Cough.
"Huh, you want me to come with you?!" Judas almost choked on the suspicious milk he was drinking just now.
"You're needed, and we're going right now." Ferris tugged on Judas' arm.
Despite loathing that Judas had to come with him, Ferris began to drag him outside the mall.
Judas stumbled on his feet. "But I haven't finished my milk carton yet."
Letting go, Ferris replied to Judas without looking at him. "You can finish it on the way."
After hearing Ferris's words, Judas drained the carton and tossed it into a nearby bin.
"Why me though, and is it really just the two of us?" Judas asked with a concerned look as he began to slow his pace down.
Ferris froze. If he told Judas that this was based on some divination by a gothic and creepy lady, it wouldn't turn out well for the both of them.
So Ferris came up with a different reason. "They said your blessing is super useful."
"Really?!" Judas shouted, but not in a delightful way—more of a dreaded happiness kind of way.
Finally outside the mall, Ferris saw Lionheart and the bodyguards again. This time Lionheart was leaning against a pillar as if he was waiting for him.
Beside Lionheart he saw a simple bike with a passenger seat behind.
That's our ride? Ferris walked closer to inspect the out-of-shape bike. It looked as if it could collapse at any moment.
Ferris's eyes twitched at such a gift given to him.
While he was observing if his bike could even function properly, Lionheart took something from his pocket and handed it over to Ferris.
"This is a map we've managed to procure. One of our scouting team already knows approximately where the waterpark is located, but they couldn't go any deeper because the amount of villains kept increasing."
Ferris unfurled the map. The mall was obviously pointed out with a red mark, and the approximate area of where the waterpark was marked with a large circle that encompassed a large chunk of area.
"It's around a 20-kilometer ride assuming you don't get lost. Don't expect any encounters within 10 kilometers, but it's still not a guarantee," Lionheart warned Ferris before gesturing to one of the bodyguards.
Catching Lionheart's wordless orders, the bodyguard approached Ferris and handed him a backpack. "Essential supplies, like medicine and food."
Ferris hid his excitement at the mention of food and simply took the bag, giving the responsibility of carrying it to Judas.
Then, the bodyguard handed over the two villains' emblems. "This as well, be sure to pin it to your shirt when you're far away enough. Most villains here actually wear it that way."
They just glued a safety pin on it... Ferris was a little worried it might fall off mid-combat. He then tossed the other emblem to Judas, which he barely managed to catch.
Ferris nodded and was about to hop on the bike, but he was blocked.
"Hey, before you go," Lionheart stared directly at Ferris and crossed his arms.
"Who the hell even are you to our miss? What's your real goal with her?" he questioned with a dark tone.
This again... are you her dad or something? Ferris lampooned silently.
"Sorry, but you aren't allowed to know more." Ferris replied with a smile before weaving around him to get to the bike.
Lionheart could only click his tongue in disappointment. Ferris assumed that Elizabeth was smart enough to catch on that Lionheart was a bit too much in the way of Ferris's purpose in the 'good vision,' so she might've given him a pep talk.
"We've been her bodyguards since she was still in elementary, so don't think you know more about her than we do!" Lionheart showed off.
Huh? What a creepy way to word it... Ferris sat on the bike and kicked the bike stand upwards with the back of his heel.
Judas, who wore the backpack, sat in the passenger seat behind Ferris.
It's been a long time since I've ridden a bike...
Before Ferris was about to take off he said something. "There is one thing you need to know about our relationship."
Lionheart froze and instinctively uncrossed his arms.
Ferris turned his head towards Lionheart with a smug look. "I think she's extremely pretty."
Tring-tring!
"See you, Sir Lionheart!"
. . .
Before Lionheart and the rest could react and process the words Ferris said, he was already a city block away.
From far away, Ferris could hear some faint screaming and cries, which was like a symphony to his morning ears.
"Wow, Ferris, are you a playboy?" Judas asked, curious about Ferris's hidden background.
He laughed. "I don't have any real experience, never even dated actually."
"But my teacher used to get annoyed whenever I accidentally charmed women around us. Once I realized that, I practiced just to annoy him," Ferris said proudly.
"You had a teacher?" Judas was even more surprised at that fact.
. . .
"I did..." Ferris lamented.
Although Judas was in the back, he could feel a bit of sorrow in Ferris's words. Before he could share his sorry, Ferris cheered him up.
"He was a great teacher," Ferris said, slightly turning his face.
***
The two were already beyond the 10 km mark and they started wearing their pins.
Ferris growled, his steadfast patience as a knight was crumbling bit by bit. "We passed that novel store 3 times already."
Judas struggled to keep the map steady in his hands as the high winds kept messing it around. "Maybe if you moved a bit slower, I could actually see the map!"
Ferris gulped, he repeated the entirety of the knight's creed a hundred times in his head. "...you're right."
Once Ferris stopped pedaling as if he was in a race, Judas could finally read the map properly.
While tracing his fingers on the road drawings, Judas suddenly felt a bit depressed.
"I'm still doubting why they even selected me, I mean... The only fighting lessons I took were some judo classes. I did manage to get to black belt though," Judas said, still tracing his finger. "We need to take a left."
"Black belt? I guess that's impressive," Ferris said to Judas, although he wasn't really impressed that much.
"Oh, it's mainly just grappling techniques. It's not really meant to uh... you know... end someone—
"I'll handle that part," Ferris coldly replied, to Judas's slight horror.
After taking a left turn, Ferris continued speaking. "Your blessing is taking over other people, right? Any drawbacks I need to know?"
"Well... the target just needs to be at a state of what I call 'weak willed.' Or just someone in fear. It lets me take over their bodies much easier. I can also use the target's blessing, but I haven't gotten much practice since," Judas laughed weakly. "Who would wanna be my test subject?"
"And what happens to your body if you end up taking over a villain?"
Judas hesitated a little. "My actual body would be unconscious during the entire thing."
"That's a little difficult..." Ferris considered what he would do in the event of a chaotic fight. "I'll just carry you, don't worry."
"Ah, carry!" Judas seemed to have thought. "Yeah, you'll just have to carry me in everything. I'll just stay behind for support."
"What?" Ferris replied in confusion.
Judas gulped. "...You don't mean, actually carrying my body, right?"
Ferris turned his head around and nodded slowly.
Judas could only contort his face in horror.
"We've been driving straight for some time, when am I supposed to turn?" Ferris asked while pedaling toward an intersection.
. . .
. . .
. . .
"Judas?" Ferris was beginning to worry.
"I forgot where we were," Judas could only reply with a poker expression.
Damn... Ferris pressed his fist on his forehead. Asmadeas, was this what you meant by your good vision?
Is it really a mistake...
To follow a prophecy again?
In the middle of his internal crisis, Judas's voice suddenly interrupted his focus.
"Ferris, there's a group of people ahead," Judas hushed.