Beatrice had basically refused to listen; now she was about to pay the price in a grueling death.
"Sir..." Eve looked at Zach, all confused. He couldn't blame her, though; she basically didn't know him, just from the fact that she watched him fight Arthur.
But at least there was a tone of respect in her voice, unlike a certain female staring at him.
"Then go..." Zach wielded his crutches and stumbled out of the building.
"What was that guy all about?"
Zach stumbled across the campus, all disappointed. What did he expect? Her to just kneel before him and obey his commands?
Right now, Zach had only one thing left to do.
*****
The residential districts, reserved for students, were less of a dormitory and more of a kingdom carved into the academy's grounds.
When Zach had become a gold knight, he was left with a private detached house in the middle of a long line of houses, which was very exquisite but nothing too flashy.
It basically contained all the necessities to live as a human being. While at the bronze dormitory, they all argued over who took the last piece of food.
Yeah, gold rank was nice, but this was absurdly insane.
The first thing that struck him was the unique and sleek architecture—grand stone manors of pale marble and iron ore, each lined with silver-framed windows and tall, arched doorways that looked like an entrance to a noble keep.
The assistant escorted him to his dorm; this part was a totally restricted area for most cadets, with the sole exception of the platinum ranks and the instructors.
The streets were paved with pristine marble tiles; Zach could spot a water fountain in the distance.
Zach totally skipped his dorm and went for the dorm in the middle of the cantonment—Arthur's.
"I can't believe I'm going through this much trouble—for what?" Zach sighed.
Normally, Zach wouldn't care if someone as ignorant as her died, but still—he had what we call 'a human heart.'
Zach knocked on the huge silver door to Arthur's dorm, and a second later, a white-haired boy with ruby-red eyes opened the door with a tired expression.
Immediately, he saw Zach; his eyes lit up.
"You're here for a rematch?" He grinned.
"Well, I'm... unfortunately I'm currently incapable of any rematches, for now." Zach raised his crutches.
Arthur was a little disappointed.
"This guy is really a battle maniac." Zach thought.
The wounds on Arthur's body from the previous fight had all vanished, like they were never there in the first place.
"So... what do you want?" Arthur raised a brow.
"A favor." Zach replied.
"A favor?... What could the current strongest cadet on the campus want from me?" He teased.
Zach smiled bitterly.
"As you can see, I'm incapable of fighting for now, so I need a pair of strong arms like yours."
Zach's smile turned bitter.
"You need me... to fight?... for you?" Arthur raised a brow; the way he emphasized the word "you" made it seem mocking.
"Ahhh..." Zach scratched his head.
"Okay... let's just say I agreed to help you... what's in it for me?"
Zach stared at this guy... "What would you possibly want?"
That wasn't an insane question; the prince basically had everything—a private manor, the king's validation, and all the best sparring partners he could get.
Zach literally had nothing to offer.
"Come on, can't you do this for friend's sake?" Arthur shook his head.
"Okay, if you do this, you'll get applauded by the king himself."
Arthur raised a brow. "If you don't know, my father isn't one to be impressed by anything." Arthur said, his voice hung low, like he was a bit disappointed.
"Yeah, but if you protect the outskirts from a potentially catastrophic invasion by Thyxars, I'm damned sure he'll at least thank you." Zach stated.
Arthur just looked at Zach like he heard a devastating prophecy from a street beggar.
"As you can see, I'm currently incapable of defending anything for the next few days, but this needs to be done now."
"What?... What do you mean by that?"
At that spot, Zach conjured up a story about noticing some weird shifts in the atmosphere—a totally random thing, but managed to link it to a Thyxar invasion.
"Arthur, a gold-rank student is also going on a mission in that area. If you don't go, the blood of prodigies will be on your hands."
Zach tried to sound grim; at least he thought he succeeded.
"So, the chance of your atmospheric theory being true is close to 0." Arthur wanted to laugh but stopped himself.
"Okay, then let's make a bet." Zach gritted.
Arthur smiled. "Then what's in it fro me.
"100." Zach raised his finger.
"100 blood stones." Arthur blinked. "Isn't that a bit much, even for you?"
Zach knew the prince could fetch about 100 blood stones no problem from whatever armory they had.
Zach grinned. "You dare trample on my theory?"
Arthur sighed; his face turned serious. "Are you sure a Thyxar invasion is on the rise?" He asked, his face grim.
Zach nodded.
Arthur came out. "Young master, where are you going?" A butler dressed in a suit ran towards Arthur.
"Don't worry, Almen; I'll be back before you know it." Arthur walked to the main courtyard.
Zach quickly limped behind him.
"During our fight, you used the Algera Thrust—although it was a knockoff version, it was still powerful."
Zach didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Did he just get congratulations or criticism?
"Yeah... thanks, I guess." He muttered.
"What surprised me about you, I could tell you knew nothing about the Algera Thrust... but you still did it anyway..."
"Yeah, and look at me now... I'm paying the price." Turning your entire body into a whip when you had zero experience wasn't exactly the best idea, but it worked in that situation, so no regrets.
Arthur picked up a sword and, still wearing his sleeping robe, walked towards the academy's main gate.
"Aren't you gonna put something on first?" Zach raised a brow. "Like your uniform."
"For what?" Arthur shrugged.
Zach just knew the knight would be allowed to go regardless of the uniform.
Still... wearing a sleeping robe in battle wasn't really the best idea.