Aika resurfaced at the top of the spring, shock and frustration evident on her face.
Before she could say a word to Ryuen, he quickly stepped out of the spring.
His drenched clothes clung to him uncomfortably, revealing everything beneath his shirt.
And Haruka was imdiately taken aback by what he had under his shirt.
Rock hard, solid abs.
"Your Highness," he said lowly, not sparing her a glance, frustration, confusion, and anger evident in his voice.
"This behavior is unacceptable."
Aika glared hard at him, her crimson eyes switching to blue almost imdiately, showing how angered she was.
"Unacceptable? You're the one who—"
"Enough," Ryuen interrupted.
He knew exactly what she was trying to do—making herself the victim when she had instigated the whole thing.
"You've been acting strange ever since we ca back from the raid.""
"Just stop playing pointless gas and tell what's going on."
Aika opened her mouth to speak, to scold him, but stopped herself.
Her gaze softened slightly, and for a brief mont, she looked as if she was going to say sothing important.
But before she could, Haruka's laughter suddenly filled the air.
"Well, that was worth every second," Haruka said, wiping the water off her dress with a grin.
"I should've brought popcorn."
Ryuen shot her a glare, visibly angry with her the most. "Haruka, leave."
She shrugged, clearly amused but knowing better than to push further.
Especially when Ryuen was serious. However, she couldn't tell if he was angry.
"Fine, fine. Have fun with your little drama, Sensei."
With that, she walked off, leaving the two alone once more.
Ryuen turned back to Aika, but she had already climbed out of the spring, hugging her body while keeping her gaze low.
"Forget it," she muttered, wringing water from her dress.
"You're impossible." And stupid. She wanted to add, but scoffed and stord off.
Ryuen stood still for a second or two, then exhaled heavily.
He ran his hands through his soaked hair, still curious about her strange behavior.
---
Later in the day, as the sun began to set, Ryuen stood before the doors of the Queen's study.
Guarded by two hefty guards, they gave him a silent nod before pushing the heavy doors open, revealing a grand and expansive room.
Despite being the room belonging to a queen, it was a ss.
Surrounded by a pile of books, Queen Akane lay half-conscious on the ground.
With a pen between her lips and a book covering her face.
As soon as the guards shut the door, and Ryuen stepped forward, she raised her hand into the air.
"Ryuen?"
"Your... Highness," he replied, tilting his head to get a better view of her face, but failing. "Are you okay?"
She chuckled softly. "Yes, I'm fine."
She replied and pushed herself up, her ssy black hair coming into view, and her tired brown eyes darkened by circles underneath.
'How on earth is this "fine?"'
"Uhm, Your Highness, I noticed you don't co out of your study much..."
"...Nonsense!" she interrupted, tossing the book she had been holding aside.
"I stepped out....I ca out two days ago."
Ryuen smiled nervously, a hint of fear tinged in his smile. "Your Highness, that is not actually valid."
"I'm sorry," she apologized, her voice softening.
She clumsily rose to her feet, kicking away the books that had been on her feet.
She then staggered to the side, almost falling, until Ryuen caught her just in ti.
"Your Highness, I don't think you're feeling well. I need to get you back to your room."
"Tsk," she scoffed, slapping his hand away.
She stepped away from Ryuen, putting a good distance between them, which almost made him worry.
Then, her body began to glow with a faint blue light, illuminating the room for a brief mont before fading away completely.
Ryuen, who had shut his eyes to avoid being blinded, opened them and couldn't believe what he saw.
Queen Akane stood before him, looking much better than he had initially seen her.
Her hair was neatly styled, and her crown sat perfectly on her head.
She was still wearing the simple black dress he had seen her in, but her dark circles were gone.
"Ah, yes," she exclaid, her gaze slowly moving to Ryuen, who just stared at her, as if she were a ghost.
This caused her brows to raise. "Ryuen, is everything alright?"
Ryuen quickly regained his composure. He raised his hand to the back of his head and smiled nervously.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just surprised, that's all."
He answered, earning a smile from her.
The mont she turned to move to her desk, Ryuen's brows furrowed.
One would think she was a weak, slacking-off queen.
If they had seen her the way he had when he first stepped into the study.
But after she cleaned herself up, she looked like what a ruthless queen should look like.
Her eyes had a serious look, though it seed like she didn't even an it.
After settling into her chair, she raised her head and studied Ryuen for a mont.
There was a glint of amusent in her eyes, sothing he picked up on rather quickly.
But then, she masked it with a smile.
"My girls have been telling a lot about you since I last saw you."
"And apparently you've made a good impression, even the King finds you worthy of being King... after him."
The mont those words escaped her lips, Ryuen's brows furrowed into a frown.
There was nothing natural about her tone as she spoke.
It shifted from warm to sothing that sounded like a threat or a warning.
He couldn't place what it was, but he knew there was more to it.
Ryuen straightened himself, carefully picking his words.
"I only do what is required of , Your Majesty."
"Huh," she exclaid, leaning against her desk with her jaw resting in her hands.
"Does doing what's required of you an raiding a dungeon? Training your student? Or flirting with my daughters?"
Those questions caught Ryuen off guard.
She had just said she'd been inside her study for two days, so how could she possibly know what he had been doing?
As Ryuen opened his mouth to speak, her gaze darkened, turning sinister.
"Relax, Ryuen. I don't have issues with what you do, but your kind always brings trouble for other races."
"Uhm... Your Highness, I don't understand."
'What's with this world and mortals being a problem?'
"And what does this have to do with ?"
He added silently in his head, slipping his hands into his pockets and steeling his expression to avoid letting her read him too much.
She then ignored his question and closed her eyes.
"Tell , Ryuen, what do you think of this world?"
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