With the weekend coming to its last day, I found myself enjoying a calm afternoon with my friends.
"Why are you all here? This was supposed to be a day for Alen and me!" Fran huffed in a cold tone, crossing her arms.
"Because we're also friends, Princess Von Themys!" Cecil replied cheerfully.
"You're clearly mistaken about our relationship, bodyguard. I'm merely tolerating you because of Alen."
"Don't be so mean, Fran… they're my friends too. They spend so much time with us—can't you be a bit nicer to them?"
"I guess… if that's what you want. But don't expect much from me!" she said, blushing. "You're the only one I care about!" She jabbed her finger at my chest.
"Amazing… only he can control the princess…" I heard Elizabeth mutter under her breath, clearly impressed.
"Don't expect it to last long," Theo whispered to the demi-human beside him. "It's the other way around. Von Themys has him wrapped around her finger."
"What do you mean?"
"Alen just can't tell her no."
"Ohhh…"
Their "whispers" were not as quiet as they thought.
"It's a shame Mr. Atro couldn't come with us," Cecil commented.
"He's been focused on ranking back up to S-Class—that's why he said he couldn't join us," I explained.
In truth, Atro had been training nonstop, and I was honestly starting to worry about him. Though, I wasn't really one to talk. I'd also been pushing myself every day without much rest.
"I don't think it'll take him long to earn the points," Theo added. "He already helped the other night and was one of the most valuable fighters."
"The most valuable speck of dust in a team of filth and dis—mmh…" Fran cut herself off as soon as she noticed me staring at her.
"Thanks, Fran. I know that took some restraint," I chuckled.
"Hmph!" She pouted and turned away.
"Speaking of, Mr. Alen—where were you that night?"
"What?"
"You've been leaving late these past few days," Cecil said innocently. "Where do you go so late at night?"
"Sh-shut up, bodyguard!" Fran suddenly snapped. "I-it must be something really important if he wants to keep it a secret!"
"Thanks for understanding, Fran…" I whispered under my breath.
There were so many things I had to keep secret from them that sometimes… I didn't feel like I deserved their friendship.
"But what if Mr. Alen has a secret girlfriend he's meeting with?"
At Cecil's comment, I choked on my own saliva and started coughing uncontrollably. Theo and Elizabeth stared at him in disbelief, eyebrows raised.
"Girlfriend?!" Fran exclaimed.
When I looked at her, I expected the usual anger or jealousy—but instead, she blushed and wore a faint, shaky smile.
"W-what?" I asked once I'd stopped coughing. "No, I'm not interested in those things right now. I have other priorities."
"Y-yeah… A-Alen is smart, not some peasant. He wouldn't fall in love with a random, unknown—" Fran's voice grew shakier with every word, and her blush deepened.
"Besides, I don't know many people outside the academy," I added.
"That's not true, Mr. Alen," Cecil said, tilting his head. "Whenever prince Theo and I walk around, we see you chatting with people from the city."
"That's true," Theo agreed. "We even asked some fishermen about you once—they said they love it when you stop by to talk while they're working."
I didn't realize they liked me that much. Maybe the event was progressing better than I thought.
"You still can't say that, Treyaro!" Elizabeth suddenly snapped at Cecil. "Look at them," she said, pointing at Fran and me. "Do you really think any other woman would want to be in a relationship like that with him?"
"That hurts!" I playfully snapped at the bat demi-human.
"O-oh, sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" Elizabeth bowed her head in apology.
"What else could you have meant, Miss Bato?"
"Oh… you know…"
"No, I don't," Fran said sharply, stepping in to defend me.
"Princess! I swear I didn't mean anything bad! I was just saying that you two already have each other. Why would another woman be into him?"
"And why wouldn't they be? Honestly, I'd be angry if someone hated Alen and couldn't see how good he is!" Fran crossed her arms, cheeks still red as she defended me.
Elizabeth stepped beside her and whispered something into Fran's ear—something none of us could hear.
