"Flowers… yes, I need to prepare flowers. How can I confess without flowers? I-I'll go find some…" Mobet Zoroast snapped out of his daze, his movements awkward as if his hands and feet were out of sync. Before he could take two steps, Siatas grabbed him.
Siatas huffed, "With all these people here, now's not the time to go flower-picking."
Siatas's ears turned slightly red as she spoke. She then shifted her gaze to the onlookers, pausing briefly before settling on Pallez. "You must be the His Excellency Pallez Zoroast that Mobet mentioned. Please forgive our earlier rudeness. May I ask why you've come here?"
Her tone carried respect but remained composed... respect for an angel, yet unyielding as he wasn't an elf angel.
"No worries, I don't mind. I know this kid too well," Pallez said with a chuckle. "As for why I'm here, it's to get you all out, of course."
Siatas pursed her lips, her expression unsurprised.
Mobet, hearing this, forgot about the flowers and turned to Pallez eagerly. "Old man, you can take us out directly?"
"Strictly speaking, it's not me," Pallez said, shaking his head and glancing at Alaric, who was watching the scene unfold.
Alaric blinked, meeting Mobet and Siatas's gazes with a smile. "I can indeed open the door and take you out now, but instead of leaving this world abruptly, wouldn't you prefer to bring your journey to a proper close?"
"You mean killing the King of the North?" Mobet, no fool, caught on immediately.
"Exactly!" Alaric nodded, smiling. "Don't you want to settle things with that dragon? Especially with Mr. Pallez here, it'll be perfectly safe."
Mobet's expression betrayed his obvious temptation. Trapped in this world for a millennium, he'd fought the King of the North for just as long. He wasn't content to leave without closure.
Without Pallez's assurance, Mobet might have chosen to leave immediately... facing the King of the North wasn't easy, and he couldn't guarantee no one would get hurt. But with the old man as a safeguard…
Mobet instinctively looked at Pallez, his eyes a mix of longing and confirmation.
"I guarantee no one will die in this fight, except that dragon you mentioned," Pallez said with a warm chuckle, like a kindly grandfather. No one doubted his words. To an angel like him, the King of the North, barely a true Sequence 4, was merely a plaything.
With Pallez's guarantee, Mobet's resolve tipped. Still, he didn't agree immediately. He glanced at Siatas, and after a silent exchange through their eyes, he turned to Pallez. "I'll need to consult my companions first…"
"Don't tell me that. I'm not the one in charge," Pallez said, shaking his head and correcting him. "You should be talking to Jack."
Though "Jack Jones" was just an ordinary Faceless, Pallez never underestimated this young man, knowing he was Lucifer's student.
And Lucifer… Thinking of this Zoroast descendant, Pallez sighed and added, "Jack is Lucifer's student, and Lucifer is the one who sent me to rescue you."
Mobet froze, then turned to Alaric with enthusiasm. "I see! So you're the student of my savior, which makes you my savior too!"
As he spoke, Mobet felt a flicker of confusion. He'd noticed a subtle shift in Pallez's tone when mentioning Lucifer... not from any ulterior motive, but… guilt?
Had the old man done something to wrong this Lucifer?
Mobet couldn't help but speculate.
"No need to be so formal. My teacher sent Pallez to save you mainly because of a deal," Alaric said with a smile, pausing before adding, "After all, my teacher isn't exactly fond of Mr. Pallez."
"???"
Huh?
Mobet felt utterly confused, looking between Alaric and Pallez, struggling to untangle their relationship.
Pallez sighed, meeting Mobet's puzzled gaze. "Lucifer is a Zoroast too. He… suffered a lot because of Amon. That's on me."
Mobet instantly understood, and his gaze toward Alaric grew warmer.
After all, a student of a Zoroast was practically a member of the Zoroast family... family, in a roundabout way.
"No need to round up. By blood, I am a Zoroast," Alaric said, catching Mobet's thoughts with a smile.
He'd never hidden his lineage.
Alaric didn't mind revitalizing the Zoroast family. Counting Pallez, whom he'd strengthened, and now Mobet, plus Lucifer, Jack, and himself, the Zoroast family was thriving. They were on the verge of breaking past a single hand's worth of members!
Sure, three of those were his aliases, but that still counted as revitalization!
Alaric felt perfectly justified.
Mobet, hearing Alaric's words, gave him another look before saying warmly, "No wonder I felt you looked familiar. You're family! Let me introduce myself: I'm Mobet Zoroast. If you don't mind, just call me Mobet. I wasn't much older than you before I got stuck in this blasted world, so I won't act like some big brother."
Mobet wasn't naive. He could tell Lucifer was no ordinary figure... likely an angel, possibly even stronger than Pallez. And in that case, his student's status was obvious.
Mobet wasn't about to pull rank just because he was older. Only a fool would do that.
"I'm Jack Jones. You can call me Jack," Alaric said, smiling back. "Go ahead and consult your companions. If anyone wants to skip the final battle and leave directly, I can open the door for them separately."
Mobet paused, then realized Alaric was addressing his earlier concern. Grateful, he said, "Thanks, mate. You're a good guy!"
After a beat, he added, "Why don't you all come to the camp? I'll introduce you to my companions and explain the situation."
Alaric nodded, having no objections.
The group headed toward the camp, exchanging names and introductions along the way.
"Red Maid? Who's the genius that came up with that title?" Mobet, ever talkative, chatted with the others. When he heard Danitz's title, he froze, unable to hold back his amazement.
***
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