Return Of The Strongest Player

"Quite a nice toy you've picked up, Gregorio," said the leader of the Millers, Kevin Miller. He wore a pristine, white suit and sipped on maroon wine. "He figured out I was behind Jim Destiny."

Gregorio chuckled before motioning for Arthur to sit. Xavier pulled a chair over, allowing the crimson-eyed man to sit comfortably. Kevin and Gregorio chatted as if they were old friends.

Arthur sat blankly, uncertain of what to do. The Millers hadn't interfered with the conflict yet, but sending an envoy–the leader himself–to meet with a certain side was quite bold of them. Gregorio welcomed him with open arms, another thing Arthur found strange.

"Let's get to the topic at hand, shall we?" Kevin suggested, to which Gregorio nodded fervently. The two leaned forward with solemn expressions. An awkward silence descended upon Gregorio's office.

"You realize this may escalate into a full-blown war, right?" Kevin asked, raising an eyebrow at Gregorio's somewhat casual attitude. "Considering the Ainsworths started it, you will be at the center of Arcadia Academy's focus. Everyone believes you're in cahoots with Arcadia Academy, which is why they stay away. But if you two fight, you'll be the center of everyone's focus, and in most cases, the Ainsworths would fall."

"Let's not get conclusive, here," replied Gregorio. "The Ainsworths aren't that weak of a force. Although we can't compare to Arcadia Academy, Jester Organization and you guys, we can still resist."

Kevin nodded.

"Also, we're the only force currently against Arcadia Academy," said Gregorio. "I understand that's a disadvantage, but if we can pull the Garcias into this, we can expand our forces twofold. That's enough to stand on equal footing with you three."

Arthur cringed inwardly. It seemed Kevin wasn't aware of the Ainsworths' alliance with the Jester Organization. That meant Gregorio hadn't allied with the Millers, since if he had, he wouldn't hide a major factor in their potential victory.

But, he allowed Kevin into the estate of the Ainsworths.

That meant the Millers still hadn't declared their affiliation in the upcoming conflict. Gregorio was simply trying to poach Kevin.

Suddenly, Kevin glanced at Arthur before standing up. "We'll talk about this some other time, Gregorio. For now, shall I stay at a hotel nearby? Would you miss me if I returned to the Millers' Domain?"

"We have a meeting in a few days, so I suggest you don't," replied Gregorio flatly. "But otherwise, it's your choice. I don't need to ally with the Millers if I can have a successful meeting with the Garcias."

"Harsh, Gregorio," said Kevin, feigning a hurt expression. He then exited the room while chuckling. While walking through the doorway, he suddenly turned around before flashing a glare towards Arthur.

Slam!

"Anticlimactic," commented Arthur, leaning back in his chair before crossing his feet in order to find comfort. "Couldn't you have informed me that Kevin Miller was visiting? Also, did he tell you that Jim was involved with him?"

"No," replied Gregorio, inhaling a gulp of air. "Ian found Jim in the Millers' Domain."

"So, you already knew?"

Gregorio nodded cheekily. "Let's not worry about that. How did you find out?"

"Jake."

"Figured."

"I guess I don't have anything to do, then," said Arthur, standing up as he prepared to leave. Gregorio ordered Xavier to see the crimson-eyed man out.

*

The same day, Jake returned home to the Garcia Estate. He managed to recover enough to resume school.

At night, Arthur, too, returned to his dorms.

The others greeted him warmly, including Gary, who pretended as if nothing had occurred. Although Arthur found his reaction unpleasant, he ignored it for the time being.

*

The next day, as Arthur's eyelids slowly opened to reveal the vibrant colors of the world, the first thing he saw were Evan's joyful eyes.

"You look like a dork," said Arthur, pushing his face away as he rubbed his eyes. The world was still a blur, considering he'd just woken up. Caroline was already occupying the bathroom, while Gary had gone outside for a morning run.

"Harsh," replied Evan, pouting as he slammed on the bathroom door. "Get out of there, Carol! You're taking too fucking long!"

"I'm not!"

"It's been two whole hours!"

"That's nothing!" Carol replied in a tone of annoyance. "Why're you so worried? Arthur is going next. He already booked himself a slot last night."

Evan glared at the crimson-eyed man, who simply revealed a faint smile.

"Aren't we going for a hunt today?" Evan asked, plopping on Arthur's bed in a lazy manner.

Arthur nodded. Class A and B were to meet at homeroom to prepare for a hunt. Today was the day they were visiting a nearby forest as a class activity.

Although the activity had emerged from basically nowhere, considering it was planned by the superiors barely a few days ago, Arthur had expected something of the sort, considering the recent incident with Jake.

The hunt was supposed to be conducted in order to lighten the mood.

*

Arthur arrived early, as usual, to assist Flecker in organizing and bettering his theories. The two worked restlessly for about an hour before students began flooding in. Some were excited, while others were bored.

The sudden change wasn't liked by everyone.

Arthur returned to his seat before acknowledging Jake's presence with a nod. The latter nodded back, and the two pretended to have somehow reverted their relationship to its initial stage.

"How're things going with Mr. Slovenio?" Jake asked, to which Arthur shook his head in sheer annoyance.

"Bad," replied the crimson-eyed man. "I never expected someone could be this stupid. He has even the basic principles of mana flow wrong. The conductors, and insulators… he can't even identify whether mana becomes dense, thin, or remains same when exposed to different temperatures."

"You realize everything you say is going over my head, right?" Jake asked, pointing to the top of his head.

Arthur sighed, turning his attention back to Flecker, who had a hurt expression on his face as if he'd heard everything.

That was when the hunting trip began.