Arriving in Kurat [2]

[Sophie's Pov]

"Say, Arthur... Didn't you feel that there was something off about that woman beside the king?"

Having settled in the incredibly luxurious room that we would stay in, I couldn't help but ponder because of the strange sensation I had gotten from the meeting with the king and his lady.

Turning his head from the briefcase that he was looking through, I could see the nervousness appear on Arthur's face, "Hmm?! What do you mean? You want to know what I think about that woman?"

Still squirming a bit, seemingly anxious to answer my question, it didn't take long until I realized what he thought I meant. "Haaa... No, I'm not talking about her massive assets. I just feel like there was something off about her and that snake on her shoulder. Can snakes even survive here in the first place?"

My words managed to calm my man down a bit, however, he still stepped forward with caution in the conversation, "I see... So, what about them? Did you see something, or did they do something suspicious?"

Slumping down on the big bed, I had nothing tangible to give him, "Haaa... No, I don't. It was just... There was something about her. Sorry for making you listen to my rambles..."

Scratching the back of his head, I felt even worse knowing that I had made him confused for no reason, "It's fine? I mean, your intuition is usually correct, right? Then there might be something about her?"

He walked up to me, and went on his knees, taking my hands in his, "There's no reason for you to act like this, you know? You should be more confident, just like you were in the past!"

I knew what he meant, I knew it so much that it hurt thinking about the pathetic state I was in. However... "But I had no idea what was happening with James... How can I trust myself if I didn't even suspect that something had happened to him that weekend?"

Felling the warm touch of his hand on my cheek, I felt myself melting a bit, knowing that he would once again find some way to make me feel better. "Sophie, no one knew about what happened to James, how would you even know that from the start? It's not like he spoke to anyone about anything. No matter what happened, he made a conscious choice to not tell you. So don't worry about it."

"Arthur..."

****

[James's Pov]

'Maybe I shouldn't be spying like this?'

Sitting outside of the window to Sophie and Arthur's room, making my feathery body as small as possible, it was hard not to feel like a stalker. Still, I wanted to hear what they were talking about, mostly because I was thinking I might find out some information about what group they would belong to during their excursion.

Sadly, I was instead met with some pretty harsh words, "Sophie, no one knew about what happened to James, how would you even know that from the start? It's not like he spoke to anyone about anything. No matter what happened, he made a conscious choice to not tell you. So don't worry about it."

'Well... I'm sorry that the king turned out to be delusional...'

Although his words did make me a bit frustrated, it wasn't as if I didn't understand where he was coming from. From their point of view, it was natural to think that I was involved in something, even if they didn't know exactly what. Then again, I was pretty sure that Arthur wouldn't believe me to be a demon, as he would then have reacted the way he did in the Goblin Lands.

Seeing the two of them sharing such an intimate moment did make me want to puke a bit, and as it didn't seem like anything more of importance would come out of their mouths, as their mouths were now interlocked, I made my escape.

****

[Sarah's Pov]

"Ugh... It's so cold here! Why did we have to go here for our final excursion?! Argh!"

Looking at Anna, who I was going to share a room with, I tried my best to calm her down, "Isn't it okay, though? It might be a good experience! Who knows what other chance we will get to come to Kurat, after all."

Crossing her arm, which couldn't amplify the size of what does not exist, she still wasn't convinced, "Tsk! If we wanted, we could just come here after we graduate, but who would want that? Also, aren't you the one who is the most displeased with coming here?"

The girl who now sat down on one of the beds wasn't wrong, I truly hated having to leave Mensch to come here. Not only did I know from my father that there was something happening here, but I also had to leave him knowing that he was still very much crippled.

All because of one person... No, one demon. The demon that now inhabited the body of the one I had come to terms with that I once loved. Even though I felt anger and sorrow rising rapidly, I didn't want my feelings to affect the ones I still wanted to call friends.

So, with a smile, I refuted her words, trying my best to seem cheerful and positive, "Don't say that... Sure, it would have been nice to be home, but I truly believe that this will be a good experience!"

With Anna giving me a skeptical look, it was hard to keep up my smile. In the end, I decided to make a quick retreat, "Well, I'm going to look around a bit. See you later!"

And with that, I hurriedly walked out of our room, eager to get away from the negative girl.

==========

Although the castle wasn't quite as extravagant as ours in Mensch, it was quite impressive nonetheless. Walking through the long halls, all having floors covered in red carpets, I was a bit flabbergasted at how it seemed like the entire castle was made almost entirely out of stone.

Also, it appeared that there weren't all too many modern necessities around, as the halls weren't illuminated by lights, and instead, there were torches placed alongside the walls. "Haaa... What am I even doing..."

Everything felt so incredibly fractured. From my personal life to how I had tried to improve my strength at the academy; Nothing was going especially well for me. Though I had gotten quite a bit better at fighting, it was nowhere near the level needed for me to use it in a real-life situation.

But I didn't want to give up, no matter how much Ms. Turner was trying to change my mind. This was something I couldn't give up. Even if I would never be able to defeat the demon by myself, I had already sworn to be on the battlefield and fight when we were going to finally give peace to James.

I hated him, I hated that loathsome man so much, but I also couldn't stop myself from wallowing in sorrow when thinking about him. The short time we had spent together was still too precious to me to ignore, how we had teased each other relentlessly, how he had guided my path to become stronger.

'What is that...?'

*Craw! Flap! Flap!*

"Kya!" Breaking my thoughts, some kind of bird flew just over my head, making me let out a small shout in surprise. Turning my head, I tried to look backward in the hall to see what it was, but the bird was somehow already gone.

"Huff...huff... what was that?"

Trying to collect my breathing, I put my hand on my chest and looked down towards the floor. 'Hmm? What's that?' A piece of paper was lying right at my feet, a paper that I was sure hadn't been there a second ago.

Picking it up, I could only assume that the bird had dropped it, making me certain that the bird was the pet of someone living in the castle. Reading the contents, I felt my heart growing cold, now getting the answer to who had left it here for me to find.

"-Greetings, princess of Mensch. I hope that the year has been treating you well, even with taking the unfortunate incident last semester. If given the chance, I would love to grab another coffee with you, though I suspect that you might not be too keen on doing so.

Now, the reason I'm writing this letter is that I want to speak with you before I leave this country. So if you want answers, please go to the little castle park tonight. Do make sure to come alone, as I will not show my face if you don't. Also, I will know if you tell anyone about me, so please don't try to do so either.

With dearest regards, the one who couldn't become hired as your servant in the future."

Crumbling up the paper in my fist in frustration, there was no doubt in my mind who had written the note.

'James...!'