As the crowd chant louder and louder, you are covering your hood and hope no one can distinguish your face. The urge to run away from the room then lie down in your comfy bed after a shower is raising into its peak.
You don't like standing in a spotlight. Hearing the children calling Minerva's name cheerfully sure feels nice, they cheers and happiness are like paid off of your team's hard work on the field. It's okay if it's not your name who they shouted because despite only Norman's alias can be heard until up here, everyone respects and appreciates each one of you and those are enough credits for the rest of you. That's enough to make you usually don't want to participate in this 'stage' and choose to stand in the sideline.
Because when you see their eyes, not only there's an appreciation in their colorful orbs but also expectations. They see your team as their hero and hope to depend for their safety into your hands. You have pledged yourself to protect them, you won't back away from your words. But you, being a doubtful girl you are, feel afraid when you look how large number of children you should protect.
What if you failed to protect them all? What will happen if you lose?
With a heavy duty in your hand, you doesn't have a room to afford having these thoughts screwing up your head. The only solution is you avoid seeing the children all at once. You still don't want it as well for today but you finally come to the light thanks to everyone dragging you with them. This happened a few times too before and you were always success to slip out when no one notice.
So you take slowly take a step back when everyone is looking down.
Then your right hand is grabbed by Barbara. She shakes her head in disapproval. "Nah-ah! Where do you think you're going?"
Your left shoulder is grabbed by Zazie and Cislo commented, "Trying to slip away again huh, Knight?"
"Uawawa?"
Barbara nods his head at him. "I also don't understand why you always disappear when we are facing the kids?"
"And I am sure you're not that coy to cover your face until you can't even see the paths," said Cislo.
You defend yourself. "You're exaggerating, of course I can see the paths."
"Knight."
You see Norman turns his back to the crowd and calls you. His eyes point an empty space beside him at the balcony.
Your purse your lips and shake your head from side to side.
He narrows his eyes, demand you to do as he said.
You firmly answer, "No."
No longer than you declined than your back is being pushed by both Barbara and Cislo. You're stumbled to the front just right at the time for Norman to catch you. He then drags you even further to his balcony.
You gasp as you are now fully shown to the children and they also clearly see you.
"It's Knight!"
"She finally shows up!"
"Knight!"
"Knight!"
"Knight!"
You smile awkwardly and tried to walk back bit by bit.
"Y/N, come on." Norman stops you again. You can shove him away if you want, he isn't as sturdy Barbara, Cislo or Zazie even if he is taller than you. Then again, you don't want to make him mad, so instead you groan, "You know I don't like attention."
"You were, when you're still in Grace Field."
"Now I don't. It was over a year ago, Norman."
"Just for a while, listen." He brings you even further to the edge and place your hand to grip the railing.
Their shout is louder there.
Knight. Knight. Knight.
Your head starts to feel dizzy over the chant.
"Look at him." Norman points a random boy from the crowd.
You look over his point finger. As the child gets your attention, he screams, "Thank you, Knight!"
Huh?
Your grip on the railing gets stronger.
Another child screams, "Thank you for protecting us!"
Then another one, "Let's play together again some time!"
"I love you Knight!"
You look over the three children one by one, strangely you don't feel much the burden you usually feel towards them. Instead, their eyes are shimmering clear like water.
There's this light feeling in your chest.
Norman remarked on this, "See? Just because everyone calls your name doesn't mean that adds another burden to your shoulders."
You hesitantly raise your hand and wave a little to them. The children excitedly return your waves, and you move your hands more confidently this time.
This is more pleased than you thought.
You want to say something to lit the crowd's spirit again like what Norman has done, or anything that will make them happy. But the sudden courage to push yourself standing straight in front of them seems to cost the courage you have. Maybe you can talk to them next time, when you are better prepared.
The children cheers louder.
Yeah, I definitely should give this a shot.
Each corner of Barbara's lips are twitching up. She and your other comrades totally understand your fear to up against the children. That's why they let you slip away when you're not ready in previous occasions. Still and all, Norman thought it's about time for you to brace yourself again.
Again, he implicitly stated the difference in your confidence. You're already so cool in her eyes. You are smart, strong, and friendly, you got those all as expected from her admirable Boss' childhood friend. Most kids are clinging into you and they will still tailing you without any fear even when your cloak is drenched in blood. They prefer to worry about your condition rather than what you've done to dye the fabric. Everyone can see the children trust you and favor you so much. If only you can see it too and not dwell too much in your self-conscious.
Then suddenly, something clicks in her head at the sight of you and Norman together on his balcony.
She elbows Cislo at his ribs. "Hey, Boss has never invite any of us to the balcony before, has he?"
Cislo gives her words a little thought, and after a serial hiss and complain. "I ... guess not? Knight is different than us, of course Boss like her more. Lucky her but what the hell Barbara that was hurt!"
"Oh come on, you're not a weakling. Anyway, that's not what I'm trying to say!"
Barbara asked him to come closer. "What?" asked Cislo, he narrows his eyes.
"Have you thought Boss and our Knight ... together?"
