"Hey, Royce?"
Ethan knocked repeatedly on the door of the room with a sign outside that read Laboratory. His Vampire friend had been in there for fifteen minutes and still hadn't come out, even though he had told Ethan that reattaching his arm would only take a minute or two at most.
"What are you doing in there for so long? Is something wrong?"
"Hmmmmmmmm!"
Royce answered Ethan with an endlessly drawn-out "Hmm." His voice sounded as gloomy and dejected as the zombies in horror movies.
What was with that attitude?
Could it be… Royce was really still sulking over what had happened earlier?
Ethan found Royce incredibly difficult to understand. The way he behaved could sometimes be so contradictory even in similar situations.
Clearly, from the very beginning, Royce hadn't been happy about Ethan recklessly rushing down to Basement B3 to see how Kai was doing. He had even repeatedly told Ethan to go back aboveground.
And yet, when Basement B3 changed its layout and the way back became completely different from the way in, it was as if Royce's gamer mode had been activated.
Despite all the dangers lurking around them, Royce stubbornly insisted on solving the maze the way ordinary humans would - by trying every possible path, then marking the routes they had taken and drawing a map.
Tsk!
This Vampire really was far too childish, impulsive, and reckless.
Ah, of course!
Royce was only a little over fifteen years and nine months old. He was a whole ten months younger than Ethan.
Back when Ethan had already been toddling around while holding onto things, Royce had still only known how to lie there and bawl his eyes out. So Ethan felt that it was his responsibility to coax Royce rather than get angry at that oversized child.
"About what happened earlier, we didn't have any other choice. You understand that too, don't you, Royce?"
"Sighhhhh!"
This time, Royce answered Ethan only with an utterly miserable sigh.
"At that point, some of the patients were already close to breaking through their doors. And Elder Fidelis and Mrs. Mariposa were running around in panic, each in a different direction. So I thought the most important thing was to get the two of them back aboveground as quickly as possible."
Ethan continued trying to explain things calmly to Royce. Even though deep down, all he really wanted to do was laugh at his friend's misery.
"Sighhhhh! I just feel like you don't trust my maze-solving skills, bro!"
"I completely trust the maze-solving experience you've gained from playing games. But we didn't have enough time back then. What if those Infected had broken through the doors and attacked Elder Fidelis and Mrs. Mariposa?"
"They're not Infected anymore. They're Cured. And even though they don't look quite normal, they're not as dangerous as you think."
"Remember, you only had one arm at the time…"
"So basically, you didn't believe I could handle those Cured if they got loose, right? And you trusted me even less to keep you and those two old folks alive, huh?"
Ethan smiled bitterly.
He stopped arguing with Royce.
Well, Royce's accusation was partly true. It wasn't entirely unreasonable.
Ethan really wasn't that optimistic. He didn't believe that Royce - with his empty stomach growling away -could handle three tasks at the same time: protect Ethan and Elder Fidelis and his wife, deal with the Cured, and find a way out of Basement B3.
And if anything unfortunate happened to Elder Fidelis and Mrs. Mariposa… there was no telling what would happen to the Vampires of the Vampire Community in Harmony Town.
After all, Elder Fidelis wasn't an ordinary citizen like Ethan. He was an Elder, the representative of all the humans living in the town.
Although Ethan didn't understand much about politics, he had a feeling that: Under no circumstances could they allow humans' trust in Vampires to fall any further…
And that had compelled him to do what needed to be done, even though it went against Royce's wishes.
"Fine. I'm sorry."
Ethan rattled off the words.
Even though Ethan believed his decision to use his Bloodbound ability to quickly find the safest route and get everyone back aboveground as soon as possible had been the right one, he still thought he should apologize to Royce. Because he didn't want to waste his energy and time on this childish sulking.
"Huh? What did you say, bro? I didn't hear you."
"I said I'm sorry."
"I can't hear anything. Could you please say it louder?"
"I'm sorry… for not trusting you. And because I ended up using my Bloodbound ability to hack your maze-solving game."
"Tsk! What are you apologizing for, bro? You didn't do anything wrong."
Despite saying that, Royce's voice sounded noticeably more cheerful after he had managed to make Ethan say the word "sorry" three whole times.
"But bro, since you're being so sincere about it, I suppose I'll accept your apology… on one condition."
"What… What condition?"
"This coming Halloween, our school is holding a costume contest. I heard the prize is huge. And I need money. I really need it. You understand?"
"What does that have to do with me?"
Ethan's face gradually twisted into a grimace. He already had a vague idea of what Royce was plotting.
"Bro! We're going to win that prize."
"Why is it 'we' now?"
"By 'we,' I mean you and me."
"But…"
Click!
The Laboratory door swung open. And Royce grabbed Ethan by the collar before he had a chance to escape. Now that Royce had both arms again, there was no way Ethan could get away from him.
"I've got a whole list of characters. You can choose whichever ones you want. We'll prioritize dressing up as pairs of brothers, friends, or enemies… He he he."
Royce shoved his phone right in Ethan's face, making Ethan's eyes blur at the sight of the ridiculously long list, which consisted mostly of Royce's game characters.
Naturally, the list couldn't possibly leave out the brothers Dante and Vergil - of course - Royce was a die-hard Devil May Cry fan. There was also the legendary rival pair Cloud and Sephiroth. Then there were Tidus and his father. The list even included Bayonetta and Jeanne. Oh my God! Was Royce actually planning to cross-dress too?
"Wait. This is starting to sound more like a cosplay festival. I thought Halloween costumes were supposed to be ghosts, witches, Vampires, werewolves, mummies, mythical creatures, and other creepy stuff?"
"That's what I thought last year too. And in the end, the prize went to the Femme Fatale girls. Do you know what they wore to win?"
"How would I know? I wasn't even studying at Harmony School last year."
"Ruby, Anya, and Yara wore nothing but underwear in last year's Halloween Costume Contest - all three of them. Can you imagine that, bro?"
Royce spoke in a serious tone. His eyes were filled with determination. Apparently, he was very serious about the Halloween Costume Contest and its prize.
"The Femme Fatale girls made the minimum investment and got the maximum return. That's so unfair to the contestants who put all that effort and time into preparing elaborate costumes. So this year, I'm not letting the prize fall into their hands again. Bro, are you with me?"