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[notsolomon]

This is William Twining. I shall reply to your message at my earliest convenience. Thank you. ***BEEP***

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[jyajyaaan]

[Vector just nods with a smile.]

It's not hard to figure out once you get the hang of it. The most challenging part is adapting the way you think, I think, and you just said that you're good at that, right? I'm sure it'll turn out for the best!

By the way, how have you been faring since the last time we met? Got used to the city already?

[notsolomon]

There is nothing I cannot learn if I choose to.

[But he's already grabbing some eating utensils and setting them down at the table, because sweets are serious business.]

I believe I am doing admirably well. People are just... different here. I feel like Kevin is having a more difficult time of it though.

[jyajyaaan]

[Him being busy means that he misses the amused look that crosses Vector's face at his claim. Ambition. It's such a pleasant trait.]

Different? [He smiles in thanks before he starts to dig into his part. The cake is soft and spongy, but the flavor loses its meaning to Vector far too fast. Eating is human. It requires a mouth and is the logical result of a constant need for intake that's so typical for the inhabitants of the human world.

The bitterness of the thoughts about what he has lost overtakes even the sweetest taste.]

Who's Kevin?

[notsolomon]

Very different customs. No calling cards. Women and men just talk as they please. Lower and upper classes mingle without regard for status. It's interesting.

[He said as he savored a piece of cake. He didn't entirely mind all the social changes, being a man of progress who looked towards the future. He could even recognize the sense in many of these changes.

But he was also a member of the nobility who had been raised to keep such things in mind. It was a bit jarring sometimes and a lesser person would have cracked by now.]

Oh Kevin? He's my butler and house steward. He's out right now, so that's why you haven't meet him.

[jyajyaaan]

Lower and upper classes? We don't really have those anymore since ages where I'm from. And how else are people supposed to talk with each other?

[There is honest confusion in his voice because even as an Emperor of the Barian World he just interacted with everybody the same.]

But you got a butler? That's pretty awesome! Your family must be really rich to be able to afford one!

[notsolomon]

Well it is a lot of little matters. Social class is important like I said. Insulting the wrong person could have consequences that are... unpleasant to think about.

[Honestly, it was a bit of relief sometimes being here, where he could be blunt and not have to worry about being cost a job prospect or excommunicated.]

...ah, well yes. My family is a very old and prestigious one. Older than the royal family. Though lately wealth has been a difficult matter.

[jyajyaaan]

The way you say that reminds me of some of the bullies and troublemakers at school...

[Not really anything he wants to think about, although he was never a target himself.]

But older than the royal family, that's really something! So does that mean you know who your great great great great great-grandmother from your mother's side was and her name too? How about- [you better stop him before he gets into the time before the dinosaurs.]

[notsolomon]

..well when I was prefect, most bullies feared me and how much Latin I could make them write.

[Let's ignore the time before that when Arthur treated him like garbage. William had observed enough of the culture here to suspect that explaining that particular relationship might be a bit... involved.]

It would take a bit to line out all the genealogy. And while I do not know the exact line, I do know of my ancestor in Israel. Unfortunately.

[jyajyaaan]

I see~ Every time one of the student council tries to get Shark-sempai for making trouble he just runs off, though. Was that never a problem for you?

[Did he just call Ryouga a bully? At least he didn't say it directly. And it's nothing personal, except a several lifetimes old grudge that they keep renewing each chance they get.]

Why unfortunately?

[notsolomon]

Shark? Hmm, some of them would try to run, because they know I am not athletic, but well the punishment will just be worse. Something like a cleaning duty or a longer essay. A prefect has a lot of power.

[He's feeling a bit nostalgic and regretful that he cannot do the same thing here.]

...because he gave me an unfortunate inheritance.

[He inhaled deeply.]

Have you heard of King Solomon?

[jyajyaaan]

It's what everybody calls him. His real name is Kamishiro Ryouga. Er, Ryouga Kamishiro. Ryouga is his first name.

[Have a big-eyed look as Vector inhales and takes his best guess-]

That's the one the sprinkled sausage is named after, right?! Did he leave you a huge mountain of debts?!

[-nobody's perfect.]

[notsolomon]

Ryouga becomes shark then?

[Okaaaaaaaaaay.]

Well financially it's my Uncle who left me banktrupt. Solomon left me a bunch of useless Demons and a vote in their 'election.'

[Under different circumstances, William might have been more quiet about the Solomon connection, but well, supposedly they had all died. So why lie? Beyond the small, harmless ones and those typical lies of omission he liked to think he was so good at.]

[jyajyaaan]

Hehe, yeah, he's been using phrases like "I'll chew you up in one bite" and the like so often that somebody started it as a joke and it just kind of stuck!

[He laughs before a mixture of emotions flickers over his face.]

Oh. I'm sorry about that. Your uncle shouldn't have done something like that.

[which is quickly followed by amused disbelief.]

No way, demons? Is that your version of Duel Monsters?

[notsolomon]

...how appropriate.

[That sounded a little demented honestly, but who knew what went on in other countries?]

Uncle Barton isn't a bad person, but he has never been good with money. And we cannot exactly find him, so that makes life more complex than it needs to be.

[His uncle was rather, resilient, for lack of a better term, so William wasn't too worried. But there was only so much he could do as a legal minor.]

