Chapter 28 : Black Moon Rising (2)
Chapter 28
Black Moon Rising
And so, for that very reason,
on Main Street Number 32, directly across from the Artheris Academy gates,
Rafinya stood there, muttering under her breath.
But grumbling out of frustration only made Rafinya feel more foolish by the second, so she gave it up and decided to just get this over with. At the very least, she was doing it as a favor Mr. Fury had asked of her.
Because it seemed like there was some rather significant business on that side that needed handling as well.
Rewinding briefly, back at Anfield.
"You want Freya to drop out of school?"
They all seemed to already know about this. Even Casca knew. And the one who looked displeased was Freya herself, though she seemed uncharacteristically restrained about it.
"But doesn't Mrs. Freya still have her scholarship to fulfill?"
"That's something money can fix."
Dan said as he walked over and put a hand on Zeedee's shoulder.
"Out of the 10 million I have, I had Everton deduct 160,000 credits."
He turned to his beloved wife,
"Casca, could you cover the remaining 40,000? That brings it to 200,000 credits total... the contractual penalty."
"Only for your sake."
Casca Saint Maximin flicked her shoulder-length hair.
"Consider it an act of charity, setting the creature free. 40,000 is just pocket change."
"Thanks a lot..."
Zeedee flashed a wide, forced smile, though it was clear she had a fist clenched underneath.
"What's the reason for this?"
"Valencia is currently handling an important operation. She's tracking a group suspected to be Shadow members in Velmount. I've decided to send Freya as reinforcement."
"As for removing Freya from Artheris's system, that's not difficult either. I had Professor Pi'erre write a letter pulling her into the paleontology department once the penalty is paid."
"Once she disappears into the paleontology faculty... that puts the authority in your hands, doesn't it..."
"Correct."
"So does that mean we won't be seeing Freya anymore?"
"Hey, why do you look so happy about that? You little brat!"
"Not at all, Mrs. Freya."
The deadpan expressions of Nora and Rafinya only irritated the jellyfish demon further.
"Kids, I'm not dying, you know. Even though I don't want to leave the Prince's side."
"This matters. Shadow is my top priority. We don't know what's waiting out there. I'm not going to risk letting Valencia handle this alone."
Sending two out of his four personal guards. This clearly wasn't something to take lightly.
And Freya would be departing for Velmount that very day.
Back to the present timeline, after finishing that flashback.
Rafinya spotted the person holding the exam application, looking up at the academy gates amid a crowd of applicants.
The moment he saw her, he walked over, waving.
"Rafinya~"
She pointed at a spot on the ground for him to stop.
"Right there. Don't come any closer than that."
"Yes ma'am~"
Am I letting the enemy into our own home right now?
That question crossed Rafinya's mind. She felt a strange contradiction, not quite betraying humanity, but if you got technical about it, she'd essentially become an ally of the Demon King's side. Still, it wasn't like she was selling out her country or anything, since this wasn't Luminus anyway?
"See those monuments? Those are all the Heroes. That's the library, and that's..."
Throughout the task she'd been asked to do, Rafinya noticed that Yildiz listened and nodded along every time, but he never asked a single question.
His reaction was completely different from Fury and Freya's early on. No nervousness, no wide-eyed country-boy-in-the-city act whatsoever... as though he really were a city kid himself.
"That's about all there is at the academy right now. There's more beyond that, but you'll have to pass the entrance exam first. That's it."
"Thanks a lot, Rafinya."
The young man shifted his gaze from the buildings back to her. He found her staring at him strangely, as though something was bothering her.
"...Something wrong?"
"There aren't many people in my life who can outrun my speed. Your demon form's specialty is speed, isn't it? Answer me."
"Maybe you just haven't met that many people in your life?"
Rafinya's eyebrow twitched hearing the question turned right back at her. She genuinely couldn't tell if this guy was messing with her or just naturally like this.
"I know what you want."
Green-eyed Sauce raised his hands in evasion.
"But I'll pass. I can't beat you. Take the strongman title, it's all yours."
"Scared?"
"Terrified."
"How does someone this much of a coward get selected?"
"Princess Fiorentina took mercy on me."
"Then she took mercy on the wrong person."
