"King Grimm...?"

 

 

I furrowed my brows at the unfamiliar name.

 

"Why doesn't this King Grimm come on his own? If he wants to see me, shouldn't he be the one to come to me?"

 

"...A king can't simply vacate his castle."

 

Jongin shook his head, but the few words he spoke seemed to be in defense of the king.

 

"...A king is meant to wait in his castle, regardless of who it might be."

 

"So just because he's the king, he thinks he can order people about?"

 

I couldn't agree with Jongin's reasoning and spoke the first words that came to mind.

 

"Pff...Haha!"

 

Luhan, who had been listening in on our conversation, suddenly started to laugh. He must have found something very amusing, for his shoulders were shaking with mirth.

 

"Oh, that's funny! You really are a force to be reckoned with. You're probably right. It didn't even occur to us to have the king come, did it, Jongin?"

 

Jongin frowned at Luhan's teasing tone.

 

"A brilliant idea, isn't it? I'm glad you agree."

 

Ignoring my quip, Jongin continued to regard Luhan with a stern look.

 

"Luhan, stop joking around. You of all people are aware of the situation..."

 

Jongin released a somewhat exasperated sigh before turning toward me.

 

"...There is a reason that the king can't come."

 

"A reason?"

 

His words seemed to hold a hidden meaning, so I continued to probe.

 

"You mean...the point is for you to 'take me' to him?"

 

Jongin fell silent, but I sensed my words had hit their mark.

 

"In any case, can we get going already?"

 

Luhan smiled before pointedly looking from me to Jongin.

 

"Especially since our plan is moving along smoother than expected... I'd prefer not to stand here and waste time."

 

"...Yeah. Luhan, the pebbles were a big help. Thanks to them, I was able to find my way."

 

Luhan's urging seemed to remind Jongin of this, and he voiced his appreciation.

 

"I'm glad to hear that."

 

"But how did you avoid detection by 'those in the other world'?"

 

"Well...I have my ways. We can't have anyone interrupting us, can we?"

 

"...I'm glad you're on my side."

 

"*Chuckle* I'll take that as a compliment."

 

"...Um, what do you mean by 'those in the other world'?"

 

Something about their conversation piqued my interest, and I found myself questioning them, but...

 

"Curious? Well, I'm not going to fill you in."

 

Luhan replied with a smile.

 

"In any case, let me fill you in on what's going to happen. We'll be going to see King Grimm. You can either come quietly, or you can make it difficult, the choice is yours."

 

"...The choice is mine? The end result is the same."

 

"The difference is in how you get there."

 

"...You mean, if I say I don't want to go, you're going to force me to go anyway?"

 

"That's right. It will be a pain if you put up a stru