Chapter 39 : New Arc

Flowers bowed as if to the woman on the soft chair with a huge pillow on her back, wrapped in a thick cloak and a large scarf despite the gentle weather. Her golden eyes were half-lidded, gaze fixed on nothing in particular, as she winced slightly and shifted her position.

"Dammit, Reinhard… You and your Sword Saint stamina," Kyoko muttered under her breath, one hand rubbing her sore back. "I swear I need a cane. Or a new spine."

The fifth candidate for the next king tries to find a new way to eliminate her discomfort after spending the whole night(hot). Despite being in pain like getting hit by a hammer, she remains professional and hides all those suffering moments behind her chill expression.

And then, she heard footsteps. She remembers those patterns. I clearly memorized it as if it were a formula in mathematics.

It's Reinhard's footsteps.

As she expected, the Sword Saint showed up this morning in her garden after destroying her back like it was nothing.

""Oh? You finally bring me a souvenir?" Kyoko yawned teasingly, cracking one eye open. "What's this, Reinhard? A stray puppy?"

Reinhard ignored the bite in her tone, impressed by her sassy attitude after the whole scream last night, "I see, your voice slowly recovering. Please don't speak too much. I'm afraid that one day, you will lose your voice."

"Ehhh... Miss my voice already, my sweet knight?"

"Of course. Don't you remember why I like your voice?"

"Well, since it's my adorable knight ask for it, I will try to limit my speech to 2 sentences."

But this time, he's not alone.

"Who is that?"

She asked instantly, looked a figure hiding behind Reinhard's cape.

"Castor. His name is Castor. I found him in the forest when you asked me to scout. He said he has amnesia. All he remembers is his name and the spells."

"So...." Kyoko took a sip of her hot chocolate while her body was wrapped in a warm scarf, "Awww... Look at you. Doing a recruitment of a magician into our camp while I'm stuck in my chair with my back, almost killing me?"

"I... I'm really sorry about that...." Reinhard wanted to continue his words, only to get stuck in his throat before he continued, whining in a low voice, "Please forgive me..."

Fuck, he looks like a puppy. An abandoned puppy.

"Fine, I'll forgive you this time since it's your first mistake," Kyoko said confidently, her tsundere nature shining through. Her cheeks turned a shade of reddish while her gaze was in the opposite direction from Reinhard.

"Anyway, where the boy you talking about?"

Before Reinhard can step beside to give Kyoko a view of the person he is bringing, the figure he mentioned has already run straight towards her. A young guy looked the same age as Reinhard— carrying a calmness, precise and subtle sharpness in his eyes, launching himself to bury his face on Kyoko's lap and hugging her waist.

"W-Whoa!!" She gasped, in pain. Her sore back screamed in protest, but her fingers lifted to stroke the young boy on her lap like a mother.

Well, she doesn't know if she should be shocked because a stranger hugged her suddenly or her back, literally killing her right now by stabbing her spine.

"I—I—I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." His voice cracking, his finger trembling as it's curling on her blankets. His tears streamed down like a broken young boy who had lost someone dearly.

Kyoko stroked his hair gently, and her eyes softened when she saw the expression of the man on her lap, "Seriously, I don't mind a hug, but don't jump on me suddenly. I'm going to be a grandma at this point!"

"I'm sorrrryyy!!! Wuahh—"

"Hey! Stop crying more! You already grown up man right!?— My blanket!?—"

"I'm still fifteen!! Not nineteen!!—Sniffff—"

Reinhard smile.

He only watches a scene where an unknown boy is crying on his master's lap like it's his own place.

He smiles like a calm saint.

His perfect smile didn't falter.

But, his eyes twitched.

Watching this boy cling to Kyoko like a lifeline, feeling her warm fingers comb gently through the boy's dark hair… sparked something in his chest.

Something unpleasant.

"Castor, I just wanted to gently remind you that Milady is still recovering. It's important for her to take the time she needs, so please don't feel pressured to overexert yourself in her presence." Reinhard stated, keeping his smile despite his eye movements changed from calm to nervous.

He's good at hiding his emotions behind those fake expressions.

But not from Kyoko.

"Reinhard, are you jealous?"

Here we go. A straightforward, dropped a huge bomb into their conversation like it's nothing wrong going to happen.

"I'm not."

She grinned, right after hearing his answer, "Awww!! Our adorable Sword Saint is capable of being jealous!! I don't know you have this side—"

"I'm not." Firmly.

Her smile dropped, "Damn, you look so serious. It's a joke! It's a joke! There's no way you're going to be jealous over... Wait, are you really jealous?"

