"Alright." Dia's eyes blinked at him, as clear and as emotionless. Arthur wondered if she was like this toward everything. She approached everything in a cold, logical, calculating manner.
"Is there something else?" Arthur puckered his lips in amusement when she didn't leave.
"Just a little bit more." Dia smiled and turned to the door, squinting.
"Stop right there!" Gala suddenly barged in, rolled on the rug, and raised her palm in an 'I caught you motion' gesture. "Ho ho, you think you can do such things behind my back? A sneaky move from you, princess."
"Gala, what are you talking about?" Arthur tilted his head in a confused manner. "Nothing happened."
"What? Oh," Gala paused, looked around the room and at the two before standing up. "Ahem. Sorry, wrong room." She began backing away as if time would reverse itself.
"Wait," Arthur smiled. "Did you try manipulating Dia into doing this?" He understood what was going on.
"He must be thinking about staying here. A lot of stress is on Seika's shoulder. He needs some sort of relief. I heard there's only one way for men to relieve themselves. I'm so old. I'm sure the Seika is into younger people." Gala's voice came out from an artifact in Dia's hand.
"You recorded me?" Gala staggered away, offended. Her face said that she couldn't believe such betrayal. "I'm hurt, I..."
"That's for trying to manipulate me," Dia smirked as she kept the artifact away.
"It was an act?" Arthur furrowed his brows at Dia. The princess gave him a smirk and started walking away. "What would you have done if I took up your offer?" Arthur asked from behind her.
"Well," Dia didn't turn his way. "If that happened, then Gala's advice would have been true, no matter how manipulative. I would have..." Dia turned to him with a smile. "Prevented the witch from entering."
"Oh," Arthur exclaimed.
"Oh," Gala exclaimed.
Dia walked out and left the two dumbstruck. Arthur turned to look at Gala, who pretended not to notice his gaze, and began walking away.
"Haha, I hope my little joke lifted your mood." The witch waved her hand. "Well, I need to meet with the duke now. Let's talk later." As she was about to walk out, the door suddenly closed in front of her. Gala's shoulders flinched as she turned to Arthur slowly.
"How many more of your jokes did you prepare?" Arthur's eyes made Gala's hands tremble.
"N-none..."
"Are you sure about that?" Arthur walked over slowly, a cold smile on his face. "Witches are rather pranksters, huh?" Gala was about to answer when a knock arrived on the door.
"Young Master, your special 'meal' is here." A feminine voice said from behind the door. Arthur squinted his eyes and turned to look at the witch.
"A special meal at this time?" Arthur glared at her, and the witch's face suddenly turned serious.
"Haha, bye!" Gala suddenly sprinted toward the window, trying to flee.
"Wait!" Arthur tried to grab her, but she suddenly turned into a strand of light and slipped through his hands, escaping through the window. He opened the window and saw the witch fly away.
"I'll be back when you stop being mad!" The witch flapped her wings and soared away.
Looking at her turning into a dot in the sky, Arthur sighed with a smile. For some reason, as annoying as she was, Gala's childish acts made things lighter to handle.
'There's not much to achieve by worrying.' Arthur concluded. 'I'll have to meet with Solomon for more answers.'
***
Arthur left his room early the following day and found Gala and Dia waiting for him in the living room. Today was the day they would meet the Knight of Courage.
"How are you feeling, my dear Seika?" Gala rubbed her hands together, seeking to appease Arthur.
"Is the Knight here?" Arthur ignored Gala and talked to Dia, who nodded.
"She's waiting in the duke's mansion. They said we should head there to discuss what happened and what is going to happen."
"Don't worry, Seika. I'll act as a witness to your heroism!" Gala said again, but Arthur ignored her and kept talking to Dia. "Are you punishing me with the silent treatment?" Gala sighed, but Arthur was already walking out with Dia. "Wait for me!"
The three went to the duke's mansion, where they found the two knights and the duke sitting in a meeting room. The three of them stood up when Arthur walked in, albeit with different enthusiasm.
