The tension was thick in the air.
With a nonchalant tilt of his head, the person under scrutiny slowly slid a piece of jerky into his mouth, crunching it loudly as if he didn't have a care in the world.
"Whoa, so tasty!"
He exclaid, savoring each bite.
After finishing the jerky, he casually wiped his lips with the back of his hand.
Then, he froze, suddenly aware of the bewildered stares from his party mbers.
"Wh-what? The jerky is really tasty."
Kaisen said innocently, as if nothing had happened.
"We're having a really important eting here about tomorrow, and you're enjoying at jerky? Don't you have any concern for our battle with the Nightshade? Or do you think we'll carry you while you do nothing?"
Alwyn's eyes narrowed as he glared at Kaisen, trying to intimidate him.
But Kaisen remained unfazed by his words.
"Of course not. But I do think you need in the party to take down the Nightshade."
Kaisen declared, crossing his arms and locking eyes with Alwyn.
"Oh really? And why's that? Can you even use any magic? You don't seem to be carrying any weapons either."
Alwyn shot back, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Why do I need a weapon when I'm the one who's going to inherit the Radiance from the Queen?"
Kaisen retorted calmly, as if stating the obvious.
"Inherit Radiance? What are you talking about? Are you delusional? You, who doesn't even have a combat-oriented class or any magic. The only reason you're here is because your friends are all powerful people."
Alwyn scoffed, incredulous.
He can't believe this guy has the ball to proclaim sothing like this.
The room fell eerily silent, and Kaisen sensed another type of energy simring beside him, as if sothing was about to boil over any minute.
'Co on. Just a little more.'
"The Queen said whoever shows the highest potential will inherit the Radiance, right? She didn't say whoever defeats the Night Shade will inherit the Radiance. There's a big difference in that."
Kaisen tilted his head and smiled mockingly at Alwyn, who, in turn, grinned even wider but refrained from saying anything outright because what this human said was true.
Those were the Queen's words, after all.
She didn't say whoever defeated the Night Shade, but whoever showed the highest potential would receive the Radiance.
Sable and Maximus exchanged a glance, and the knightess nodded as if impressed.
They, too, knew this was the case, and honestly, they hadn't thought anyone would decipher the words.
It was cleverly hidden in plain sight.
The Queen had first tasked them with the Night Shade and then presented the sword.
So when she said soone would inherit it, they assud it would be the one who defeated the Night Shade.
"Wow, never actually thought of it like that."
Lloyd exclaid, lost in thought.
"True."
Alice chid in, nodding her head and casting a proud glance at her Honey bun.
"B-but so what? What do you have in your arsenal that can possibly help you win the Radiance? Huh? To show potential, you need so potential to begin with, right? Which you don't have."
Alwyn argued, attempting to sound reasonable rather than desperate.
"Hmm... true. But I have sothing that you don't have."
Kaisen stated calmly, leaning in and pointing his finger at his head.
"Brains."
He declared, tapping his finger against his temple, earning a snort from both Alice and Lloyd.
A tense silence enveloped the room once more.
"Brai--"
"Let him continue."
Alwyn was about to start another session when Sable's lodic voice cut him off.
"Why are you so eager to undermine him, boy? And I do believe Kaisen-kun has earned his spot in the group rightfully. In fact, he's the sole reason we're all here in the sa room."
She said, her eyes playful just like her words.
Alwyn's eyebrow twitched, and Kaisen could practically hear the crunch of the jerky tightening in his grip.
"So true. If it wasn't for Kaisen-kun, we wouldn't even be here."
Alice chid in, giving Kaisen's thigh an enthusiastic pat as she bead at him.
This gesture seed to irk the wannabe-boyfriend elf, but the actual boyfriend just looked at her with a mix of confusion and mild concern, like he was wondering if she had accidentally eaten a magical mushroom for breakfast.
It wasn't the fact that his girlfriend was affectionately touching his supposed best friend's thigh, or the way their eyes seed to be having a secret conversation of their own.
No, what really bothered him was the fact that she agreed with Sable's words that if it wasn't for Kaisen, they wouldn't be here at all.
He didn't like it one bit. After all, he was the one who single-handedly brought the Morning Fox to its last leg.
Sure, Alice-san helped a bit, but it was still his power that brought the damn monster down.
And not to ntion, if Alice-san had been in his place, she would've been toast before she could even chant a spell.
And Kaisen?
He hadn't done anything remotely valiant, let alone claim he was the reason they were here.
He was actually annoyed.
"How can that be, Alice-san? All he did was ride along with us. He never did anything worth ntioning. Why are you praising him? Heck, even Alwyn-kun doesn't agree with him. So how can that be?"
Llyod's words made Kaisen's eyes twitch.
It wasn't unexpected or anything.
He knew how his supposed best friend was.
But hearing sothing negative about yourself from soone close?
That hurt.
Like, really hurt.
It felt like a sword through the heart, only instead of blood, it was just a wave of awkwardness and hurt feelings.
Alice, on the other hand, wasn't ready to throw Kaisen under the bus.
In fact, she was actually pissed at Lloyd for constantly undermining her Kaisen-kun whenever he got the chance.
It was the sa when they t the Queen, the sa when they t Sable.
And don't even get her started on himself.
He was an unsuccessful womanizer who thought he could charm won by putting down his peers.
She didn't like people like that at all.
And right now, she was boiling with a mix of anger and frustration, ready to give Lloyd a piece of her mind.
'He is always belittling my Honey bun. He is my Honey bun. Mine. ONLY MINE.'
Reviews
All reviews (0)