PART 22 :-
PERSUADE
Dex perspective :-
"My legs are hurting. I don't want to walk."
"We are almost there, Jerry."
"Big Brother, let me climb onto your shoulders."
"Okay, okay." Bright lifted him onto his shoulders and started walking again.
"When I couldn't find Jerry, I was so scared. He is too innocent for this world. I was afraid that something might happen to him."
"In the end, your brother is alright because of Bright. So don't worry too much."
Bright was walking really fast. The distance between him and us kept increasing.
"Hey, Dex, you said you hate Bright. Then why are you helping him?"
"My help has nothing to do with my hatred toward him. I am also a member of the Machimoi Group, so it's my responsibility to help my teammates."
"Then why did you decide to work with him?"
"It's a long story, but if I put it shortly, I want to acknowledge him. I want to observe him. He is different from any of us. I want to admire him. And maybe a day will come when I accept him as my friend."
"Ooo... I see."
We finally reached her house.
[At the veranda]
"You guys wait in the assembly hall. I'll call my father immediately."
She left the place.
"Hey, how are we going to convince him?" I asked Bright while waiting for the head's arrival.
"How!? I haven't thought about it."
"What!? You came here without thinking about how you're going to convince him? What do you think? You'll just tell him to vote for Minidra and he'll agree?"
"Well, I actually thought that. He won't agree?"
How stupid is he?
While we were arguing, the head entered the assembly hall with his daughter and sat on his chair, which was raised about a foot above where we were standing.
"I heard how you boys helped my children and showed your kindness. I am grateful for that. I also heard that you wish to speak with me. You may state your request."
"You are one of the members of the High Council, and we need your support."
"Support for what?"
"We are members of the Machimoi Group along with Princess Minidra of the Scribes. She filed a Veto for her freedom and went against her council's rules. We need your support to help secure her freedom," I answered.
"Hmm, Machimoi... That means one of you is TheCurseofJoyful."
"It's me. My name is Bright, and I am cursed."
"Why do you think she needs to be with cursed people? What guarantee do I have that you won't harm her in the future?"
"I don't know. I'm not a fortune teller, so I can't predict the future. But that doesn't mean I will abandon her. No matter what happens, I will protect her at any cost."
"You may not be the smartest, but I can sense your kindness. You know, a clan means a lot to people like us. Why do you think she needs to be free from her clan?"
"Imagine yourself in her position. What you wear, the people you meet, and what you do—everything is decided by others. Do you really think that's a human life? She isn't an object. She has her own will. She shouldn't have her life decided by others."
"Your words remind me of someone. You even resemble her. I will think about this. However, I want to hear Minidra's own thoughts as well. If her words satisfy me, then I will definitely give my vote for her."
"It would be our pleasure."
We left the assembly hall.
........
Aliza perspective :-
"Father, why don't you support her?"
"My single vote can't change her fate. But I am really surprised by his words. He is a man who stands up for his friends. He may be the Cursed One, but I don't sense any darkness within him."
"But how is that possible?"
"Our clan is known for its power to bring happiness, so it's natural that we can sense the emotions within a person. He has sadness, anger, happiness—every emotion except darkness. And that proves that he is special."
"Maybe that's why Chiron chose to be his master."
"What!? TheGodSlayer is his master? You never told me that before! But why would that legendary figure choose him?"
"What if she loses? What do you think the God Slayer will do then?"
"We can't take this lightly."
Is her son alive? That's impossible. Everyone was burned in that fire. Yet not only does he look like her, but his words and actions are also similar to hers. If he is truly her son, then he will become a disaster for our land.
........
PART 23 :-
THE BAD NEWS
[In a room within the Scribes' Palace, a man covered from head to toe in black clothing entered. Another man was sitting inside.]
"My lord, I have news."
"Tell me."
"Your sister's friends met with the Head of the Salaturs, and it seems that his support will go to your sister."
"That is bad news. I have to inform Father before things get out of control."
[He stood up and started walking toward the door. At that moment, the man spoke.]
