The Ancient Sun God, clearly informed by Sasrir, didn't say much. He simply looked at Medici and asked, "Do you need time to familiarize yourself with the Red Priest's uniqueness again?"
Medici's gaze settled on the Red Priest's uniqueness. Despite its earlier rejection, his expression showed neither disappointment nor coldness. Instead, he scoffed, "Does it matter? As long as I can accommodate it, that's enough."
"That's the spirit!" Alaric nodded enthusiastically, sounding like a whimsical monarch from a bygone era casually arranging a marriage. "It's the Red Priest's uniqueness' good fortune to be accommodated by you, Lil' Red. It dares to reject you? How ungrateful. What's this about its 'true love' Tudor? That guy's long gone. Why should he compete with a living legend like you?"
His words plunged the room into an awkward silence for a few seconds. What should have been a straightforward matter of accommodating a uniqueness suddenly took on a melodramatic, soap-opera vibe.
"Can you shut up, please?" Medici's expression darkened, and he shot Alaric an exasperated look.
"I'm just stating facts. Don't tell me you're rattled, Lil' Red?" Alaric replied, his face the picture of innocence.
"..."
Was it permissible to punch his boss?
"Problem is, you can't beat me right now," Alaric said with a shrug, clearly reading Medici's thoughts. He grinned. "I'm Sequence 0, you know!"
Medici gave him a blank stare, then sneered. "I don't believe you'll stay Sequence 0 forever."
As one of the people closest to Alaric and most familiar with him, Medici had some insight into certain matters. He could guess that Alaric's new Sequence 0 status wouldn't last long.
This time, it was Alaric's smile that froze. He glared at Medici with mock menace for a few seconds before adopting a melodramatic, sorrowful expression. "After all these years of favor, was it all misplaced?"
Medici's face twisted as if he'd bitten something sour. He rolled his eyes. "Years? Have we even known each other for one?"
"Oh, come on. You know what they say... 'a day apart feels like many years.' We may not have known each other long, but that doesn't mean our bond isn't deep. By that logic, we've been friends for years," Alaric said, dropping the fake sorrow and launching into shameless nonsense.
Medici couldn't be bothered to respond, though his gaze grew distant.
Had it really been such a short time? Reflecting on the whirlwind of events in less than a year, Medici fell silent.
Truth be told, this brief period had been more exhilarating than the thousands of years before it.
And Alaric, as a person, left a deeper impression on Medici than anyone he'd ever met.
"…So, are we accommodating this uniqueness or not?" The Ancient Sun God finally asked, his voice gentle.
Medici snapped back to reality, nodded at The Ancient Sun God, and said, "Of course."
Maybe the Red Priest's uniqueness didn't acknowledge him, but so what? As Alaric had said, a forced match didn't need to be sweet... it just needed to serve its purpose. Medici didn't need the uniqueness' approval.
As long as the people he cared about recognized him, and as long as he could wield this power to fight for those who mattered, that was enough.
Alaric, watching Medici come to this realization, curved his lips into a pleased smile. Then, his expression turned icy as he shot a glance at Salinger's Blood Banner, which seemed to sense danger and was starting to stir.
The flag immediately went still as a lamb.
Alaric didn't care what the Red Priest's uniqueness thought. Maybe it preferred that madman Tudor, but to Alaric, its only value was in being accommodated by Medici.
Besides, thinking of the mess Tudor had caused in the original story, Alaric couldn't help but grimace. The Red Priest's uniqueness had terrible taste.
What a waste, choosing a lunatic like that. It deserved to be corrupted by the River of Eternal Darkness.
The Ancient Sun God noticed the exchange and chuckled, nodding. "Then let's begin."
And so, half a month before the year 1350, Medici once again became a King of Angels!
…
Though he'd reclaimed his status as a King of Angels, work still had to be done. Medici and Alaric soon returned to the Numinous Episcopate's base, bringing along Klein and the others, who had mostly finished handing over their tasks.
Herabergen didn't join them. The old dragon tactfully stayed behind to assist Sasrir, who had come back online, with work. Of course, he likely also saw it as a chance to learn more about the bustling endeavors Alaric and his crew were involved in... and perhaps to pry some information about Alaric from Sasrir.
After all, compared to the others, Herabergen knew relatively little about Alaric.
Alaric was well aware of this and tacitly allowed it. He never minded his information being known... anything others could learn was something he was fine with sharing. The truly sensitive secrets? Those, he'd never tell a soul.
Back at the Numinous Episcopate's base, Alaric suddenly remembered something and turned to Medici, rubbing his chin. "Wait, did we forget to discuss payment with Herabergen for the uniqueness?"
The process of cleansing the Red Priest's uniqueness of its source quality corruption and helping Medici accommodate it had been so seamless that Alaric had completely overlooked it... like picking a fruit from his own garden.
"Don't worry, I already talked to that old dragon. You don't need to cover the payment for the Red Priest's uniqueness," Medici said, glancing at Alaric. Perhaps because he was in a good mood, his tone was unusually mild.
Alaric blinked, then looked at Medici with a mix of being moved and astonishment, like a proud parent watching their cat hunt for itself.
Medici, fully understanding what that look mean.
He really wanted to punch his boss!
"…Didn't you say you'd help Azik suppress his other half's soul and the Death's uniqueness? You haven't forgotten that, have you?" Medici, having never won an argument with Alaric, gritted his teeth and changed the subject.
"Forget? No way, I've been keeping that in mind!" Alaric shot back. As he spoke, a knock came at the door.
"Lucifer, Medici, are you there?"
It was Azik, who'd been notified by Alaric and had come to the study.
"Come in!" Alaric called, inviting Azik inside.
The study door opened, revealing Azik in good spirits. He greeted Alaric and Medici before his warm gaze settled on the trio... Klein, Jack, and Lil' Amon. "It's been a while, Klein, Jack, Amon. Looks like you've been doing well."
The three quickly returned his greetings, and the study filled with a warm, cheerful atmosphere.
Alaric then explained why he'd called Azik over, asking, "How's your condition? If I help you suppress the other half of your soul, do you think you can successfully merge with it?"
***
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