Just in time, Roland spotted someone and pulled on Harker's sleeves.
"That's him! Let's go!"
Harker was still dazed by what he was seeing. It looked so surreal, like looking at a very badly edited photo in a magazine. Only that the photo showed his co-worker, who always had a bad case of acne and terribly matted hair.
But here he was, in that posh suit, smiling and posing like a fucking Hollywood star!
He even looked so much better. His skin was spotless and smooth, his hair was also luscious and styled, and his smile didn't look like he was wincing anymore. Kian ALWAYS smiled like the act of smiling itself was pulling teeth.
"You're seeing what I'm seeing, right? Holy shit…." He mumbled. "What happened to Kian Shaw!?"
Roland just frowned and turned to him. "What do you mean?"
Harker blinked. "Huh? What do you mean what do I mean!? This is Kian Shaw, the one working in Bill's and Bob's Burgers! And now you're telling me he's running for Student Council president!? Don't you see how insane that is!?"
Roland just shrugged. "I don't see what's wrong. He's working part-time while also doing well in his academics, aren't you also the same?"
Harker could not believe what he just said. "But it's Kian—"
"Look, I just saw Galeas Fieldings, and we need to get to him now. That's what matters, Hark."
Roland just kept on walking to the direction where he saw the police chief's son. Harker had no choice but to follow, but still made a double take on the posters to make sure he didn't just hallucinate the whole thing.
Harker was sure something was wrong. There's no way Roland would just shake off the fact that Kian fucking Shaw was not only studying here in Holmwood, but also look like an entirely different person.
Joan could notice his unease. She walked by his side.
"You knew this Kian very well, and you're saying that it's not in his character to do something like this, right?" Joan whispered.
Harker hissed back: "Absolutely! And I also thought he's taking some nerdy computer programming courses in a community college! What is he doing in Holmwood, running against Artea Holmwood?"
They passed by several people wearing the opposition's colors. They were magenta pink while Artea's party was cyan blue. One of the campaigners smiled and gave him a pin with Kian's face in it.
"Vote for Kian Shaw! He may be a freshman, but he's the one who will put an end to the tyrannical rule of Artea Holmwood!"
Harker looked closely at the picture again. "I'm sure this isn't him. I mean, it looks a little like him…. But there's something off. I've got to go check his employee-of-the-month poster in BBB, and I'm sure Boss Bob and Boss Bill will back me up on this."
They finally were led to the large school library. Though Holmwood wasn't as impressive as Stoker, it had a much bigger and more luxurious library. There was a space filled with computers, two librarian desks on opposite sides because it's too much to handle by just one, and those separate reading rooms that Roland mentioned.
There were also shelves displaying different geodes and other artifacts. The most interesting section would be the collection of Extraterrestrial Matter. There were several small pieces of asteroids, meteors, and cosmic dust.
One of them was empty, though. Only the label 'Found by A. Holwood, 1934' was there.
Harker remembered that Felix was supposed to have broken one of those geodes, and this must be it. But Zaina didn't mention that it was from space, or that it was by a Holmwood.
Harker wondered which Holmwood could have found it. Could it be Artea's step-grandad who adopted her?
Roland clocked Galeas Fieldings perusing the Astronomy section of the library. He took a large book which seemed to be a book on the history of spacecraft and explorations. He then went off to the librarian to get a key card for the small secluded study rooms, and went inside one of them.
"Stop him from closing the door, Hark!" Roland whispered.
Harker used his Succubus Skill to stop Galeas from taking another step. The boy looked confused, and became even more confused once he turned around out of his own will.
Harker took the book from him with a smile. "Hello, sir. We just want to talk to you about something in private, would that be okay?"
This guy reminded him too much of what Kian used to be. The bad acne, the slumped posture, the nervous glance where he just can't look people in the eye. He was more like Kian than the one in the posters.
And that just worsened the dread in Harker's heart.
He may not be close to Kian, but they still got along. They spent time making jokes with each other during their shift, and Harker would listen as Kian prattle on about his newest video game obsessions or those animations from Japan. Harker never had many friends in his life, so the thought of losing one….
It made his stomach turn. He wasn't even aware that it happened.
"H-How can I help you, sir?" Galeas gulped. "T-This is a public area and…. uh… if you're planning something, my father is actually chief of police…."
Harker sighed. Right, everyone thinks he's a delinquent or something just because of his looks. It probably got even worse now that he got fitter and more muscular from being a Demon lord.
"We just want to ask you….. About this. Some science questions. We heard you're pretty smart in this area, and we thought we could ask you for help."
Harker knew that's the key for these guys to look him in the eye. Mention their interest, and they will put all their attention to you.
He finally managed to get Galeas to stop nervously glancing about. The boy now looked at him with such innocent enthusiasm that it hurt even more for Harker. Seeing his friend who he may have lost in him.
"Oh! You're interested in Astronomy too! I can help—"
He suddenly felt sleepy, but before Galeas closed his eyes, he thought that this stranger's eyes had turned into something reptilian. It frightened him to his very core, and his stomach twisted before he had sunk into deep sleep.
Harker made him walk inside the study room, and gestured to his companions. Roland and Joan went first, and Harker closed the door with a sigh.
"Let's get this over with."
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