Cislo tilts his head, utterly confused. "They've always been together?"
"No, no, no, not that. I mean, something romantic."
He is snapped, speaking an octave higher than before. "Barbara, they are thirteen—"
She muffles his mouth with her hands and warns him, "Lower your voice!"
The boy pushes aside her hand. "Ya know you're buffing for minors kissing, right? Gross!"
Now Barbara is flustered.
She meant it to be innocently sweet at first, she truly is and she thought Cislo would be hyped like her too. Because, well, they usually are hyped over almost everything related to their Boss or their Knight. Then the idea of Boss and Knight together is wholesomely wonderful for her, she still think it does.
But this boy, who has an extra fat in his stomach no matter how hard he is exercising, makes her sounds so wrong like a pervert and worse, a pedophile.
Barbara sputtered, "Stop it! What I mean is they are cute together and—and maybe started to be attracted by the opposite sex. They are at the age of that, it's normal! If there's anything gross maybe it's YOU being a pervert and jumped into lewd conclusion!"
"Hey! Hold on, I never heard the age part. Is it supposed to be this young? How do you know?" Cislo hold his hands up.
"Ugh! Of course because I felt it when I was their age!"
As she said the words, her lips closed shut and her expression falls.
She didn't just say that, did she?
"You felt it when you were their age ... to who?"
Or she did. Damn her mouth.
She bite her lower lips to prevent any cursing and suddenly her cheeks are getting warm.
When she looks around, she has gain everyone's unwanted attention. Including you and Norman who heard you screamed when did she get her first crush.
"Ha...Haha... Haha..." She doesn't has a choice but to pretend it's nothing and laughs it off, if she wants to save the rest of her retrievable reputation.
Damn you Cislo, she curse loudly for him in, internally.
〰️
"The poison is being injected, Boss."
Norman nods at Vincent's report.
The taller boy then intensely observe the demon which is chained in the cage and the screen in front of him. Vincent announced, "25% to degenerate."
The demon starts to growl and shriek in agony. His legs are getting bigger.
"49% to degenerate."
In seconds, his other body parts are following and Norman can see his human figure is fading. Its hands are turning into tentacles and its tail grows much longer.
"70% to degenerate."
Norman shout to you, Cislo, and Barbara who are closer to the cage. He calls for the four of you, "Standby!"
You grip the handle of your sword, ready to annihilate the thing in any second if it gets out of control.
"90%"
Vincent's hold on the computer is shaken. The pressure is getting really intense by this millisecond.
As the demon is growing rapidly, you know the cage won't be able to hold him for too long.
Its mouth is like a one of a crocodile, its hands are short tentacles, the feet is missing and it's crawling on its stomach. There's no trance of its previous appearance in his transformation.
He is turning into an entirely wild demon.
"100% degenerate. We are successfully degenerate the demon!" cheered Vincent.
Norman blow a relief wind but he quickly adjust his focus again. It's not the time to relax yet.
The demon will start a havoc soon.
After taking two inhales, the demon produce a piercing sound to the ear and the cage is broken. It moves around, noticing the three human that are standing in front of him.
You have to stop it before it destroy the basement.
But then, you see Zazie is already in the air, he jumped using the wall as a stepping stone to rise up to its head.
"HUWAA!" Zazie told you three he wanted to finish this one.
If it's Zazie, you push your sword back it the scabbard without worry. A minute later the demon is beaten and fall with Zazie above its head. He take back his sword from the opening he made between flesh and its core.
With that, the last experiment to test the poison is finished.
A 100% success result, finally.
Barbara and Cislo are cheering, jumping bubbly in front the knocked out demon. Zazie soon join them in their enthusiastic celebration.
You sigh in relief because finally you're getting somewhere. Not only this experiment is risky, it also cost a great amount of resources and you've had hard time in collecting those. Your team found the component are not that common in nature, at least not around the area where you're all living.
After the demon is being taken off, Norman calls the entire team for a meeting.
The poison is finally founded but your team won't stop just there. For next project, Norman suggested to turn the liquid form into gas. Liquid poison is actually difficult to use. Time wise, it also wastes more time and if they didn't move fast enough then normal demons are likely to notify the guard first before your team can barely make any effect.
It's better to turn the poison into a gas and pressed it in a container, you can use it to be a biological bomb. It's way more efficient.
And so, their experiment is still continued.
There's a lot more to go before you have the chance to reunite with your family. You hope they are all alright and so too in the future. Emma must has leaded them well.
A voice is cracking your musing. "Hey, Empress!"
You blink and lift your head from the stack of boxes in your hands. Barbara is catching up with you at you right and walks alongside you.
There's no one other than you so you ask her, confusedly. "You called me?"
"Yes, of course! Who else girl in here?"
Well, she is not wrong to some degree.
You've heard their new nickname for Norman "Emperor", because he is technically and practically the ruler here, everyone respects him the most too. However, the title "Empress" is something aloof in your ear.
And your mind is especially curious, why the hell she address you by it?
