Chapter LIV: Trust Who?
════════ ××× ════════
SPEECHLESS, the two sat beside each other while they continue to process the information they managed to gather from the magus in front of them. Y/n didn't understand how she wasn't able to feel it, was it because she was weak? Or was it something else? Nevertheless, his message brought bad news to them. "Someone?" The elemental hero repeated. Y/n took note of that, Lazarus was pertaining that only one person is a traitor. A feeling of discomfort began to circle inside her stomach at that thought.
She didn't want to believe him but she had to trust him no matter what. "Only one is an apostate to the future of Glamoura," Y/n spoke with a meek voice, looking over to the magus once again. "Indeed, one associate. Such an associate wants the downfall of the light elves... Specifically, the Lluminas," Lazarus leaned forward to the table, placing his arm while maintaining eye contact with the two teenagers. Y/n couldn't believe one of her friends wanted that to happen, she trusted them all.
"Why do they hate her family so much?! Isn't Lunos a Llumina too? Then why is he part of this?" Boboiboy furrowed his eyebrows, clenching his jaw. Lazarus was unfazed at his behaviour and just pushed his glasses upwards once again before answering his question. "That I cannot answer, lad. But all I can say is that the royal family of elves has been hiding so many secrets they did not want anyone to know, especially Y/n," the magus spoke, leaning back to his chair comfortably.
"Have you ever wondered if history was indeed written correctly?" Lazarus began, confusing the two again. Y/n could only feel her breathing hitch at that question, another subject that will bug her again. "Have you ever doubted the books? The records? If you did, then congratulations you little philosopher there is much misinformation deceiving you until now." Boboiboy didn't know how to react to the magus being sarcastic in a time like this or was it just his personality?
'He speaks of that like we just won a lottery,' Boboiboy couldn't help but feel his sweat drop.
"Most Lluminas are liars, no, not Eros. Eros is worthy of his achievements but his children are most certainly not," Lazarus stood up, summoning a book out of nowhere as bright particles appeared around him. "His children... I only recognise King Horus," Y/n mumbled to herself, she never knew about Eros' child that much except for the heir. She always wondered why their story was never told, they were supposed to be the child of the only King of all Elves.
"Exactly, they only want you to focus on King Horus. The said child of the light, the first leader of the Elemental Magic Institute, is a reason why I despise the institute's way of ruling. They still follow how King Horus manages the institute and it is obvious to say that I do not like him and his ways," Lazarus narrows his eyes at the book that he was reading. "What did he do?" The elemental hero questioned the magus out of curiosity. The way Lazarus spoke of his name was like spitting venom out of his mouth.
"He changed history, restorer. He hid all of the malicious deeds that he had committed," Lazarus pointed out while looking over at Boboiboy with his bored-looking eyes. "He brainwashed the entirety of Glamoura once Eros finally decided it was time to ascend to his paradise. His intents were the reason I did not trust Lluminarian royalty, they followed and believed him without doubting his ways," Lazarus clicked his tongue, speaking about Horus was one of the things he hated.
"What about his sibling? If he is the second child, why did he receive the throne?" Y/n inquired, willing to know about the truth that was hidden from her for so long. "Correction, my dear. It is 'siblings', not 'sibling'. Eros had three children. The reason why King Horus had the throne was not because he received it," Lazarus stopped between the two, looking up at them blankly.
"He stole it," He closed the book that he was holding.
It was silent for a moment. An overwhelming atmosphere full of silence.
"Pardon?" Y/n blinked repeatedly, horrified at the unacceptable truth. Her eyes were as big as saucers, and the beating of her heart accelerated even further. "He is not meant to be king!? Then who was supposed to be the true ruler?" The elemental hero added, pursing his lips soon after. He noticed how shocked the elf beside him was, sure they were in line for the throne but that means the past rulers held a stolen throne due to the evils of their ancestors.
"He was never the child of the light, the child of the light fled never to be seen again because of him. He banished his sibling," Lazarus seemed to answer nonchalantly but he was only getting more irritated at him. "What about his other sibling?" Y/n reluctantly began, looking at Boboiboy who suddenly placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "The true ruler after King Eros, forgotten, ignored and neglected. A weight they hold, attaining it inadvertently after making a horrible decision," the magus didn't specify what exactly happened.
