Ten and the two students arrive in front of an abandoned building. The boy in front stops, lowers his head and as he brings it back up he opens his eyes. They are bright red. With his eyes opened he looks back at Ten. Ten is slightly surprised at the brightness and depth of the student’s eyes. But with everything he has seen so far, it doesn’t seem that strange.

“Sorry, I followed you guys. I was just curious. Since you helped Demo twice now, I also wanted to properly thank you.”

The boy smiles gently as he asks his question.

“What is your name, peasant?”

Ten is taken aback by the name-calling. But the way the boy said it, it felt more like a matter-of-fact kind of thing than an insult. Like it was the most natural thing for the boy to say. So he decides to let it slide since he did help Demo.

“Ten.”

The boy nods.

“Ten, you’re welcome. A king is supposed to help their subordinates.”

Ten raises his hand with his index finger shaking to signal that this is wrong.

“I am not your sub…”

The boy doesn’t let Ten finish.

“My name is Cleus Nu. And this is my faithful servant and knight, Cyte.”

Cyte looks at Ten and nods as a sign of respect and proper introduction. Ten nods back. He then looks at the building and is a little baffled as to why they are here.

“Why did you come here?”

Cleus walks to the door, when he goes up the steps he passes through what seems to be a barrier of sorts. He opens the door and then looks back at Ten.

“Because this is our club. The Royal Lineage Club.”

Ten doesn’t really know what to say. It’s clear as day that these two are the only members of the club. He doesn’t really want to be a part of such a depressing event. So he takes a step back and is about to make an excuse so that he can leave. But then he gets a glance at the inside of the building and it’s gorgeous. Elegant gold lining, a throne fit for a king, and a red carpet that leads to it. He looks at Cleus who is smiling because he knows how impressive the room looks.

Cyte holds out her hand to Ten.

“Hold my hand, I’ll bring you in.”

Ten does as told and holds her hand. She walks him through the barrier. When Ten goes through it, he can feel an energy course all the way through his body, as if something just scanned his blood. Once they are all inside Cyte brings up two chairs and a table. She places the table near the throne and the chairs a bit further down. Cleus sits down on the throne and from the side of the throne, he brings up what looks like a very old book.

He gently places the book on the table and then opens it like a computer and starts typing away. He looks away from the screen to quickly ask Cyte a question.

“What chapter were we on again?”

“Chapter 37.”

“Yup, you right,”

Cleus having found the right chapter sits up straight and becomes very serious.

“Well then, let’s start today’s reading. Chapter 37 The Battle of Antithrombin. It was a dark …”

For the rest of the day, Ten was unable to leave that room and had to listen to Cleus read 2 chapters from some historical book. Each chapter was easily as long as an eternity multiplied by infinity. Whenever Ten was about to doze off, Cyte would nudge him to keep him awake. Ten thought to himself that this was a very interesting way to torture someone. Demo on the other hand had a better time. The bell rang signaling the end of club activities and thus time for everyone to go home.

Demo stood up and looked at his hand which now glowed red. He wasn’t able to do his whole body yet, but this was a clear sign that he was on his way to mastering Cover-Up. He smiles and looks at Strils.

“Thank you. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

Demo then walked out with the rest of the students. Bilicus and Strils wait till Demo is out of earshot. Bilicus is the first one to break the silence.

“What do you think?”

“The speed with which he absorbs what is taught is disturbing.”

Bilicus clenches his teeth at the news of a possible new strong ally for Braverte.

“That really makes him Li-On’s pupil. We might have to change our plans a little.”

“You think Braverte sent him here to spy on us?”

“That coward wouldn’t have the guts for something like that. Plus why would he do that now after all this time?”

“You’re right. But I think we will have to keep an eye on Demo.”

Bilicus grinds his teeth in a silent rage. Meanwhile, Demo makes his way back to Braverte’s house. When he opens the door Braverte is standing there holding some papers. He just got home as well. He smiles when he recognizes Demo.

“Welcome back.  Did you have fun at the clubs?”

“How did you know I went to a club?”

“What else is there to do?”

Right then a mentally exhausted Ten makes his way through the door. His face is bleak, his body is hunched over, and his pace is slow. Demo worried about his friend rushes over to help him.

“What happened?”

Ten can’t even muster the proper energy to form sentences. He can only bring himself to say a few words.

“Two chapters … there were Two.”

Demo doesn’t understand it, but he can tell that Ten is just tired from something and it’s not that serious. Pulmo appears at the door as well, and looks down at Demo and Ten.

“In the way.”

She then takes a big step to walk over them.

“Pulmo, welcome welcome. Were you able to bring what we need?”

Pulmo nods. Braverte puts the papers on the table, then kneels down and places his hand on the floor. The ground around his house starts to light up and his whole home is covered in a red barrier. Ten recognizes the barrier because it looks very similar to the one Cleus and Cyte used. He looks at Braverte to verify.

“Is this the same kind of barrier Cleus uses?”

Braverte smiles with surprise because he didn’t expect Ten to already know what the barrier is.

“Yes, it is, since he is the one who taught me.”

Ten thinks to himself that it feels a bit unusual for a student to teach a headmaster a technique. Pulmo hands Braverte a small vial with a purple liquid inside of it. Braverte’s face then turns serious and looks at Demo and Ten.

“Demo and Ten, I need your help.”

Chapter 29 Fin