Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Ten minutes later, he finally plopped onto his bed. This time, Arza was with him, as rare as that was.

"Aah, this is heaven'¦" he found himself muttering.Â

Yawning, he realized he hadn't slept since waking up at that inn. He really should develop a proper sleep schedule. Thinking that, he pulled off his clothes one by one, before covering himself with the blanket. When his hand reached his metal leg, he was slightly startled; but it quickly turned to surprise at how easily he got used to being an amputee.Â

"A rough day?" Arza's voice came from behind him.Â

'Oh, Lord'¦' he contained his sigh. He really wasn't in the mood for this.

"Something like that," Endra replied from the bed.

"Not going to sleep next to Bella today?"

"Ah'¦" he remembered the conversation with Bella. "No. I'm sure she'd like it alone for a while."

"Yesterday, why didn't you come to class?"

'The questions would end eventually'¦' Endra sighed inwardly.

"I was celebrating my return the night before. Celebrated a bit too hard and got too wasted."

"With who?"

"Alone, of course."

"Should've called your classmates. At least me, Bella and Phel."

"Slipped my mind, sorry."

A brief silence reigned in the room. Endra, hoping that was the end of it, tucked himself tighter into the blanket. His mind was almost slipping away, when he heard Arza's voice.

"What happened during your trip away?"

'Hmm'¦' Endra could pick up on some subtle hints that the question wasn't thrown lightly. The serious tone Arza took, the choice of words, the heavy atmosphere in the room.Â

Before, Endra wondered if Arza could pick up that Evin was a different person now'¦ maybe the boy was now trying to sniff out the truth.

"I'll tell you all about it tomorrow."

"'¦"

Maybe he should've replied more earnestly'¦ but Endra wasn't in the right state of mind for such a serious conversation. If Arza still wanted to ask tomorrow, maybe he could reveal part of the truth.

'Nah, who am I kidding?' Endra snorted.Â

Arza wasn't someone he was that close to begin with. Endra had obligations to Bella and Evin's family, but he had no such obligations towards others. But'¦ there was something about the silence in the room that kept bugging him.Â

He peeked out of his blanket and saw Arza staring at him.

"You're not gonna do anything to me when I sleep, right?"

"No."

"No as you won't, or no as you'll do it."

"I'll do it."

'So he has his suspicions'¦' Endra sighed.Â

Well, he was acting much differently than the normal Evin. The latter simply wouldn't just do the things Endra was doing. Skipping classes, getting wasted alone, breaking up with Bella'¦Â

'What is he even gonna do if I sleep? Ah, it's fucking Arza. Who knows what he'll do? And I'm sure I'll hate it, whatever it is.'

If he was still inside Evin, he would've told the boy to ignore Arza, but now, he was defenseless one third of the time. He was really considering shoving some unfortunate soul into his body, so it'll act as an alarm for him.Â

'Ugh.'

"What can I do to have you say you won't do it?" Endra asked. "I really want to sleep peacefully, you see?"

"Tell me the truth."

"I have many truths. Which one you want to hear?"

"All of it."

'Ugh, fucking children.'

"Can't do that."

"Then, I'll have to ask harder."

Endra considered knocking out the boy, but that seemed unlikely to happen.Â

"Alright, I'll go find somewhere else to sleep," Endra muttered as he got up from his bed. "Gimme your word you won't follow me."

Something about the way Endra said it must've pissed off Arza. The boy got up from his bed, his huge body towering over Endra.

"Stop talking to me like you're talking to a child."

  "Follow childish rules, and you'll have childish conversations," Endra only shrugged as he finished dressing up.

"We're not done talking!" Arza reached out for Endra.

"Ugh," Endra waved his hands lazily as he jumped off the window.Â

Making himself invisible, he fell down into the street. Landing silently, he looked back at his room. Arza was staring out the window, his eyes searching something.Â

"Straight-ass bastard'¦" Endra murmured as he wondered on his next destination.Â

Some other room in the dorm? Probably a bad idea. Another inn? As a last resort only. The chairman? He'd probably be safe, but he definitely wouldn't be able to relax. His old home? Same as the inn.Â

'Oh, I can go to Leanne's house,' he realized.Â

The trip wasn't long and he already saw her house after a minute.Â

He only hoped she wasn't still stuck in a class or something. It was still daytime, after all. Well, even if she was, she said he was always welcome, so he could just ask Bee, the 4th grade maid, to let him in.Â

With those thoughts, he undid his invisibility, activated his Soul Sense, and knocked on the household door.Â

He heard someone's footsteps approaching and then Bee opened the door. She seemed surprised to see Evin, but still replied professionally.Â

"Lord Mage, how can I help you?"Â

"Is Leanne in?"

"No, Lord Mage, she was called to the capital city," the woman said the words with a small grimace.

'Well, damn. Do I have to sleep another night in an inn? Or should I head to Evin's old house?'

Endra decided he should at least ask. "It's a bit embarrassing to ask this, but do you mind if I spend a night here?"

Bee cocked her head.Â

"Some stuff happened and I couldn't sleep in my dorm room, you see."

"I'll have to ask Lord Terrence," she replied.

'Oh, he's here?' Endra was surprised. "Of course. I'll be waiting here."

Bee nodded and closed the door. Endra spent his time occasionally glancing towards the dorm's direction, wondering if Arza was going to appear. Whenever someone appeared around the corner, Endra would make himself invisible. From how many times he mistook some random citizen for Arza, Endra realized he needed to sleep.Â

The door opened again, and Bee appeared.Â

"Lord Terrence invites you to a late lunch."

Endra wanted to just sleep, so he had to agree.