Some time later, Ishiki stood outside a large door... well, larger than any other door in this school building. It used to be the principles office, not much time ago, but now it was a, war room or whatever they call it in the military.
He leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. With a grimace, he sighed, 'Why am i even here? don't they realize I just came today and on top of that I am a nobody.'
After some time a group of people walked past him, one of them whispered something to the other and they laughed. More people passed by, whispering and sparing him a look, making him feel like an exhibit in a zoo.
Ishiki's jaw tightened with irritation, 'The next person who passes by and laughs, I swear I'll—'
The door opened.
"Ishiki." Kaori stood in the doorway with a glistering smile, gesturing for him to enter. "Come on."
He gulped and subsided his anger and then stepped inside.
The room was dead silent, it felt... awkward.
There were twelve people sited in the room, six on both sides of a large table made up of salvaged desks, a map laid at the center of the desks, filled with markings. And between the rows of the six people, with a perfect smile on her face sat the princess.
The smile felt like it was painted on her face. It gave Ishiki the creeps, and for some reason the inside of the room was somewhat... colder than the outside.
Then his eyes caught the princess's pink pupils looking at him, and for a second he froze.
She looked mesmerizing up close, ravishing even. The light from the wall mounted LED's caught in her pink hair and her skin, made them glow like polished ivory. She was beautiful in more than one ways and pleasing to look at.
He forced himself to stop dwelling there. 'Get your thoughts straight idiot!'
Kaori's voice cut through the silence. "This is Ishiki Senju. He returned from his trial today, too." She paused, and Ishiki felt every eye in the room lock onto him. "He even got a Title..."
As soon as she said that line... Ishiki could feel the pressure inside the room change. Even the princess stirred, but didn't react as much as the others.
One of the man on the left of the princess let out a small giggle and stood up. He was a middle aged man with some grey hair. "It is a pleasure to have you here, young man. May I ask you what your title is. To be honest, i am quite curious. So far i have only seen two people with a title and both of them left this settlement early on."
He paused, smile turning hesitant. "So you should understand how valuable people like you are."
Ishiki remained silent, looking down and analyzing... how trust worthy other humans could be? And then somewhere it hit him that the man said that the two people with title already left the settlement.
He glanced over at kaori, who hesitantly turned her head away. 'Yeah... she didn't tell them and got me in this mess somehow.'
To him, revealing his Title was not so simple. His original title must remain hidden and for the fake one. It wasn't especially advantageous for more people to know about it. A lie can get you killed eventually.
Considering all his options, he finally gave his answer. "I would prefer not to."
The man who was standing up and had given that speech to encourage or manipulate him, sat down after listening to his reply. A sense of anger could be seen evident on his face.
Some of the twelve people exchanged glances, clearly suspicious and hostile towards him.
"But I can assure you," Ishiki added quickly, "I won't leave this settlement."
Then the princess studied him for a second and gave a nod with a pleasing smile. "That's perfectly alright. We all have secrets we want to keep. Your presence here is enough."
That should have made him feel... at ease, but for some reason those words felt deeply wrong. Ishiki felt a chill run down his spine.
He tried looking away from the princess and then noticed Kaori pointing at an empty seat besides her, all the while looking on the other side.
Ishiki greeted her teeth, 'This woman... I think i will murder her. Then no one will know about my title.' He simply walked and sat besides her.
After he sat down, another one of the twelve spoke up—a young man, maybe early twenties, with features that could only be described as charming. Sharp jawline, confident posture, the kind of face that probably had admirers before the world ended.
He was annoyingly handsome, and Ishiki disliked him immediately.
"You might not believe us right now," the young man said, directing his words at Ishiki. "But we're letting you in anyway. You're valuable. Anyone who survives their trial is valuable. Anyone with a Title even more so."
'Huh... Valuable? what am i, some kind of toll.' Ishiki pressed his mouth hard, not letting it open up. That would be a disaster.
But something was wrong.