"Furthermore, I would like to address how Horus' wrongdoings affected the present that we are facing now. How vile of a creature he is, truly unforgivable. He tainted the legacy of Llumina, the future of Glamoura. He caused all of this devastation to rise again and gave chance for darkness to rule again. Lunos, he knew all of this I am afraid. And the bringer of evil is aware of this and they are using it to their advantage," Lazarus paused, putting his hands behind him after making his book disappear into thin air.
"It is difficult to find who to trust now in a situation like this. But I suggest that you stay true to your beliefs, and do not let anyone taint you. If you believe a person is good then do not doubt yourself, I know the internal conflict you are all dealing with. But as we get closer to the future that we are waiting for, everything will be revealed. And soon enough, you will make decisions for yourself," the short magus raised a finger.
"And this is just the beginning, bearer. More in the future awaits you," Lazarus narrowed his eyes at the (h/c)-haired female, his usual serious expression plastered on his face as they made eye contact.
"It seems like I spoke too much, I shall give you time to think and speak to each other then," Lazarus fixed his throat before walking out of the room, creating creaking noises because of the floorboards that don't seem to be sturdy enough. As the magus left the two alone, silence managed to invade the atmosphere once again. They found out many things today, especially the vital information concerning the history of Lluminaria and the Llumina family.
But, Boboiboy didn't want to let that silence take over the whole time.
"Are you okay? You can talk to me about anything," he began, a reassuring smile plastered upon his lips as he faced her properly. Y/n looked up to him, uncertain about what to do next after finding out about the horrible truth her ancestor had done to Glamouran history. "One Lunos is a fraud, one of them is the real one. But both of them did awful things to Glamoura, I do not have hope anymore. I do not know who to believe, one of our companions is a traitor, I cannot trust anyone anymore because I am afraid it will lead everyone to fail," Y/n panicked.
"I do not know who to trust anymore, I cannot feel the dark magic at all. This person is preventing me from doing so, I am lost, Boboiboy. One of them is Lunos' accomplice but I have a feeling who it is, I just cannot bring myself to admit it because I might be wrong." She took a deep breath, pursing her lips while looking down at her shoes.
"Y/n."
He stood up and leaned down to her, holding her shoulders while making eye contact with her fearful ones.
"You can trust me."
The Glamouran elf's shoulders relaxed at his words, the beating of her heart calming down as she remembered that she wasn't alone the whole time. Y/n maintained eye contact with him and held his hands to take in the comfort that he was giving her. How can she forget? Lazarus spoke to them alone because he knew he can trust them, if he can trust the two of them then why shouldn't she trust her partner in crime? The prophecy bounds them together, even Eros knows that Boboiboy can help her.
"We can trust each other. We always do, even if you were hiding your identity I believed that you were not a bad person. Despite the things that we had to face, we believed each other. If you trusted me the whole operation, why can't you do the same thing now?" The elemental hero continued, letting go of her shoulders to hold her hands in a comforting manner. "I know it's a lot to handle but we're still well and alive. We've faced things as worse as this, we fought Lluminarian guards, dark spirits, and brainwashed monsters. We risked our lives for this and yet, we are still standing," Boboiboy sighed.
"You're not alone in this, you have me even if the entirety of Glamoura will be against you."
Y/n's eyes widened, and her lips quivered at his words. She knows how genuine he is and it is making her feel emotional. She couldn't help but express her happiness and immediately pounced on him to give him a warm embrace. "Thank you..." The elemental hero's eyes widened at this unexpected action but still, let out a soft smile soon after. He wrapped his arms around her, caressing her back to make her feel better. But that didn't mean that he wasn't flushed red the entire time.
"As I said, I will always be here..." He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to suppress his flustered reaction. Once they let go of each other Y/n signalled him to pause for a second. "What?" He wondered, blinking at her thinking face. She took off her flight goggles, disheveling her hair slightly by that simple action. She stared at it for a while before looking back to the bewildered elemental hero standing in front of her, not knowing her next move.
"As a token of my appreciation and a symbol of my trust in you, I shall give you my aviator goggles."
"My deepest apologies, it is the only thing I have at the moment," she sheepishly began, scratching her cheek a little guilty that she didn't give him something better. "You know, you don't have to give me anything. Plus, these goggles have been with you since you graduated from flight school," Boboiboy looked away out of embarrassment, ears beginning to turn pink at her sweet gesture. "I'm sure it holds great value to you. I can't take that away from you."
"That is the reason I am giving it in the first place. To show my trust, to symbolize the things we went through and to let you know that this is not the only thing I value most."
