At a relatively desolate intersection not far from the school where Al had just completed his examination, a silver vehicle gradually decelerated before coming to a composed halt along the left-hand curb.
The driver-side window was already lowered, and from the right-hand seat—customary for this city—a white-haired man leaned slightly outward and called into the quiet afternoon air.
"Student Al."
It was Sebastian. In public, he simply could not bring himself to address Al as 'Master.'
He had come to retrieve him.
Al, who had been reclining languidly upon a roadside bench in a state hovering between consciousness and sleep, stirred at the sound of Sebastian's voice.
His eyelids parted unhurriedly, and through a haze of residual fatigue he directed a faint glance toward the car.
"Huff… he doesn't even have the time to step out and wake me properly," he muttered under his breath, resignation saturating his tone.
