“Again, I apologize for him” said Edward to Kyoko. “He never acted like this, I don’t know what made him behave this way.”

“You have nothing to apologize for” the violet-haired girl replied. “No one has ever reacted like this when seeing my appearance, it was a bit awkward, but… nice.”

“Hehe!” Kasei started laughing. “I’m waiting for Ed to start drooling like that because of some girl.”

“You won’t live to see that, stupid” replied the golden-haired.

“Oh Eddy, how can you say that?” she replied with a mean smile. “Even Lady Elizabeth was hoping that you’ve found someone, sadly, I’m too high-grade for someone like you.”

“Well, when she said that, you didn’t look glad.”

“You know, it’s because she equaled me to a dumbass like you! But she was right, you need someone! And Arthur was so delighted by Kyoko, then maybe you’ve found someone too, but you don’t admit it?”

“The hell are you fantasizing about again?” he asked in an angry tone.

“Have I, maybe, found out your secret?” she giggled disgustingly. “Talk! You’re fond of Aru, or Eris?”

“I think you’ve become fully brain-dead” he sighed, irritated. “Neither. And did you really have to include that second one? With Aru at least you can have a conversation, but it’s impossible to even sit with that rabbit-eared magpie.”

“Haha!” the redhead laughed. “So it’s Aru after all?!”

“What’s with you…” he sighed again, tired of the situation.

“Do you like master Aru, Edward?” asked Kyoko. The golden-haired put his hand on his forehead, Kasei was still laughing.

“Even Kyoko knows it!” the redhead shouted out.

“No. It’s Kasei who’s making up things that never happened. She’s bullying me.”

“Understood. You should not treat your master like that, Kasei” she pointed out. The redhead froze.

“Master?!” she took offense. “He’s a dumbass, not a master!”

“Well, Kyoko, meet my mean weapon” declared ceremoniously Edward. “She should’ve be a tiny monkey, not a fennec fox.”

“Start writing your testament, Edward” Kasei threatened, then hit his face with a fist. The golden-haired smiled.

“An angry Kasei, as always all according to my plans” he whispered quietly.

“She’s still better than our Eris. Because Eris doesn’t restrain herself, Eris speaks honestly” said the violet-haired.

“Yes, and thus Eris should’ve been born as a magpie” he commented.

At last, they got to their destination. They saw Aru, training shooting with Lorenzo, not too far from her stood Eris, but when she saw them, she stopped the exercise.

“Finally! – the black-haired girl shouted out.” I thought I’ll go bald before you get here!

“With this attitude you sure will go bald quickly” commented quietly Kasei, Ed laughed. Aru glanced at Ed coldly.

‘No allies’ she repeated in her thoughts, Lorenzo turned into his human form, they walked closer to them.

“It’s good that you’re here” the red-haired girl said emptily.

“So, where’s our hunter?” asked Ed, looking around. Suddenly Ivory appeared by Lorenzo’s side and right away hugged his arm. Everyone jumped away slightly, surprised by her appearing out of nowhere.

“So we’re all here!” said the satisfied Ivory. “Now, we should plan out our hunt!”

“So then? Do you have any info on the cannibal, or do we go into the fight blind?” asked the golden-haired.

“How rude.” She got sad and hugged Lorenzo, now red-faced, tighter.

“Stop hugging him so much…” said slightly embarrassed Aru. Ivory shook her head.

“No!” she said with a smile. “Well then, listen! Our cannibal attacks only at night, in the surrounding area of the local park. In addition, only rich people! I’ve analyzed her assaults thoroughly. All of them happened around the park, only on wealthy people!”

“Interesting” answered Ed. “So, what do you want in exchange for helping us?”

“Eh…” she sighed. “You really think that I want something? Maybe only for you to be nice to each other during your little game, and not to do anything similar to what that girl is doing.”

“You’re a peculiar person” he confessed. “Now we just need a plan.”

“Hm… what if someone dressed up as a wealthy person?” proposed Kyoko. “And went to the park at night…”

“A bait? Would she fall for that?” thought out loud Aru.

“She’s not a magician” Edward stated. “At most, her pegasus could smell the seal.”

