"What? You're not going to order anything?"
Kai asked, comfortably lying against the seat. He finished his milkshake and put the cup on the table. As usual, his chin was held up.
"Aren't you going to tell me now, what do you need me for?"
Ayato asked.
"You see, you could say that the Court is an independent organisation. We don't do anything together unless the Court Jester tells us to."
He said, leaning forward. This time, his chin wasn't tilted upwards.
"We Jesters do whatever the fuck we want. And so, I'm doing what I want."
"Which is?"
"I want you to go to England."
With the curve of his eyebrow, Ayato made a sound.
"Hah?"
He sceptically stared at the boy. Kai had a serious expression on his face.
"You want me to go to England?"
Kai nodded.
"Why?"
"Well, we want evil gone from this world. There's a certain organisation making a move."
Kai paused. Ayato waited, wanting to hear more about the said organisation.
"Well?"
"I don't know their names yet and the involved members but all that I know is that they're dangerous. Remember those eruptions of blue lava that you've seen on the news?"
"Oh, those. Isn't this like a magical phenomenon?"
"You should know that it isn't a magical phenomenon. You should know it better than anyone else."
Ayato knew that Kai was right.
"It was done by them. I had Envy do some scouting for me. One member is Morgan Le Fay, who is a witch."
The black-haired boy narrowed his eyes when he heard the word, 'witch.' He knew that it referred to strong female magicians. But, they were also different. Not only could they use magic, but they could also use curses.
"So, what? I have to meet this Morgan Le Fay person?"
"Yeah, but you'll never get there by yourself. She's the aide of the Queen of England."
The Jester announced with a carefree expression. If Ayato was drinking water, he would've spat it out in surprise.
"How am I supposed to get to someone like that?"
"That's what you're supposed to figure out."
"...?"
Ayato had no clue as to what he was referring to.
"In a few days, someone will invite you to go to England. That will be your only ticket there."
"Sure, but..."
The boy glowered at Kai. A calm bloodlust engulfed the Jester. Kai shivered.
"...why did you think that I would help you?"
Upon receiving a sharp glare from Ayato, Kai Kobayashi smiled intelligently. He played with the empty cup on the table.
"Whether or not you help me or not, you'll eventually become involved. The whole world will."
"..."
There was no point in asking what that meant. He knew that Pride wouldn't reveal the reason since entertainment seemed to be his principle.
"I won't help you."
Ayato said, standing up.
"You can deal with it yourself. You can get your court of clowns to help you."
"And like I said, unless the Court Jester commands it, we act of our own accord. Besides, you could do better than us."
"No, thanks. Bye."
Ayato left without hesitation. He didn't want to help Kai, who was a mysterious and suspicious figure. The black-haired boy had no reason to do so. It didn't support him in any way.
·———·
"Akari Chiori...?"
When Ayato arrived home, a Councilwoman was at the door. Anastasia, his one-eyed maid, glanced over at him.
"Welcome home, Master. Akari Chiori has come to see you."
For some reason, the boy remembered the words of Kai Kobayashi.
'Whether or not you help me or not, you'll eventually become involved. The whole world will.'
He winced. Ayato already had a feeling as to why Akari Chiori suddenly appeared. He sighed.
"England?"
"Hm? I didn't say a word, how did you know? Prodigies are different, huh? Not even my daughter is that keen."
The woman wholeheartedly laughed. Ayato was not looking forward to what she had to say.
·———·
(October 9th — Central London)
Ayato grimaced, thinking back to his conversation with Akari.
'Gah, I'm so pissed that Kobayashi was right. I am involved either way.'
The black cab stopped. The door opened by itself both Akari and Ayato got out of the cab. They were in front of an old apartment building. It was different from the other apartment buildings in the area. It wasn't a bad apartment building, it was simply outdated.
"You wait out here, Ayato, I'll go and see her."
"Okay,"
Ayato had no qualms with that. He patiently waited against the lamp post. As Akari went into the building, he decided to observe London.
This was his second time here. His first time was when he was escaping from assassins and the Kyouya Family from all over the world.
At that time, he didn't manage to let the beauty of London sink in, however, now he could. The architecture of the surrounding buildings and environment was different from Japan. The majority of the buildings were simply upgraded versions of their original 21st-century forms.
What Ayato liked the most was how quiet it was. Japan was a fairly dangerous country in terms of crime. Even more so, with people being influenced by the Mage Killer. England, London, was different. It was a safer place.
The cause of this being a safe place was because of the existence of witches.
Witches were females and they existed back in the Medieval Era. Before magic became known to the world, England was filled to the brim with magic and knowledge.
It was the original magic country with magic clans called magic coteries.
Because it was a country of magic before its time, England has a stash of secrets which are kept secret by every monarch. It is against tradition to tell someone else about the truth and origins of magic.
Whenever there is a new monarch, they are put under Divine Law to ensure that the secrets do not spread. If they tell a soul, they die.
Instead, Alice Ilistria found a way to incorporate one of those secrets into London without breaking Divine Law. That was the creation of witches, who were proficient in magic and could use curses.
"I wonder what curses are like."
He muttered to himself randomly.
BOOM!
The building in front of Ayato exploded, snapping him out of his trance.
"Akari!"
"I'm fine, boy!"
The woman jumped out of the building. She was riding a vermilion bird. Akari dropped onto the pavement while coughing.
"You're fine. What happened?"
"As soon as I touched the handle, the door exploded. But... it wasn't a bomb. It wasn't magic either. When I touched the handle, I felt this creepy feeling shroud me."
Akari explained with a scowl.
"It must've been a curse."
The woman concluded. It was the same conclusion that Ayato had come to.
What exactly was a curse, however, and what rules did they abide by? They certainly aren't as powerful as aether but they seem more versatile than magic.
"Wait, if she set a trap on the handle, that means that she was expecting someone. Since we came without her knowledge, it was..."
"The escaped prisoners."
She finished the sentence for him.
This was bad. The girl was being chased by the escapees already. They had to do something with the girl.
"Let's find her before they get to her."
"Right,"