"Oh—uhm, I'm sure you already know why," Arthur said with a bitter smile. "After all, the girls told you that my grandma and I are psychos, right?"
"Since you can defeat me, I don't think other students can defeat you in a fight. So, there's no way you're being bullied here," Lancelot stated, his expression turned serious as he prodded.
Arthur couldn't explain that it was just Dullahan's power fused into his body, because that would sound like complete nonsense in Lancelot's ears.
Besides, even when he hadn't met Dullahan, nobody really picked a fight with him, mostly because he kept his head low and did his own things without bothering anyone.
He was walking on eggshells the whole time, since his grandma had a reputation of being a crazy lady who would pick a fight with everyone.
If he made a scene, everyone would judge him even more as the grandson of a nutjob.
"Bullying isn't just about getting beaten up. I never get beaten because everyone thinks that my late grandma was a psycho who keeps yelling about demons and the devil. In a town like this, people are still superstitious, and they believe she had some kind of dark magic to curse them," Arthur replied. "So, all they do is give me a nasty look. They talk behind my back whenever they are bored, and add random gossip about me."
Arthur chuckled mirthlessly as he remembered the last gossip he heard about his grandma, "When my grandma died, all the gossip came around. They said my grandma committed suicide. Some said she had a fight with a random hobo and got killed. Heck, I even heard gossip that I killed my grandma because I couldn't stand her anymore."
"Can you believe that? I lived with my grandma for five years. I took care of her as much as I can, since nobody else wants to, and I… I love her so much," Arthur clenched the lunchbox even tighter, his body was shaking as he got upset with the idea that he killed his own grandma. "Why would they think that I'd kill the only family I have?"
Lancelot observed Arthur in silence the whole time. He raised his hand slightly as he wanted to pat Arthur in the back.
But stopped midway and pulled his hand back, "Sorry…"
"Uhm?"
"For calling your grandma a psycho. I was harsh."
Arthur chuckled, "No, no, it's alright. You didn't know much about my grandma's reputation anyway. If you lived in Fort Garden since you were young, I'm sure you'd be one of them…"
Lancelot sighed seeing Arthur swimming in self-pity.
"Nobody can control rumors, not even with all the money Fairmonts have," Lancelot said. "Most people live a mundane life, so they spice it up with gossip. Even if those gossips are baseless."
"I also heard plenty of outrageous rumors about myself and was bothered by it when I was a kid. But now I just ignore them and continue with my activities," Lancelot said. He glanced at Arthur and asked seriously, "Tell me, Arthur. What would you do if nobody in this school dared to spread rumors about you again? Would you be happy about that? Would you befriend them all?"
"Befriend them all…" Arthur tried to imagine that. He imagined how those scowls, sneers, and nasty looks turned into big smiles as everyone in school was being nice to him.
It sounded amazing in theory, but Arthur shuddered when he imagined those hypocritical faces trying to cater to him. Especially when Arthur knew that they never saw him as a friend—no, they never saw him as a human being in the first place.
"That's freaky," Arthur commented. "I've seen all their ugly faces. It'd feel fake if they suddenly act kind towards me."
"Because, it is fake," Lancelot shrugged. "There is no point wanting to befriend someone who hates you. Instead, you should just focus on being with people who appreciate your presence."
"But everyone in this town doesn't appreciate my presence."
"You have me, and I'm sure more will come," Lancelot said. "So, keep your head straight and walk with confidence. As long as you've got at least one person by your side, then everything would be alright."
Arthur was astonished by the amount of wisdom that Lancelot had, even though he was only a year older.
It made him wonder what kind of training Lancelot went through since he was young.
"Dean…"
"Hm?"
"I wonder. How could you be so skilled in martial arts at such a young age."
"I could ask the same question to you, Arthur," Lancelot snorted. "You see, I have been kidnapped countless times since I was a baby and I got fed up. So I learned martial arts when I was five and happened to be undefeatable in battle—until you punched me in the gut, of course."
