"Your Grace…" Johnson speaks, his voice nervous, almost afraid despite being a grown adult.
A knight, no less.
"…why am I here? And why is that here?" Johnson asks, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. "You rarely take out your pets, and especially not without any sort of leash."
Amethiel, who was casually munching on a large croissant he had the chef prepare, blankly stared at Johnson.
Meanwhile, Johnson was staring at Kree, who stood beside Amethiel, looking around with quiet curiosity.
"Johnson, do you know anything about monsters?" Amethiel asks, tilting his head slightly as he looks at the older knight.
"No. Obviously not. And you've insulted me about it for as long as you've been able to talk," Johnson replies, his brows knitting together.
Amethiel smiles and raises a finger to stop him, signaling for silence as he glances at Kree.
"Hey," Amethiel calls out.
Kree immediately looks down at him.
Then Amethiel runs.
Not too far. Just enough.
Almost instantly, Kree reacts. His hands shoot forward, claws flexing, his entire body tensing.
"A-Amethiel!" Kree calls out as he tries to follow—
And then he trips.
He stumbles over his own foot, collapsing awkwardly onto the ground, clearly unfamiliar with running.
Amethiel turns his head toward Johnson.
Johnson had gone pale.
"D-Did it… did it just… did…" Johnson stutters, pointing shakily at Kree, who now sat on the ground, looking confused.
'Look at him, he looks absolutely stunned.'
Amethiel walks over to Kree and leans down slightly.
"Now say 'Master.'"
"Master?" Kree repeats.
Johnson lets out an audible sound of fear.
"It's speaking!"
"Good. Now your tiny, no-knowledge-of-monsters brain is all caught up," Amethiel says, glancing back at him. "I'm trying to see what else it can do. Because the more time I spend with it… the more amazing it gets."
"You've only spent a day with it. How have you already discovered so much?" Johnson asks, still visibly cautious.
"Because I am a genius," Amethiel replies, his tone completely matter-of-fact.
Johnson looks at him like he's lost his mind. Well, Amethiel was the crazy one in everyone's eyes. "Why am I here then? What could an idiot like me possibly contribute to you, Little Grace?"
Amethiel hums. "First of all, I love that you're self-aware." Johnson rolls his eyes at that. "Second, I need you to attack me."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Almost deafening.
'He's going to start screeching in three… two…' Amethiel thought, and then—
"YOUR GRACE! LORD ASTER! I THINK THE LITTLE GRACE HAS OFFICIALLY LOST IT! LORD LILIOR! LORD HYAC—"
"Oh dear mother of mine, shut up!" Amethiel exclaims. He knew Johnson was dramatic. He knew Johnson loved yelling at him for no reason, but he didn't expect him to start calling for his father and older brothers.
Johnson narrows his eyes at him. "You've officially gone insane, Little Grace. With no offense whatsoever, I do care about you. I've practically raised you, but—"
"WILL YOU LET ME EXPLAIN?!" Amethiel yells, making Kree look at him with shock and clear concern.
Amethiel slams his unfinished croissant onto the glass tea table. 'Now I can't even finish my croissant,' he thought as he stomps toward Johnson.
"Look, this monster works differently from the rest. It has more intelligence than the others, maybe even more than half the people here," Amethiel says, still irritated. "Psychology works on it, and I've been testing what else it can do. Remember what happened yesterday?"
"Which one?" Johnson asks.
"When it thought you were attacking me, it suddenly grew another set of arms."
"Oh, yes…"
"Earlier, I got dizzy from low blood sugar and almost fainted—"
"—No wonder you demanded croissants—"
"—And it caught me with its tentacles."
"Okay, Your Grace. Haha. Now I know you're just messing with my feeble brain."
"You certainly do have a feeble brain. So you finally said something smart," Amethiel muttered under his breath, covering his face in frustration.
He peeked through his fingers. "Johnson, all you have to do is charge at me with your sword."
"It's not safe."
"You're telling me your skills are so low that, if needed, you can't stop charging at the right moment?" Amethiel asked. "What do we pay you for then? Your salary comes with housing and benefits."
"It's not that," Johnson said, narrowing his eyes. "I don't doubt the monster will attack if it sees me attacking. It will be dangerous for me."
"Wow. So selfless," Amethiel said sarcastically, giving a slow clap. "Don't worry, Johnson. Of course, I won't risk my father's favorite captain after the last three died—"
"There wasn—"
"It's a joke, old man." Amethiel cut him off, pulling a small vial from his pocket. "This is called zappy zappy stoppy thingy."
"What?" Johnson frowned. "What kind of name is that?"
"It's so people like you can understand what it does." Amethiel raised it, peeking at the bright yellow liquid inside. "If I throw this at you, you'll feel excruciating pain, like being struck by lightning. It can kill you."
Johnson's eyes widened. "That's… something someone like you shouldn't have."
"Right? But I do have it. I made it myself," Amethiel said. "If I use this on that creature, it won't die because of its enhanced body, but it should still have some kind of nervous system. This will subdue it if it tries to attack you."
Amethiel smirked. "I've tested it on the other monsters. It's one of their most hated methods of restraint."
Johnson glanced between Amethiel and Kree. Kree stood silently, watching. Amethiel only smiled.
"Right… now I don't know which one is scarier," Johnson said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "You won't let this go, will you?"
"Nope," Amethiel said, popping the 'p'.
Johnson groaned. "Alright, little grace. You better be sure about this." He unsheathed his sword.
Amethiel lowered his hand, eyes fixed.
"You charge on my command."
Johnson took a deep breath, then nodded slowly. "Gotcha."
Amethiel took a few steps back, creating distance between them. Kree stayed where it was, though it looked at Amethiel, tilting its head curiously.
'Good. Still focused on me,' Amethiel thought.
"Okay, Johnson," Amethiel said carefully.
He took one more step back. Before Kree could fully register the distance between them, he spoke again.
"Go!"