"You hold great value to me too."
Boboiboy stared at the object for a while before sighing in defeat. His fingers brushed with her warm ones as he took the flight goggles from her. Y/n curiously watched as he decided to wear it, the material dangling around his neck. He sheepishly grinned at her before responding.
"Same to you then."
════════ ××× ════════
"So what are we going to do now?" Gopal began, munching on a piece of bread Lazarus surprisingly offered them. "Leave some for the justice and his disciple!" Captain Papa posed out of nowhere before grabbing food for him and Cosmo. "Here have this, get stronger! We still need to do our training!" The adult shoved the bread into the pegasus' mouth out of nowhere. "Yosh shiiii!" They couldn't understand the pegasus guardian's reply but most of them found it unamusing.
"What a character these creatures are," Lazarus commented out of nowhere, earning nervous laughs from the others.
"I think we need to return to the ship and plan our approach against the Kingdom of Lluminaria," Ying placed her hand on the table, making eye contact with everyone in the room. With that statement, Captain Papa and Cosmo froze from their eating session; the two gulped simultaneously. "Uh... Hehe... About that," the math teacher started putting his pointer fingers together, sweat beginning to form on his forehead. "What happened?" Yaya narrowed her eyes at the team justice members who were guilty.
"The ship ran out of fuel when they were trying to search for you guys, for some reason they decided to race each other for... 'Training purposes'," Ochobot emphasised the last two words, obviously done with the two. "No wonder they were panting when they arrived here, you ran all the way here!" Gopal placed his hands on his waist, finally putting things together. "It figures," Fang pinched the bridge of his nose while Boboiboy shook his head in disappointment.
"Uish! You two! What are we going to do now?" Ying snarled at the sheepish duo. They were clueless about their next move now that they don't have any transportation to use. "Ochobot can't use his teleportation power right now, he used it just recently," the elemental hero reminded everyone which added another problem for them. "No need to argue, comrades. I managed to think of a good plan," Kaden fixed his throat, reassuring everyone in the room. "Really? What is it then, Kaden?" Gopal perked his head and turned to the royal adviser.
"How about we try to take back Adu Du's spaceship?" He smirked, stepping up as he gathered everyone's attention. Adu Du and Probe's eyes widened at the idea, exhilarated and blissful at the thought of getting their ship back. "You're serious!? Wahh, I missed the ship so much," the purple robot cried crocodile tears, his red robotic eyes shining for some reason. "Huh? How would we be able to do that? Lunos had It did he not?" Elliot spoke after being silent for so long as if he was pertaining to something Y/n couldn't understand.
"Junior, he did not, remember? It was the general who has it. And I remember, he is planning a banquet soon. I think we can sneak in and take it back!" Kaden snapped his fingers, grinning at the plan. "Does he live far away?" Yaya tilted her head to the side. "Hmm... I guess I can help you with that. I, the great Lazarus shall volunteer to help," Lazarus fixed his throat before pushing his glasses up. Everyone could feel his superiority, a smirk was plastered on his face as he stared at everyone.
"You will!?" Probe's eyes sparkled as he looked over at the magus. "You're serious?" Even Adu Du seemed emotional at the moment, missing not only the ship but also his computer. "I am, associates. It seemed like you are all needing help. I have a teleportation spell that I can use once in a while, I supposed it will work since I did not use it for a long time," Lazarus lazily informed them. "If you have a teleportation spell... Why can't you just use it to teleport us to Lluminaria?" The molecular hero raised a brow at the magus.
"Because... If I do, Lunos will sense my magus magic. He will immediately know where you are," Lazarus responded nonchalantly.
"Alright then, if that's the case, tell us your plan Kaden!" The speed manipulator nodded her head at the elf with a monocle. "Certainly, my comrades. As I was saying, I heard the general is planning a banquet for the eldians. I think crown prince Lunos told him to do it to earn the trust of the eldians. The general probably has the ship in his home, there would be many guards there but I know we can do it," The royal adviser told them with a smile.
"We can sneak in there and take it from them. With Princess Y/n around, we can talk to the eldians to help us get in. I think they will believe us because they can barely trust his highness anymore after what he has done to Lluminaria," Kaden added. "Eh? But who can we approach? Do you know anyone who would be there that you can talk to, Y/n?" Boboiboy turned to the female Glamouran in bewilderment. The (h/c)-haired female hummed lightly, thinking about anyone that she can't talk to.
