Slowly, Arthur continued through everything he experienced, from meeting Deka and the others to going out, hunting, reaching the lake, and then everything that happened in the lake.
The group tried to stay silent but they could barely keep it together as the story went crazier and crazier. Arthur watched as their eyes widened and their mouths hung open as if they heard something straight out of a nightmare.
Eventually, Arthur reached the end of the story with his interaction with Sergi which brought him a lot of unnecessary trouble.
“… And, that’s basically it…” He said as he shrugged. “I’m still unable to forget what I have seen in that lake and I hope none of you should ever experience such a thing. It was really… terrifying.”
Even as he was trying to sound normal, Arthur couldn’t stop his voice from shuddering with pure fear. This was something that would stay with him his entire life.
“…”
For the next several seconds, nobody spoke as they tried to digest whatever they could of this story. Eventually, the first person opened their mouth.
“No wonder you increased 5000 points that quickly… You have been through a lot in those few hours.” Isla said as she exhaled a small breath. “I didn’t think you had been through all of this.”
“Yeah, I’m still wrapping my head around everything,” Arthur replied as he rubbed the back of his head.
“That’s… Insane, Arthur! What the hell?!” Herculia yelled. “You saw a Giant underwater?! That is so cool!”
“Herculia! If it was cool, Arthur wouldn’t be this terrified! Imagine swimming in complete darkness and then seeing a giant creature that tried to kill you.”
“… Now that you put it that way…” The big guy shuddered. “Yeah, I’m sorry, that was a little disrespectful of me.”
“No, no, it’s fine. It was indeed a cool experience for what it’s worth. As much as I was terrified, that thing definitely looked majestic. Almost like a King sitting on a throne.”
“You did say that it had a crown on its head. So, maybe it is indeed a King or a Queen of some kind.” Danny replied.
“That was what I thought too. But, I couldn’t tell. Even the man Logus seemed completely skeptical of what I told him.”
“To think there is a Giant Royalty underwater. I wonder why it was trapped there or if that’s its natural environment.” Emmy muttered.
“It doesn’t sound like it’s there willingly from what Arthur said. Whoever trapped it there must be some kind of a demon. I cannot imagine how you can even go about trapping something that massive under freezing water.
Arthur listened silently as the conversation went back and forth for a while before he said. “The biggest hint I have as to what happened is this shard. It had saved me by exuding its light and stopping the monster. Whatever it is, it’s extremely sensitive to the Shard’s Light. Something tells me this can lead us somewhere.”
“Yeah, that shard had been helping you so far. I wonder if it’s consciously trying to keep you alive.” Emmy said.
‘Consciously, huh? Well, the timing was too perfect to be a coincidence so I can assume it was indeed trying to help me. But, why? It’s not like I’m its owner or anything. If anything, I just found it randomly and kept it stashed the entire time. Maybe it is reacting to the tower itself and trying to fuse with the rest of the shard.’
Arthur closed his eyes as he tried to think for a moment. He knew that with time, things would be revealed and the shard would show him its true intentions. It was simply a matter of how long that will take.
“Arthur?” Isla called for Arthur when she noticed that he had gone completely silent.
“Hm? Ah, sorry, I was just thinking. In any case, that accident was fortunately not a problem and I was able to escape. My problem now is with this man named Sergi. He is clearly not harboring good intentions toward us and he will be trying his best to make us leave.” He said.
“He sounds like a scumbag if you ask me. Why not just kill him?” Herculia clenched his teeth. “Just give me a few minutes and I will leave him a broken mess!”
“No, that will be a horrible idea. He isn’t just anybody, he is a Royal Mercenary, and killing him is akin to waging war against the Royal Family or at least a sign of disrespect.” Danny replied. “He is protected.”
“Dammit! It’s always these bastards that end up being safe!”
“What do you think, Isla?”
“… We have merely established a relationship with the Fourth Prince. We cannot cause any trouble yet.”
“Yet?”
“Yes, this man is bound to do something and we must stay alert for when that happens.”
“I want to see him try! I will knock his teeth out of his mouth!” Herculia grumbled.
“Don’t forget, he’s not alone. There is an entire legion of people who think exactly like him and they’re basically everywhere. Unless we somehow find a way to identify who hates us and who likes us, we cannot trust a single person.” Isla said. “Understood?”
“Yes, we got it.”
“Good. For now, let’s end the conversation. I am sure everyone has to prepare for the test. Especially you, Arthur.” Isla stared at Arthur silently. Her eyes spoke far more than her mouth could ever do.
“Wait, you’re right! I forgot to actually start studying!” Immediately, Arthur panicked as he realized that he spent almost 30 minutes just talking.
“Ok! I’m sorry guys! I need to go now!”
Without wasting a single moment, Arthur hung up the call, leaving the others stunned.
“That guy…”
“Sigh… He will never change, is he? Haha, that’s the number 1 for you.” Emmy said as she looked at Isla, only to realize something shocking. Her cold friend had a visibly soft smile on her face. It was not very easy to see as Isla rarely smiles, but Emmy knew her friend well and that was indeed a smile on Isla’s face, and not just any smile… A very soft one.
“Isla?”
Immediately, Isla’s smile vanished as she returned to normal.
“What is it, Emmy?”
“…”
‘Was I imagining things? I swear I saw Isla smiling at Arthur… I’ve never seen that look on her face before.’ Emmy was completely taken aback to the point where she didn’t know how to react.
“Uh, it is nothing. Ehem, in any case, I think we should also end the call here. We need to study too.”
“Right! See you later, folks!”
“Later.”
After that, everyone hung up the phone. Emmy slowly stared at the black screen of the phone, a little confused.
“Did something happen between those two? Now that I think about it, they seem closer than before… Hmmm…” Even though she knew this was just a hunch, Emmy could not stop herself from drawing a wide grin.
“The last person I expected… Isla, you’re the last one I expected… Fufufufu, this is going to be very interesting.”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3