“I see… It’s a pretty good plan. So should one of the weapons dress up?” Kasei inferred.

“But... which one?” asked Lorenzo. And then everyone’s eyes fell on him. “N-No! I can’t do it!”

“Oh, Lorrie…” Ivory touched his face and looked into his eyes, he froze. “But I’ll protect you, you know that.”

“Y-Y-YES! – he replied, embarrassed.” BUT I’M STILL NOT CONVINCED.

“So everything’s decided” said Aru. “But you will take care of Lorenzo, because if anything happens to him, don’t count on me being nice.”

“What? I’ll never let Lorrie get hurt!” she insisted. “So you all, together with the drunkard, will stay in your hideout. Now we should just get Lorrie the right clothes and get him ready! And in the evening we’ll start the fun, I heard that there’s a banquet tonight!”

“But will Catherine really come?” asked Edward.

“Since she’s a madwoman, let’s hope that it’ll work” answered Kyoko.

They started walking, Ed walked closer to Aru, which got irritated a bit by it.

“Hey, I need to talk with you about something” he started.

“I’m listening.”

“I know, that we agreed on our alliance until we defeated Catherine… but I think that you’re an alright person. And the deity didn’t prohibit alliances, did he?” Ed asked. “You also said that there’s one more player here, so… maybe joining forces and our fight at the end will be a good idea? The deity’s power can be as helpful as it can be dangerous, but I’m sure that if I lost to you, your wish won’t hurt this world. That’s why I’d like you to be my opponent only at the end.”

Aru opened her eyes wider, and Edward gave her an honest smile. But inside, the red-haired girl felt… some kind of anger.

“Yes… this… might be a good idea” she said, very unsure.

~

He had to be careful, so his father wouldn’t catch him when he got closer to Goro’s room. Hagan knew that battle preparation was extraordinarily important, but he himself didn’t possess any good weapons. He also knew that there was something hidden in this house that he needed. He gently pushed the door and silently entered the room. He quickly looked around, because he felt uneasy, and was scared of being caught. He deeply sighed once, twice, and then walked closer to the shelves and the closet, in which Goro kept his weapons. The brown-haired man checked as fast as possible which of the weapons were of the highest quality, but like he thought, his brother - his rival - took most of the best ones. He didn’t have much time; he took two knives and one sword, which seemed the most solid. He gently slid his hand down the sword’s blade, and hurt himself a little. But it made him satisfied, since it showed that the blade wasn’t dull. He secured the weapon and exited the room. Even though it was evening, he had to be careful. He closed the door as quietly as he could, but with the corner of his eye he noticed someone standing next to him. He jumped up out of fear, but his heart calmed down when he saw a small girl.

“What are you doing here?” asked Alana. Hagan looked away from her.

“I have to go and travel for a bit.”

“Really? First Goro, now you…” she whispered sadly. The brown-haired boy walked up to the brunette and pet her head.

“I’ll be back soon” he said. “And then... you’ll see. I’ll bring Yvon back home, I’ll exile Goro, and I’ll deal with father… Everything will change now, I promise.”

“Really?” she asked shyly.

“Yes. You won’t be unhappy because of them anymore. I just… need to do something. So wait for me, alright?”

“Alright.” She smiled. “And I shouldn’t say anything to father?”

“Exactly, don’t say anything.”

“If you’re leaving, then… when you’ll see Yvon… could you tell her that I miss her?”

“Of course” said Hagan, a bit sad. “Now go, before father catches us.”

“Okay! I’ll be waiting for you! And remember, you promised!” she laughed, and then ran away. Hagan quickly started walking in the direction of the training hall. Earlier he left his sword sheath and protective garb there. He put them on his body, then covered them with a brown leather jacket and beige pants, at the same time recalling the faces of his sisters and his mother.

‘This is not just a fight for a wish’ he thought. ‘This is a fight for the honor of my family. This is a fight… for the happiness of my loved ones. And if I fail… may a lighting strike me dead.’

When he was prepared enough, under the night’s shadow he took his horse and set off in Rebellar’s direction. He had to talk to Yvon before he joined the battle. He had to... apologize to her.