The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 361: Chapter 356 — Talk

Somehow, the sight of Arcturus smiling so openly brought a frown to Zephyrion’s face. He suddenly recalled the strange impression he’d gotten at the end of their battle, when the prince had asked him that bizarre question.

’There’s definitely something wrong with this guy.’

”Huh? What’s with the long face?” Pushing himself off the tree, Arcturus approached with an excited glint in his eyes. ”Come on, man! This is fucking great news!”

The prince appeared entirely unfazed by the pressure oozing off Zephyrion. In fact, it seemed to be the very source of his excitement. His entire body was faintly trembling, as though he could barely contain himself.

Zephyrion regarded him silently for several seconds, while Lumi glanced between the two, her brows gradually drawing together.

Eventually, Arcturus opened his mouth to speak.

”I—”

”No.”

Arcturus blinked, tilting his head. ”...the fuck? I haven’t even said anything yet.”

”You want to fight me, right?” The prince’s widening smile was all the answer Zephyrion needed. ”Not interested.”

”Ah, come on, man! How you gonna do your best friend like that? It’s just a little scuffle between bros!”

Zephyrion stared at him.

”...since when were we best friends?”

Even Lumi was now staring at Arcturus with an increasingly peculiar expression, as though she, too, was beginning to question whether the prince was entirely alright in the head.

”Ahh, not you too.” Arcturus sighed, shaking his head. ”I literally declared it, didn’t I? What more do you want? Besides, even if I hadn’t, your answer to the sacred brotherhood question already proved we’re meant to be bros.”

Zephyrion stared at him for a long moment, trying to make sense of what he’d just heard.

”...the what?”

”The sacred brotherhood question.” Arcturus nodded solemnly, as though explaining something of profound importance. ”Cute and innocent or busty and sexy. You chose the former, right? Well, that’s my shit too. If that’s not brotherhood, I don’t know what is.”

In a nutshell, it seemed his initial conclusion had been accurate.

’He’s definitely not right in the head.’

A moment later, Arcturus turned his attention to Lumi, regarding her with an intrigued look.

”Speaking of answers... ahh, so this is why you picked the former, huh?”

He flashed what he probably considered a charming smile and reached for Lumi’s hand, only to freeze under the weight of her glare. Arcturus let out an amused laugh as he wisely retracted his arm.

”Not just cute and innocent, but feisty too! Bro, you lucky bastard! I’m so fucking jealous!”

Lumi’s expression was growing increasingly murderous. If he didn’t get her away from the prince in the next few seconds, Zephyrion had no doubt he would end up separating a fight. Besides, there was something he would honestly rather be doing right now.

”Well, it was nice meeting you.”

With a curt nod, Zephyrion turned to leave, but Arcturus hastily stepped into his path.

”Wait, wait! Come on, bestie, don’t be like that! I know that look. You’re off to test out those new muscles, aren’t you? Well, who better to help than yours truly? Think about it, wouldn’t you rather have something that can actually hit back than spend all day punching empty air?”

Zephyrion frowned, actually considering the offer. It was true that having a sparring partner would be far more effective than training alone. Lumi could also help with that, but at least with Arcturus, he wouldn’t have to worry about holding back his blows too much. However...

’I just need to make sure... those two don’t kill each other.’

His gaze shifted to Lumi, whose expression suggested she was barely tolerating the prince’s presence, then back to Arcturus, who was still smiling as though nothing had happened.

Zephyrion sighed. After a moment of consideration, he nodded.

”Fine.”

The Undying Prince immediately broke into a grin.

...

Several minutes later, they arrived at a secluded spot far away from the academy’s main building. It was times like this that Zephyrion actually appreciated the vast expanse of land the academy occupied. Still, something about the area left a knot in his stomach.

It wasn’t long before he realized why.

’Just a mile away.’

From where he stood, he could make out the very spot where he’d discovered and killed Horus. Zephyrion instinctively swept his newly enhanced senses across the surrounding area, searching for anything he might have overlooked that night.

Only after several moments passed without detecting anything unusual did the knot in his stomach finally loosen, allowing him to release a quiet breath of relief.

Finally, he turned to face Arcturus ahead. The prince was grinning from ear to ear, as though he were living out some fantasy of his.

’Did they seriously have to come too...’

A short distance away, just behind Lumi, stood a crowd of cadets. Unfortunately, they had caught the two just as they were leaving, and Arcturus, being the blabbermouth Zephyrion was quickly realizing he was, had wasted no time announcing their spar. Now, aside from the head cadets, most of those who’d been in the cafeteria had come to watch.

”Bestie! You ready or what?” Arcturus called out, his eyes brimming with excitement.

”Stop calling me that.” Zephyrion frowned, but nodded. ”You can make the first move.”

”Haha! Don’t mind if I do!”

Arcturus cracked his knuckles, rolled his neck, then stretched his arms and legs, looking every bit like someone preparing for the time of his life. Finally, he fixed his gaze on Zephyrion and invoked,

”Calamity Metal.”

A formless wave erupted from him, surging skyward as the earth cracked beneath his feet. Zephyrion stared at the immense pressure churning violently around Arcturus, a slight frown forming on his face.

’Huh... it feels completely different.’

Just days ago, this same pressure had been enough to almost overwhelm him, but now, even without a shred of metal aura around his body, he remained completely unmoved. In fact, it was as though his mere presence had formed an invisible field around him, preventing even the slightest trace of pressure from reaching him.

”Here I fucking come!”