[Zero's Pov]
"So, are we going on a bit of an adventure now?"
"Hmm... Unfortunately, I think we still have some things we need to do here before we go to the elven king. After all, shouldn't we take care of our own backyard first?"
Saturday had come around and, with it, an opportunity to get some work done.
Sitting with sub-me at my small kitchen table while drinking two cups of coffee, I had to some extent already decided how I would spend at least part of my day. After all, there was a person at the academy who most likely very much wanted to hear from me.
"But we won't be able to meet him until tonight, right? So what do we do until then?"
I asked myself a good question. The meeting that I was planning to have wasn't something that should be conducted in the light of day anyway, so that meant we had a lot of time to waste until then.
"Hmm... Well, first things first. Transform... Guah!"
As both I and sub-me were enveloped in our liquid element, which was quickly replaced by a cocoon of mist, I felt my head clearing up once again. With the mist dispersing, I felt relieved to be back in my gray suit and distant emotions.
Looking forward, I was met by the sights of another James that felt the same way.
"So, shall we play some games? It has been a long time since I had some fun with the hero of the world, after all?"
It wasn't a secret to me that Arthur was probably doing his very best to try and find out what I was up to, and, although it was a funny thought to let him keep on going without finding a trace of me, I felt like it was time to make contact once again.
"There's no way he won't show up, right? No matter what he thinks of Sebastian, would he really allow him to go alone to meet me?"
The plan was quite simple, really. I was just going to send a little text to my loyal subordinate to meet me outside of the city tonight. This would surely make him contact Arthur who would want to follow him.
"Isn't there a world where they don't dare to come because of the curfew?"
"Sebastian won't have a choice, and if the hero of the world is scared of a curfew, how could we ever expect him to be able to go up against the powerful demon counts?"
I had no rebuttal to my own question, knowing that there was no way they wouldn't come. And judging by how Arthur had been starting to act a lot more vigilant, I didn't think he would dare tell anyone either.
"I guess so. And the rest of the day will be used to practice our new technique?"
"Correct."
That was the main reason I had chosen to transform into my 1st form even though it was quite some time before I would meet up with the energetic youths. There was a new technique that I had been wanting to acquire as a skill in this form as fast as possible.
It was hard to find a balance between practicing as Zero and practicing as James, but I knew I couldn't be complacent with either of the forms. Both were needed in the future if I wanted the pieces to align as I planned.
With that, both I and sub-me surrounded ourselves with thick mist, eager to practice as much as possible before we had to get going.
****
[Arthur's Pov]
"I'm assuming this is about James..."
For some reason, Sebastian had texted me, saying he needed to talk with me as soon as possible. Now, with me arriving at his apartment, I couldn't say I wasn't nervous to hear what the purple-haired man had to say.
"That's... Yes, he contacted me."
Seeing the pale face of someone who could have been said to once have been the most confident man I had ever met, I felt a slight shiver go down my back.
"And? What did he want?"
"He... He wants to meet me. Tonight. Outside of the city walls, on the hill to the west."
It wasn't all too surprising, but that didn't mean it didn't stress me out a lot.
The fact that James could seemingly move however, and wherever, he wanted made it quite obvious that he would at some point come here, even if only to meet up with the spy he had forcefully planted inside the academy.
Still...
"That would mean you have to break the curfew the academy announced to meet him..."
"Yes..."
After the demons had attacked, everyone had been put under a very strict curfew inside the academy. Meaning, we weren't allowed to leave. However, would that be an excuse that James would care about?
Rubbing my forehead, I knew that there was but one choice that I had to make. In the end, I couldn't accept the fact that the young man in front of me would be caged and used by James, even to the point where he couldn't allow himself to try his luck at love.
"Haa... I'm assuming he told you to tell me as well?"
To my question, Sebastian couldn't help but look down at the table in, what I assumed to be, shame. Yet, my assumption had been incorrect.
"Actually... He didn't... I just wanted someone to know in case I didn't return..."
Inadvertently, my fists clenched, unable to bear the meaning of the words he had just told me.
"I see... Well, there is no helping it, is it?"
Knowing what had to be done, I stood up and put on the jacket that I had hung over the chair I had been sitting on. Unable to comprehend what I was saying, Sebastian just looked at me with confused eyes.
"What are you doing...?"
"What do you think I am doing? I am going out on a trip. On a trip to a certain hill, I heard rumors that it was now inhabited by a monster. Isn't that what hunters are supposed to do?"
"You... Haaa... What a foolish man you are..."
Standing up, Sebastian also made himself ready, now wearing a bit of a smile as he realized that I wasn't about to abandon him, no matter how he had acted in the past.
With a big smile, I retorted with confidence.
"That might be so. But if saving people is foolish, then I would gladly become the biggest fool there is."
****
[James's Pov]
Sitting on top of the large hill, leaning my back against a large tree, I was basked by the artificial rays of the moon, illuminating the silent night that had emerged.
Though the moon was surrounded by bright stars, I had always wondered if it still felt alone. After all, the one that gifted the moon its brilliance was the one it would never get to meet, while the stars were only close on the surface.
In reality, the moon was destined to be alone. Because if it wasn't, the status quo of the world would be destroyed.
'Hmph! As if that would matter... Who cares about a world that is built upon the whims of fools?'
Still, I couldn't entirely dismiss the fact that some things were needed for the world to continue spinning. Even if I wanted to just dismantle everything, Zero had already convinced me that I needed to think about things more.
Being impatient would only bring misfortune upon the innocent, and, in the end, the powerful would still be sitting on their thrones, uncaring for the ones below. And that was a future I wouldn't accept.
'But I wonder if my plan will work this time... Surely the hero wouldn't just throw Sebastian away?'
This had been a plan that was quite long in the making, a plan that I had been cooking ever since I fought both of them in the labyrinth.
I didn't care all too much about having Sebastian as a spy anymore, not after I confirmed the personality of the principal by myself. With that being said, that hadn't been the only reason why I forced him to sign that contract.
Naturally, there was a very good reason why I had allowed him to speak to Arthur during all this time. The reason? To make Arthur more inclined to listen to me during our next meeting. A meeting that was just about to take place.
Standing up, I turned my masked face to the side, allowing my eyes to see the two young men that were walking toward me. Though they had both come to see me, their expressions couldn't be said to be any more different.
A very shaken and pale Sebastian was forcing his feet to move forward, even though I could see that he truly wanted to just turn and run.
Arthur, on the other hand...
'I hate those eyes...'
The eyes of someone determined enough to die for his cause, the eyes that I had already seen enough times to know that I abhorred them. Because they were eyes that I could never control. Or at least, I couldn't. Until now.
"Yo! So you are finally here? Man, I almost started to think I was about to be stood up!"