[3rd person Pov]
"So it's still no good... Just have to get more test subjects then. After all, there are a lot of orphans around the outer perimeter of Mensch. It shouldn't be too hard for my dear king to bring me more."
Standing in a completely white lab, the principal of Ainu was currently standing on the side of an operation table covered in blood from the disfigured small child laying on it. With its chest split open and heart removed, it was unavoidable for its eyes to have lost their light.
This was the last of the 50 children that the king had brought the principal and the last failure of this specific session of experimentation. Still, the old man wasn't upset, as he knew that he was slowly making progress.
"Hmm... Wonder what that specific earthling is doing right now? It would have been nice to build a relationship with him as we seem to have a lot in common. Such a shame that he wasn't brought to Tella with me..."
The fact that the other earthlings had arrived almost 300 years after the principal did irk him a bit, but as there was nothing to be done about it, he wouldn't let it stain his mind all that much.
"Maybe it's time to move on to the next phase. It's been a long time since I went to Aldon, I wonder if the king is still as unpleasant to talk to."
****
"Greetings, Mr. Naut. Please, do sit down."
The king had finally gotten the meeting that he had been waiting for, with the head of the Juggernaut family sitting in front of him in a small office, a space defined by the fact that it was incredibly unassuming and simple.
Dressed in a black, fluffy coat, Mr. Naut didn't seem deterred at all to stand in front of the king, casually taking his seat on the other side of the desk. In contrast to the name of the family, the middle-aged man wasn't that large, only a bit above average in both size and height.
Framed by his dark brown hair, similar to the lighter-colored version of the king's, he had a very gentle expression on his face but wore it with incredible confidence. As he sat down, he wasted no time in getting to the point of the conversation to be had.
"Thank you, my king. Now, tell me why I am here. I know that you want to somehow unite all of the families of Mensch, with the one you call hidden families included, but just what does this mean?"
Through pure instincts, the king tried to gesture with his arms as he spoke, only to remember the situation at hand, "We need your strength to win the upcoming war against the demons. Now, for how the arrangement will look like, I believe that you know what you want best."
As George showed that he understood that Mr. Naut wasn't one who enjoyed wasting time, the rest of the discussion went quite smoothly.
With a smile, the head of the Juggernaut family presented his demands, "We want our own land, a place that we can create a new nation in. Also, I assume that you understand that if we help you, there are two families that we cannot accept joining the cause."
"I understand."
And like this, the tide had started to turn within the country of the humans, creating waves that could not be stopped.
****
[James's Pov]
"Are you still pouting?"
"I am not pouting! And leave me alone, Ezral!"
Lying on Ezrals bed, I was currently trying to have a moment for myself, reflecting on all the mistakes I had done yesterday. Not only did I fuck up the fight against Arthur, but I also somehow let Sophie the bloodhound find me on the mountain.
Although I had gotten what I wanted from Sebastian and Arthur, I couldn't celebrate it as a success when thinking of all the things I could have done better. But I wasn't pouting, not even close. I just didn't want to talk to anyone and didn't want anyone to talk to me.
Sadly, anyone wouldn't leave me alone.
"C'mon James, you've been lying there for the whole day already. Isn't there anything you have to do?"
Though it was weird to hear the demon try and talk some sense into me, she did have a point. With my former classmates spending their last full day here, I was about to run out of time for the things I had left to do.
Raising my body, I took a second to appreciate the form of the redhead succubus in all her glory, refreshing a bit of my energy before I got on with it.
"Fine... I'm going... Also, thank you for saving me yesterday. I'm not sure what I would've done if you didn't put Sophie to sleep."
It was pretty lucky that Ezral had seen our conversation yesterday and injected some kind of sleeping agent into the dragon through her nail.
In reality, I wasn't even sure if I could've escaped her with the state my body was in.
Weirdly enough, the demoness didn't huff at me as I expected. Instead, I was met by a somewhat flushed face, almost looking abashed at the sudden gratitude.
"It's fine... It was part of our deal, right?"
Now knowing how to respond, I just nodded awkwardly and went for the door.
*Click*
Just as I was about to exit the room, an uncharacteristically shy voice reached my ears, "Say, James... Is there no way for you to work with us? I know that we might seem evil and all, but in reality, we are not like that..."
'Demons are not evil? Who is she trying to fool, after calling all of the races on Tella disgusting and unworthy.'
Leaving my thoughts unspoken, I felt like I had a pretty clear idea of what was going on. Unfortunately, just like there was no future for me with another human, there was no future for me with a demon either.
"I'm sorry, Ezral."
*Bang*
****
[Sophie's Pov]
"So... you also met him... And you are sure that you aren't hurt?"
Sitting in the bed I found myself in after I woke up, having gotten to know that they found me unconscious on the mountainside, Arthur was currently telling me about what happened to him.
"Yeah, I did and, no, I'm fine. He didn't attack me at all..."
Seeing the pain in Arthur's eyes, it wasn't hard to figure out what he was feeling. Akin to the time when he fought James last time, he had gotten toyed with, not even getting to fight him for real. Still, I was just happy that he was okay.
Before I could open my mouth to attempt to comfort my man, he continued on, "But you say also? Did you meet him before you passed out? What did he say?"
Suddenly, I remembered our conversation, how James had completely dismissed any thoughts of returning to us. "Sophie? What's wrong? Did he do something to you?! What did he do?!"
Arthur got quite upset when he saw my expression, assuming that something must have happened to me. So, forcing myself to smile, I tried to wave off his worries, "No, we only talked. He didn't even touch me."
Grabbing my hand, he leaned forward, his face still dark with angst, "Then what happened?"
This time, I did not cry, no matter how much my heart was hurting, "That's the problem, nothing changed. No matter what I said, nothing happened. He is not coming back."
Somehow, our little meeting had at least made me realize the situation at hand. James would live his life, and I would live mine.
Our connection through our origins bore no weight in this world, no matter how much my mind wanted it to.
****
[Sebastian's Pov]
"Do you understand? If you do this, in time I will release you from the contract and you will regain your freedom."
It was such an odd situation, standing outside in the cold of Kurat, hidden by one of the few forests that existed here, while getting instructions from my old classmate.
"I understand."
Even though he was shorter than me, he was now a lot bigger than me, completely looking down on me.
Back then, I never thought that I would be afraid of death. In fact, I had been trained since I was a child to know that death was the natural end for a warrior.
Yet, I hadn't been able to let go, and I wasn't ready to die for my country. And now, I was but a tool for the monster in front of me to use. Truly a fitting fate for a coward.
Bringing out his wings from his element, he was ready to leave me in the night, but not before leaving some final words.
"Good. Do remember, I want every single detail you can find about that old man, no matter how small. Also, do be careful. I suspect that the principal might not look too kindly on rats."