"Call me as usual. Surely you guys like giving new nicknames out of the blue," you said with a chuckle.
Barbara acts like she dwell a bit. The keyword is "act".
"Hmmm... It's not completely out of the blue. In fact, I've been observing you two for a while. Have you ever thought yourself romantically with the Emperor, Knight?"
You almost drop the box right there. You and Norman? Of course you never imagine it, it just so wrong.
It sounds wrong. It looks so wrong. It feels so wrong.
You answered without hesitation, "No, that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard since ... I don't know, forever?"
"More than Cislo being a masterchef?"
"Absolutely more."
She whines. "Why??? How can you not enthusiast even a bit? Your chemistry is a perfection! Why not giving it a chance?"
"There's no need."
Your face suggesting you're disgusted, and her last sentence makes your frown even more ugly than it already has.
You drop your box at the destination and so does Barbara. Now that you are able to face her completely, your left hand rest at the top of the supplies' box and you asked, "Is that how we looks like to your eyes?"
The older girl nods eagerly. Her eyes are sparkling as she said, "Do you know the way he looks at you? It's the warmest and adoring gaze I've ever seen!"
"Because he always cold to you guys," you answer her.
"No, no, hear me out! He also speaks so soft to you, only you! He also gives you extra care. Boss is kind and care about us all, I know that, but if it's concerning your well being he is being extra protective!"
You said once again in a flat tone, "He is colder to you all because he is the leader, he think that he should act as one."
Barbara whines again, "Oh, you don't understand! You know Boss always burry his head in work papers that never lessen. But he neglected it all if you ask him to! He never listen to everyone except you! Or when you were catching the terrible cold, he never left your side even an inch except to bring your food or to shower."
You remember that terrible fever clearly as day.
Months ago after you had done your patrol duty you felt so sleepy—drained and decided to take a quick nap before dinner. You only planned an hour of nap at most, yet the short nap turned far longer than you were intending.
By the time you wake up, they said you had been unconscious for two days. You felt as if your head was spinning, you couldn't think straight, and your body felt so hot like someone set your bed on fire. You didn't know what's wrong with your body. The condition was so bad that you can't move even an inch without feeling your bone being crushed. You remember your mouth never shut that time and always blows a hot breath because your body temperature was too high.
You've been always healthy since you were little and the strengthen chemical in Lambda boosted your immune furthermore. Not like Norman who lied he doesn't has Lambda seizure to your team, you are in fact really don't have it. You assumed because they didn't inject that much drug or for a long period to leave you the permanent illness. It supposed to be near impossible for you to fall in sick, Norman thought so.
When he heard that nobody could wake you up and your body was burning like an oven, he tossed the paper in his hands and ran to your room without mind to close his office door beforehand. He never left your room and rejected everyone who offered replacing him to watch over you so he could get some rests. They found him was holding your hand the whole time, that was the first and only time they ever seen him so devastated. Especially when you were mumbling your families' name one by one in your delirium, including those who were shipped long time ago.
Vincent saw a streak down his cheek at that moment.
Yes, his gestures might got some people into misunderstanding. No one knows the reason behind his act beside you.
Because you're the only one left from his family he could protect at the time. You whose immune as strong as your power suddenly fell ill without proper reason. He did a blood test on you and didn't find the cause. You were sick out of nowhere and it scared him, so much. Your fever was so high, a normal person could have died if he or she was on your state.
"Please ... You've to get well soon, Y/N. I promised I would protect you, I've promised. Don't go, please...."
You heard those words nonstop for a week. Then like how you got sick out of nowhere, after exactly seven days, your fever completely gone like vanishing into the air.
You blink the memories away, it's not a pleasant feeling you want to recall.
You open your mouth. "I thought you forgot the most important thing about my relationship with the Emperor."
You and Norman, both of you have been through a lot together.
"I am the only sibling he has at the time and vice versa. We have vowed to protect each other no matter what," you said.
You straighten your posture and clean the dust left on your palms. "Besides, I can't provide some important requirements to be an Empress."
"Huh? Nonsense! You already this cool, what kind of requirements you need?"
Well, for a perfect Empress to stay by Norman's side, she definitely has to be brave, full of love and affection, bold, being unpredictable is better too—
You toss the ideas into a trash bin.
Screw that, the only one requirement is her name must be "Emma".
You absolutely sure sure no one would argue about it. You maybe tell Barbara you've got a crush on someone else if she keeps bothering you on this.
Well, maybe.
▪️▫️▪️▫️▪️
Hello there.
Yeheyy we are hitting 1k viewers, guys 🎉🎉🎉 and we also got 96 votes so far.
Thank you so much for your supports, I'm glad you guys enjoy this ff as much as I write it ♥️♥️♥️
Here's a chapter to ease the intensity a bit before we got serious once again for next chapter.
For those who miss Ray and Emma and the other kids, don't worry, there will be a reunion in this arc. It takes about 3 or 4 chapters more.
I'm sorry for any mistake or error you could find in this chapter. Please notice me if you find one, thank you ♥️♥️
See you next chapter~