"My lord, may I ask you something?"
"Yes, of course."
"Do you really hate your elder sister?"
"Hmm... If I'm being honest, not entirely. I admired her when I was a child. She is four or five years older than me, yet I was better than her in almost every field. Still, my parents looked down on me because I wasn't born with a boon while she was. They always complained about why I wasn't born with one as well. Is that my fault?
Just because she has a boon doesn't mean she is better than me. One day, I will become the curse of her life and prove to everyone that I don't need any special gift to surpass her."
[After saying that, he left the room.]
........
MC perspective :-
[At the hostel room]
"Hey, you guys are late."
"Well, it sure took a long time."
"So, any good news?"
"He said that he would vote for her if she impressed him. Most likely, he wants to hear her side as well," Dex answered.
"What about you, Bond? Any positive news? Who did you go to meet?" I asked.
"Well, yeah. That man."
I looked at the person's picture and was quite surprised.
"Did he really agree to support us?"
"He is a selfish man. If we win, it will bring him profit indirectly, so he agreed to help us. But the concern is that we can't trust him. If he receives a more profitable offer, he might switch sides."
"I never imagined that you boys would make such an impact this quickly."
"Aunt Iras!!"
Her image appeared, just like last time.
"Why are you here again?"
"Hmm... I came to give you some bad news."
"Bad news!? Is Mini alright?"
"My lady is fine for now, but it seems that her brother has been keeping an eye on you all. When he heard that you had made a positive impact on the Salaturs, they decided to hold the hearing tomorrow."
"What!? Tomorrow!? We don't have enough time to convince the others."
"That's the thing. You'll have to convince them in the courtroom."
"So now we're at a disadvantage."
"Yes."
"Did you find anything that could help us?"
"I can't say whether it will help you or not. But I promise that I will find something useful."
"Tell Mini that she doesn't need to worry. We will be there for her. No matter what the outcome is, I will never let her go."
"Oh my, my... You remind me of someone. Wait, I think I know where I can find something useful. Good luck for tomorrow."
After saying that, her image disappeared.
The room fell silent.
I left the room and went outside to find some space for myself.
........
PART 24 :-
THE TENTION & ADVISE
MC perspective :-
[At the forest training ground]
Why did I come here?
Huh... those balloons. I remember now. I neglected my own training because of this mess. Juha had every reason to be angry with me. I was so arrogant back then.
[Bright grabbed one balloon in his hand.]
The balloon must not burst in my hand, but it needs to be effective against the target.
Wait, that means minimum effort with maximum results.
I summoned my Aura and threw it at the target. The wooden dummy shattered into pieces.
I finally managed to do it.
"A little focus, and every piece falls into its rightful place."
I heard Juha's voice. I smiled and asked him,
"Since when have you been watching me?"
"I've always been watching you."
"I'm sorry about earlier. You were right. I depend too much on my surroundings."
"That's not a bad thing. We can't do everything on our own, so we need to depend on others. That's how nature works. But if we lose our self-confidence, then that's not a good thing."
"So, you know about tomorrow."
"Hmm... I also know how you managed to convince that head."
"I'm scared. What if I lose my friends?"
"In the question 'what if,' positive possibilities exist too. Like, what if you win? You know, there's nothing shameful about being scared. Even the strongest people get scared. But does that mean you're going to run away?"
"Of course not."
"That's it. Don't think about anything else. Believe in yourself, and victory will come."
I felt relaxed now. Maybe that's what I needed—to believe in myself and focus on what was in front of me.
"Did you eat anything?"
"Ahh... no. I'm not even hungry."
Maybe because of the tension, I wasn't hungry.
He handed me a packet of food.
"Did you make this!?"
"What!? I can cook too."
"I think Bond is hungry as well. He hasn't eaten anything either. I should share it with him."
"Do whatever you want."
I said my farewell to him and left the training ground.
........
"You can come out now. In the first place, I don't understand why you needed to hide."
"That was a moment between a teacher and his student. I shouldn't interfere."
"Hah..."
"Maybe, for the first time, you placed your bet on the right person."
