3rd POV
"I know there are various kinds of Phantoms.... I wonder what I would look like if I completely turned into a Phantom." Vil muttered out.
"Vil-San, stop it. Don't say that again..." Epel huffed out.
"Don't say things like that!" Y/n added.
"A jewel-like appearance or a beast-like appearance.... I realized that Phantoms are the embodiment of the Overblot Wizard's desire and real nature." Vil mumbled out. "When I Overblot... The embodiment behind me was an old lady with a long robe. Messy white hair with gnarled hands that looks like tree branch.... I unconsciously thought that youthfulness means beauty, perhaps that's what causes me to feel disgust and afraid of being old. If so... I really hate it."
"We still haven't experienced what it feels like being 'old'. Everyone will be afraid of things they have never experienced before, you're not the only one." Rook said to Vil reassuringly. "Let's not avoid facing the Phantoms, no matter how scared you are."
"Yes, it's also fo discipline myself." Vil hummed softly. Continuing their search for the cage where the ID Card is located, Epel spots a cage close by.
"Ah, this cage... It has the number 854 written on it." Epel muttered out.
"It's the No. 800 cage the staff said before. Let's open it." Vil mumbled.
"I'll do it. Everyone, step back." Rook said as everyone has their guards up. "... Ha!" With a blast of magic, the cage opens up.
"I'm.... Hungry.... Meat.... LET ME EAT IT!!!!" The Phantom growled out before lunging towards Y/n.
"NOPE!" Y/n swings her staff at the Phantom as it lands in the River.
"I'm hungry... I'm... Hungry...." The Phantom growled out before melting away.
"It dropped an ID Card!" Epel said as he picks up the Card.
"We have to thank the Staff for this. Without him, we might have to use more time to find it." Rook said as everyone nods.
"Yes. Let's exit the Asylum with him." Vil hummed out. Quickly finding the Staff who's hiding behind a fallen cage, they took him out of the Asylum.
"Thank you for helping me. You guys saved my life." The Staff said with a bow. "... Hey, would you guys leave 'Tartaros' with me too? From now on, there will only be dangerous Phantoms that's above Rank A.... Even you guys might not make it out alive."
"Thank you, but we will keep going." Rook said to the Staff.
"We have to stop the world from resetting." Y/n said. "And I still have to find my friend."
"We have to slap Idia too..." Vil added. Y/n and Epel was struggling to keep in a laugh. "That's why we can't fall behind the members that's also clearing the mission at the other tower. Let's hurry up."
"I see... I understand. Please be careful." The Staff said.
"You too. There's quite many Phantoms that have been released at the upper layer." Rook said to the Staff.
"I'm still a veteran researcher that has examined Phantoms for the last 20 years. I understand their habit, I can somehow get through it." The Staff confidently said.
"Yes, let's do our best together." Vil hummed softly as they went their separate ways.
"Alright then..." Epel muttered out. "Please continue the story just now!"
"Just now...? What was the conversation again?" Rook mumbled out.
"You weren't a Pomefiore Dorm Student from the beginning, right? Tell us more about the 'I was a Savanaclaw dorm student'!" Y/n said to Rook.
"Oh, about that!" Rook nodded. "During the entrance ceremony, the Magic Mirror sent me to Savanaclaw. I relate to the spirit of persistence of the King of Beasts a lot. That's why I don't really have any doubts with the dorm I'm at. In fact, I had a very fun and meaningful time at Savanaclaw."
'Poor Leona...' Y/n couldn't help but chuckle.
"Eh. Then why did you move to Pomefiore?" Epel asked. "What a waste..." Y/n nudged Epel and gestured towards Vil who seemed angry. "No, I mean. Of the Dorm suits your character, why would you even move to the other dorm....?"
"I did it to understand more about 'beauty'." Rook answered. "Well, even if I stay in Savanaclaw, I can still pursue my own Beauty. But... I feel like of I move to Pomefiore, which is based on the spirit of the Fairest Queen, I'll get even closer to the depth of 'beauty'. My Hunter instincts tells me to do so."
"E-Ehh~~~!? You make such important decisions just from your instincts?" Epel yelped softly.
"Hahaha! Of course, it's not only my instincts." Rook laughed. Another one of the reasons is that I wanted to see Vil enhancing his 'beauty' more closely. You need a blacksmith to turn a heating steal to a sharp blade, right? And I wanted to become the blacksmith for Vil enhance Beauty."
"Oh... It's pretty strange...." Epel muttered out.
"When he first told me he wanted to move, I tried to stop him. But once Rook decided to do something, he won't listen to anyone. You guys know it too, right?" Vil sighed out.
"Very much." Y/n deadpanned.
"The moment I realized, all the complicated procedure and ceremony had ended, and he's already wearing the Pomefiore Dorm Uniform." Vil sighed out.
"How does Rook-San look when he just enters the dorm?" Epel asked.
"First, he never takes care of his hair so it keeps growing longer. And since he has thick hair, it was really dry and messy. And he's the type that would easily get sunburn, but he didn't pay attention to applying sunscreen and skin care products.... Freckles grows a over his cheek like stardust, and the tip of his nose was always red. And the only thing he emphasis in his outfit is something that's way to move in. He could wear a sweatshirt with frayed hems and pants with torn knees without any problems." Vil described what Rook looked like before.
"E-Ehhh......!? It's hard to imagine that from Rook-San now." Epel stuttered out. Even Y/n was having a hard time imagining Rook like that.
"He will take care of his appearance when he goes to an opera or concert that requires a dress code though." Vil mumbled out.
"How nostalgic! I feel a little embarrassed to talk about the old times in front of my juniors." Rook chuckled out.
"That smile doesn't look like you're embarrassed... I guess." Epel muttered out. "But gou moved to to the other dorm to pursue 'beauty', but how do I say it... Did you not care about your own appearance? Also, even though you're very rich, you still wore a frayed sweatshirt...."
"His own appearance wasn't included in the 'beauty' he pursued." Vil mumbled out. "But one time, we were having an exciting talk about 'Theatre shows and love performances are a comprehensive art that the stage and the audience put together'. The stage will only be completed with the audience. In other words, the audience themselves is also count as one of the cast. Of course, you are free to wear casual clothes if you visit a theater that doesn't require a dress code. But if it was me, I would want to visit the theater in a beautiful appearance that matches the beautiful stage. Well of course, you can't wear something that will bother the actors or other guests.... Coordinating my clothes and doing my makeup that match the stage set of the show, it's one of the things that I look forward to when watching theater show. Boosting.y mood for the theater show... This must be the feeling of excitement. After that, Rook happily told me that he gets the ticket of the show that had his favorite actor in it. So I suggested him that, 'It's a rare opportunity, why don't you dress up for the show?' And it happens to be a theater that recommend the audience to dress smart casual."
"I wasn't interested in dressing up back then.... So Vil gave me a lot of advice." Rook chuckled softly. "Vil coordinated my whole outfit, and I had a real feeling of excitement on that day I headed to the theater! I'll never forget it. Watching theater shows is always fun. But if my excitement for all the other shows is 100... I felt like 120 and even 200 on that day!"
To Be Continued~