"All done with my meal!"
"Same here!"
After enjoying a luscious delight of a meal, both Daizen Shizaki and Bella Kamazaki turned their attention to a group of four walking towards them briskly.
With a tall, black-haired young man leading the pack, he called out to Kamazaki with a smug face, with Kamazaki herself frowning as if she saw something unsightly.
"So that's where you two were! Kamazaki, in a kimono? To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"Ugh, I feel sick."
She clicked her tongue in frustration, but King did not stop with his teasing.
"Where the hell have you been, you damn latecomer?"
"L-Latecomer, huh!? Mind you, I was here early!"
"Like hell!"
"You can bet our life savings on it!"
"Do you wanna end up broke and homeless now that we're away from your mom's house!? Pick a struggle!"
"Yeah sure, it's gonna be your money that's wasted, not mine."
In the midst of the banter that seemed never-ending, Shizaki noticed Yukino staring off into the sky and approached him.
"What are you thinking about, Yukino-kun? You okay?"
"H-Huh? Oh…yeah, I guess. I was just confused about something-"
"Hey!"
Suddenly, a guy with distinct features and striking red and yellow hair walked up boldly to Satou Yukino, the half-elf who was hooded. His sudden outburst made others close by turn their attention to him, sensing something wrong.
Yukino, caught off guard, took a step back, and his companions faced the stranger.
Clearly agitated, the young man pulled his hood back aggressively, revealing Yukino's full facial outline, an before he could anxiously pull it back over his head, this stranger pulled him by his collar and shouted out:
"I was able to notice. You're an elf, aren't you!?"
With many alerted to that information, a surge of fright overwhelmed Yukino, and Shizaki grabbed the young man's arm with a nervous grasp.
"Hah?"
".....Let him go."
Their eyes met, and the yellow of his pupils shone against the bright purple of Shizaki's.
The entire group was ready to act, but Neo stopped them with a wave of his arm, leaving only Shizaki to intervene as Shizaki himself spoke up.
"What are you doing? Let him go."
"Why are you acting buddy-buddy with a descendant of a race who betrayed our very nation and joined hands with Dragonia?"
"-hk."
"They're the very reason why our country and the Royal Family are under threat and our King is bedridden due to their cursed magic, with only our inexperienced Prince Hebirithu Aldranza taking care of us."
"Please, just let go."
Despite harsh words from this individual, Daizen Shizaki did not budge.
{ "You…reminded me of myself, in a way. You'll still definitely be hated by many, but I wish you well in your endeavors. Who knows, maybe we'd end up in the same adventuring party if everything goes well in the Royal Selection, and I'd do my best to help you in whatever way I can if we teamed up." }
{ "Thank you, Shizaki-kun. I'll do my best." }
Remembering his conversation with Yukino in Sekoto Forest, he remained resilient.
What good friend am I if I don't look out for someone who undergoes almost the same thing that I go through…?
He was scared, no doubt about that. Still, he needed to act strong, and stand up for the person who did his best to reach this far in the Royal Guild.
After a couple of seconds, the person slowly let go and sighed, before giving a sharp glare at Yukino.
"Betrayers of the Aldranza Dynasty. You guys make my skin crawl. Don't come here again if you know what's good for you."
He then left the scene in a bad mood, with bystanders gossiping and staring at the half-elf with fear, disgust, and curiosity.
Shizaki clutched his chest with relief.
Ugh, crap. What's with people just trying to kill others in this place? First me, and now Yukino-kun…
Yukino's cover had been blown, as someone had finally noticed the pointy shape of his ears, despite them being as small as a human's.
"Yukino-kun, are you- hey! Your eyes are watering!"
Shizaki was quickly able to point out Yukino's change in attitude and emotion, but the latter surprisingly smiled.
"I was able…to stand strong against someone….I didn't run away."
"Huh…?"
Shizaki's eyes widened, and then returned to their usual size just as fast.
Oh, so that's it.
Finally, King decided to interject.
"Hey, Yukino-kun. If anyone decides to bully you, just let any of us know. We're not afraid of you or hate you because we know the type of person you are. Don't worry about it, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah!" Kamazaki also chimed in, "We'll be by your side no matter what!"
"Thank you…"
"Anyway, let's get out of here for a bit. Come on, guys."
***
Aizu Huxaro.
Alexandriya Aya.
Bella Kamazaki.
Bocha Makuri.
Daizen Shizaki.
Hanabe Iyashi.
Hera Delta.
Kiyama Taiichi.
Neko Sayabero.
Res Arai.
Rin Tsukasa.
Satou Yukino.
Sencho Neo.
Toja Guedes.
Yuki Haidara.
Yukikama Kawarasuri, or King.
Fifteen people, out of the sixteen people registered as successful in Day 1 of the Royal Selection, were present in the Royal Guild alongside adventurers from other ranks and special guests within the complex.
