Chapter 141- Taking Care Of A Girl (Part 3)
Arthur didn't seem to be that eager to say this for an odd reason that Rin couldn't discern. His behavior seemed odd and incomprehensible as if he was struggling with something in his head.
But, even with all of that, he still spoke to Rin with a quiet tone.
"Can you... Train me?" He asked.
"Huh?" Rin couldn't hold the weird sound of confusion to escape his mouth as he stared at the young man in front of him.
"What do you mean?"
"It's as I said, I want you to train me to become stronger. I found that I am lacking a lot in many areas and I couldn't find any other way to improve except to ask for help from you." Arthur explained.
"No, no, no. This is just stupid." Rin shook his head.
Not only is the idea in and out of itself too sudden and unexpected, Rin wasn't even that confident in his abilities to help someone improve, let alone train them.
He was also training under Emilia's guidance. He had no time to train someone else let alone the protagonist of the story for that matter.
"Please, Rin. You are the only one I could ask. I know that I screwed up by doing that horrible thing to Elise. But, believe me, I truly love her with every ounce of my being. I am not even sure if I can ever love someone else other than her."
His confession of love in the middle of tens of people caught the attention of a few. Rin noticed that and signaled for him to keep his voice quiet.
"I have nothing against your feelings. You can deal with them by yourself. However, If you think that since you are indeed in love, then you have the choice to do whatever you want then..."
Rin's eyes turned colder than before as he glared at Arthur.
"Then I will deal with you. As for your request, then it's refused. There are many professors that can help you with that and can be way better than me."
After saying what he had in his head, Rin walked past Arthur. Then, he looked to the side and added.
"Don't fuck up your own life for things you can't attain. It's better for everyone."
Then, he walked away, leaving Arthur motionless and frozen, like a broken statue. His face looked normal but in his eyes a swirl of emotions were twisting and turning, as if something was beating the other.
Then, he bent down on his knees and muttered.
"What can I do?"
****
"What did he say?" Elise asked Rin the moment he came back, he could feel the slightly worry in her voice.
"I will tell you later."
Then, Rin grabbed Sorophi's hand and started walking. He could only think whether what he said was the right thing to do or not.
In general, Rin had no grudge against Arthur. He was indeed a reckless idiot who did some weird things but Rin wasn't any better. He was also a reckless idiot, a big one at that so he was in no position to blame Arthur.
However, that doesn't mean he wasn't in a position to stop him when he tries to cross the line.
'I feel like he had more things to say.' Rin thought as he looked at the horizon.
Arthur seemed oddly quiet and unenergized. Even his face looked eerily calm and composed except for when he looked at Elise.
That made Rin have some doubts about what that boy is doing or going through. Was it some form of depression? Or maybe regret?
He couldn't tell the difference between the two things at all. He wasn't an expert in people's emotions after all.
'I hope I'm just overthinking it.'
****
Then, the investigation process was conducted. Rin and Elise were asked multiple questions and were run through multiple tests to see if they had any weird, suspicious things about them. The questions weren't hard, varying from 'What's your family members' names?' to 'What was the test you went through to enter the academy?'.
They were all easy to answer since Rin and Elise had nothing to hide. However, Rin had one small problem during the process.
"So you went through a sudden memory loss not long ago?" The investigator asked.
"Yes."
"Do you know the reason for it?"
"No. Even my own family doesn't know."
The investigator squinted his eyes as he read the document in his hand before he sighed, put it down and then locked his fingers together.
"Well, you don't seem to have any suspicious records from what I can see. But, this memory loss seems to be quite odd. I mean, isn't too sudden and out of nowhere."
'He is not gonna ignore that, huh.' Rin thought calmly as he took a sip from the cup of tea they gave him.
"I am also quite curious about the reason for it. But, what I am even more sure of is that I am grateful for family for helping me through the tough times." Rin said with a straight face, hiding any thoughts he might have about this.
The investigator also seemed to notice that he won't be able to get anything that might make his suspicions become more and more prominent.
'He seems to also be under Miss Clearsky's Guidance. If he was a cultist, she would know.'
Concluding his thoughts with that, the man sighed, closed the document and then said.
"You can leave, Mr. Rin. Thanks for your time."
Nodding his head, Rin stood up to leave. But, before he could walk out of the room he turned around and said.
"If I'm suspecting someone. Can I report that to you?"
"Yes. As long as you have a good reason for your suspicion, we welcome any suggestions."
"I see... Well, If I do see anything weird, I will report it."
'I am certain that I will be reporting something soon.'
His occupied mind was now a lot more clearer after the end of the investigation. He had his fears but at the very least, nothing bad happened.
All that was left, was to find those cultist and end them before they do something that could destroy the peace of this world.
That's what Rin had in mind. However, in a whole different place, maybe far or maybe close. Those same people Rin was searching for, were dealing with what seemed to be a huge matter.
"I saw it..." A man said as he sat down on the ground, shaking like a cooking pot about to explode from pressure.
"I saw it with my own eyes. That darkness... that suffocating darkness."
The others around him listened quietly without uttering a single word. A grim atmosphere was looming over them.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! I am fucking sure!! That boy, he had it... He had what we thought didn't exist anymore."
The bulky man's voice was turning more and more fearful the more he talked. His crazed face was staring at the ground, unmoving, as if his neck was broken.
"It stared at me... silently. Threatening me not to kill him. For a moment, my soul was consumed and I was robbed of all my senses." He said.
"I am not sure why or how. But, I can't... I don't want to see that thing ever again. We are too unworthy to face it."
After finishing words, the man put his hands on his face and started crying like a small child. His hoarse sobs echoed in the empty room.
The other men looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
"We can't stop now." One of them suddenly said.
"But, what if it's true?"
"So what? Are you going to give up on our purpose. On the purpose of our lord?"
"..."
Silence took over again for a good minute.
"The plan shall continue. We already crossed the path of no return. Our lord shall take care of the rest... Did you finish 'that'?" The man, who at this point could only be considered their leader, asked to a particular one.
"It's almost... Over it takes time to finish the process."
"How long?"
"One month.... At least one month." He said after careful thought.
"One month... Huh."
Repeating the same words in a mutter, than stood up.
"The last phase shall start in two months then. It's the final decision. Praise our lord, the shadow monarch!"
His hand lifted in the air as he continued.
"Praise him, hail him, pray for him! He shall be the beacon that lead us to justice! He shall make us live for our own desires!!"
The moment he started saying such things, all of the others bowed in respect at the mere utter of the two words Shadow Monarch.
"Our glory is near!!"
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