Klara slapped Billiam.
"How dare you!" Billiam yelled, holding his cheek in shock.
"No, how dare you, trying to stir up the people just when there was a crisis?" Klara said.
"You're on his side," Billiam said, pointing at Kojo with his other hand.
"Rude," Kojo said, folding his arms.
"I'm your brother, goddammit! You should be taking my side!" Billiam demanded.
"This isn't about taking sides. Stop acting like a child and think. There was a lot of damage done to the city, and a lot of property has been damaged. Aside from that, there's also the question of where that wraith came from. You should be thinking about ways to solve these problems instead of starting a riot. What impact do you think it's going to have, especially since there's a terrorist group that's trying to kill any and all humans they see?"
"(I like her.)"
"Now I see. There are two potential heirs to the throne. One of them a fool who can easily be manipulated, and the other one is as open-minded and smart as she is beautiful," Kojo thought.
"(Now's not the time for pervy thoughts.)"
Kojo ignored it.
"And let's assume that Kojo isn't a patient person and lost his temper. Then you'd turn around and start saying all sorts of things like you're the victim, meanwhile you ran away crying with your tail between your legs," Klara said.
"This girl is good. I mean, the way she's roasting the nig— uh, sorry," Kojo thought.
Billiam glared at Kojo.
"You will pay for this," Billiam said before walking away.
"I'm sorry about this, Kojo," Klara said. "My brother wasn't always like that; he was kind, fun. I looked up to him."
Kojo sensed something in her tone.
"Don't worry though, he's not going to cause trouble," she said reassuringly. Kojo looked in her eyes and realized that what he sensed was sadness, the sadness of being so distant from her brother.
"Well, anyway, what's going to happen now?" Sharone asked, trying to change the subject.
"Well, the people who got hurt are going to be compensated by the kingdom. Those who lost property and don't have a place to go can go to the relief department where they'll be provided for, for a time," Rey said.
"What about this?" Lin asked, pointing at the remnants of the dragon.
"Oh, that. A team will be sent from the church to 'cleanse' the evil beast," Sasha said. "Honestly, I really hate those church guys; they'll never lend aid until the problems almost half solved, then swoop in and act like they did all the hard work," Sasha said in annoyance.
"Yeah, I was wondering why Yuki didn't come to help since she's in the city," Kojo wondered out loud.
"It's the church," Adriana said.
"Huh?"
"The fact that she's a hero doesn't mean that she's free to do whatever she wants. She has to seek guidance from a Bishop or anyone ranked higher in order to get guidance from the goddess. If the Bishop says that the goddess does not approve, then the hero is powerless to do anything."
"So it means that she's under the thumbs of the higher-ups. I'm willing to bet that the whole guidance crap is a way of controlling her," Kojo said.
"This is quite a sensitive topic and shouldn't be discussed in the open, as the wind can carry whispers to silent ears."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kojo asked.
"You're hopeless," Vanessa said.
"(How dense can you get? It's a figure of speech. You know, like the one that says even walls have ears?)"
"Oooooooooh."
"(I wonder why I even try)," Sysia said, sounding exasperated.
They saw a group of men wearing white robes with weird golden crosses around their necks and hoods over their heads. There were a bunch of knights with them.
"Well, speak of the devil's henchmen," Vanessa said.
"Huh?"
"Those are mages from the church," Sharone said.
"Okay?" Kojo said, noticing Leo. He rode up to the corpse and looked at it before riding over to them.
"Were you the one who slew the wraith?" he asked Vanessa.
"You know it's rude to just ask someone something without greeting first," Vanessa said.
"I don't have time for your antics, Miss Vanessa Warren Leicester," Leo said.
"Wait, she's a Leicester?" Kojo wondered, surprised.
"(This is why I told you to pay attention during the Ceremony.)"
"Feeling high and mighty, are we?" she asked, grinning as a portal appeared beside her and a spearhead slowly stuck out. Leo looked at it.
"My apologies," Leo said after a pause.
"You're no fun," Vanessa said in a disappointed tone as the portal disappeared.
"We are thankful that you kept the city safe," Leo said.
"Don't thank me; thank the white-haired boy and his friends. It's thanks to them that the beast was slain with minimal damage and zero casualties," Vanessa said. Leo looked at Kojo.
"Surely you jest."
"So you see me laughing, clown?" Vanessa asked, glaring at him.
"But—" Leo began, but Vanessa cut him off.
"Now go on and thank them on behalf of the church and the goddess you worship."
"I'm sorry, but I cannot thank this band of women, nor do I acknowledge this." He looked straight at Kojo.
"Especially him."
"What was that?" Sasha demanded. Kojo put a hand on her shoulder and, with his hands in his pockets, walked toward Leo.
"I thought that you'd know not to screw with me since you were an eyewitness to how great I am at the tournament, but I guess your brain couldn't process that."
"What are you babbling about?" Leo asked. His horse began to act up. Leo wondered why the horse was restless and began to feel uneasy himself. He looked at Kojo and saw that his irises were glowing red.
"I nearly died today, and some douchebag made me think about catching bodies. I don't know what it is, but I'm gonna attribute my current mood to hormones and that ugly face of yours. Now to the main topic." Leo tried to reach for his sword but found himself hanging several feet in the air, held by the collar of his robe. His first shock, however, was the fact that Kojo had wings. He was so taken aback that he couldn't say anything. Kojo was holding him by the collar of his robe, with a hand in his pocket.
"Now, I know you don't like me, and that's fine. You have your reasons, and it's not like every single person on the planet is going to like you. But you've disrespected me and my friends one too many times. The fact that I don't bare my fangs doesn't mean I don't bite," Kojo said, grinning. The next moment, Leo was sitting on the floor with Kojo looking down at him.
"Good talk," he said cheerfully, turning to walk away. Leo got up and drew his sword, following and about to strike.
"That's enough, Leonard," Yuki said. Leo froze.
"Yuki, when did you get here?" Kojo said, walking over.
"Sorry I didn't get here sooner. I had some things to attend to," she said.
"(Meaning the thesis was correct, she is being controlled.)"
"Leonard, you are to report back to the Chapel. I'll handle things here," Yuki said sternly.
Leo wanted to protest but decided against it.
"Yes, ma'am," he said, sheathing his sword and mounting his horse. He stole a glance at Kojo one last time. Their eyes met for a few seconds before Leo rode off.
"(He's gonna be a pain.)"
"A very big one, but I do hope he doesn't screw around, for his own sake," Kojo said coldly.
"What?" Yuki asked.
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," Kojo said.
"Anyway, you should go. I appreciate what you did, but we're gonna have to take it from here."
"(It's probably going to cause some complications between the kingdom and the church.)"
"Okay, Yuki," Kojo said.
"I'm really sorry," she said.
"Nah, it's no big deal," Kojo said.
"Well, later," Kojo said as he left.
"The church, huh?" he thought as he left.
"I'm gonna have to be careful."