The Small Details
Felix covered Orsted and himself with a veil of darkness. The sound of cracking, snapping, and crunching were followed by screams of agony.
("What… is happening in there?") [Adam]
The dark mist did not clear until it was silent, revealing Felix standing next to a puddle.
"Now we're good." [Felix]
His eyes rolled up and he collapsed. Not only that, Gleim fainted in the background.
"Felix! Urgh!" [Adam]
He tried to get up, but his wounds kept him at bay.
"You're injured, let me heal you first! Invigorate!" [Tiffany]
She stood by his side, casting light from her hands.
("It feels so warm...") [Adam]
His wounds began to close, allowing him to move freely.
"Thanks Tiffany." [Adam]
As soon as he was healed, Tiffany hugged him.
"Whuh?!" [Adam]
"Way to keep your cool." [Krino]
She buried her face in his chest, most likely crying.
("Is it me… or did she get over being shy?") [Adam]
"...Maybe it's a girl thing?" [Krino]
("Yeah… must be.") [Adam]
They stayed in that position while he gently rubbed her head. Trying to comfort her, he whispered assurance into her ears.
"It's fine. You're safe now." [Adam]
After some time had passed, Tiffany removed herself from him.
"I… was so worried… I didn't think you would make it…" [Tiffany]
Though he kept a straight face, his thoughts were in turmoil.
("Wh… what am I supposed to say here?") [Adam]
"This is the part where you tell her that everything is okay." [Krino]
Adam cleared his throat, stood up, and struck a pose.
"You don't have to worry anymore! See?! I'm all better now!" [Adam]
Tiffany looked at him with a blank expression.
"Pfft! Hehehe!" [Tiffany]
("Huh? Did I do something wrong?") [Adam]
"...Thank you." [Tiffany]
"For what?" [Adam]
Tiffany stood up and turned around.
"Nothing~" [Tiffany]
"..." [Adam]
("Was she always this playful?") [Adam]
Though somewhat confused, he ignored it and walked over to Felix.
"Hup! Oh god he's heavy!" [Adam]
Attempting to carry Felix, he threw him over his shoulder.
"Damn bro, you need to lose a few pounds…" [Adam]
As he was about to leave, he called out to Tiffany.
"Tiffany! We're leaving!" [Adam]
"What about these people?" [Tiffany]
She pointed to Claim and Gleim, passed out on the floor.
"..." [Adam]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
In the end, he carried Claim, Gleim, and Felix with the help of Tiffany's Invigorate.
("Even with my strength boosted, three people at once is really heavy!") [Adam]
"Um… Should I help?" [Tiffany]
"Nah, you don't have to. I can do it by myself." [Adam]
Upon exiting the dungeon, they saw the tailored man waiting outside.
"Hm? Young mas… ter?" [Tailored Man]
He glanced around and realized that Orsted was not there. He walked up to Adam and grabbed him by the collar.
"Where is the young master?!" [Tailored Man]
"Why don't you look inside the dungeon to find out? You may be able to retrieve the body." [Adam]
("Although I'm pretty sure he's a puddle now...") [Adam]
"You dare?!" [Tailored Man]
He was fuming. He raised a fist and punched Adam angrily.
"Ngh!" [Adam]
"Adam!" [Tiffany]
Adam didn't even attempt to dodge it. He simply let the man hit him. After receiving a number of blows, the tailored man stopped.
"Haah… Haah…" [Tailored Man]
"You done?" [Adam]
"Grrr!" [Tailored Man]
Adam's taunts angered him even more, provoking him to raise his fist.
"I'll kill you-! Huh?" [Tailored Man]
A hand reached out and caught his fist.
"I think that's enough." [???]
Seeing who had protected him, Adam was shocked.
"Roy?" [Adam]
"Yo!" [Roy]
"Unhand me!" [Tailored Man]
"Why? So you can hit him again?" [Roy]
The tailored man seemed to be at a loss for words.
"What are you doing here Roy?" [Adam]
"I came to take you home, but… it looks like you have some company." [Roy]
He glanced up and down at the people Adam had on his back.
"I think I'll have to make a quick stop." [Adam]
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Instead of heading home, Adam brought the unconscious people to school.
"You sure that not walking that girl home was the right decision?" [Roy]
"Honestly, I wanted to walk her home." [Adam]
"Then why didn't you?" [Roy]
"You see... I don't trust you enough to let you carry the people on my back." [Adam]
"Are you saying I'm not responsible?" [Roy]
"You said it, not me." [Adam]
"...Cheeky kid. So? Why are we at your school?" [Roy]
As they spoke, they had arrived at Adam's "quick stop".
