and making the assault team pay for your meals. Do you plan on doing that for the rest of your life?"
"I'm the strongest hunter. I can do whatever I want."
Haaaa… Faust just sighed and closed his eyes again.
After a while, Nathaniel spoke again. "Besides, even if I do get a girlfriend, I'll invite her to stay with me and kick you out."
It wasn't a long drive but Faust still managed to doze off. At a red light, Nathaniel nudged him awake. "Hey, check my phone. See if Matt asked us to lunch."
Rubbing his eyes, Faust reluctantly grabbed the phone and scrolled through the group chat. Indeed, the assault team leader had asked if they were going to join them. "They're at the old place," he told Nathaniel. "But drop me off at home. I'm not going. Once a month is enough."
"Matt will cry."
"Matt won't cry."
"..."
In the end, Nathaniel decided to not go either and they went back to the guild to grab some food from the cafeteria. The food was great here but Matt and the others seemed to prefer the atmosphere around civilians.
However, most guild members didn't think that way and as usual, the cafeteria was packed.
The reason why Faust preferred the cafeteria over a gathering was that there was an old chef he liked to visit every now and then.
The old chef at the cafeteria didn't like Faust that much but adored Nathaniel. Faust didn't know why the chef disliked him. All he knew was that he didn't like salmon and the man's best dish was baked salmon.
Before he'd become a chef, the old man had been a patient at the same psychiatric hospital as Faust's father.
On one hand, Faust visited the cafeteria occasionally to make sure the man was doing well but on the other hand, he was hoping to find secrets about his father from the chef.
"No salmon, thanks," Faust tell the chef.
"Sinful," the chef muttered. "Sinful."
They found seats by the corner. Nathaniel was looking at him funnily and when Faust asked, the taller hunter replied, "If you just try his dish, maybe he'll like you more."
"I'd rather die," Faust replied and put an end to it.
They took their time. Every now and then, a few guildmates would come up and ask for an autograph from Nathaniel. As much as he enjoyed the attention, Nathaniel didn't seem to enjoy being interrupted while eating. By the time he'd finished signing for the last of some eager fans, his noodle soup had become lukewarm.
"If only you were a fire-type hunter," Faust lamented unhelpfully.
"Calling me useless? Look at you, can't even wield a sword." Nathaniel pointed a spoon in his direction. "My offer still stands. Free coaching from the world's greatest hunter."
"You just want to hit me with your sword."
"Hey, last time you helped that hunter in the fight against me. I didn't even get back to you on that."
"I thought you like challenges."
"Don't you?"
"No."
"You're lying. If you don't like challenges, you would've quit a long time ago."
Faust ate his sandwich thoughtfully. "...You're right."
"I'm always right," Nathaniel said. "Now, speaking of being right, I think you need to talk with Nori. If you don't like her, you need to tell her. Don't play on her feelings."
Faust frowned. Play on her feelings?
Please, he had only seen her three times and all of those times were with Nathaniel during holidays.
"I've told her," he said, "She needs to—" He ended his sentence when Nathaniel glared at him.
That man was rather irrational and protective when it came to his younger sister.
"You disappeared for two days. I don't know where you went, but now I more or less have an idea," Nathaniel said, crossing his arms. "That ring on your finger and that X on your hand, you got a girlfriend, didn't you?"
Faust choked on water.
Nathaniel waited expectantly for an answer.
"If I say yes, will that stop Nori?" he said eventually.
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes. "So you didn't get a girlfriend."
"Do you think I got a girlfriend?"
"Faust, I'm being serious."
"I said I'll tell you next week," Faust said to the man. He was a bit offended. "If you keep asking me, I'll not tell you at all."
"You'll explain the ring?"
"Yes."
"And the X?"
"Yes."
"And the giraffe?" Faust started and Nathaniel smiled at his reaction. "It's not really dead, is it? You figured something out."
Faust did intend to tell Nathaniel about the giraffe but he hadn't thought the man was already a step ahead of him.
"...Was all this talk about Nori building up to this moment?"
Just how much had he guessed?
"My brain works fast," Nathaniel told him and prompted him again. "Don't distract me. You will tell me about the giraffe, right?"
Faust nodded meekly.
"Good," Nathaniel replied, sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed.
Then, at Faust's silence, the man sighed and tapped the table, "Look, I just want to know what you're facing. Given how dangerous that giraffe was, I don't want anything like that to happen again."
"I know," Faust said eventually, "but I need some time to gather what I know into something comprehensible."
"It's alright if it doesn't make sense." Nathaniel just shrugged his shoulders. "We can sort it out together."
Of course, Nathaniel would say that. But how much was Faust going to tell?
Now that Albert was here to kill the dragon in lieu of him, Faust had a sudden urge to tell Nathaniel everything. Two was better than one but three was better than two.
"Can you keep a secret, Nate?"
Well, Faust already knew the answer.
With a gentle laugh and a shake of his head, Nathaniel replied anyway.