When Ariyama awoke, he wasn't in his bed or in the hospital, like he'd assumed he would be.
No, instead, he was in a foreign room, which had white walls, pillars in each corner. He was stripped down to just his underwear, under the thick covers of a four-poster bed. His whole body ached as he sat up instinctively and looked around. A row of cabinets were to the left, and a desk with a window above it on the right. On the far wall, there was a walk-in wardrobe on the right, and on the left, there was a small hallway before a door, made of dark wood with a golden knob
Where the hell was he?
Fog clouded his vision, claws of agony scratching across his brain like a bear feasting on its prey.
Dammit. Wasn't he able to withstand over half a dozen knives slicing through him before? And now he couldn't handle a morning headache? What a joke.
Ariyama raked his fringe out of his face, blowing out a breath of exhaustion. What was he doing last? The last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was that person in the black cloak.
Well, if that was the Pilgrims' Society, then this must be somewhere owned by them, right?
On cue, the door on the left opened and Matsune Sasya walked in, with a tray in her hands. Ariyama's eyes widened at her attire, which consisted of a gray cloak that swept down to her knees, a hood was pulled off her head and a golden clasp with an eight-pronged star engraved on its surface.
Once their eyes met, Matsune's face lit up in delight. She quickly set the tray – which held a multitude of breakfast foods, as well as a glass of orange juice – on the bedside cabinet that Ariyama just now realized was there. Then, she pulled over the chair that was tucked under the desk to the right, and sat beside Ariyama's bed. An awkward silence descended on the room. He'd only been awake for less than a minute, so Ariyama hadn't a clue what to say.
So, it was Matsune who finally broke the ice.
"How are you feeling?"
"Uh, good. I suppose."
Ariyama looked around again in a daze, trying to memorize his surroundings with his hazy mind. He rested his gaze back on Matsune.
"Hey, where am I? The last thing I remember is the school and…"
Matsune held up a hand to silence him. He swore he saw a twitch of irritation on her face, but it was gone the moment his mind registered it.
"I'll explain when the time is right, Ariyama-kun. Just know that we're in the Pilgrims' Society's headquarters, known as the Cloud Keep. It's far away from civilization, so the Society can conduct their practices in peace."
Huh. So, this is the Society's base of operations? Ariyama couldn't deny that his room was very lovely, and if he wasn't even a registered member yet but still got something this pristine, that proved that the Society must've been one rich place.
Ariyama looked at the tray of food on the cabinet, and with a nod of approval from Matsune, quickly dug in. He felt like he hadn't eaten in days. Usually, he could never eat so much for just his breakfast, but just this time, he was feeling ravenous, like an unfed beast.
Once he'd eaten his fill, and downed it all with some orange juice, Ariyama laid back on the comfy bed, nestling his head on his plump pillow. This place really was like a five-star hotel, like the sort of places his father probably visited on the regular…
Ariyama's stomach churned uneasily, and he scrunched his face up, banishing those thoughts to the darkest corner of his mind. He had too much to be thinking about instead of worrying about him.
"Matsune… About what happened…"
Matsune pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing softly. Ariyama could tell she was pissed; not that he blamed her. After all, he had caused a huge conundrum by losing control and making a huge mess of the school. The Pilgrims' Society, he'd heard, had the main goal of preserving the secrecy of all information about things like the Enchanted Tools and whatnot, so him using his Jallarbor Godred to eviscerate Genichirou, along with a portion of the school, definitely went against the rules.
Was he going to be punished? Imprisoned? Killed?
Ariyama's heartbeat quickened as all those terrible possibilities sifted through his mind.
"You made a big mistake, Ariyama-kun."
Ariyama looked at Matsune, who was watching him with a sad face
"Yeah… I kinda assumed that."
"AS you should know, the Society's main objective is the preservation of life by stopping rogue unregistered Tributes, but also they keep the truth about the secret world under lock and key. That's why usually they only go after unregistered Tributes at night, when most places are emptier, like we did with Genichirou."
At that, Ariyama perked up. He shifted in his bed and sat up, an eyebrow raised.
"You know about Genichirou? How'd you find out he was the culprit? When I found out, I panicked – I have to admit – and then fought the guy. I nearly died but I stopped him. As you probably saw if you went to the school, my sword blew a big hole in the place."
"I wasn't there myself, but I was given a report on the events. As for how I found out about Genichirou; when the Tribute I sent out to collect you got there, they secured you and Kazura-chan, then investigated the area. They found Genichirou's body, burnt to a crisp."
Yup. That was definitely a result of Ariyama's sword. Honestly, he assumed he'd vaporized the guy or something, but he seemed to have been sturdier than he'd assumed.