"So you're telling me some handsome blond guy suddenly followed you after asking about me?"
"Yes."
"..."
Elijah, still sitting on the bed, pressed a palm to his forehead.
"I'm sorry for getting you two involved in this."
"That's not the issue," Azreal replied. "It's the fact he specifically brought up you, not us."
"But he knew who you two were, didn't he? That's why he asked you about me."
"You're missing the point."
Azreal sighed and patted Elijah's shoulder as he stood.
"Whatever. Let's go to the living room already."
Elijah stretched, hopped off the bed, and followed him out.
Downstairs, the atmosphere was oddly calm.
Kevin lay on the floor with a towel over his head, while Serena sat beside him, staring in quiet judgment. They both looked up as Elijah entered.
"So," Elijah asked, dropping onto the couch, "none of you are hurt, right?"
"Nope," Kevin mumbled from under the towel.
"So what's the plan?" Elijah continued.
"Who knows?" Azreal said as he sat down and pulled out his phone. "We should contact Mr. Farrell first. Decide from there."
"You think we'll get pulled from the mission once he finds out someone's looking for Elijah?" Kevin asked.
"It's possible," Serena replied, resting her chin on her hand. "We haven't contributed much, and we haven't even started investigating. Pulling us out would be the safest option."
Azreal frowned at his phone. "He's not answering. Might be busy."
Saoirse walked in carrying a tray of drinks. "No luck?"
"Not yet. We can try again later."
Ding dong.
"I'll get it," Elijah said, standing up.
Kevin immediately followed after him for no reason in particular,just because he could.
Elijah didn't bother questioning it. He opened the door.
"Good afternoon," a calm voice greeted.
The man standing there was pale and thin, with messy blond hair. His jacket looked too big for him, hanging off his shoulders. Elijah's brows knit together.
Wait… this is exactly how the others described him.
Before Elijah could react, Azreal suddenly yanked him back.
"You-" Kevin began.
"What?" the blond boy said with a faint smile. "I said we'd meet again, didn't I?"
"How-"
"I followed you. How else?"
Kevin shut his mouth, realizing all his questions had been answered before he could even ask them.
Elijah peeked out from behind Azreal, eyes locked on the expressionless blond boy. He could hear the others approaching behind him.
"So," Elijah asked, steadying his voice, "what do you want? You followed us all the way home. Are you a bounty hunter?"
"A bounty hunter? No." The blond boy blinked slowly. "I'll hunt you if you want, though. But what I came here for is…"
His eyes met Elijah's.
"For you to take off your shirt."
"?!"
"Huh?"
"..."
"You… want to see me shirtless?" Elijah asked, ignoring the confused gasps behind him.
"Your back specifically," the blond clarified. "You have something shaped like a star on it, don't you?"
"I do, but-"
Elijah blinked.
The blond boy was suddenly right in front of him.
"What the-?!"
Elijah felt fingers tug at the back of his shirt. Instinctively, he kicked backward, but Kevin grabbed him and pulled him aside.
The blond boy staggered, a faint shoe-print now on his jacket. He crouched, staring at Elijah's back with unsettling intensity.
"You really do have the star," he murmured.
"I pledge allegiance to you, then."
"????"
Still half-hugging Kevin for support, Elijah stared at him in pure disbelief.
"You pledge allegiance, huh? Then sit still."
Azreal moved like lightning,kicking the blond boy's knee and pinning him to the ground. He made no attempt to resist. Serena stepped forward with mana-binding cuffs and secured his wrists and ankles.
As they restrained him, Saoirse glanced at Elijah.
"Done with your shock?"
"..."
Elijah carefully got off Kevin and cleared his throat.
"I'm fine. Just… surprised."
Azreal lifted the cuffed blond boy by the collar of his oversized jacket with a grunt.
"Let's take him to the living room and decide what to do with him."
"Wow, Azreal, you sure can li-"
"Shut up and walk," Azreal snapped before Kevin could finish.
They began moving back toward the living room. Even while bound, the blond boy kept his eyes fixed on Elijah.
Saoirse nudged Elijah gently. "You okay?"
Elijah didn't answer immediately. Being grabbed, yanked around, and told to strip in front of everyone had rattled him more than he wanted to admit.
But the blond boy's expression and actions weren't malicious,seemingly more like desperate finding
He finally exhaled. "Yeah. I'm okay. Just… surprised, that's all."
As he followed the others, he kept thinking about the strange boy now tied up in their living room.
'He moved so fast I couldn't even see him.
If he really wanted to hurt us… wouldn't he have killed us already?'
In his heart, Elijah promised himself to get stronger.