A Strange Reunion

In an interrogation room within the Royal Castle, a group of 6 was seated in an opposite side of a long table, while they struggled to find words. In front of them was a young man and young woman, in which one had a cold glare on his face, while the woman had a wry smile.

It was the group, Lancell and beside him, Lina.

Lancell started the discussion. "Who's first. Give your explanations individually." He stated.

That statement alone got cold sweat forming on Siri's forehead. She completely hadn't expected this method of explaining themselves, thus the excuse they made was rendered useless. Of course, it would have worked, however, a certain idiot would definitely blow their cover.

'Damn it! We should have just let Rayle rampage outside while we explain.' Siri cursed inwardly.

The group looked at each other as if they were in an exam trying to find answers, but Lancell slammed his hand on the table at their silence. "I'll give 10 seconds for you to start talking." He said in a tone tinged with anger. "It doesn't matter who. Just start talking."

Lina who listened beside him, couldn't help but call out from his tyranny. "U-Umm...Lancell, I do—"

"Shut up, Lina. I'm pissed." Lancell cut off.

"..."

The group looked at the two as they gave an inadvertent wry smile. It was always Lina who got off the hook. Lancell kept saying she was too indecisive to make decisions on her own, but was that really the case? Don't people change? Of course, they aren't courageous enough to point it out.

In any case, Shin was the first to give his excuse. "...Actually...It was Rayle..."

And there it was again. 'It was Rayle'. Shin's favourite excuse when it comes to explaining himself whenever screw ups happened. The cooking got burned? It was Rayle! The cat disappeared? It was Rayle! It was always Rayle! Poor Rayle.

As for Rayle, the second to give an excuse, seemed to have gotten smarter in the span of a single month. He pointed at Shin, and said. "Shin said something awesome's gonna happen if we follow him."

Shin "..."

Lancell massaged his head at the two, and only said. "I see. I'll deal with you two later." He then looked at the remaining three. "As for you three?"

Their excuses were like this:

Ludivine didn't want to be left behind, so she followed. As the youngest, she doesn't have any authority in decision making. So she just followed the others.

As for Siri, she said it was dangerous for the group to lose the two as they were the core of the group in terms of non-magic attacks, so she brought the rest of the team.

As for Argos, he didn't know what the heck was happening. But it seemed they were going somewhere, and he needed to protect the group.

And Sally, it was the same as always. She just went along with the flow.

In summary, the culprits could be summed up as 'It was Rayle and Shin.'

And to simplify the formula by deducting the unnecessary factors—by removing the idiot—all that's left is Shin.

It was Shin. (with the remainder of Rayle.)

Lancell glanced at the two. "Any last words?"

"...Sorry..." was all Shin said. And as for Rayle...

"Yes, I have one. Actually, I love boobs."

Siri "..."

Sally "..."

Lina "..."

Ludivine (who doesn't have it yet) "Can I go now?..."

Lancell sighed at the death-seeking idiot in front of him. He just waved his hand and spoke. "You can go ahead and beat him up."

Shin also raised a hand. "...Can I... beat him up too...?"

"Hey! Why are you teaming up with them?!"

"...I never knew...you were...ogling Siri..."

"..."

And so, fifteen minutes later, a half beaten Rayle, and a kneeling Shin could be found within the interrogation room.

◇◇◇

Lancell sighed for the umpteenth time today. He felt like he was back in the time where he was still training them, as he constantly worried. Even though he was only training them for his own benefit.

He sat on top of a castle wall as he looked far in the horizons. It was already sunset, and the war had just took its moment of respite. The sky was slowly darkening as the red light it painted on the sky made the hellish scene below even more bloody.

Thousands of people scoured the battlefield, as they picked up mana cores to bolster their Levels. The sight looked strangely lively.

"Stressed?" a voice suddenly came not far from where he was. He looked at his left, and saw it was Lina.

"Stressed?" she repeated.

Lancell gently shook his head. "Just a bit. . .tired."

"Of fighting?"

"Hm?" Lancell suddenly raised a brow at her question. "You're still afraid?"

He asked. He knew Lina was a person who hated conflict, so maybe she was still scared.

She tilted her head. "Of what?"

"Me." Lancell answered.

Lina flushed at the unexpected answer as she suddenly recalled the event last year when the Great Shift first began. At the time, she had run away from Lancell as she found his sudden changes no different from the appearance of the monsters. However...

"No." Lina said as she shook her head. "I'm not scared."

She had a faint smile on her face as she spoke. True, she was still afraid. But not because of him, but afraid that something might happen to him. She was merely worried.

Lancell went silent for a while. ". . . I see."

He then stood as he had to go somewhere, but Lina asked something. "Hey," she called out. "Why didn't you ask why we came here?"

". . ." Lancell kept his silence.

He then answered after a several seconds. "I merely forgot. That's all there is to it."

And then, he left.

Lina who was left behind made a wry smile as she muttered. "You really are Aunt Rebecca's son. You're both dense."