Chapter 9- To Each Their Own

Upon registering the Emperor’s question Alice was quick to respond all the while not forgetting to maintain a façade of calmness for the sake of easing the worries of the teens behind her.

『My name is Alice Sheel and back where we come from I am a teacher. We were actually just beginning class when we were summoned so apart from myself the rest of our group are all students.』

Ignoring Alice’s subtle jab at interrupting her class the Emperor chose to focus on something else.

『So, you are a woman of learning then you must be quite accomplished to be able to teach others at such a young age.』

When the Emperor’s words reached her ears Cael once more saw the return of the infamous twitching brow. From the looks of things the silver haired man’s comment had inadvertently touched upon one of Alice’s reverse scales though seemingly through sheer willpower she managed to reign in any kind of violent retort.

Instead Alice showed the awesome power of adults and subtlety corrected his assumption without straining the atmosphere in the slightest.

『Thank you, twenty-five is indeed considered quite young to be teaching secondary schoolers I’m very proud to have such a privilege.』

The Emperor’s eyes widened ever so slightly at the revelation of her real age but he too was a wily old fox when it came to the art of speechcraft and therefore did not waste her efforts opting instead to move on to the central topic of the coming talks.

『Now then by my right as Emperor I ask you this Alice Sheel, do you have the will to lend your strength and risk your life so as to do your utmost to protect the peoples of the realm of Eden from any who would do them harm?』

Despite already planning her answer out in advance Alice stopped and closed her eyes slowly breathing in, before out. After but a moments delay she opened them once more revealing sky blue that now contained a trace of hardness not unlike cold steel before replying in an uncharacteristically firm voice one would not normally associate with the gentle teacher.

『I do!』

After her response echoed out across the throne room the Emperor stared searchingly as if looking for signs of deception seemingly finding none he smiled and responded jovially.

『Very good, very good! Now, please stand to the side for the time being as I ask your students as I asked you and see if any of that strong character has rubbed off on them under your tutelage.』

At this point the Emperor once more returned to simply picking people in accordance to how close to the front they were. Without thinking Cael had subconsciously drifted to the furthest point of the group as a form of procrastination knowing full well that his interview was not going to go so simply.

Whilst lost in his thoughts he watched from the back how his fellow classmates went forward one by one stating their name before making a vow not unlike Alice. The difference though between the level of weight they put behind that vow was as clear as crystal even to someone like Cael who lived and breathed half-heartedness.

That’s not to say they didn’t mean what they said but rather in his opinion they may not have given as much thought as they should have as to what that would entail. Earlier Cael took careful note of how Selene had mentioned lilim in the same sentence as demons and demon lords, extrapolating from that he inferred that while their primary purpose is to slay the demon lord they may have to also fight these demons and lilim.

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Aria had stated earlier that demons are spirits of chaos so he wouldn’t particularly care about destroying them. What Cael was most concerned with was the lilim as from the context alone he quickly realised that it’s a race and if they’re attacking in a coordinated matter, that suggests intelligence. Seems like we’re going to have to kill people afterall huh, judging from Alice’s face earlier she probably noticed already so wanted to stay close to protect us even if she has to dirty her hands to do it.

Many people when trying to take Cael’s measure for the first time often only see his laid back exterior and come to a false conclusion about what sort of person he is, usually opting towards labelling him as happy go lucky. What most fail to consciously notice however is that his actions are in most cases actually fairly calculating in nature and somewhat lacking in empathy.

As a result of his high intellect and extreme systematic thinking the most apt way to describe Cael would be a lazy sociopath it’s because of this distorted nature of his that when confronted with the notion of killing others he is rather ambivalent to the idea neither feeling anticipation nor revulsion.

Noticing things had been strangely quiet for a while Cael broke away from his musings and returned his attention to the front. Standing before the Emperor who had during this time furrowed his brow was surprisingly none other than Mob 1.

『You refuse, is it? Well that is indeed your right but if I may ask, why do you refuse?』

『Why, you ask? Do I owe you anything? The better question is why would I, honestly the fact you got so many chumps to say yes to such an absurd thing is much more surprising. My life is more valuable than anything, I almost lost my hand within ten minutes of walking into this place who knows what will happen if I stay longer.』

『If it is the danger that worries you, leaving will not necessarily lead to a safer outcome. While I do not know for certain what sort of world you came from, judging from the way you carry yourself I would wager the public order was quite good and there was not many threats worth mentioning.』

Hearing such a thing gave Mob 1 pause, seemingly confused with where the Emperor was going with this he appeared to be reserving judgment temporarily at least.

『Your point is?』

『My point is that if you stay here you will be trained, you will be well guarded and you will not have to concern yourself with food and lodging. If you leave instead despite being given funds there is the possibility of being targeted by bandits, you will have no stable livelihood and you are altogether unfamiliar with these lands meaning you will suffer countless difficulties in your everyday life for quite some time to come.』

Mob 1 rubbed his chin in thought for a while as though taking the time to digest the Emperor’s words. The old ruler perhaps thinking he was making progress changing the boy’s mind decided to press on for a final verdict.

『So tell me, what will it be?』

Mob 1 hearing this finally stopped deliberating and responded.

『You make some great points but while I, Ren Davis may not necessarily be a good person I am definitely not a fickle person if I say I refuse then I refuse.』

『Is there really no way to change your mind?』

『None! My mother has always had a saying “One should always trust their first instinct!” and my instinct says to take my chances and whatever happens, happens.』

The Emperor no longer seemed intent to press on the matter and instead waved over a nearby maid who appeared to be in wait by the sides of the room. After she arrived he turned back to Mob 1.

『Follow the maid and she will take you to the front gate and deliver you the agreed upon compensation I wish you all the best in your future travels.』

After giving a quick thanks the teen began following the maid that is until three voices were heard bringing him to a halt.

『『『Wait!!』』』

When Cael too turned to who was shouting he was unsurprised to see the faces of Mob 2, Mob 3 and Mob 4. They appeared to be stepping forward together one after another towards the Emperor in a slightly hurried manner.

『I, Lin Satō respectfully refuse this request.』

『I, Thomas Forbes respectfully refuse this request.』

『Ah … um I, Charlotte Beckett … respectfully refuse this uh, request … sorry.』

Upon hearing this the Emperor just shut his eyes, held the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. After a short wait without even opening his eyes he waved his hand toward Mob 1 as if already resigned and gave a lazy response.

『Just go together, your loyalty to your friend is admirable.』

After hearing a positive response Mobs 1 through 4 broke out into smiles and without any words of farewell simply left with the maid.

At this point only three of the class remained standing before the throne. They were Cael who intentionally moved to the back, Alex who was unhurried and Yuna who stayed by their sides; all the rest had long since joined near Alice’s position.

Three students each with close friendship yet strikingly different personalities. Looking into each other’s eyes the question then becomes who goes first?