Daizen Shizaki stared in silence at the ceiling lights as he leaned back on a bed, with a cup of water stationed on a table in front of him.
With his legs crossed in a relaxed position, he sat at the corner of what was a very exquisite room.
"I can get used to this."
"Already slacking off huh?"
"-hk."
Aya scolded him as she sat quietly next to him on the bed, but someone else quickly tried to stand up for him.
"W-Well, we all deserve to be here, so we can rest up."
"T-That's correct! Thank you, Yukino-kun!"
"Hmph. Yukino, don't indulge him with laziness."
Satou Yukino was also present, leaning against the wall beside them both. He, alongside Aya, had accompanied Shizaki on an expedition to see where his assigned room was. Aya's gaze wavered around, seemingly admiring the room, while Yukino shyly twirled his thumbs around each other.
Finally, Shizaki spoke up, with genuine concern over something.
"I wonder how Kamazaki-san is doing."
"Knowing her, she would have woken up and gone back to her usual attitude in a heartbeat. She's too energetic to be sleeping for long. Then again, she usually slept for much longer than all of us in the carriage."
In the case of Bella Kamazaki, her usual upbeat attitude did not carry into her sleeping habits.
What an interesting girl, Shizaki thought.
During her duel, he had noticed her emotion of desperation, and the feeling of having to do something but knowing that she was helpless in a situation.
It reminded him of her expressions during the attack in Sekoto Forest, her pleas for him to leave her behind as he was cornered by the vicious wolves and with her injured.
Although, this time, she somehow managed to overcome her obstacle on her own.
I hope she passes the Selection, of course, along with all of us.
It was fascinating how close he had become with people who were practically strangers just a few days ago.
During rough times....
"Bonds can grow."
"Huh? Did you say something, Shizaki-kun?"
"Ah, no, it's nothing, Yukino-kun. I'm a bit tired from all of that action today. After that good meal at the cafeteria, I think I'll go to sleep now."
Aya's brows furrowed.
"At barely seven in the night? That's really early, but....yeah, I'm a bit tired too I guess. Oh, but, I want to check out the compound more thoroughly this time, and then I have to see where my assigned room is located."
"Alright then....I'll see you tomorrow."
Aya turned to leave but stopped as her hand rested on the doorknob. She faced the quiet individual who was still next to Shizaki's bedside.
"Yukino....are you coming, or....?"
"Ah-er...ummm....I will find my place soon enough, but I just want to talk to Shizaki-kun for a bit. Is that....um...okay?"
Both Shizaki and Aya seemed a bit confused at the situation but the former spoke first.
"Uh, sure, I guess."
"Just when exactly did you guys become so close that you have to talk privately? Isn't that what lovers do?"
Yukino immediately shook his hands in a panic-like dismissal as he blushed up to the tip of his pointy elf ears in embarrassment, while Shizaki looked at Aya with a comedic disgusted face.
"N-No, it's n-nothing like that! I mean..."
"D-Don't pay attention to her, Yukino-kun! She looks as if she's being serious, but her blank expression is fooling you! Go joke around somewhere else, Alexandriya!"
"Tsk, alright, alright, I'm going."
She abruptly closed the door behind her as she left the two boys in isolation.
Shizaki put a hand on his forehead as he sighed in relief.
"Right....s-sorry....about that."
"No....it's fine, really. U-Um....so, what I wanted to talk to you about was...."
He averted his eyes as he spoke.
"If we both succeed at the Selection, would you...like to join me in an adventuring party together?"
"Oh...."
An adventuring party….with Yukino-kun?
Actually, he had no idea what to expect from Yukino, but this question made him think about his future party more seriously now that it was posed to him.
A party that consisted of four members. He actually had not thought about who he would like to join....not that he knew most of the Selection candidates anyway.
Aya said that she joined mostly to keep an eye on him, so in that case, she would want to join his party, and with Yukino asking to be a part of the group, it seemed okay.
He was unsure whether to ask King or Kamazaki to join him as they were meant to stick close to each other. That would leave him with Sencho Neo, the masked individual and the last Royal Selection candidate that he knew.
"Sure thing....I mean, I'm not confident enough to join a bunch of other random people by myself. I think that going with people I know would be a lot easier for me."
"I thought the exact same thing...."
"Wait, why did you not want to ask me this in front of Aya-san?"
"Ah....that...I feel more at ease just talking to you alone, I guess. I can't express what I want to ask in front of others that well."
"I see...I don't think Aya-san would mind you being with both myself and herself in a party, though, that's if she wants to join us."
"Oh...that's....that's great to hear."
Feeling a bit more relieved, Yukino finally stood as he endeared himself with a smile before Shizaki.
"In that case, I'm hoping that we can have a lot of fun together soon, Shizaki-kun!"
"Same here!"
