Arthur's eyes detected a trace of excitement from Paul before moving to the other guards and Raphael, who were patiently watching on the sidelines. The fresh air brought a cold sensation that eased the guards' fatigue as the dust settled and the grass swayed.
"You keep creating new tricks every time you fight." Mark's hand rustled through the strands of hair on Arthur's head.
"Me next! Me next!" Claire excitedly jumped into the air and back down several times before Mark brushed her hair.
"I actually discovered it when I was destroying David's wine." Arthur released a subtle chuckle, covering his lips with one hand in front of David, whose shoulders were trembling.
"You…you didn't." A weak voice broke free from David, whose hands were tightly grasping onto the fabric of his pants, causing numerous wrinkles to form.
One peek was all David needed to confirm his greatest fears as Arthur remained unfazed in front of him. The light in Arthur's eyes was dim, highlighting the severity of the matter without needing to utter a single word. Yet, as if testing David, Arthur opened his mouth and coldly spoke, "And what if I did?"
"You monster!" David rose from his seat and pounced at Arthur, who was less than a meter away. However, the moment he stood up, Paul and Mark quickly pulled him back, leading to both of his arms flailing in place.
"Relax, you f—" A momentary pause stopped Mark from speaking as he stared at the three siblings before him. Without batting an eye, he swiftly corrected himself. " Fudging alcoholic, it's better to dispose of your wine collection anyway."
"Fudging! Fudging!" Claire repeated the words she heard, which resulted in Mark releasing David and slapping his face with one hand. Mark was never good with children and had a bad habit of cursing nonstop, so he tended to distance himself, but sometimes, it was unavoidable.
"See what you did Mark?!" David broke free from Paul's hold and yelled at the top of his lungs while covering Claire's ears.
"Me?! You're the one setting a bad example!" The concern raised by Mark made David's blood boil in rage as the blame was pushed onto him.
Witnessing the events unfold before him, Paul gently lifted Claire and carried her with both arms while ushering Arthur and Raphael to follow along. Before David and Paul fought, Mark typically argued the most with David due to their conflicting opinions and lifestyles.
Arthur pulled on the back of Paul's shirt with a worried voice and asked. "Shouldn't we stop them?"
"Don't bother. Men only reconcile after fighting," Paul said.
Paul patted Arthur on the back while pushing him forward. From the corner of his eyes, David and Mark had already drawn their weapons and were standing in the center of the arena. Looking back, when the western gate had all its guards, this was a daily occurrence as the seniors and junior members argued with each other. At most, to Paul, it was a nostalgic feeling that he had forgotten since the monster stampede began.
"That doesn't sound right." Arthur objected to Paul's claim.
The sound of weapons clashing behind them violently shook the ground as the lanterns on the wall swayed back and forth. Arthur glanced over his shoulders and saw a constant stream of mist arise from the battle as water and fire clashed behind them.
Even Raphael, who watched as all the lanterns in the hall rocked like a ship in a stormy sea, asked, "Will everything really be fine?"
"Probably?" Paul's somewhat confident answer made Arthur and Raphael stare at each other in disbelief. Despite the constant tremors flowing through the air, Paul carefully carried Claire as if nothing was happening around them. To put their minds at ease, Paul calmly added, "Don't worry; they'll clean up any mess they made."
"No…I don't think that's really part of our concern-" Before Raphael could finish his sentence, a dry coughing sound interrupted him.
To his side Arthur held one hand covering his mouth and calmly spoke. "Well it kinda is…"
Hearing Arthur's unsympathetic response, Raphael raised his voice. "Arthur, they could get hurt!"
His frustration was momentary, yet Paul and Arthur's indifferent reactions made him feel like the odd one out of the three.
"It's okay, look." Arthur pointed one finger at where the vertical mark was on his left cheek causing Raphael to struggle with his next words. The single finger slowly drew an invisible line downwards, displaying the smooth, clean skin that was void of any scars.
"Wait, but didn't Paul cut you there?" Raphael asked.