"Because I need to report something." [Adam]
"To who?" [Roy]
"Uh… a teacher that might be a workaholic? I'm hoping he's at school today." [Adam]
" Ugh... School... I'll just wait outside." [Roy]
Adam entered the school and searched for the staff room. Upon sliding the door open, he found Mr. Frank.
"Mr. Frank!" [Adam]
He called out to Mr. Frank as he was taking a sip from a cup of coffee.
"Mhrmp! Huh?! What?!" [Mr. Frank]
After almost choking on his drink, he realized that it was Adam.
"What are you doing here?" [Mr. Frank]
"Well…" [Adam]
He explained what happened starting from the time he met up with Orsted.
"...I see. I think I have an understanding of what happened. For now, why don't you leave them in the infirmary." [Mr. Frank]
("Them?") [Adam]
Mr. Frank gestured to the people on Adam's back.
"Oh… I'll be right back." [Adam]
Disappearing behind the sliding door, he returned shortly after.
"I'm back." [Adam]
"Hi back." [Mr. Frank]
Adam didn't seem very amused.
"What? You don't like dad jokes?" [Mr. Frank]
He took out a second cup and poured coffee into it. After adding in a packet of sugar, he handed it to Adam.
"...I don't drink coffee." [Adam]
"Deal with it." [Mr. Frank]
Adam took a sip and was taken aback.
"Ugh! It's so bitter!" [Adam]
"Ahahaha! I knew you would say that!" [Mr. Frank]
"Quit playing around!" [Adam]
"Alright, alright. Anyways, you can go home now. I'm going to go speak to the principal about this." [Mr. Frank]
He began to walk out of the room, but Adam stopped him by the door.
"Wait." [Adam]
"What?" [Mr. Frank]
"I still want an explanation as to why Orsted was partnered with us." [Adam]
Mr. Frank took out an electrical cigarette and lit it.
"..." [Adam]
After letting out a few puffs of smoke, Mr. Frank spoke.
"It's a custom of this school. The senior champions escort the freshman champions through dungeons until they all have soul weapons. Usually there would be a supervisor, but Orsted insisted not to." [Mr. Frank]
"And you just listened to him?" [Adam]
"I had no choice. His father donates tons of money to this school. Now that Orsted is dead, I don't know what will happen." [Mr. Frank]
"What do you mean?" [Adam]
"His father owns A LOT of businesses. That means he has a lot of power. Because of what Felix did, Orsted's father might come after you guys." [Mr. Frank]
"Then I'll just deal with him when it happens." [Adam]
Mr. Frank didn't look very convinced.
"Sure… Anyways, you know those two girls you brought in? What were their names again?" [Mr. Frank]
"Claim and Gleim." [Adam]
"Yeah… They've been under Orsted's ability for a VERY long time." [Mr. Frank]
"They were under control? It didn't really look like it." [Adam]
("With all their flirting and stuff...") [Adam]
"Orsted probably messed with their personalities when enslaving them, so it will take them a while to recover. His ability activates on contact and becomes stricter on someone the longer he stays in contact with them." [Mr. Frank]
("So that's why he commanded Tiffany to hold his hand…") [Adam]
"He's a champion right? Why was he so weak?" [Adam]
"Honestly… Gleim is the only strong person in that group. She won the entire tournament by herself. I'm pretty sure that was the only reason why Orsted got to be a champion." [Mr. Frank]
The news was somewhat shocking to Adam, but he put it aside.
"Hm…" [Adam]
"Is that all?" [Mr. Frank]
"I… think so?" [Adam]
"Then I'll be going now." [Mr. Frank]
He crushed his cigarette and left.
("Did he just... break an electrical cigarette?") [Adam]
Stunned, he stood there blankly. It took him a few seconds to collect himself and resume his thinking process.
("...Guess I'll just pick up Felix and leave.") [Adam]
As he made his way to the infirmary, he was lost in thought.
("Now that I think of it, why did Felix collapse?") [Adam]
"Probably to finish installing the soul weapon." [Krino]
("Wasn't it already done?") [Adam]
"It took about a week for me to get installed into you. You really think it would take 5 to 10 minutes to install for Felix?" [Krino]
("That… makes a lot of sense. Then do you know why the poison didn't work that well on me?") [Adam]
"Probably had to do with Roy accelerating something in you while you were asleep." [Krino]
("He did what?!") [Adam]
"If I had to re-word it in a way you can understand… He touched you in your sleep, but with extra steps." [Krino]
"..." [Adam]