Reaper's Crown

Ch. 31 | Will of Kris

Chyuuichi was fidgeting with fruit in his hands, trying to pry it open, while Rowan sat still, collecting their thoughts once more, tapping at the side.

"What fruit is that?" they asked.

"Awh." Chyuuichi looked up. "Bjalna poppy!"

"Bjalna poppy?" Rowan blinked twice.

"Screw the name, the taste's amazing! It's my third one in the past ten minutes!" Chyuuichi said. "Want a bite?"

They shook their head. "I was already force-fed enough food at breakfast today."

Chyuuichi grinned and then turned back to his food.

"But we have something similar looking. We, as in, Tributals." Rowan nodded.

Chyuuichi tilted his head.

"You'd be interested. They call it the Dragon Fruit."

"THE WHAT?!" Chyuuichi jumped up.

"Yep. Although I don't know what those non-existent-"

Chyuuichi frowned, making a strange sound.

"-animals have in common with that sweet deliciousness. It's strangely spicy too, not something for my tastebuds, but a nice diversity among Tributal food."

Chyuuichi sighed. "Tributal food means something from Malikan, right? What's that place like anyways?" he put his head on both hands, pouting. "Never went there in my life!"

"Malikan?" Rowan turned to him for a moment, quickly clearing their throat. Their earlier laughs and alike turned into a rather stern expression. Chyuuichi straightened up, once again, tilting his head. "It's a country."

"No way." Chyuuichi looked disappointed.

Rowan quickly breathed out. "I haven't been there in quite a while." they fixed their glasses. "I don't remember."

"I thought I was the forgetful one!" Chyuuichi raised his voice.

Rowan tapped the side of the stump again.

"Yer lyin'," Chyuuichi said, out of nowhere.

Rowan took a deep breath, shaking their head. "If Ambrosia were to step into Malikan, we'd follow them there," they said, easing out. "Wouldn't it be better to see all that for yourself, Chyuuichi?"

"I guess so," Chyuuichi replied. "Yeah. I'm not good at listening."

"Can tell, buddy."

***

"H-How..." Atomu gasped, catching air with his lips. "How did you find out?"

"It wasn't necessarily difficult." Ranpa walked around for a bit. "I could see your weapons when you stepped into town, but I assumed you were harmless from the get-go."

"W-We are, promise." Atomu put both hands out.

"I know. Although the fact that it was your weapon that Sam brought as evidence doesn't make anything any easier." he breathed out, disappointed. "I can't expect you to leave it there too, but the mayor already brought it up in the morning." he shrugged.

"We'd never kill Bancho, Ranpa," Atomu said, with a shaky voice. "We... we did just find him. We were Demonears since last year, we couldn't have possibly killed one of the Wise."

"I trust your words." Ranpa leaned against a shelf, folding his arms.

"T-Then why are you bringing this up?"

"Because now I know your secret. If I didn't, I could continuously search for nothing for years and live my life under the mayor's control. The truth will find its way out eventually, however." Ranpa gulped, closing his eyes. "...and I'll die."