Whatever it was, Fran immediately straightened her back, huffed, and put on her usual proud facade. "See? This is why I allow your presence, peasant!"
"I don't even know what we're talking about anymore…" I sighed, feeling the weight of the conversation drain me.
"This is all your fault, Cecil."
"What? Why, my liege?!" Cecil flinched as Theo scolded him.
"Forget it," Theo sighed. "It's better if we move on."
"Anyway…" Theo cleared his throat. "Is it really that important that you can't tell us, Alen? If something's wrong, we can help."
At that, I looked at them one by one.
Theo and Cecil both wore faint smirks, clearly teasing me to open up. Elizabeth's eyes were hidden behind her glasses and bangs, but the flutter of her bat wings gave her concern away.
And Fran… despite the blush still on her cheeks, her expression was serious. She'd been there every time I collapsed, and she was always the first person I saw when I woke up.
They were my friends. I should trust them more. Yet…
"I… I can't tell you everything. But don't worry—it's nothing too dangerous," I finally said.
"That only makes me worry more," Theo deadpanned.
"Huh?!"
"Yeah! You can't just say 'it's not too dangerous' and expect us to relax!" Elizabeth added from behind Fran.
"So you are doing something dangerous?" Fran demanded, jabbing her finger into my chest again. "Tell me the details now!"
"A-auch! W-wait—"
She didn't stop.
"Is it about money? If it is, you should've told me—I'll pay for you!"
"What?! No! It's not about owing people money!"
"Did you get involved with the wrong crowd? If that's the case, I'll make sure to kill them so they stop bothering you"
"No! I didn't get involved with the wrong peop—" I froze mid-sentence as the realization hit me. Technically, the Cardinal Lords were the leaders of the city's underworld, making them extremely dangerous individuals.
"So it is the wrong people!"
"Okay, wait! Let me explain!"
I then told them about The Pit, Catlonia's Bar, and what had happened there.
How, thanks to Professor Beritan's "punishment," Cecil and I had been sent to fight opponents she selected. How I ended up defying one of the lords and betting everything on a single match. And how, against all odds, I won—and became the new lord myself.
"Huh…? I don't remember having to do all that," Cecil said, earning a smack on the back of his head from Theo.
I went on to explain how I'd been going there to manage my own sector.
Of course, I left out the parts about my training, the Eleventh Songbird Squad, the fairies, and the fact that I was the one who leaked information to Kaida.
"Is that truly what ou were doing all these nights?" Fran asked, worried and holding both my arms with a tight grip.
"Y-yes..." I instinctively looked away.
"You're crazy, Mr. Alen!" Cecil started laughing. "Oof!" Which was followed by an elbow on his sides by Theo.
"He's involved in deep and dangerous stuff, and that's how you react?"
"He's definitely handling it that good if he's still with us right now" the bodyguard excused himself, still laughing.
"They're definitely way more chill than I expected them to be"
At least they aren't rude to me or anything like that.
"Chill? The people you don't want to get involved with?" Elizabeth asked. If her eyes were visible, we could probably see her squinting her eyes as she tilted her head.
"At most, they don't trust me. Which... fair enough, I guess. A kid holds the same position as them"
"As long as they aren't trying to do anything bad on you... go off. You already do a lot of things that we'd never do in a million years" Theo slowly shook his head. His tone was a bit playful, definitely trusting me to not die.
"You've been going there every night? No wonder you have those awful bags under your eyes" Elizabeth commented.
"I don't know. I think I've been getting... two hours at most?"
"Two hours! I could never Mr. Alen" Cecil laughed awkwardly.
"You're not going there tonight! And I don't care if it's not my house, I'm staying with you to make sure you get a good sleep if I have to"
"O-okay... I wasn't planning to go tonight anyways"
Although, I was thinking to spend the night planning what steps to take in these coming days.
"We should all go there one day, don't you think, my liege?"
"It's not a place I'd go to willingly"