Arthur's Point of View

Helmsforth Temple

Arceana looked immediately irked but forced her calm and usual smile to her face. "Be that as it may, we called you here because we know there are some unsettled instances between you and a few others."

Quirking a brow at that, I replied in a confused manner. "If you're referring to Rudnurth, I was informed he was sealed away in a prison of sorts. Kind of hard to resolve those instances without getting another crack at him." Then I raised my hand with a smirk on my face as I looked at the two Priestesses. "Unless you're saying that you'd hand him over to me?" I suggested.

Elincia stood and walked towards the students. "Rudnurth has been dealt with, and there is no reason to hand him over to you. However, we know that you are quite angry with Ayda Farro." She stated as she gestured to the Elf in question, who averted her gaze from mine.

The pink-haired priestess then moved to the other side of the group of students and continued. "Floyd and Kine were both present as well, but they failed to act." Arceana continued. "After being attacked by them time and time again in misunderstandings and curiosity, we understand your misgivings about them."

All three of the named students stepped forward and bowed to me before I looked back to the Priestesses. "I'm gonna be completely honest and say I have no idea what you two are referring to. Why am I angry with Ayda?" I asked in a confused tone.

Most of those present seemed surprised at my confusion. "Was it not Ayda's spell who wounded you in such a grievous manner? Her thirst for knowledge led to our Knight being wounded in a life-threatening manner!" Elincia stated.

"Sir Arthur…" Ayda began as she looked at me with tears in her eyes and moved in front of me. "I am so sorry for how I hurt you! It was not my intention to do so! As a seeker of knowledge, there were questions I had, and it seemed like only you had the answer. So, I tried to take them by force, and because of me, you disappeared." A few tears ran down her cheeks as she wiped at them. "Then you came back in that gruesome state. I know nothing I can say will ever make-"

"Yeah, I'm gonna stop you right there." Holding up both my hands got her to stop. "You don't need to apologize. I've come to the realization that that is how things work here. We all make mistakes in the heat of passion, Ayda. Remember that Elf noble I beheaded at my coronation? Wild, right?"

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"I-" Ayda stumbled out in confusion.

"Although I didn't technically do anything for you to attack me like you did, but everything worked out in the end." Of course, I also knew it wasn't her fault the spell did what it did since it was Aydan who made sure it happened. "Did you just stand around with your friends, aside from Cassidy and Typhon, while I was being attacked? Yes." Then I patted her on the shoulders as she looked at me, confused.

"So, you are not mad?" The young Elf asked me softly.

"Stronger people than you have tried to kill me. Next time, give it you're 'A Game' if you want to put me down." Then I nudged her and gestured to the priestesses. "Just ask your teachers."

Not going to lie, I had completely forgotten that I should've been mad at her, but that wasn't really her fault. Everything was designed by Aydan, so I would be sent to the past. Attacking me with a spell was stupid, but at that point, it was my fault for letting my guard down.

Then I looked to the priestesses. "However, if you do want to make it up to me for your student, you could let Rudnurth out again." A frown came to their faces as I moved past Ayda and gestured to her briefly. "I certainly wouldn't mind continuing where we left off."

"Rudnurth is no longer your concern, Arthur." Elincia stated firmly. "Why do you even care about battling him?"

Grinning darkly, I replied with a knowing look. "What do you mean? He attacked Lestrania, the Capital, and its Priestesses. If anything, sealing him away seems too lenient towards the enemy." Then I crossed my arms. "Why not just finish him off? I can do it easily enough, and he never surrendered. Unless you're protecting him for some reason?" Naturally, I knew that, but I doubt everyone else did.

Arceana tapped her scepter on the ground. "Rudnurth is imprisoned and no longer a threat. However, it is unnerving that you would focus on someone who has already been taken care of instead of addressing the people who are apologizing to you." She stated.

"Ayda's fine. Right, Ayda?" The Elf opened her mouth to reply, but I just continued. "Perfect!" Turning back to the room revealed narrowed eyes focused on me. "Look, if there is nothing else about this than more half-baked apologies, I'd like to head back."

"We are trying to be sincere." Elincia stated.

"I'm sure you are, but fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me. Fool me three times…" I paused as the smirk left my face. "There is no third time." Scoffing at her, I continued. "Sincere? That isn't the word I would use to describe this place." Then I pointed to Cassidy. "She's sincere." Next was Typhon. "He's also sincere. I don't know about the rest of you."

"Sir Arthur, if I may," Arceana gestured around the room. "Many of us here realize that it hasn't been the best welcoming for you. Even if your actions are hard to understand, most of us assumed the worst when interacting with you."

"Story of my life, but go on."

Elincia sighed. "If you do not want sincere apologies from most of our students, that is understandable." Gesturing for Ayda to return to the others, she looked at me. "However, there was another reason for us calling you here."

"Rudnurth escaped again, and you need me to actually kill him this time?"

Ignoring me, Elincia continued as she gestured to the line of teenagers. "Every male or female present has been given an opportunity to become a squire or an apprentice to you. We would like you to look over the candidates and see if there are any you think have potential or would be interested in working with."

Quirking a brow at that, I gestured to myself. "You want to give me a squire?"

"It is expected for Knight's to have a squire at some point, and given the fact that you've saved our lives and stopped Rudnurth, many think of you as a hero. A squire to the hero, Arthur Pendragon, would interest many."

"Hero?" The word left my mouth in disdain.