Distance

The weekend had already come around, and I was finally getting to go back to my apartment. Another long week had passed, and I couldn't be happier to get back here.

The small little place that was my sanctuary, where I could think of my plans in peace. Sadly, I had some things I had to do, which meant I couldn't actually stay here for long.

"Transform. Gnnrr!"

A moment later, my reality was once again tinted gray, and I felt as if I gained freedom from the emotions that were acting as shackles. Yet, at the same time, a clear feeling of emptiness also lingered inside of me.

"Sub-me."

My white-haired clone emerged from my body, letting me get a good view of our gray suit and the white mask with a red stripe on each cheek covering our faces. Having already convinced Jessica and Dr. Smith that I needed this weekend to be alone, I now had two full days where I had to get things done.

And the first thing I needed to do was to enter a certain dungeon, a dungeon where the Elven Tear was located in the game. So, without anyone knowing, two black ravens flew from the academy, hurrying to acquire the artifact that the elven king was looking for.

But more than that, it was a chance for me to distance myself from all the people around Zero, the people I couldn't afford to care too much about. The people who had slowly started making their way under our skin.

'How absurd... to miss that priest even in this form...'

****

[3rd person Pov]

"This... This is already getting out of hand..."

Sitting on his throne, the king appeared to have aged quicker than ever, his forehead now wrinkled with worry and stress.

Though he still had his convictions and belief about what needed to be done, he hadn't been ready for the reality that would follow. The reality that the hidden houses were even crazier than he thought and that they didn't even hesitate to drag the common people into the conflict.

In front of him, his loyal advisor had just reported on the current state of his nation, and how they had found no trace of the house standing behind the attacks. In other words, they had no way of removing the tumor if they couldn't even locate it.

"Haaa... What about the Hurricanes? Does it seem like they will follow suit?"

"That doesn't seem to be the case, Your Majesty. From our scouts, it appears that they have already left Mensch, but it is still unknown as to where."

"I guess we won't have to worry about them, at least... What's the status of the Juggernauts and the Vipers?"

"They are currently arming up, getting ready to strike as soon as we locate the Daemons. There was something worrying about Mr. Naut, though, where he said that you might have to get ready to cover in case a town or city suddenly disappears."

"Tch! Monsters..."

Although he hadn't expected things to be simple, there was no way he could have predicted just how much power the hidden houses truly wielded. Just the fact that the Daemons could send out several [C]- and [B]-ranks, as well as one [A]-ranker, for a suicide attack, was unfathomable.

Even if the numbers of high rankers were a bit higher in the capital, just by being a [B]-ranker, one would instantly become a very valuable resource. Drawing from this, an [A]-ranker was more than enough to ensure the success of a whole guild.

So the fact that they were ready to off-handedly throw away such resources could only mean that they had a lot more military power that they hadn't yet shown.

It was to the point where the king was surprised that the hidden houses hadn't yet brought about a civil war on their own, as they appeared to have more than enough strength to overthrow the current ruling structure.

Still, there was nothing to be done about it now. He had already poked the bear, and at this point, he could only hope that the monsters on his side would be enough to quench the resistance without too much sacrifice.

However, there was still one thing that he couldn't accept, no matter what. The fact that they had attacked his one and only daughter, the sole remains of his late wife. His reason to live, and his reason to die.

Yet, he couldn't even protect her, and he couldn't even go out on his own to retaliate against his enemies. Even if he had his arms, there was no way he could go up against the monsters that lay beneath the surface, the true goliaths of Mensch.

The king wasn't weak by any means. As an [A]-ranker himself, he was also included in the uppermost echelon of hunters, even if his strength had dropped since losing his arms.

"Fernsby... What do we do now?"

Putting his hand to his chin, the loyal advisor had to think for a bit, "Hmm... I think we have to trust that we have made the right decision and wait. The princess should be safe if she stays at the academy, and therefore we only have to make sure you stay alive."

"Haaa... How frustrating... And the monsters at the border are still moving closer..."

"Yes, but it's still not confirmed if they are going to break through the inner perimeters. Best case scenario is that it's just a false alarm, but otherwise, we will have to hope that the Juggernauts and Vipers can finish things here before we send reinforcements."

The timing was truly unfortunate. If it had been at any other time, the king would have immediately sent more troops to defend the border, but with this kind of situation around the capital? Impossible.

"However, it appears that with the help of Aksel Adler, the casualties have started to decrease a lot. It's, indeed, impossible to try to fill the spot of a real healer with potions, so his help has been invaluable."

Turning his eyes to the ceiling, the king's face looked even more pained than a second ago, as he thought about the insanity of what was happening.

"And yet, we can't even give our official thanks to the church as it would mean we acknowledge the situation as critical."

"Your Majesty, don't be so hard on yourself. No one could have predicted the monsters to start moving at this time. Even the experts don't have a clear answer as to why they are doing this."

"What about the one who wrote about the disappearance of the apex predator?"

"Professor Toll? His thesis instantly got dismantled by the other monster experts, saying that even if the leader of a monster group disappeared, there would be no way for one being to have control of all of these monsters that are moving."

Standing up, the king didn't seem to inhabit the same view, remembering what his father had told him when he was but a young kid. "Hmm... But what if there was?"

"Was what?"

"What if there was a being that could have controlled all those monsters, that could have been powerful enough to keep the wastelands stable and keep them all in line."

"Your Majesty, if that was the case, what could have brought such a thing down? And if such a creature did exist, what monster would it be?"

****

[Sophie's Pov]

Sitting on the couch with my man, he suddenly dropped a bomb on me, bringing up a conversation topic that I didn't see coming.

"What do you mean you don't want me to meet Zero by myself? First of all, it's not like I meet him often at all. In fact, I haven't been alone with him since... that time..."

"Yes, but..."

"Secondly, why is this even something to talk about? Oh! Could it be... Are you jealous?"

Judging by the looks on his handsome face, the blonde-haired hero didn't seem too amused by my teasing.

"That's not it. And if you saw what he did at the club, then you would understand. I have already talked to him about it as well, and he agreed. Until he is comfortable enough with the real world to be stable, I don't want you to be alone with him. Please."

'Zero agreed as well?'

It was true that the white-haired youth wasn't someone I would by any means call mentally stable, but because I knew that he ultimately didn't want anyone to get hurt, I hadn't put much thought into it.

Now, however, with Arthur's eyes showing just how serious he was about this, I couldn't help but hesitate a bit. After all, this wasn't earth. If someone lost control here and was strong enough, it was inevitable for a tragedy to occur.

So even though it left a bad taste in my mouth, I decided to trust my man.

"Haaa... Fine. But!"

"But what?"

"That means you will have to go shopping with me a lot more in the future!"

With his face paling at the sudden realization, it took a moment until he slowly clenched his fist and raised it to his chest.

"That... That's a sacrifice I will have to make..."