As Paul listened on the side, a slight smile formed as a sense of admiration washed over him. It seemed Paul needed to adjust his evaluation of Raphael since he didn't expect the inexperienced child to be able to follow their spar.
"Yeah, he did. He also punched me with divine energy, and that's why my wound healed," Arthur replied.
Touching the nonexistent mark on his cheek, Arthur swallowed the bittersweet reality that he had underestimated Paul, who mainly wielded a spear. It didn't cross his mind that Paul would punch him with his fist during the spar, but that should have been expected, as Paul had never used conventional fighting methods.
"Divine energy? Paul's a priest?" The disbelief that lingered in Raphael's voice caused one of Paul's brows to rise in response.
The sight of Paul's vast shoulders and well-defined back muscles, hidden beneath the white tunic, was the exact opposite of Raphael's image of a priest. In fact, he was in full doubt until Paul raised a golden fist in the air and took a single swing that tore through the open space, shattering a nearby pillar. He felt a sharp glare pierce his back from a distance, but Paul simply ignored it.
"I didn't know priests were so…strong," Raphael replied.
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"Well, little Raphael, I'm going to ignore that slight pause and explain anyway, but I will admit I am a special case. Most priests are non-combatants. I just happen to be on a pilgrimage." Paul softly placed Claire in a wooden chair before pushing it closer to the dining room table. Then threw Raphael and Arthur both onto the chairs across from her.
"I sense an unfair amount of treatment between us and Claire." Arthur quietly muttered to Raphael.
"What did you say? Speak up Arthur, I'm afraid my hearing isn't as good as it used to be." Paul interjected with a smile that betrayed his eyes.
"I said-" A sharp pain traveled up Arthur's left foot as Raphael swiftly stomped on it.
"He said he couldn't wait to finish cleaning." Raphael cut him off this time as Arthur scooched his chair further away.
"Wait, you two didn't finish cleaning?" Arthur gazed at Raphael, who avoided eye contact, and then at Claire, who was leaning over the table while resting her head in the palm of her hands.
"I did my part. Raphael just went to train." Claire proudly exposed Raphael as she pointed at him with both index fingers sticking out while the rest were tucked into a fist.
"In my defense, I was too worried to think about cleaning when you went missing." Raphael quickly said as Claire snitched on him.
It wasn't a complete lie to say he was worried, but since it was Arthur, there was most likely no cause for concern. In fact, Arthur usually sneaked out during the night, so he assumed everything was normal.
"Missing? I was with the eastern guards." Arthur immediately raised an objection to the claim.
"And what were you doing with the eastern guards that you couldn't come home?" Raphael asked.
"They thought I was a suspect for the recent increase in missing people." The words that came out of Arthur's mouth drew shadows of concern on Paul's face as his expression turned grim.
"Suspect? What's a suspect?" Claire innocently asked as her feet swung back and forth under the table.
"It's a suspicious person who could have done bad things, Claire." The tapping sound grew louder, and the rhyme increased as Raphael looked at Arthur and uttered, "But that doesn't make sense. Why would they pull you off the street?"
"...It seems that they're getting desperate. It's not one or two as well; many people have disappeared," Arthur replied.
Paul's conclusion was the same as Arthur's. In truth, during the interrogation, Arthur had been prying at the eastern guards for more information, but the difficulty was beyond his imagination as their conversation went in circles. If Arthur knew one thing for certain, it was that the cases of missing people had reached double digits.
"Paul, do you know anything about this?" Raphael asked while fidgeting with the tablecloth.
"No, it's the first time I've heard of this, and the citizens within the western district haven't reported any cases of missing people." Paul wrestled with the possible scenarios and added, "If normal citizens are being pulled from the east districts, then the west would have been the first place for anyone to go missing."
"Or… it's that the people who have gone missing aren't people that would be missed." Arthur's comment caused Paul to go quiet.
How long has it been since they last patrolled the slums?