An awkward silence emerged after a few seconds, and Yukino, a bit embarrassed, bowed.
"W-Well....I guess I'll be heading out now as well. Goodnight."
"Hm? O-Oh, ok. Goodnight, Yukino-kun."
Returning a warm emotion with a smile of his own, Shizaki waved Yukino off. And soon, it was just Daizen Shizaki by himself.
Throwing himself onto the bed, he laid there and sighed.
It's still hard trying to keep a conversation with others….but, I think I'm getting better.
What a day it was.
He had been able to take on the Royal Guild Selection, and hopefully, the results being shown the next day would confirm his start towards his story of redemption.
What could go wrong?
***
It was about one in the morning.
King, Aya, Shizaki, and Kamazaki were all sound asleep in bed, with the latter unable to locate Shizaki while being distracted with checking out the complex of the Royal Guild.
Maybe tomorrow, she thought.
Satou Yukino, the eighteen year old half elf, woke up from his sleep. Needing to use the washroom, he took off speedily.
After returning from relieving himself, he passed by his front door while still inside his room while he heard footsteps passing by his door and down the corridor.
Somehow, an instinctive feeling told him to catch a glimpse of the back of the person.
As the taps of the silent footsteps quietly faded away, he opened his door slowly, and cautiously followed the individual from a safe distance.
The corridor had reached an intersection where it merged with the exit of the Living Quarters building on the right, and the reception area on the left, with another corridor continuing through from the south to the north. The figure had slowly walked through the exit, while Yukino, doing his best to stay as far back without losing sight of his target, followed with haste.
With nobody else in sight, Yukino slowly peeked out into the open space from the exit.
Small, wooden benches lay in a circular pattern around a chiseled stone fountain. The mysterious person stood as his body was finally shown due to the moonlight.
Yukino's eyes widened as he tensed up and became increasingly nervous.
That's....
There was no denying it. What was he doing here?
That's the person who tried to attack Shizaki-kun this morning!
His attire had not changed. He had left the compound, but had somehow come back.
Why?
Fearing the worst, Yukino froze as he kept silent.
This is bad! Why...why is he....?!
From where he was looking, he could see his face. It did not wear the expression of immense fear like before. Instead, as the figure stood with an uneasy presence, he gazed up into the night sky with a mix of confusion and slight anger.
Yukino still remained silent, but he realized that he would have to do something sooner or later.
Should I.....confront him....? No, that would be stupid.
His first idea quickly presented itself and left just as fast. With what he had witnessed from that peculiar scene earlier in the day, he was no match for the swiftness of this individual. He could probably move as fast as he could blink.
However, he did not plan on leaving now.
The only thing that he could manage was to keep calm and not get caught, while studying more about this person while being in close proximity.
He watched on as the young man kept staring intently at the sky, and then he finally moved. It caught Yukino off guard, fearing that he would turn around, but the person had just decided to sit down on the wooden bench, his back still facing the entrance where Yukino was peeking from.
He sat alone, in a cold silence. With no wooden back on the bench to rest his back, he slouched forward as he held his hands together. Yukino could not see his face anymore. The young man held his head down as the soft, slightly chilly wind was the only noise in the area.
He remained like this for nearly a whole minute, simply sitting down in a dreaded silence that only made Yukino more fearful by the minute. Yukino kept pulling his head back to make sure that nobody else was in the coridoor, and then slowly peeking tbrough the exit once again at his target.
Nearly two minutes passed.
What....is happening....?
Feeling that he could not gain anything from this person, Yukino retreated to the back side of the exit and tried to contemplate on what he should do. As he thought about leaving....
"Daizen Shizaki."
....Huh?
His heart skipped a beat.
The silent person had finally spoken.
Yukino took in deep breaths, his heart racing. He hesitated on peeking once again, trying to ensure that he had just heard correctly.
Did he.....just mention Shizaki-kun's full name?
He finally built the courage, and checked once again.
The figure had the exact same posture as usual.
Does he know Shizaki-kun from somewhere.....no that can't be right. Shizaki-kun himself said that he had never met him before...so how...
How did he know his name?
Yukino knew that none of the group mentioned Shizaki's full name during the attack. So just how did he know?
Yukino tried to hold his breath for fear that his deep breathing would be too loud and give away his presence. The person finally raised his head.
"It makes no sense, he seemed so innocent and unaware....but still...."
Yukino tried to make sense of what he was saying, but couldn't.
The figure lowered his head once again and spoke in a harsh tone.
"This is it. I finally found him. I have to do it. I have to....
He did not finish the sentence, but Yukino felt that he knew just what he was about to say.
He wants to kill him.
Yukino stepped back in fear and, seemingly having enough, quietly hurried back into the depths of the corridor and out of sight.
-----------------------------------------
(Chapter 31: The Man Who Sat Alone.)