Depraved Hero's Path-Chapter 58: Become The King’s Army...?

"And here I was, gleefully staring at the painting every time." Katherine whispered.

[The Game "The Reality Behind The Painting" has been Cleared!]

[Clear Rank: S!]

"I guess the Old World was never as kind as we..." The heaviness of her eyelids started catching up to her. "Make it out to be..." Katherine’s eyes closed.

She started falling when,

***

’Despite how expressionless his face was when she passed out...’ Zarath thought. ’He sure clicked as quickly as he could.’

Indeed, in front of Elijah had been floating a System message that showed a list of the different members of his party.

The moment that Katherine went from Unavailable to Available, he had clicked on her name.

Katherine was teleported mid-fall and,

"Eli... Jah...?" She whispered, barely able to see through her half-open eyes.

"I’m here." Elijah answered with a slight smile.

His arms had moved around Katherine before she could hit the ground.

"You did great." Elijah whispered, which caused her to chuckle. "You can rest now." Elijah added as he stood up, carrying her in his arms.

"O... Kay... Just for... Little bit..."

Katherine’s eyes closed as he carried her closer to the couch.

"Here!" Rifna shouted, pointing at the space next to her.

"How about you move a bit? Katherine can be between us, if you want."

"Nu-uh! I want her next to me!"

"Make space for her or she’s sitting on my lap."

"..."

Rifna scooted over to the edge of the couch.

Elijah laid Katherine between him and Rifna.

"Why is she unconscious?"

"Famine takes weeks if not months to set in. It also takes a while for it to go away. The Status Effects built up instantly, and disappeared instantly... Her body will need a minute or two to recover." Rifna explained.

"I see." Elijah nodded, re-placing a strand of hair behind Katherine’s ear. "What did they say in there?"

"That’s between me and Katherine♪"

"Hm."

"Why do you care about me...?" Katherine mumbled as her head swayed onto Elijah’s shoulder. Her tired eyes could barely see the strange person sitting next to her. "Elijah, who is that?"

"The museum guide, I guess."

"Huh...?" Katherine squinted. "I’m pretty sure the museum guide was a lot older. She didn’t have cat ears either."

"Yeah, I think we’re talking about different guides. This one’s the new one."

"Nahahaha!" Rifna laughed out loud, scooting to get closer to Katherine.

Unfortunately for her, the closer she got to Katherine, the more Katherine scooted away from her and towards Elijah.

"Oh, come on! Stop running away from me!"

"Who are you?"

"Why does it even matter? Give me a hug!"

"No?"

"Is that a question?" Elijah asked.

"Well, I feel rude refusing a hug..." Katherine muttered as she turned towards him.

Only then did she notice that her head was resting on him. Only then did she notice how close they were.

"S-Sorry-" She apologized and made some space between them, which allowed Rifna to,

"Katheriiiiine♪" Rifna hummed.

Katherine frowned as she found herself suddenly trapped.

"You’re so cuteeee!" Rifna said repeatedly, her arms tightly wrapped around Katherine’s body. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone as cute as you!"

"T-Thanks?" Katherine answered while her gaze moved from Elijah, to Zarath, to Léa, to Marianne, since they were seated in that order.

The only response she got was a series of shrugs.

"W-Why are you hugging me?" Katherine asked, feeling trapped.

"Because you are... To the core of your being... Undeniably... Super cute!" Rifna answered enthusiastically.

"That’s true." Elijah nodded.

"I hate saying this, but she might have a point." Zarath mumbled, her lips pressed together.

"Now that I think about it, I agree." Léa said after thinking for a moment.

"My coach is, indeed, the cutest." Marianne added while nodding repeatedly.

Katherine frowned as she got a good look at them again.

"Did you all agree to mess with me or something?"

"Alright." Elijah clapped his hands. "Hands off Katherine, come on."

"Whyyyyy?!" Rifna complained.

"Hands off. Shoo." Elijah gestured and put his arm around Katherine’s shoulder.

"Seriously? You know how I feel about cuteness! Let me have this!"

"No." Elijah answered plainly.

"Thanks." Katherine muttered with a slight blush as she got a bit closer to Elijah again.

"I can’t believe this..." The dejected Rifna whispered, her body curled on the couch’s edge. "I might as well be kicked off the couch."

"Can you?" Katherine asked.

"Huh?"

"Can you stand? I don’t think this couch was made for six people."

"B-But I got here first..." Rifna whispered.

"But I’m... Passing out... And exhausted... And all..."

"O-Okay, fine!" Rifna got up at once. "If I can’t spend time with Katherine, then we’re going to get started right away. The other group is probably bored to death anyways, so let’s get started."

"Wha-"

"No, wait-"

"Right away-"

"Might as well." Zarath shrugged.

"Yeah." Elijah shrugged as well.

"Of course, the two of you wouldn’t have a problem!" Marianne shouted while pointing at them. "You were just sitting on a couch while we fought for our lives!"

Rifna’s chuckles caught the group’s attention at once.

"And now," She snapped her fingers, causing System messages to appear in front of them. "You’ll be fighting for his life."

[The King’s Crown weighs heavy.]

They stood up at once, and the couch disappeared.

[Only those with both strength and honour can have it.]

[Lay your claim to the throne, prove yourself worthy of the Crown, and become King.]

[Become the Army that protects and fights for the King.]

The next second, the icy mirror that cut the room in two started cracking.

"That took a while."

"Sorry for the wait." Elijah smirked.

Both walked closer to the center of the room. Studying each other, and those standing behind the other.

"We still have the advantage in numbers, hope you don’t mind." The bald man said with an arrogant voice.

"Oh, please." Elijah extended a hand for him to shake. "It’s no issue."

Above their heads floated translucent crowns.

The White King and the Black King shake hands.