Chapter 210:
Arthur's Point of View
The Island
Sitting next to a fire on the beach that I made, I was begrudgingly dealing with Floyd. Normally, that was easy enough. Give him sothing else to do as a distraction, and he'd fuck off sowhere else. Unfortunately, I made two makeshift torches which he was now chanting up and down the beach with. Loud enough where I could hear him no matter how far away he got.
"You look like you are having fun." Ayda comnted as she approached with Cassidy and Kine.
"Yes. Floyd's chanting is music to my ears." I replied dryly.
Kine smirked. "Welco to the club."
Rolling my eyes, Cassidy looked over at him. "Where did he even get those torches?"
"I made them, so he'd go sowhere else. A small part of hoped he'd take off through the Island and maybe get stuck in a forest fire of sorts." My reply got Cass to roll her eyes in return.
"That does not seem like a good thing to wish for." Ayda pointed out slowly.
I shrugged. "Well, it didn't co true either. So, what can I do for three of the four students?" Then my eyes darted to Floyd, who was starting to co back as he started getting louder. "Soon to be four out of four."
Ayda smiled. "We were wondering if perhaps you would be interested in having Typhon join us at tis for traini-"
"No." I cut her off.
Facing the ocean, I didn't care about whatever expression she might've made. "Why not?" A new voice ca in from behind , and the two Priestesses soon ca into view. "Surely Typhon Delmaris would be excited to work with us and his friends." Arceana continued as she moved to the other side of the fire. "He is young, and learning with others would likely improve his growth."
Taking a stick and poking the fire, I was quiet for a ti. "If that was true, then you should've been training him already." I finally said. "'My' student will not be involved in their training. His training will be far different than anything they would be doing."
Elincia stepped beside her students. "That is fair, but we ask that he be taken care of."
"Has he co to you to complain at all?" I asked but got no response. "Is he showing signs of aggression that he didn't show before? Perhaps he's acting different, and all of you are concerned about his ntal welfare?" Still no response. "No? Then maybe you should all back off." I stated with a shrug.
Arceana and Kine were the two who seed the most insulted. "We know that General Kheri confronted you about this yesterday." The pink-haired Priestess inford .
I snorted, amused. "You an when she broke her hand?"
Ayda imdiately shot back. "Just like how Typhon broke his arms?"
A smirk ca to my lips. "Should I assu you bla for that despite the fact that Ty went overboard himself?" I shrugged. "Not like that's any different from any other conversation we have. Almost all of you have blad for anything and everything since I arrived."
"That's not true." Arceana replied as her scepter touched the sand.
"Holy shit. You can't really believe that..." At my stunned silence, I eventually lowered my face into my free hand. "How this Kingdom still exists is beyond ." Then I waved my hand at the group. "So, what do you want? Because I've co to learn how this works. You'll ask to help, I'll do it, many of you will get mad at , etc..."
My gaze returned to the fire as Floyd's chanting got closer. "What have you been blad for?" Kine asked in a snarky tone.
Rolling my eyes, I groaned. "I've been over this so many tis at this point that I no longer care. I'm so sick of this cesspool I'm in. If I didn't have my own goals to accomplish, I would've fucked right off out of Helmsforth and never seen almost all of you ever again." Then I shrugged. "Not willingly anyway." My gaze shifted to Arceana, Elincia, and Ayda. "So of you live for a long ti."
Cassidy sighed. "Would Ah still be able to expect ya ta visit?"
"Augustus would be pissed if I didn't." Then I gestured for them to carry on. "So, seriously, why're all of you here? What do you want?"
"Must you always be so negative?" Ayda inquired.
"If that's how you see , then you are blind. I admit I am pessimistic." Turning to Arceana, I looked her in the eyes. "But at least I wake up with the sa face every day. Makes it easier to live my life, and this negativity of mine has done nothing except make Lestrania thrive."
Arceana kept my gaze. "If you are as pessimistic as you claim, surely there is so reason for your actions. What goals do you hope to achieve? What does Arthur Pendragon believe in?"
"My goals are my own, and I don't believe in anything. Why would I?" I asked the group and turned to the students. "You believe in your Priestesses, and yet they treat like shit." Then I chuckled. "The funny thing is, one of the main reasons we're all out here is for to help Elincia." I shrugged again. "Why would I believe in anything or any of you? Why share my goals with any of you?"
"Because we might be able to help you!" Ayda said firmly.
"No, you can't. All you've done is get in my way." Then I gestured to Cassidy. "Is Cass your friend, Ayda?"
She was on guard, but she nodded. "Yes." The Elf confird.
Poking the fire, I asked another questioning. "Yet, when you found out I saved her friend from slavery, none of you seed to care. Why is that?" None of them answered. "When I killed Jhaane Syltar, all of you were upset at how I did it. None of you care why and even threatened . I killed Ghouls that ca to Cassidy's ho, and all of you attacked ." Rolling my neck, I looked out across the group. "The only reason I'm still here is because I'm looking for answers, and this is the best place to look for the mont."
Like a fucking lunatic, Floyd jumped on my back as two torches draped over my shoulders. "What kind of answers!?" Floyd asked excitedly.
Grabbing the torches from his hands, I tossed them into the fire. "The important kind." Then I shrugged him off, and he sat next to . "To be honest, I know I'm not the easiest to get along with, but at least I know I'm a piece of shit. But I'm a piece of shit who has principals and can curb myself to those who are actually nice to ." My look at Cassidy made her smile. "As for most of you, I don't care. Each one of you has pushed well past my limits, and the only reason most of you are alive are for personal reasons and pure sufferance on my part. That, and more patience than a stone."
The group was quiet until Cassidy spoke up. "Uh, Arthur?" I turned to her. "Ya kinda just threatened the Priestesses."
"So?" I asked back in a dead tone, and I slowly shifted back to the fire. "They aren't my concern. I got bigger problems to deal with than so uppity Priestesses, and they are as uppity as they co." The fire crackled as I watched it.
"What problems?" Arceana asked.
"In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons. Herodotus." I replied. "We're being probed right now, but war is coming, and I don't have ti to deal with your laughable problems."
"What about mine?" Elincia inquired. "Are you still willing to help ?"
"If I'm willing to fight a coming war for Lestrania, I'm willing to help you, Elincia." Especially since it was my fault to begin with. "Are you wanting to do it now?"
She seed to twitch at that. "Are you prepared now?"
I shrugged. "It's going to be experinting until we figure it out, but we can do it now if you want. Hopefully, it'll be dealt with in a few minutes." It wasn't.
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