Kings On The Horizon (Vol. 7-9)

284 | Customs

♠︎

"ANY NEWS ABOUT MAX?" Alexander McLurkin, Max's roommate and the serf who helped build the traps around their dorm, asks as he looks at Keigo who is busy typing something down on his computer.

    Keigo doesn't answer, his eyes glued to the screen that shows different numbers and codes, but when the text turns red, he curses and finally closes his laptop to look back at Xander. "No news on my end. He and Riv...Siren left yesterday but I haven't heard from them since. I'm starting to get a little worried. I just don't feel right about this for some reason."

     "You should trust the kid," another voice says.

     Xander and Keigo turn their heads to see Vesper Hugo Cinna, the former Crème de la Crème Rank 12, and the former Duke of J.S High. He was lying in bed, reading a comic book he stole from his classmate yesterday. Without removing his eyes from the page, he adds, "Max was insistent on meeting Klyde. I told him the risk but he said he could do it. There's no point worrying about him now."

    "Oh come on. Aren't you at least a little concerned?"

     "And what benefit will my concern give him?"

     "God you're hopeless," Keigo complains, standing from his seat and walking towards the door with his laptop in hand.

     "Hey! Don't use God's name in vain!" Vesper adds as Keigo finally leaves the room. He sighs and pulls his phone out, checking if there is any message about his friend's whereabouts. But when there was none, he put the phone back inside his pocket and started walking down the hallway.

     Keigo eventually got out of Serf Sanctum without any fuss. He looked around to check if he was being followed, and when he thought the coast was clear, he started walking towards the Saints' dormitory, only to be stopped by another serf.

     "Keigo, where are you going this early in the morning?"

     Keigo flinched, and then he looked back and saw Stefan Kross, the new division representative of the serfs, looking back at him while holding his infamous chart. "Breakfast is in ten minutes. You don't wanna miss out on the good cereal again," he says to Keigo.

     "Oh, yeah. But I have to go somewhere first so I'll just catch up with you guys later," Keigo answers.

     Stefan glances at the laptop that he's holding but says nothing about it. "Sure, I'll save you a seat," he says to him instead.

     "Thanks." 

     "But by the way, have you heard anything about Max? Shouldn't he be returning today?" Stefan then asks him.

     "Actually, I haven't heard from him either," Keigo answers. He was about to tell Stefan how worried he'd been, but he remembered what Vesper said so he tried to act indifferent. "But I think he's fine. If anything serious really happened, someone should have called us, right?"

     "I guess you're right," Stefan says despite sounding uncertain himself. "Then you better hurry to wherever you're going. I'll see you later."

     Keigo nodded his head and waved Stefan goodbye, finally walking his way to the Saints' dormitory, better known as Saints Haven. Before heading inside, he took a deep breath and made sure he looked good. Finally, after fixing his hair for the hundredth time, he stepped inside the dorm, the door wide open for everyone to just march inside if they wanted. 

     Keigo's heart was beating fast because as soon as he got there, a familiar student in white uniform was sitting right across the entrance, looking more irritated than the last time. Keigo swallowed the lump in his throat and finally bowed at the powerful white uniform. "My king..." he says, looking back at Hedeon Stallion, the third most powerful member of the Rank 1 brotherhood, Busters.