"In The Last War,people didn't need warriors, Faris, or assassins. They needed a protector. I grew tired of hearing selfish wishes like revenge or conquest. When he told me that he wanted to protect others, for the first time, I felt hope."
"That's a good thing, isn't it? You'll finally be able to rest once he succeeds."
"I wish that were true... but—"
"Why are you so worried?"
"I have seen a total of sixteen million visions of tomorrow's outcome. He wins in only eleven of them. And even among those, only three outcomes are acceptable. So his victory alone is not enough. He has to end up in one of those three possibilities."
"Don't worry. You saw it yourself. He is capable."
"I hope you're right this time."
"I should get going now. Maybe my students need some advice as well."
"You know, when you're around, it's easier. I can share things with you that I can't share with anyone else."
[Sagurd left the place.]
........
Bond perspective :-
"The shop is still open."
We were both at the old man's shop, but we couldn't find him.
"That's unusual. He never leaves while the shop is open."
"And yet, I'm still here."
Where did he come from? I'm sure I didn't sense anyone's presence before.
"What do you two need?"
"Do you know about tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"We don't have any plans. How are we supposed to win? I don't have enough time to come up with anything."
"Hmm... You know, neither of us can predict the future. We don't know what will happen tomorrow. Maybe with a proper plan, you'll have a better chance of winning. Or maybe you'll lose even with a perfect plan. Nobody can know for sure."
"But that's not a solution."
"You know what her family thinks. They believe that you aren't worthy of her, and that she doesn't belong in your group. So tomorrow, just make sure you're there for her. Stand by your friend and make sure she never feels like she's fighting this battle alone. I'm sure everyone will understand that."
Silence filled the shop for a moment before the old man spoke again.
"Hey, Bond, go fill this bottle for me."
"Why me?"
Grumbling, Bond took the bottle and left the shop.
........
Sagurd perspective :-
"You look confused, Dex."
"I don't understand. Do I really belong here?"
"And why wouldn't you?"
"I hate him. Even now..."
"You know that you hate him, but you're trying to change yourself. Isn't that a good thing? You realize that you made mistakes in the past, and now you're trying to fix them. That's what matters."
Well, I hate his face too. It looks more like his father's than his mother's.
I sat in front of him and placed my hand on his head.
"You don't have to think you're alone anymore. Make mistakes—you are still young. We can't grow without making mistakes. You're under my guidance, and I'll make sure you find a way to fix them."
Bond entered the room.
"You guys should get going now. He might be waiting for you."
They were about to leave.
"I know, Bond. I know about the deal you made with that moron."
He fell silent.
"Does Bright know?"
"That's none of your concern."
"Ha... ha... You know, you once said you wanted revenge. But now you're willing to endure any pain for Bright's sake. That makes me think you're changing."
"I haven't changed. I simply made a promise..."
"A promise... The world runs on promises. I think you should tell Bright everything about your past and accept your present."
"I don't want to remember those days anymore. But if I ever tell anyone about it, Bright should be the first."
Still that darkness...
They left the place.
........
Minidra perspective :-
[In a room within the Scribes' Palace]
"My lady, you're not sleeping?"
"I can't sleep, Iras."
"Are you nervous?"
"Yes."
"It will be alright, my lady."
"How do you know it's going to be alright?"
"I promised your mother that I would protect you. But you know what? You don't need my protection anymore. You can fight on your own now. You have friends who care about you. No matter what happens tomorrow, your friends won't leave you alone."
"And that's what I fear the most. What if something happens to them?"
"You know, you're a lot like my lady. She always thought about the people around her. But do you know what made her special? She was never afraid to face society. She turned her loved ones into her strength. You must do the same. Make your friends your strength, not your weakness. You have to believe in yourself."
"The lady you always talk about?"
"Yes. She was like a little sister to me. But I couldn't save her. I wasn't there when she needed me. But I will be there for you."
The moon continued its journey across the night sky.
Soon, dawn arrived, and with the rising sun came the day that would decide everything.
........