"I think I know someone who I can speak to," Y/n perked her head up in realisation.
"Who?" Most of her friends leaned closer to her in curiosity. "My cousin, she can help me. She rarely leaves her home, the eldians barely know her. I know she will attend since it is the order of the crown, I can somehow try to convince her to help us," Y/n caressed her chin, thinking about her eldian cousin whom she only sees during important gatherings. "If we somehow convince her, what are we going to do then?" The shadow manipulator spoke up, crossing his arms to wait for her response.
"We need something to distract the guards, Boboiboy, Gopal and Fang. Maybe we can find a way to sneak you in by... Yes! You can act as page boys!" Kaden nodded his head to himself in realisation. "Page what!?" Boboiboy, Fang and Gopal exclaimed in unison, utterly dumbfounded at that. "While Y/n can act as a normal eldian with her aura blending inside the banquet. It would be difficult to sense who is who because of that. We can ask her lady to tell the guards that you are her sister," Kaden continued.
"Hm... If that's the case! We could be her handmaidens!" Ying and Yaya nodded at each other in agreement. "Eh? But we don't even have magic auras and we don't have pointed ears?" Gopal deadpanned at them, thinking that the plan might not work at all. "I can deal with that, associates. We can use a light illusion spell where we can deceive anyone into thinking that you are elves although the time will be limited," Lazarus calmly added, finishing his tea. He frowned after seeing that his drink already ran out.
"For the auras, it will not be a problem. Servants usually have a small elf aura that sometimes is hard to notice, they would think it is normal if you do not possess one," Kaden elaborated, reassuring everyone so that they won't have to worry about those things. "Hm... No wonder Y/n has to act like a noble, it is because she cannot hide her aura. A servant with so much aura would bring so much attention to her," Ying spoke, finally understanding what was going on.
"Flawless answer, Lady Ying!" Kaden praised the speed manipulator. "Adu Du and Probe you stay back, the general knows who you are," Kaden commanded to the two aliens. No matter how the box-headed alien hated that idea, he knows that if it was for his ship then he'll do it and listen to them. "Hmph, fine. As long as I get to have it again," Adu Du waved a hand. They almost forgot about a certain duo in the room, the stubborn ones.
"What about us!? We can help!" The pegasus guardian suddenly spoke to them, making everyone pale. "Correct! The team justice shouldn't be left out, my dear students!" Captain Papa did his signature pose, earning blank stares from his students and a confused one from the female Glamouran. "Good luck with them," Lazarus smirked, finding the scene before him entertaining. "Uh... You could be the emotional support!" Kaden didn't know what else to say so he blurted that out unintentionally.
"What do emotional supports do?" Cosmo wondered, thinking deeply.
"They stay out of trouble that is what," Lazarus commented.
Fang and Elliot were starting to think they would get along well with the blunt magus. "You do not want us to be part of this operation!" Cosmo whined at the emotionless magus. "Exactly, I am surprised you know that," Lazarus remained nonchalant and calm throughout the whole ordeal. "Of course I do! The potion already wore off!" The pegasus guardian continued to exclaim which only gave Lazarus the motivation to speak more blunt responses. "I told you it does not work on you."
"Does that mean I am immune to it?"
"Your attempts of humour are unamusing."
"Alright, with Lazarus here, we would have no problem about hiding their identity. Unless... Someone decides to join uninvited," Ying narrowed her eyes at team justice, which resulted in them looking away while whistling. "You know we couldn't do anything without you Lazarus, we are so grateful for your help. You're awesome," the elemental hero smiled at the short magus, giving him his signature thumbs up. "To fix the wrongdoings of King Horus, I shall assist," He responded, nodding to himself.
Y/n just stared down at the magus in silence before patting his head out of nowhere, surprising the person in question. "Pardon me, what do you think you are doing?" He frowned without removing her hand away from his head. "You do not like being touched? My apologies," the female brought back her hand to herself, understanding that he probably didn't like that. A moment of silence filled the atmosphere before he decide to say something again.
"No.... do it again, I did not say to remove your hand," He suddenly blurted out while grabbing her hand back to his head to make her continue her petting.
Oh, how two people and one creature in the room envied the scene.
"Burning a magus seems good."
"Cosmo, no!"
"Find yourself another elf, you clown."
════════ ××× ════════
Disclaimer: The illustrations above aren't mine. They belong to their original artists.