I helped myself up after noticing that he had already cleaned up the eggshells.
He let out an awkward, breathy laugh and signalled for us to leave.
"And where do you think you're going?"
"And since when did you stop saying di?"
Immediately, she grew flustered and darted her eyes around. She quickly pulled her hood over her head before grabbing both our wrists and dragging us toward the old man's bike.
"You know what to do, old man!"
The old man smirked, putting on his dark sunnies as he rolled up his sleeves. He twisted the handles and took off before me and Dermis could even settle properly onto the back seat.
"Is this necessary??"
Dermis shouted while gripping the old man's shoulders after nearly losing balance for the third time.
"Hahah, lad! A dramatic exit is necessary or what fun is there, di?!"
"What is wrong with you people?!"
I asked while yanking on her cloak.
"Would you just settle down and follow for once... di…"
I scoffed repeatedly, rolling my eyes while trying to hold my hair in place against the violent wind.
"Wait! Look out!"
"Hahah! It's just a slope, kiddo- there we go!!"
"AHHHHH!"
As the rest of us clung onto our lives, the old man seemed to be having the time of his life.
In the middle of the jump, he somehow pulled out a bottle of beer and began chugging it down midair.
Dermis finally snapped.
"WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS?!"
His scream echoed throughout the fall while the old man shifted the gears and finished the stunt by crashing straight into the doors of Taroukasin.
We landed flat on the ground.
Two or three bones in my body probably shattered while the remaining muscles in my arms gave up entirely.
The only strength I had left was used to lift my head and meet the horrified stares of the patients inside the building. Amongst them were a few lofty-looking people with disguised ears and horns.
"What...?" I blinked slowly.
"WHAT??!!"
"Mademoiselle!! Are you alright?!"
"Oh no! What happened to them?"
Not the reunion I was thinking of....
Kim Soo-Hyuk rushed over and helped me up, hurriedly tending to my injuries. Even beneath the mask, panic seeped through his expression. His movements were clumsy, yet swift and careful, making sure not to worsen the pain.
Ororon practically threw himself toward Dermis. He cupped Dermis's face with his tiny hands- hands too small to even cover half of it- and anxiously searched for scratches.
Tremious and Kyoko helped the other two, though my attention drifted toward him and his astonishing attitude toward that woman.
This time, I was the one walking on eggshells around him...
Literally.
Due to the crash, the same unfortunate man from before had dropped his eggs again, and now I was stepping all over them.
"Gosh! Mademoiselle!! The crash has caused significant damage to your brain! Please, I implore you to stop stepping on those sticky shells!"
"Hahaha, thanks precious!"
"Ugh, what's with this pervert?" Kyoko moved away in visible discomfort.
Damb.
All of us turned toward the sound and saw a large bump rising on top of Tremious's head.
Wow. Someone is definitely going to regret that.
(Huh?)
"Stop fussing over me, di!"
It was her.
She had punched the back of Tremious's head.
But that was not the shocking part.
The shocking part was that he didn't react at all.
He simply moved aside and quietly stood beside her.
Goodness... Someone hold me back before I throw a punch too.
"Well, that's new," Kyoko muttered.
"Hehe, Tremious has a bump on his head," Ororon giggled while rubbing the bump on Tremious's head.
The past few moments had been filled with one jaw-dropping event after another. A crashing motorbike, Tremious's bizarre behaviour, Dermis screaming for his life...
Amongst all of it, I understood absolutely nothing.
For a long time, I had been asking why?
Yet nobody seemed willing to answer.
Maybe I had been asking the wrong people.
"Kim Soo-Hyuk, what is going on?"
"Oh! Mademoiselle, it appears there is something rather fishy happening here. Especially that woman right there."
"Fishy?"
"I do not know why, but I can sense traces of demonic magic around here... no, more like something approaching."
"Is that why most people are here?"
"It would seem so. They are almost evacuating."
"Or maybe they know a dragon is here?"
"That is possible as well."
Finally. Someone who actually replied properly.
"I shall look further into it, Mademoiselle. Please rest assured and allow me to handle this like a gentleman."
"Take care of wha-?!"
Kim Soo-Hyuk wasted no time. He grabbed both the old man's and Stanislaus's collars at once as an ominous aura slowly seeped from him.
"Care to explain yourselves like a gentleman and a proper lady?"
I caught the slight tremble in her eyes before the fun was interrupted by the red fool.
He shoved Kim Soo-Hyuk's hand aside and frowned, his pupils narrowing sharply.
"The shield over the kingdom is cracking, di..."
Every gaze immediately shot upward toward her.
Her brows furrowed deeply while her lips thinned into a grim line.
"The shield?"
Tremious asked in confusion.
Looks like Kim Soo-Hyuk's method of getting answers was surprisingly effective after all.