"S-sorry about that one…"
"It's fine. I'm actually glad to make friends here. I thought I wouldn't find anyone interesting for the next three years," Lancelot grinned. "Now, tell me about yourself, Arthur. You are the first to defeat me, so whatever training you have must've been even harsher than mine."
"I—"
Of course, Arthur couldn't say anything about Dullahan or inner demons, because Lancelot would definitely think of him as a nutjob, just like the rest of the students in this school.
"It's okay to tell him, boy. He also has his own inner demon. I'm sure that he will awaken it sooner or later," Dullahan advised, but Arthur wasn't satisfied with that advice, because he still didn't want to be seen as crazy by his first friend.
He was thinking hard on how to answer Lancelot's question, until a brilliant idea popped in his mind.
"Arthur?"
"I-I can tell you how to get stronger. But you have to let me stay in your house for tonight."
Lancelot raised his brow, "I don't follow."
"I promise to show you my training regime! I guarantee that you'll get stronger by the time you're done with that training!" Arthur said.
"And to trade for that information is by—"
"Let's have a sleepover at your house!"
Lancelot stared at Arthur, his expression dumbfounded. He was so stunned he fell into a long silence before repeating what he just heard.
"Sleepover?"
"Yes, sleepover!" Arthur nodded without hesitation.
The scion—who had lived sixteen years of his life in solitary and only been surrounded by his servants and business partners—never thought that someone was actually bold enough to ask for something as ridiculous as a sleepover.
"Is that a no?" Arthur asked.
"I never said no. It was just… shocking," Lancelot replied. "But I've never done this. What do people do in a sleepover anyway?"
"We can watch movie, play video games. Oh, board games too!" Arthur said. He never had a sleepover because he didn't have any friends. But he thought those should be regular things we do during a sleepover, right?
"I see. Alright. Please excuse me while I make a call," Lancelot said as he put away his lunchbox and fished out his phone.
He got up, and walked away from Arthur.
"Boy! What are you doing? We have no time to do a sleepover while that demon is still alive! We have to kill it as soon as possible!" Dullahan protested.
As Lancelot was busy with a phone call, Arthur finally had a chance to talk with Dullahan, "Having a sleepover is the perfect chance to kill that demon. I can wait until both Dean and Albert are asleep, then I can sneak into that old man's room and attack the demon."
"Besides, I also want to know more about his relationship with Albert. I feel like there are more layers I have to uncover before deciding on what to do."
Dullahan sighed, "This one is my fault. I forgot to tell you in order to attack that demon, you have to awaken it from inside Albert's heart. Remember how Albert got defensive because you asked about Lancelot's mother? Once you anger him enough, that demon will appear in its full form, not just a shadow with red eyes."
"So, I can't just kill it while Albert is asleep?"
"No!"
"Oh…" Arthur was at loss. He thought assassinating an inner demon was possible. But since it wasn't, there was no need for a sleepover.
"Alright, once he returns, I'll tell Dean to cancel it. I'm sure he doesn't want a stranger in his house," Arthur said.
It took a while until Lancelot returned.
Arthur wanted to say that they should cancel the sleepover. But for some reason, Lancelot looked determined, as if there was a fire in his eyes.
"Alright, I've made the preparation. Everything should be in order," Lancelot said firmly, as if he was about to go on a life-or-death mission.
Arthur gulped as he realized that Lancelot must've called his servants to prepare everything.
"Dean, I don't think we need—"
"Arthur."
"Y-yes!"
Lancelot gripped Arthur's shoulder and stared at him solemnly, "Under the name of my family, I guarantee that you will have a fun and fulfilling sleepover at my mansion."
…
Arthur tried to swallow his saliva for the second time, but it was difficult as he realized he made a small mistake.
"Well, I see nothing wrong with bonding with your friend. Just get yourself some beer and enjoy the night playing games and singing with the bard! Knights in the past did that often in pubs!" Dullahan said.
But I'm a minor.
Arthur wanted to say that, but all he could do right now was show a nervous smile and hoped that Lancelot didn't take his request too seriously.