[Sophie's Pov]
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
Having just gotten our glasses of wine served in the private room of a bar, I would finally get to know what was on the mind of the princess.
Clad in a white summer dress, Sarah looked as feminine as ever, her golden hair illuminating the room. However, her eyes were uncharacteristically hard, telling me that whatever she was thinking about wasn't something simple.
"Sophie... What do you think about James? And I promise not to get angry no matter what you say."
'Didn't she already made up her mind about him? Why is she asking me this now?'
It was strange, but something must have happened that somehow shook her conviction.
Taking a sip of my red wine, I took a second to ponder.
'So something happened in Kurat... Did she also meet James? But then, why didn't she tell anyone?'
In the end, there was no answer for me to find inside my own mind. So instead, I just answered her question honestly.
"I don't think he is the same James that we knew, but I also don't think he sold himself to the demons. More than that, he is probably just as haughty as ever."
There was no need to tell her about the fact that I met him, as I had no way of knowing what kind of consequences it might bring.
Pointing her eyes toward the table, it didn't appear that my answer gave her any sort of confidence, "I see... Not the same..."
As I had a feeling that there was more to this meeting than her just asking me this one question, I pressed on.
"So? There must be something else if you suddenly wanted to meet up."
Raising her head, I got to see the blue eyes of her displaying the anguish inside of her. "Sophie, how far would you go to make sure you could be together with Arthur?"
[James's Pov]
===Status===
Name: James Jackson
Rank: B
Strength: D-
Agility: C+
Stamina: ?
Intelligence: B
Mana Capacity: B+
--> Main Manual:
[Misty Trickster - Ungraded] - Major Understanding.
-Core Skill: [Double Trouble]
-1st Skill: [Swap]
-2nd Skill: [Materialize]
-3rd Skill: [Detonation]
--> Elemental Affinity: Mist
->Elemental Skills (Affected by [Misty Trickster] Manual): [Dome of Mist], [Orb of mist], [Misty Vessel]
==========
Seeing my stats once again while I was sitting on the hotel bed, there was no doubt that I had gone through quite the abnormal growth. Most people wouldn't reach [B]-rank even if they trained for years and years while I got there in the span of one.
Though I could say with a clear conscience that I had most likely trained more during this one year than most people would during two, or even three, the fact that I didn't seem to meet any resistance while absorbing mana was absolutely the deciding factor.
Closing the status, I let my body fall down on the bed and let out a sigh.
"Haa... So boring. But it can't be helped, if I go to the king too early, everything might go to waste."
Having already waited for four days, I knew I just needed to keep it together for a couple more.
In the end, the king should get desperate enough that he would give up the branch for the tear.
'Assuming the tear even is in the same spot...'
I still had no idea if the location of the tear was the same as in the game, but as it was in Mensch, I wasn't too keen on acquiring it until I got confirmation for a trade.
"So, what should we do?"
Sub-me asked a very valid question, a question we were thinking of a lot. "Yeah? What should I do?"
Right now, it felt like both sides of the war were developing quite nicely, although I still needed to make sure Arthur got strong enough to not die.
Although the primary reason was the fact that I believed that he would be the most vital piece in the war, there was another reason that was just as important to me.
I had made a promise not to get in Sophie's way, and I felt like I would break that promise if I accidentally was the reason her boy toy died.
"Maybe it's time for that..."
Sub-me started smiling in response to our thoughts, our heavenly blue eyes shining with excitement.
"Let's start thinking of the framework for a guild!"
I had no idea what Loki would think of my decision, but when thinking about the future I felt like this would be the best way to attain more influence in the future.
Sadly, the stupid sub-me couldn't stop himself from speaking our thought, "It's just sad that we don't have a single friend anymore..."
"Shut up!"
****
[3rd person Pov]
"Hmm... He is working quite slowly..."
Watching his little apostle through the computer screen on his desk, it was hard to get a read on the thoughts of the masked god.
Having already regained some of his divinity, he didn't think it would be long until he could start moving again.
Thankfully, his display at the town square in Mensch had been enough for people to fear and respect his apostle, resulting in a pretty decent chunk of divinity for him.
How divine energy worked was pretty simple, the more people who had strong feelings about a god or its apostle, the more energy would be delivered to that god.
This was also what decided who became the ruling god, namely the god with the most amount of divinity.
"Hmm... A guild? Is he still not able to let go? How ironic it is, that the man who created the thesis about human nature is also a victim of his own mind. No matter."
Standing up, Loki made himself ready to depart, knowing there was a certain god he needed to speak to.
"In the end, everything will come together. And if not, it's not like this world matters anyway. It's all a game..."
****
[George Lindt's Pov]
Looking out over from the balcony connected to the throne room, I felt the soft evening winds gently caress my cheeks as I gazed down upon what was my duty to protect. However, as time went on, I was doubting my decisions more and more.
The words of a certain being had been stuck in my head, repeating over and over. "We are the same, huh... Maybe you aren't the only one who sold his soul..."
"Your majesty, the meeting with the Vipers will be starting soon. You should get ready."
Turning around, I met was met by the sight of my advisor, looking just as proper as ever. "Sir Fernsby, do you ever doubt yourself?"
It didn't take long until I could feel his warm hand on my shoulder, smiling as he spoke to me, "Your Highness, I have known you since you were a child. No matter what kind of mistakes we may have done, just know that we made them together. And yes, I doubt myself often, even though I have a Manual that allows me to know a lot of things."
Sadly, his words didn't bring me a lot of comfort in the grand scheme of things. I had already committed so many sins that I doubted Theia would bring me to her side after I passed. However, the words of my late father were always with me, 'The kingdom always comes first.'
Those were the words I lived my life by, and those were the words I would lose my life because of. Still, there was one thing that I felt I should have done differently. "I see. On another note, have you found any traces of James Jackson?"
There was still a loose thread that I had to make sure I could fix, although I had no idea what I could even do if we found him. Shaking his head, Fernsby opened his mouth, "My apologies, my liege. The last trace we found was in Kurat but from our sources, he has long left the country. That means that he is either back in Mensch or he has departed to Aldon. Although the off chance that he is living in the wastelands still exists."
"Hmm... I doubt that even someone like that would venture out and live in the wastelands... No matter how powerful he is, the things that reside out there aren't something even the demons would try to face."
The wastelands; On the eastern side of the three nations there were huge amounts of undiscovered lands, inhabiting the strongest and most dangerous of being in existence. Even three hundred years ago when the hero ventured out, it didn't take long until he came back, barely keeping his life.
And with him, he brought the story of a monster that shook the earth through its sheer size, its fiery breath destroying mountains on a whim. The wastelands was the unofficial nation of the dragons.