[Bonus chapter]Arriving in Kurat [4]

[Ezral's Pov]

Ever since the students from Ainu had arrived, the human known as James hadn't behaved as he had done before. His haughty, annoying personality had somehow been replaced by a complacent, pondering ambiance.

Even more so after he had that meeting with the princess of Mensch. Although he had made sure that I wouldn't overhear what they were talking about, it was obvious that she was someone he cared about, or at least had cared about in the past.

Looking at the man now standing next to the window as he had done so many times these last three days, a dangerous feeling had begun to emerge inside of me. Somehow, his hesitant appearance had ignited something inside of me, a feeling of wanting to protect.

It wasn't hard to realize that I no longer regarded him as just a human, as just a part of the disgusting allied races of Tella. The man had slowly become more than that in my eyes and now, seeing how vulnerable he was, I knew that he was at least to some extent important to me.

'I'm just happy that he isn't on the allied side...'

Just knowing that he couldn't possibly have a future with the princess brought me immense joy. No matter what happened, he would never be welcomed back to the side of Mensch, and by extension Aldon, after what he did to the king.

That meant that there was a chance that I might be able to bring him to our side, maybe even getting to convert him into one of us, to share part of my soul with him. It was pretty ironic, really, that the man that I had wanted more than anything to go away and disappear was, after just two days of seeing this side to him, someone I never wanted to let go of.

It was almost as if these emotions had already been inside of me, but his sudden change had been the trigger for them emerging.

Seeing his short but handsome stature, I was unsure what I should do. As a demon, I had plenty of experience seducing men throughout the years, having gotten even the most powerful of men to fall before me.

However, as a woman who wanted to get along with a man, I knew nothing at all. All I knew was that I wanted him to be close, to feel his body against mine...

Leaning against the wall, still looking at the man who didn't seem to notice my presence in the room, I had to make a bit of a vow to myself.

'If I can't make him mine, then there is no way out of it... I'll have to get rid of him...'

It wasn't that the man was overly powerful, but the way he could use every single little circumstance to his advantage was not something I wanted to go up against. It was something I couldn't go up against as long as my charm spell was locked on the king, and that was a situation I couldn't change in a long time.

With today being Thursday, it was the last day that his former classmates could prepare themselves for the dive tomorrow. Although I had no idea just what was going through the head of the man by the window, I could at least ease my mind by thinking of the contract that we signed.

In the contract, there was one clear clause that stated that during the time he was under my protection, he wouldn't create any obstructions to my plans, so I was sure that it wouldn't matter to me.

The only truly tragic part about this whole situation was that the lightbringer was here, and it was impossible for me to take his life, as James had already made me promise not to touch them during this week.

Though I had been thinking about the possibility to send a couple of subordinates to assassinate him, I didn't think James would take that sitting down, and I truly didn't want to offend him right now.

Bracing myself, I finally tore apart the silence in the room, "Say, James... That girl? What is she to you?"

He turned around, his mask fully covering any semblance of an expression, but his whole body seemed to scream silently, "You mean the princess? Hmm... I wonder? At first, she was but a fantasy, but now..."

Tilting his head, I could feel the sad smile emerging behind the mask as he finished his words, "Now she is only a bundle of memories."

Then, he just opened the window and flew away in the form of a raven, trying his best to escape from himself even for just a moment.

"Hmm... Maybe there is something I can do, after all..."

****

[Sophie's Pov]

The days had passed in the blink of an eye, and although everything had gone quite smoothly, I couldn't help but get a bad feeling. And the origin of this feeling was Sarah.

During these days that we had been searching for information about the Labyrinth, there had been something off about her. Even though she had been acting the same way she always did, although she had gotten a bit more distant after the incident with her father, she had still been the same polite and smiling princess.

Still, there was something off about her. As if her head was somewhere else, thinking of more important things than our final assignment.

Now that we were once again standing in front of Mr. Brown, in one of the lounges in the castle, we were concluding the research part of the excursion, "I hope that you have all done your best to get an idea of what you will be going up against in the dungeon. Remember, death is always waiting for the unprepared, and even the prepared might face situations they did not expect."

Suddenly, he brought out a bundle of papers from his inventory and went around handing one out to all of us, "These are your wills. Please do take your time and write down your last words in case any of you doesn't make it through."

It was quite obvious that he was doing this mostly as a symbolic gesture of telling us that we had now entered the realm of real-life scenarios. Now, there was no one who would save us if things went badly.

Unknown why, I suddenly felt a bit of a spark inside of me, as if something that had been dormant for so long was finally waking up. Just knowing that my life would be on the line, a weird sort of happiness started to well up inside of me.

"Sophie? Are you smiling?"

With Arthur being the trigger, I finally noticed the state of my face. Right at this moment, my numbed emotions had been brought back in full force, making me unable to repress the huge smile on my face.

Taking his hand in mine, I looked down at the one I now called mine, feeling no reason to hide my feelings, "I think this will be fun!"

****

[Sarah's Pov]

'Did I do the right thing...?'

Taking another late-night walk, which had been the only way for me to get a chance to be alone, my mind fervently tried to make sense of what I had done.

Once again, I found myself in the garden where I had met with the demon, once again appreciating the beauty of the blue flowers. Suddenly, a sweet voice rang out behind me, throwing me out of my trance, "Aren't they pretty? They are the king's favorite, even though he would never admit that he loves flowers."

"Who's there?!"

Already on edge, I unconsciously snapped back and turned around while taking a step back. Meeting my eyes was the ruby-haired beauty that had been by the king's side during the audience, the one I assumed was Adrian's lover.

Putting her hand over her mouth, she giggled a bit at my silliness, "Hihi! No need to be so stiff, princess. There is no way we would let anything happen to you during your visit to the capital. That would be a one-way ticket to war, after all."

Walking up to one of the blue rose-like flowers, she gently caressed it with her hand, "I'm here because it looked like you needed someone to talk to. Who knows? I might even have a solution for your little love problems. After all, the man you are thinking of isn't the easiest to handle."

It didn't take much for me to realize what the underlying message of her words was, "So you are the one who is protecting James? Then I assume that the king is also aware of him being a demon as well. Also, my only thought of interaction with that demon is when I finally get to slay him."

Not letting myself lose my cool, I kept my gaze focused on the one I now realized was an enemy. However, as she opened her luscious lips again, I could stay calm no more, "Do you want another chance to be together with him?"