"Greetings, Seika." The Knight of Courage greeted him warmly, but the other two only nodded his way. The Knight of Honesty didn't even nod but simply bobbed his head.
"Greetings." Arthur nodded and turned to the Knight of Honesty. "Do you have something to say?" He asked calmly, neither threateningly nor grudgingly.
"No," The Knight's face was expressionless. The Knight of Courage glared at him for not apologizing, but Arthur raised his hand.
"Good." Arthur smiled. "It's alright," He turned to the Knight of Courage. "If he apologized for standing up to his beliefs, I would have looked down on him even more. Not that I don't look down on him now."
"How dare you?!" The Knight of Honesty grabbed the handle of his sword as he stood up and shouted.
"Pull that sword, and you'll lose that hand." Arthur smiled at him. "I know that you don't like me either, but you don't see me acting savagely like you."
"I'll tolerate this no longer!" He pulled on his sword.
"Dia," Arthur said, his expression turning cold. Dia disappeared from her spot and appeared beside the Knight, cutting away the hand that held the sword.
It happened instantly, almost in a rehearsed manner. The hand that held the sword flew away with a trail of red blood that left its mark on Dia's flames-covered fingers.
"AGH!" The Knight screamed in pain as he grabbed his hand. "You damn halfling!" He glared at Dia, and water covered his remaining hand, preparing to attack.
"Woah there." A golden dagger rested on his neck as Arthur appeared on the other side of the Knight. "Calm down. Otherwise, the next thing you'll lose is your neck."
"Seika!" The Knight of Courage shouted as she stood up as well. "What is the meaning of this?"
"I told you before. If this moron tries anything again, I'll kill him."
"If you attack any of the knights, you are attacking his majesty."
"I know that he can reattach his hand. King Solomon will understand." Arthur smiled. "I noticed that your hand is not bleeding. I saw a similar ability just the other day. Do you know Traitor? A nice guy."
"He's using his water ability to stop the bleeding." The Knight of Courage glared at Arthur. "Back down, or this will only escalate."
"Do you have what it takes to threaten me?" Arthur allowed the dagger to cut into the Knight's skin. "One wrong move, and he's dead."
"Why are you doing this?" The duke tried to appease him. "His majesty is waiting for you in the capital."
"And so is every noble in this kingdom. If I let every disrespect slide, then I'll be eaten alive in the Royal Court. Go on, Knight of Honesty. Tell me your honest thoughts. Beg for your life."
"I will never!" The Knight spat.
"Dia!" Arthur smiled and commanded.
Dia appeared behind the Knight struck his knees, bringing the giant man to the floor. The wood crashed beneath his knees as Arthur's dagger kept an equal distance from his neck, a reminder that the Knight's life was in Arthur's hands.
"Enough!" The Knight of Courage appeared in front of Arthur, striking with her giant sword. The floor froze beneath the blade as it made its way toward Arthur's body.
"Don't move," Arthur commanded, and the Knight of Courage froze. Her body couldn't move anymore, even if she struggled to. Arthur turned to the Knight kneeling on the ground. "I'll repeat it. No one is here to save you. Beg, or die."
"I..." Beads of sweat covered the Knight's forehead as he looked at the Knight of Courage, who could not help him. He saw fear in her eyes at the unknown ability this young man had. "Please let me live. I'm sorry for disrespecting you."
"See, that wasn't so hard." Arthur removed the dagger and stopped using his Art of Creator. The Knight of Courage was able to move again, and she fell to the ground along with her sword. "Are you okay?" Arthur offered her his hand.
"Mm," The Knight of Courage looked at him with a complex gaze and a bit of fear. "I am. Is there anything else?" She asked as she took his hand.
"No," Arthur smiled. "Everything is just fine. We can go to meet His Majesty now." He let go of her hand as he began walking out of the conference room. "Oh, Duke of Shades City." Arthur turned to him with a smile. "I allow you to tell the other nobles what happened today. Let this be a warning for them too."