Chapter 680: Return To The Capital

There were a couple of reasons behind my departure.

One was obviously the high tension that was going on among everyone. The atmosphere of distrust was heavy, and even though I had rendered an apology, that simply wouldn't suffice at this point.

'I would have to reconnect with them on an emotional level. Unfortunately, there's no time for that now.'

The best thing I could currently do was give everyone some space. If I removed myself from the equation, the heavy atmosphere would lighten—if only a little. Besides...

... I had other reasons.

'The Netherlore Family trial should be concluding. I'll get to see Maria soon, then...' I had no idea why my heart was racing in excitement.

Or perhaps I did, but simply chose to feign ignorance.

'In any case, I'll need to speak with Elrich Lendertwale, as well as the king. Things have gotten too serious not to include them.'

I couldn't see the future, but I could at least predict it. What our Kingdom, and not just ours, would have to face eventually, needed time to be prepared for. The Nether Cult had enough influence, resources, and willingness to plunge the Eastern Kingdom and the Demon Race into war—just so they could have a smokescreen for their activities.

I could only imagine what lengths they would go to in order to eliminate us and obtain the majority of the Arcanas.

'Still, we have more Arcanas, which gives us the advantage. The problem is that we're too inexperienced to wield them. Arcanas are difficult to control. It took me years to learn the ones I know. I couldn't even master [The Hermit], and my control over the others is simply due to learning their sequence and adapting them into my Original Magic.'

The reason I could use the [Strength] Arcana so efficiently was because it was pretty much natural to use. Its process was simple, and I was sincerely grateful to Merlin for making it less difficult than I imagined.

'The Labyrinth was the toughest part for his own Arcana.' Since there were different creators for the different Arcanas, I had to expect variations.

In essence... I had to avoid generalizations.

'That's enough thinking. It's time to go.'

>VWUUUSSSHHHH<

Space warped around me, and I began making my exit from the crowd. My gaze met Neron's, and he nodded calmly at me.

'As long as he's here, it's going to be fine.' With that thought echoing in my mind, I vanished.

**********

"It's finally over..." Maria heaved a sigh as she exited a large courthouse.

It was a bright and sunny day in the Capital, yet the girl's weary expression could give everyone the wrong impression. It wasn't that she was sad, or cold, or tired. Perhaps one could say that she was simply bored.

To be honest, she had been expecting the trial of her rival family to go down more smoothly, but the poor girl hadn't—for once in her life—experienced a true trial before now.

The drawn-out process, the back and forth, the uncovering of even more atrocities of the Netherlore Household, the culmination of evidence, the exchange of rhetorics, and at long last... the sentencing.

'I didn't know justice could be so complicated.' Another sigh escaped her lips.

Jared placed her in the capital for both personal and official reasons, so she knew it was an unavoidable responsibility. Still, it didn't make her feel less inclined to take any more of the boredom that had shrouded her for the past couple days.

'Watching them get sentenced was satisfying, though.' Maria smiled.

The Netherlore Family had been conducting several atrocious experiments—including human ones. They had been exploring an element called 'Nether', supposedly discovered by their first patriarch who founded the Netherlore branch after succeeding from the Helmsworth family.

Not only were the experiments unauthorized by the crown, but they were also inhumane and dangerous. For example, the Nether Beast that attacked Maria when she was little, and then the one Jared had killed. It was pretty obvious that they were doomed after their activities were found out.

'Jared really did an amazing job..." Maria forgot all about her boredom once she pictured the boy who made all of this possible.

A smile slowly formed on her face as she walked down the large stairs of the exterior courthouse and made to return to the Royal Palace to inform her family of the conclusion of the case—as well as the announcement of her return to the team.

Her silver hair fluttered elegantly with the wind, and her bright blue eyes captured the bright sky. She was feeling rather energetic now. If the young girl was being honest with herself, she knew the reason for this change of emotions.

Maria couldn't wait to see Jared, as well as the others.

"I miss him so much, and—"

"Oh? Miss who?" A voice suddenly emerged behind Maria, causing the young girl to leap in surprise.

"Eeep!"

She swiftly twisted her body in mid-air and turned to face the owner of the voice. Her body was still excited from the shock, thus making her eyes widen even more the moment they captured the one responsible.

"J-Jared?!" Maria exclaimed.

The young, blond boy was standing and smiling at the flustered Maria. He had a gentle smile and a calm demeanour, and with both hands in his pocket, he coolly expressed his satisfaction at Maria's lost composure.

"You really should be more vigilant. You wouldn't want to be caught off-guard, now would you?" He grinned.

"Y-you—!" Maria rushed towards him, as she became red all over her face and her brows twitched in both annoyance and relief.

"It's you! What am I supposed to do against that?" By the time she reached him, they were mere inches from each other.

Her fierce blue eyes met his dark yellow ones, and they both stared at each other for a while.

"You look good. How did the proceeding go?" Jared finally broke the awkward silence.

Apparently, Maria didn't seem to be too interested in doing so.

"Was the verdict to your satisfaction?" Even with these questions, Maria did not respond.

Jared began to break into a nervous sweat. The young girl just kept looking at him without saying a single word in response to his questions.

'Is she angry? In a bad mood? Were things that bad? Not you too!' Were the most likely thoughts that were going on in Jared's head as he stared at Maria.

"You know..." Maria drew closer to Jared.

Their faces were apart by only a few centimeters—enough to make anyone lose their nerve. Jared's previously calm face seemed to slowly display shades of pink, while Maria's beautiful one was pretty much saturated by her blushing.

"... I could kiss you so easily right now."

Jared's eyes popped wide open as he stared at Maria's daring smile. Her fierce blue eyes showed that she wasn't kidding, and her track record made it pretty obvious that she could indeed do something of the sort.

Stuck in a confrontation he hadn't planned or predicted, Jared couldn't help but utter the only words his lips could release before they were once again smushed.

"W-wha...?!"

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[A/N]

I have to ask, because I'm quite curious.

Which Ship do you prefer?

Jared x Maria or Kuzon x Ana

Let's hear it!