His body started behaving strangely. Even his brain felt... off. Like they were compelling him to speak against his will. The feeling of unease grew with each passing second, building pressure behind his teeth, in his throat.
'What... this is too much. Damnit.' Ishiki gritted his teeth. The voices around him blurred. His vision started narrowing, tunneling down to a single point. After what felt like an eternity compressed into seconds, something like an electric shock ran through his entire body.
Ishiki let out a muffled groan, and everyone in the room stopped and looked at him.
"Hey! Ishiki you alright? what happened?" Kaori's asked, sitting just besides him.
'Screw it!' He looked up and nodded. "I am alright, please continue."
The room was once again enveloped in the same silence, heavy and morphed. But this time Kaori stood up and took the stage.
"All talks aside, We have something more important to talk about don't we!" She looked at the Princess with a sly smile. "Don't you think we should talk about the Scenario thing?"
Everyone tensed, of course they were afraid of it. The sole reason being that no one knew what exactly is this Scenario and how will it play out, and then the fact that the last group that vanished hadn't returned yet.
These were reason's enough to enlist fear in people's hearts.
"So, How much time do you have? Your Highness." Kaori asked, not giving anyone else the time to speak.
The princess thought about it for a second and then said in a low voice. "The timer shows 30 days."
A smile appeared on Kaori's face. "And so does mine, and Ishiki too."
A large man at the table's far end grunted—muscular, gaunt-faced, looking like he could snap Ishiki in half without effort. "Same here. Thirty days."
The discussion continued, from there. Speculation about what Scenarios might entail, strategies for preparation, resource allocation for those staying behind. It was logical and necessary planning.
But Ishiki barely heard any of it.
He had no interest in camp survival logistics. He was only interested in his own survival, and none of these people could help him with that.
His attention drifted to the princess instead.
She sat with perfect posture. Spoke with perfect cadence. Looked like someone born to lead. Someone who'd never known fear or doubt or the taste of blood in her mouth while running for her life.
And something about that perfection made Ishiki's stomach twist with contempt.
He laid back on his chair, eyes narrowed. "Didn't she just came back from that trial. How is that she is sitting here flawlessly. Like she returned from a picnic instead of hell? Or maybe nobility has it easier even in hell."
"ISHIKI!"
He flinched, snapping back to awareness. Everyone was staring at him with expressions ranging from shock to horror.
He straightened, forcing a weak smile. "Uh... yes? What happened?"
Kaori looked at him, then sighed heavily. "You realize you just said all that out loud, right?"
Ishiki froze, eyes widening. 'No... No fucking way.' He immediately turned towards the Princess, he expected a strange or maybe a murderous glance.
Instead, she was just looking down at her hands, expression unreadable.
And that made him feel worse somehow. Guilt and maybe shame.
"I... I'm sorry," he managed.
The princess looked towards him once and nodded, as if it didn't matter. 'Of course, i don't matter.'
But then something unexpected happened.
A woman in her mid-thirties maybe, with a slightly wrinkled face and practical brown hair pulled back, spoke up. "Your Highness, if I may..." Her tone carried maternal concern. "You should rest. You just returned. Nobody expects you to resume leadership immediately."
The princess's smile didn't falter. "Thank you for your concern. But our people need leadership. In times of hardship like these, someone must stand firm. Someone must guide. If I falter, we won't be able to move forward."
'Isn't that a bit much?' Ishiki thought, fighting the urge to grimace openly. 'The savior complex. The martyr who shoulders everything alone. Well... Why do i care, go ahead.'
Another of the twelve, an older man with graying hair—added. "You must be hurting. A little rest never harmed anyone."
"My trial was an easy one," she said, voice perfectly modulated. "I was fortunate. Others suffered far worse."
She paused, and the room seemed to hold its breath.
"And as long as we're sharing..." She looked around the table, meeting each person's eyes in turn. "I should tell you all that I received a Title as well."
Murmurs rippled through the twelve. They looked at her in a even brighter light now, their respect and faith in her, renewed.
Then she said the words that made the world stop:
"It's Mythical Rank."