"Huu… I forgot to ask how they managed to get here in the first place."
As Richard collapsed back on his seat, he muttered words to himself while allowing the faces of everyone he just met to burn into his memory.
This way, he wouldn't be able to forget them no matter where they met in the future.
'They're all strong and capable. That man especially… Sebas….' Richard pictured the handsome man in his mind.
'He has the aura of a leader!'
More than anything, Richard desired to pick him as his successor. He could already tell that the man was more than capable of it.
'Should I talk to him about it? Try to make him a sweet offer, maybe?' He shook his head as his wry smile widened.
"Nah, that would definitely piss off the Royal Council. I shouldn't try to poach such an asset of theirs—especially when I'm trying to establish good relations with them."
Still, it was such a shame.
'Having someone like that to bridge the gap between Adventurers and the Alliance… wouldn't that be something?'
Richard decided to stop thinking about it, else he would be tempted to throw caution to the wind and ask the man anyway.
'I suppose my options have now been cut down to four potential candidates.'
Out of those four, he already singled Lux out due to her passive attitude. Britta was also very hot-headed and brash, lacking a lot of the emotional maturity that made a great leader, so she was out as well.
'I mean, there's a reason why I still didn't consider her for the position when she was the only competent around.'
That left two real choices; Jet and Sherlock.
'Sherlock is still too young, but he has a lot of potential. If I start early, I could groom him into a capable leader.'
However, considering how uncertain life was—especially the life of an Adventurer—Richard wasn't sure if he would have enough of it to properly mold the boy.
'I suppose that leaves Jet as the optimal choice…'
Sure, the man was enigmatic, but he was already well-received by most of the Adventurers. His fame and power was nothing to sneeze at.
'Plus, he has the will of Zephyr in him.' Guildmaster Richard nodded as he remembered how he heard the loud declaration of the lad's dreams.
'I suppose the final decision will be made after the Conquest.' He smiled widely and felt himself drift into unconsciousness.
**********
[Meanwhile]
"You're back, huh? That was quick…"
As Rey opened his eyes, he found himself staring at Esme's face.
It was so close to his—about only an inch or two apart. The moment he finally processed what was happening, he became so startled that he nearly jumped out of the room that his current body occupied.
"The hell?! What did you do that for?" Rey yelled, already creating some distance between himself and the girl who simply stared at him.
"H-how long have y-you been standing there for?!"
His face was very hot, and the dark mask covering it didn't help in the slightest. He also found himself stuttering, which further showed how flustered he was.
"Not too long ago." Esme shrugged, almost as if the whole thing wasn't that big a deal. "I got bored waiting and wanted to see if I could remove the mask and take a peek."
She sighed and walked towards her bed, collapsing on it in one swift downward motion.
"Y-you what? And you're admitting it just like that?"
"Why would I lie about something like that? I've been begging you to show me for some time now, yet you won't."
"S-still! Why am I even flustered? It's not like you could have succeeded!"
"Oh? You sure about that?" Esme made a smug look, rubbing her hands together. "I think I was pretty close back there. You just had to show up."
The truth was, Rey's original body never left the room. Instead, he simply shared his senses with his duplicate through their connection.
Unfortunately, anytime he did this, his main body couldn't really do anything. He only had one mind, after all.
"I'm have tons of passive protection, so you wouldn't have been able to pry open the mask no matter how hard you tried!" Rey said, folding his hands.
Despite saying that, a creeping fear popped into his mind. 'What if she found a way around that?!'
"I think I could have found a way around that." As if reading his mind, Esme replied with a smirk.
Her unfounded confidence was driving him crazy.
"Well, joke's on you. You're not even sure it's my real face that's under the mask right no—"
"It is."
Esme's swift response had an aura of seriousness about it despite her smile. She seemed to have a sense of certainty.
It scared Rey.
"Pfft! That's… there's no way you could know for sure."
"Well, I just do. I have no doubt that the face speaking to me from behind the mask is your true one."
Rey felt his heart nearly jump out of his chest.
'S-she's not wrong. But… how can she be so sure?' He couldn't comprehend it.
"What makes you say that?"
For a moment, Esme said nothing. She placed a finger on her chin and looked at the ceiling for a moment, thinking about the question as if the answer was far away.
Then, forming a wider smile than before, she gave a big shrug and threw her arms up in the air.
"I don't know, Rey." She let out a slight giggle as she did so.
Rey thought it was quite cute—no, a lot more than that.
"I just feel like you could use whatever face you want to talk to me, without the mask on, yet for some reason… you always use it when we're alone."
Rey swallowed hard as he continued to hear her words.
His heart seriously raced because he knew she was arriving at the truth.
"Maybe I'm wrong, but I believe it's because you prefer being around me with your real face."
*
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Thanks for reading!
Wholesome friendship right there. Esme deniers and haters will cook up something, but we all know she's a good character.
I mean… I hope we all know that.