...Duel Monsters? Not exactly though. They are like what you hear of in the bible and such. The sell your soul to type. Which I wouldn't recommend because they make it sound like a pain.

[jyajyaaan]

What? He vanished? [Don't mind him sounding alarmed, but people vanishing is serious business!]

Sorry, I'm not very familiar with the bible at all. Is there a reason they'd want your specific soul?

[From what he remembers the gods back home were never that picky.]

[notsolomon]

He's an Archaeologist. He often disappears whenever there is a new expedition to be part of. I normally wouldn't worry so much, but you know, the money problem.

[Honestly, he's at school so much that he seldom had time to worry about Uncle Barton anyways.]

...well like I said, I am allowed to cast a vote.

[He inhaled, preparing for a long explanation. This was so much easier when he had Isaac to do all the supernatural talk.]

Solomon, Son of David, was the Third King of Israel. God loved him and bestowed his wisdom upon him. Solomon chose to instead ally himself with demons, binding 72 of them to his will. They became his pillars and served him against their will. Most of them anyways.

And well anyways, Demons have a unique quirk in their biology. They can live long, immortal lives, but only if they undergo periods of sleep that can last a hundred years or more. Which as you can imagine is a bit of a problem.

Apparently even Lucifer, their ruler, has to abide by this rule. And of course, you cannot leave your throne empty. So they have decided to hold an election to choose the next candidate. And apparently, because Solomon bound 72 of them, they felt that gives him the right to elect the king.

And well, the idiot is long dead, so they decided that should fall to one his descendants, me.

[Who was also Solomon's reincarnation, but details, details.]

A few of them would like to make me very dead though, for various reasons. It's only so different from human politics if you think about it.

[jyajyaaan]

Oh, I see. So it's a hard to get into contact with for obvious reasons vanishing, not a suddenly just gone one. That's good.

[He sounds reassured but quickly falls silent as William keeps explaining. Only one of his feet keeps twitching every once in a while, signaling that he hasn't fallen asleep with open eyes.

The tale is sending down chills Vector's spines - there are a couple of unpleasant parallels to his own existence as Barian that correspondent awkwardly well with some of these facts of these so-called demons, although other parts of William's story just sound harebrained and stupid. If they didn't want a mess, then why demand an uninvolved outsider to make the call for their replacement king?

After a long silence he puts his cup down and sighs.]

That's a mess.

[notsolomon]

It is. A big mess. And the three who are vying for position are all going to my school. Two of them badger me constantly over voting for them. It is quite troublesome..

[Though he missed the trouble right now. His life was peaceful, but at great cost. If they were all really dead...

He hadn't wanted this.]

But needless to say, it is not a problem here. Even if one of them came here, it would be useless to make me decide.

[jyajyaaan]

They go to your school? How-? [He wrinkles his nose and quickly shakes his head because William is right.]

You're right. Our current situation is a lot more reason for worrying.

[Dropping his gaze, he fidgets for a moment before he looks up again.]

...and I'm sorry for my reaction, or lack thereof. I understand that what you are telling me is really important. Usually I'd be excited and pester you with questions, but right now-.... [He trails off. Drawing his legs close and pressing them against the cushion of the furniture he presses his lips into a thin white line.]

....my best friend owns the Emperor's Key.

[notsolomon]

[Pausing, William raised an eyebrow at that.]

Emperor's Key? What is that?

[It must be serious for Rei to become so somber when he was normally so animated. It was a bit concerning.]

[jyajyaaan]

It's... [He smiled ruefully.] ....something.

It's the reason why my friend sometimes talks to thin air or reacts to things that aren't there, and I suspect it's also the reason why sometimes random people seem to get ...I don't know, they seem like they're possessed! [He made a brief jerky gesture with his arms as if to explain it better just to give up on it and hang his shoulders the next second.] They suddenly show up and attack again and again. It's as if something goes and twists them for their ways.

[notsolomon]

...is it a spirit possessing him or something like that?

[A demon perhaps? But well, the one time he had seen that happen, the body had already been dead and he didn't want to worry Rei.]

What does your friend think of it? This key?

[jyajyaaan]

[He made an unhappy noise in reply.]

...I don't know. I only met Yuma and the others late into whatever is happening because I transferred schools in the middle of the year due to ..family issues.

[A beat as he realized that that wasn't a very helpful explanation, but giving a good picture of the whole situation was difficult.]

I first wanted to befriend Yuma after having seen his performance during the WDC championships and being deeply touched by it. When we really did become friends... I got a feeling he didn't want me to know. Like he's happy about it. I know that I was being stupid in hindsight, but back then I really wanted to support him by not asking until he decided he wanted to tell me.

[notsolomon]

...it might be that he has a good reason for you not to know. Perhaps he thinks it is unsafe and wishes for you to not be targeted?

[But he knows from experience that hiding the truth seldom works out as planned. Isaac had met Sitri without William even knowing it and summoned yet another demon. And Mycroft Swallow's father had used a body suit by a monster.

Reality cared little for what one wanted to share sometimes.]

I know you wish to respect his privacy, but perhaps it wouldn't hurt to confront him about it directly. Or at least to tell him you will support him.

[jyajyaaan]

Maybe.

[Again a hard to read look crossed his face before he seemed to dismiss whatever occupied his thoughts. Tilting his head to the side, he chuckled around a rueful smile.]

Oh well, it doesn't matter anymore now anyway. I mean, whether I know the full story or not.