2 Chapter 2 - The Meetings

It was Sunday and the date of the meeting. Arthur dressed up casually for the occasion, wearing a deep black hoodie with some words scribbled at the backside, a comfortably long jeans, and a white watch on his left wrist. He was also wearing his glasses today, not contact lenses. Reason being it's a bother putting them in and taking them out.

Arthur arrived at the location and looked at his watch. It was still 11:30, but many of his acquaintances were already here. He passed time talking to them until the last guy, James, arrived.

They went to a karaoke bar and rented a huge room. Each of them taking turns, singing. Some danced to the tune. When everyone was tired, they sat in a circle.

『So, James. You were 30 minutes late. Do you mind explaining what the reason is?』

Rick asked with a smirk. He gazed at James' neck. There was a red spot on it. A hickey. James also has a scent of a woman's perfume on him.

James blushed at Rick's words. He scratched the top of his head and timidly said.

『Well... Veronica made me stay. I tried to persuade her but–』

『Veronica? What happened to Becky?』 Arthur asked in confusion.

Once again, James' beet red face turned even redde, resembling a tomato. He looked at the man sitting in front of him with puppy dog eyes.

『Hey now, let's not mess with James. Let's talk about why we came here, right, Guys?』

The man spoke. His was voice gentle, yet at the same time, domineering. He has a well-built body, wearing a light blue polo. His brown, camo shorts made him look like a part of the army. He had a scar on his left cheek, the reason was that he fought a wolf, unarmed, trying to protect his little sister while on a camping trip

『Right. Charles. I heard you were going to the College of Aces?』

『Yeah. I already took the test and barely passed.』

『That's a relief. You better work your ass off starting now, you got me? We'll graduate together, and then party yeas later alright?』

Everyone yelled at the same time, most of them gibberish.

『For success and happiness. Cheers!』 Charles yelled.

『Cheers!』 Everyone answered simultaneously.

『For money and love. Cheers!』

『Cheers!』

『For infinity and beyond. Cheers!』

『Cheers!』

They talked for hours until everyone got tired and left one by one. Only Arthur was still inside the room, thinking about his encounter with the mysterious girl.

'That guy did say something about a barrier, I didn't hear wrong. Is there some kind of secrets hidden from the public? Supernatural stuff like... Magic, perhaps?'

Arthur shook his head on his conclusion. It may be possible, but he doesn't have enough evidence to back it up. Jumping to conclusions will only make him look like and idiot.

'It may be newly invented technology.'

.

.

.

The next morning, Monday.

Arthur returned home from the gym covered in sweat. He passed by the place where he encountered the girl and decided to check it out again.

Everyday, if he passes through this place he would linger for a while. Everytime, it would end in him just wasting time. Today is different. As he drew near, he felt a strange, familiar feeling.

He hid his presence and slowly made his way forward.

『So, you're telling me that Her Highness encountered a man here?』

『Yes. She said that he saved her. She also said that he has mana in him and his mana felt somehow familiar to Her Highness.』

『He may be... No, nevermind. He must've been one of our people's descendant because he seemed to not know of Her Highness' identity nor did he use magic.』

『Yes, but it's strange. How could he defeat those people that the Rogue Duke sent? They were professionals. Maybe he's skilled in combat.』

Arthur arrived at the same place and discovered two men wearing a hood that he saw before. It was the same hood that the girl wore, but larger. It had a symbol on it drawn on the underside of the robe. A golden eagle perched on a green tree's branch.

『Someone's here.』

One of the men said to his companion. They turned around and looked at Arthur's position. Both men sent out a strange invisible wave.

『Show yourself!』 One of them yelled.

『I told you to put up a barrier, stupid!』 The other one scolded his partner.

『I did! He may be that bastard's man!』

Arthur shivered. He didn't expect them to see him, so he was just sittinf there dumbfounded. When he came to, he found the men standing in front of him.

『Huh? Doesn't he look like what Her Highness described that savior of her?』

『You're right! Hey, what was your name again...?』

『It's Arthur, right? Yeah. Arthur Frefall. That's what Her Highness said.』

『Anyway, what were you doing here? Are you perhaps...』

『Investigating this place? Were you left puzzled by Her Highness' sudden disappearance? Do you...』

『Seek knowledge? Then why don't you learn with us?』

Both the men spoke weirdly, finishing each other's sentence. Arthur was baffled by the current situation. The men stood there after their words, waiting for Arthur's response.

『Uhm... I think I'll pass. I don't really like the idea of going with strangers...』

Arthur's words were cut by one of the men.

『Oh right. Where's our manners? My name is Theo Trush and this here is my twin brother Geo Trush. We're Her Highness' childhood friends and I am Her Highness' head butler and my brother is Her Higness' head bodyguard. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.』

They both took off their hoods, revealing each of their unique features. Geo, the taller of the twins had a snowy, short hair and crimson almond eyes. His face is more maculine than his twin. Meanwhile the other had a long, ebony hair that is tied to a ponytail. His azure round eyes seemed friendly, but looking closely, one can tell that those eyes could see through a person's thoughts. His face is, unlike his brother, feminine. If one didn't know, they would mistake him for a girl.

Arthur stood up from his position and introduced himself even though they already knew his name. It was the right thing to do. A sign that shows respect.

『My name is Arthur Freefall, though I'm surprised you already knew that. The pleasure's all mine.』

They shook hands and Geo gave a friendly laugh, while Theo patted Arthur's shoulder.

『But my answer is still no. I'm sorry. I'm still busy. I need to earn money for my grandpa's surgery next month...』

『There's no need to haste. If you had the time, call this number here or go to this address. If you're interested to learn knowledge and learn...』

Geo stopped his words and looked at Theo. Theo nodded and Geo continued.

『Magic... Then feel free to come. Whether you believe magic is real or not is your choice to make. Anyway, we shall go now. I hope you call soon!』

They went with a puff. The place they stood in was covered in smoke. Arthur was again, dumbfounded, but was relieved that what he believed was real. His blood was boiling. He never felt this excited after what he did at his previous school...

.

.

.

Arthur arrived at his place. His sweat has already dried. He sniffed himself and made an ugly face.

'I smell like crap.'

He took a quick shower and browsed through his computer. He got a message via Facebo** and checked it.

｢Hi, brother. How have you been? You know that we miss you, right? Will you visit us soon? Take care of yourself, okay? I heard that something weird is happening at the place you're in, so be safe.｣

It was from Arthur's sister. They are close siblings that has each other's back until Arthur decided to leave their home. He had no problem of his parents' house, but he needed to be independent. He needed to earn money for his grandpa's treatment.

He made a long reply, telling her that all is fine and he's doing well. He played a lot of games after that and slept like a log after he was tired.

.

.

.

The next morning.

Arthur was woken up by his ringing phone.

『Uh... Hello? What?! Okay, I'm on my way!』