One person was missing.
***
A few minutes later, most of the newly appointed Royal Guild members had returned to the main area, and Yukino cautiously walked towards where the board had been stationed, displaying the registered names of who passed the Selection.
Now standing before the board of names, his eyes peered at the members and scanned downwards.
"Yukino-kun, what's up?"
Disrupting his progress was the slightly amused face of Yukikama Kawarasuri.
"King-kun. Ah-I was just looking at the names here on the board..."
"Okay....you know, when you address my nickname with an honorific, it's kinda funny. Just call me King, man."
"Oh, okay, haha."
King seemed happy, but confused, and for good reason. He most likely had no idea why Yukino would check the list again, but didn't voice his question. He had a bigger question to ask, anyway.
"Hey, so, I was thinking, maybe you, me, Shizaki-kun and Neo-kun can head out a bit. What do you say?"
"Huh? Head out?"
"Yeah, like, outside of the Royal Guild. We still have to report to the Royal Knights Post in Pandora City, so let's just do that while taking a walk around its vicinity. It would be nice to see what lies here in the Northern Province for a bit, right?"
"A tour outside of the Royal Guild..."
He stared at him, and then nodded.
"That....sounds fun! If you are going...and Shizaki-kun as well, I guess that I can tag along. I'm not that busy anyway."
"Nice! I was just thinking about it since it would be nice for us to get to know each other better as well along the way. It would be awesome."
"Y-Yeah!"
"Hmmm....the only problem is..."
He scanned the area with his eyes and then they returned focus back to Yukino.
"No sight of them....Shizaki-kun and Neo-kun just left us to go to who knows where…and then tomorrow will be the first day of the recruitment process for parties before we start undergoing our first quests, so we should take this night as our final chance at rest and fun, you know?"
"I-If you wan't, I can help you in trying to find them."
"Yeah, thanks. Let's find these disappearing rascals. Oh, here's Kamazaki-san."
Walking towards them were two females.
Kamazaki wore a smile as she approached the duo with a face that was very new to both Yukino and King.
On seeing Yukino without a hoodie covering his head, the girl nervously smiled, and faced King who rested his hand on his chin and spoke with a chuckle.
"Already making friends, Kamazaki? That's so unlike you."
"Oh, shut it. Everyone and their mother knows that I can make friends with the snap of my finger."
"No doubt. You must be…?"
He directed his focus to the young woman who responded with a light-hearted giggle.
"Yes, I'm Hanabe Iyashi. Nice to meet you, King."
"Ah, you know my nickname, which means Kamazaki here would have tol you about me already. I hope that it's mostly good things."
"Hehe, of course!"
"She's lying, Suri-chan."
"Well, no shit, Kamazaki. You'd say anything bad about me to anyone in a heartbeat."
"Good. Keep that info within your thick skull."
"Hehehe, you two are like siblings, it's so funny!"
Clearly enjoying the attrition of words between Kamazaki and King, Iyashi let out a cute laugh that made King smile even more. He subconsciously maintained a relaxed, causal posture and folded his arms, despite being a bit nervous on the inside. Kamazaki then revealed her intention of bringing her towards them.
"Well...I was just talking with Iya-san and it turns out that we have a lot in common. I wanted her to meet you."
"Is that so? Being able to make friends with a person who had no business with you and even managing to give them a nickname in just a couple of minutes....I wish I had your conversational skills."
"As usual, I have things that you can only wish for."
"I don't know about that one....I'd rather not wish for a lack of intelligence."
"Oh, shut uuuupp!!"
Both Iyashi and Yukino giggled as they looked on at the usual bickering between King and Kamazaki. When these two were close to each other, the conversations must never be boring, Iyashi thought.
"Well, I'm sorry to attempt to leave you guys alone so soon, but both Yukino-kun and I have a manhunt to do. We need to find Shizaki-kun and Neo-kun.
On hearing this, Kamazaki tilted her head slightly.
"Hmmm....why, exactly?"
"It's none of your business."
"It's a group outing or something, isn't it? Let us come along!"
T-This girl....how is she so clueless yet so right at instances like these..?
"Nuh uh...this is a boys thing. Sorry."
"Aww!!! Boooo!!!"
She stuck out her tongue at him but he paid her no mind as he began to leave.
"It was nice meeting you, Iyashi-san. Let's go out sometime."
"O-Oh….okay!"
Kamazaki, realizing the not-so-sneaky play that he just did, stood behind Iyashi and gave him a thumbs up of approval.
"Get back here in one piece when you guys are done!!!"
"Obviously."
Yukino bowed his head to Iyashi as he stepped forward.
As King took the lead, Yukino quickly glanced at the board in a last, split-second effort to find the name.
And then....he found it.
Hera.....Delta.
-----------------------------------------
(Chapter 35: Someone Who Should Not Be Here.)