When Paul thought about it, that was the only place that came to mind. It was a small section of the western district that operated under its own set of laws. Yet despite the difference in how matters were handled, there was still order. The lords of the slums wouldn't allow their denizens to go missing, as it interrupted their line of work.
"It seems I need to speak to Carl about this entire situation." Paul calmly stated while staring in the direction of the guard tower.
From a distance, he could see a silhouette looking out the window and met the gaze of Carl, who was watching from afar. Paul waved at him, and Carl waved back, acknowledging his request.
"Right, let's go." Arthur stood up from his seat and walked towards Paul, who swiftly stopped him.
"No, I've been lenient so far with you, Arthur, but I have to draw the line here." His hand rested on Arthur's shoulder and refused to budge as Paul held Arthur in place.
"What? Why?" Arthur's eyes narrowed, questioning Paul, who normally didn't mind him following.
"Because you are still a child. There's no telling what dangers lie ahead," Paul replied.
Paul raised a valid concern. This current situation was unheard of, and he had never experienced anything like it before. If he spoke to Carl and it turns out that citizens in the North and South districts also went missing, then that means the severity of the matter was far greater than he could imagine.
"I've known danger my entire life, and it's not like you can stop me." Arthur attempted to push Paul's hand to the side, but noticing how resilient it was, his brows furrowed.
"Then what about Raphael? If I let you go, he'll want to come along," Paul added.
They turned to Raphael, who was playing with the tablecloth. Paul raised a valid point that Arthur didn't even consider. He knew that Arthur would be able to hold his own, but the same couldn't be said about Raphael. It was an unpredictable and dangerous situation that only allowed those who could protect themselves to participate.
"Don't look at me; I'm good. This just seems like a bad idea so I'm going to stay here and look after Claire." Raphael returned a disinterested gaze. He wanted to get stronger, but not at the cost of his own life.
"You heard him. It'll just be you and me." Arthur used brute force to push Paul's hand to the side.
"Arthur, I can't allow you to follow me, and that's final." An unrelenting force carrying a sense of authority emerged from Paul that betrayed his usual demeanor.
"Why? I can help!" The clear frustration from Arthur's voice drew their attention, but Paul remained adamant on his decision.
"I'm putting my foot down, Arthur. You are not permitted to look into this matter." Paul stomped the ground with one foot, signifying his stance. Without heeding another moment, Paul turned away from Arthur and began walking away.
The sound of footsteps grew fainter as the three children watched Paul's back disappear into the distance. Arthur slammed his fist onto the wooden table, causing a small vibration to reverberate throughout the barracks dining hall. Claire and Raphael sat there quietly, unsure of what to say to comfort their disgruntled friend.
With a light tap on Arthur's shoulder, Raphael dejectedly suggested while looking the other way. "If you want…we can go clean the halls now."
"Clean the halls?" The suggestion from Raphael made Arthur smile as a new idea came to mind. Arthur quickly pulled Raphael and Claire out of their seats and wrapped his arms around them.
"Hug!" Claire returned the gesture as Raphael struggled to break free.
"Let go of me! Stop! What the hell are you doing?!" Raphael wiggled with all his might but struggled to break free. Even though Arthur was the one who initiated it, Claire had a frighteningly strong grip as he felt his ribs crack under the pressure.
"Alright, alright, I'll let go." Arthur released them as Claire grinned and squeezed once more before letting go. A slight cracking sound came from Raphael's spine as he rubbed his lower back with one hand.
"Hug done!" Claire then took a step back before tackling Raphael to the ground.
"Why?!" Raphael cried out as a dull pain rose from his chest.
The surprising amount of force exerted by Claire made him stagger as he took several steps back while holding onto Claire. It didn't help that his sister happily smiled with both hands latched onto his shirt. He was torn between pushing Claire away and feeling guilty for doing so. With one peek, Arthur waved at him as if saying he would leave the rest to him and suddenly dashed towards the guard tower. Leaving behind Raphael, who helplessly stood there with Claire swinging on his shoulders.