"I wouldn't know, you'd have to ask the Princess herself about that."
"You're clearly not the real deal Benfiga claimed you were."
"I figure I still have a lot to learn."
A vein began throbbing at Rafinya's temple.
She tried provoking him the way she used to provoke Nora, wanting badly to pick a fight and duel him, but she found that this young man had absolutely no ego whatsoever.
He was the complete opposite of Rafinya in every way. No matter how much she provoked him, nothing worked!
"Time for my exam. I'm off~!"
Lunch break.
Today was a light appointment. Princess Nora and Dan had planned to lay out a picnic blanket in the academy's garden.
The group of new applicants who had just finished their exams were walking out through the academy gates, heading home. Both Nora and Dan sat eating sandwiches, watching them file out, before Nora turned to ask.
"Mr. Fury, how should we treat Yildiz going forward?"
"Each of us minds our own business. He has his job. We might leave this place next year, but he'll be living here for another decade."
"Is that really possible? I'm not so sure about that."
"The one responsible for handling that is Fiorentina. I just help keep an eye on things where I can."
Because he had his own matters to attend to as well.
"So what's next on your agenda, Mr. Fury?"
"Zentinel."
He answered firmly.
"Zentinel is my next destination."
"When will you go to Zentinel?"
"During the break."
"That far ahead already?"
"Time flows by faster than you'd think."
There was still the survey team to manage, the Warehouse construction for storing specimens, and more.
Nora nodded softly and let silence settle in for a moment, before gathering her courage to ask a question.
If they weren't this close, Nora would never have dared to ask.
"Mr. Fury, before you came here, did something happen to you? Some kind of trouble?"
Dan raised an eyebrow at the question, considering it.
"What trouble?"
"I heard that while you were on the island, you seemed a bit down."
"Oh... it's nothing. Nothing major."
He answered that way, and out of courtesy, there wasn't much more she could press him on.
"By the way, who told you that? Hm?"
"Lots of people."
"Who?"
"Are you keeping a list?"
"Considering it."
"Not telling."
"Come on..."
The Knight Division.
Rafinya was sitting, lacing up her combat boots, when Senior Chiesa approached her.
She sensed his arrival through the shadow cast over her, blocking the light, but the young woman didn't greet him first. He asked while putting on his training gear.
"How was Diablo island?"
"Kind of similar to Zentinel."
Just then, some of the seniors putting on their training gear nearby chimed in with questions of their own.
"What about the demons? Did you meet any?"
"Yes."
"What do they look like? Like in the books?"
"Bigger, but they didn't seem particularly aggressive."
"They must still have enough sense not to cause a scene in front of a diplomatic delegation."
Rafinya gave a half-hearted nod in response to Senior Helena's comment.
"What about the Demon King? Did you meet him?"
"I did."
The seniors' eyes went wide.
"I wasn't kept close to him or anything. I just went along at Nora's invitation, that's all."
"How nice... Rafinya, you're close enough with Princess Nora to get invited like that. I'm so jealous."
Senior Jenny said.
"President Fofana just arrived there recently to meet with the Demon King."
Grok added, holding up a newspaper for the seniors to see.
"But seriously, who in their right mind would dare visit a country like that?"
"Would you dare go alone, Grok?"
Senior Aaron asked, in a challenging tone.
That made Grok turn to Rafinya.
"If someone at Rafinya's level wouldn't go, what chance do I have?"
That was followed by laughter from Jenny and Helena.
Rafinya didn't join in the laughter. She paid them no mind, but even so, Senior Chiesa spoke to her privately.
"Honestly, I don't approve of you going there at all. Word from my father's inner circle says they're scouting new-generation talent. But well... turning down an invitation from Princess Nora isn't really an option either... just be careful, Rafinya."
She only gave him a small nod, understanding it as something from a childhood friend. But suddenly, one of Chiesa's questions made her freeze.
"Did you know, during the time you all were gone, Dan disappeared too? At the exact same time, even."
"Really?"
"Was he invited by Princess Nora as well?"
"No."
Rafinya brushed it off.
"Dan just went back home. Apparently there was something big he needed to handle."
Not entirely a lie.
"I see..."
Chiesa nodded.
"Let's get back to training."