"I'm not!!!" He raised his voice before grabbing the young man or Castor's collar and pulling him out from Kyoko. Castor gasped, almost choking due to Reinhard's strength.

"Reinhard! Don't be sulking! You know my heart is only for you, right?" Without shame, Kyoko winked and gave a flying kiss to the Sword Saint.

"Please... I beg you, please stop teasing me..."

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And so, that's how Castor's introduction. He showed why Reinhard wanted to recruit him into Kyoko's Camp. He's very expert in magic things like he could create a weapon from one branch of a tree and create a magnificent spell that could amaze Kyoko.

"Now, then, let's discuss. I hear Felt sending a message three days ago. What's that?" Kyoko asked.

"It's about your agreement with Russell Fellow. Someone just discovered your secret interaction about your invention, phone."

"What's the problem with that? Once that phone is released, someone will buy it. Is not that a good opportunity to promote it?"

"It's not like that, milady. That's true that if someone hears about these rumors, it could be possible to sell your invention more," Reinhard paused for a second, "The main problem is that your invention was stolen."

"What?"

Kyoko caught her breath. Her silence made the whole arena lose its sound. Her face showed the disbelief, shock and—

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY PHONE GETTING STOLEN—I MEAN, THAT'S SUBARU'S PHONE BUT STILL—WHAT!? HOW!!? WHEN!?"

"They don't state about that in more detail. But, from what Rom thinks, he thought that the thief wanted to make a replication of your phone to use as communication during the war. Unlike your phone, Conversation Mirror couldn't take a picture, send a code silently, or save a record."

"That's nonsense! Conversation Mirror is the same as my phone! Just an old mirror that could connect two people!! Nothing more!! Why would they steal it if they have Conversation Mirror!? Greedy people! I'm going fucking kill them—"

"Umm.." Castor raised his hand, "If Lady Kyoko wanted that much, how about we go to that place to investigate why the thief stole it?"

"That place?" Kyoko's gaze moves to Reinhard.

"Oh. Old Man Rom said the Thief ran into Flanders. Flanders is a beautiful city; I recommend it if you want to go there. Unfortunately, behind the shadow, Flanders was commanded by three underground organizations."

"Like a mafia?"

"Ma...fia?" Reinhard tilted his head confusedly.

"Nevermind. Anyway, are you sure that one of those organizations possibly stole my phone?"

"Perhaps. 70 percent." Castor answered.

Kyoko sighed and raised her hand forward, "That couldn't help. LET'S CALL OUR BELOVED THEIF, FELT AND ROM!!"

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"Well damn, big sis. You really call us. I thought you were going to give us free money after asking us to join you. I mean, you don't even call us when you try to kill a beast."

Felt stood casually her hand on hips while she smirked beside her huge, big—Giant—adopted family, Rom.

"If I ask you to come to kill a huge 400-year-old beast that already doomed us, would you go there?" Kyoko asked, her arms crossed with a smug on her lips.

"Naaaahhh... I will pass. Beat several men; I enjoy that, but killing a beast? Not my thing."

"You are surely talking too much for a girl with those heights..."

"Hey! I'm still growing up, Big Sis!!"

Then, Rom stepped forward to end this friendly conversation. He enjoyed having a friend, but work still worked. He asked, "May I ask what's our mission today?"

"Straight to the point. I like that." She snapped her finger and pointed her index finger to Rom, "We're going to Flanders. Familiar with that?"

Felt nodded, looking at Reinhard, "Yeah. Why are you asking us when you have a famous knight who is now surrounded by Lugunica?"

""It's not really about the city; it's more about the shadows lurking around. As Old Man Rom said, my phone got stolen by a thief who ran off into Flanders, a place run by all those underground groups. You guys grew up in a tough neighborhood, right? I'm pretty sure this is your kind of thing."

Felt bumped both of her hands, smiling excitedly right after she understood her new mission, "So, we're going beat those bitchies ass? For stealing your favorite toys?"

Kyoko chuckled, her grin turned into an amused smile, "Depends. Since you two are my guide on this tour, I believe I don't mind a flavor of chaos."

"Milady..." Reinhard reminded her.

"Calm down, my sweetie. I'm still going to protect my dignity... Even though I already threw everything last night."

Castor raised his hand, "I want to go too. I could help with magic if you need me. Who knows? Maybe someone accidentally bombed around when we tried eating a cake?"

"I don't know. You could be joking like that?" Reinhard commented.

"My habits, I get it from my mother."

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