We're inside the house now: me, Volition (also known as Beardman), and this guy named Bechamel. At first, I was uneasy about Bechamel's presence, but it turns out he's a mercenary and has been friends with Beardman for a long time.
Although they're friends, there seems to be something suspicious about Bechamel. The two of them were drinking together, chatting and occasionally bursting out laughing, even though I didn't find their conversation amusing.
I was still carefully observing Bechamel's movements as I sucked on a sugar-coated peanut, a gift he had brought.
"Since I moved to Ariel Lagoon, I haven't returned to Central Town yet," Beardman said. "The last time I was there was the day I was invited to King Reglorious' birthday, and Queen Dauphine was pregnant with their second child. I'm just sad because they're both gone now."
Their conversation suddenly turned serious, and since I was intrigued, I started paying attention. However, I didn't want to appear nosy, so I pretended to be unbothered and continued sucking on the peanut.
"Last time I was there, they even executed the queen in public," Beardman said.
"Weren't the people outraged, knowing the queen was innocent?" Bechamel asked.
"Honestly, the people's minds were brainwashed, so instead of showing compassion, they were saying bad things about the queen, and some even threw feces cakes at her."
"But what if the accusations against her – against her and Reglorious – are true?" Bechamel asked. "We both know Reglorious is the son of a servant from the rival kingdom. To avenge the brutal punishment of his mother, he conspired with their enemies to overthrow the kingdom he ruled. And with the corruption case Dauphine faced, that might be true as well. We know how she spends money on one occasion, although everyone is invited, rich or poor. Think about how much money is being wasted."
"But we still can't be sure about that," Beardman replied. "Reglorious may be an illegitimate child, but he wouldn't sabotage Lovelrinth just to avenge his mother. He loves the kingdom, and he needs to strengthen and solidify the royal army because he knows the enemy will attack anytime. As for Dauphine's case, she's just using one occasion to distract people from the impending war. Of course, the treasury is exaggerating the expenses to make her look like a spendthrift. But she doesn't really have control over the kingdom's expenses because she has someone appointed to manage the finances, and maybe the reports submitted about the expenses are incorrect or edited."
"But you know what I thought: if they wanted Reglorious and Dauphine to disappear, they could have just had them assassinated by a Larkansas. And it's not like those who serve the kingdom, especially those in positions of power in the church, are ordinary people. They possess extraordinary powers obtained from the Mythical Feral Egg. They could have been the ones to kill the two, but they didn't.
"That's what I thought," Beardman said. "Maybe they just want to make the situation more complicated. It's nice to have a plot and suspense, after all."
"And now their three children are being hunted," Bechamel added. "It's pitiful that they're being dragged into this too."
I realized that Bechamel had no idea who this teenager standing in the corner was, since the last time he was in the kingdom, Dauphine was still pregnant with Revaliant. He had no idea that I was one of the ones being hunted. Beardman suddenly looked at me, and I shrugged because there was something in his gaze.
"By the way, Bechamel, I congratulate you because you're getting married," Beardman said, changing the topic.
"Thank you, Volition," Bechamel replied. "I'm really looking forward to your arrival tomorrow night."
I swallowed hard when Bechamel turned to me, and I saw his unusual smile again, which gave me a strange feeling.
"Who is this young man who's with you here in your house?" Bechamel asked. "I've never seen him before."
"Ah, he's Afghast, the son of my wife's sibling," Beardman replied.
Bechamel looked at me with a curious expression, but I didn't like the way he was looking at me.
"Bring him along to Ariel Lagoon too," Bechamel said. "And there's plenty of food there, so I'm sure he won't get bored."
If I had wanted to join Beardman before, I didn't anymore.
From outside the house, the three of us heard the terrified screams of Procko and his friend Elephantine. Beardman and Bechamel immediately stood up and rushed outside to check on the two. I followed them, and that's when I saw that four Hyenastys had disrupted the two's playtime.
The Hyenasty is a dark and steel-type Meadow Feral. It lives a quiet life, but when it's disturbed and its anger is triggered, it will seek retribution.
Elephantine bravely faced the raging Hyenastys while Procko hid behind him. When the Hyenastys saw Bechamel, they growled even louder.
I saw Beardman about to take out his pendant, but Bechamel stopped him.
"I'm the one who owes them, so I'll take care of this," he said to stop Beardman from retrieving his weapon.
Bechamel drew his dagger and ran towards the Hyenastys. I saw him draw an earth sign in the air and stab it, causing diamond-shaped rocks to burst forth from the ground, but they were reduced to ash when the Hyenastys released purple bombs from their mouths.
Since his first technique didn't work, Bechamel drew another earth sign in the air to summon totem poles from the ground, but the Hyenastys simply dodged it.
The Hyenastys released another wave of purple bombs towards our position, but I was grateful that Elephantine used his tusk to deflect them.
Bechamel attacked again, but this time he opted for close combat. Even with his dagger, he was still being overwhelmed by the three Hyenastys.
I was getting worried because his body was already bleeding from the scratches and bites, and when I looked at Beardman, he was calm and didn't seem to have any intention of helping Bechamel.
Bechamel cried out in pain as a Hyenasty bit his shoulder, but he managed to grab its head and slam it to the ground. He drew a new earth sign, and a giant hand emerged from the ground, crushing the Hyenasty. Bechamel quickly sensed the approach of another Hyenasty ready to attack, and with his dagger, he pierced its heart. It fell to the ground, lifeless.
The remaining Hyenasty was enraged and attacked. This one was the strongest. Bechamel's exhaustion was evident in his appearance, while the remaining Hyenasty seemed to have lost no energy.
"Why do I need to prolong this fight when I can easily defeat you?" Bechamel said, and I saw him pull out another weapon. It was also a dagger, but its design was unusual – shaped like a key.
I was shocked by the pain as he stabbed the dagger into his palm, as if he was unlocking something. Suddenly, four doors appeared around the Hyenasty, and when they opened, I covered my mouth in fear and anxiety as I saw the zombies. There was a Viking zombie, a pirate zombie, a tinsmith zombie, and a housekeeper zombie.
The four zombies feasted on the poor Hyenasty, and I covered my ears and closed my eyes because I didn't want to hear the Hyenasty's cries and see it suffer as it was being eaten. When I couldn't hear the Hyenasty anymore, I knew it was gone.
I opened my eyes and saw Bechamel twisting the dagger buried in his palm. When I looked at the four full zombies, they were suddenly sucked in by the air. The doors closed and popped like bubbles.
When Bechamel approached us, he flashed another smile, as if he wasn't hurt by stabbing his own palm. Seeing what he was capable of left me even more amazed by him. However, I didn't show that I was afraid of him.
But I couldn't help but wonder to myself: Who is he really? Who are he and Beardman, really?