Parallel Memory

Chapter 721: William as Always

William stood.

His followers immediately looked toward him.

He adjusted his clothes.

”Zero.”

Zero looked toward him.

” Professor William.”

Mia finally released Zero.

But she remained beside him. Blushed after her own embarrassing action.

Zero was schocked the most of all.

He had known her since the academy and always knew she was reserved, maintaining her image as the ice enchantress even within the story in his parralel memory no one other than william dared to provoke her due to her image.

but O’ so lucky to be embraced by such, someone known for her ferocious strength yet more for beauty all over the domain and beyond and to withness her shy, no man could ask for more than the cute side of such beauty.

Still couldnt shake off the tingling rush, was it muscle memory? All the harsh training she has given during the Academy.

However Zero still maintained his poker face As he met Williams gaze cause he learned from the best(Mia).

That small action did not escape William’s notice.

His expression became more unpleasant.

”So you are here.”

”Apparently.”

William looked at Zero’s clothing.

Then smiled.

”You came dressed like one of the Guards?”

Several of his followers laughed.

Mia’s expression immediately turned cold.

Zero looked down at his suit.

Then back at William.

”I like it.”

William’s smile became wider.

”Of course.”

One of his followers whispered.

”That looks expensive.”

William immediately answered.

”It is probably a fake.”

The follower blinked.

”A fake?”

William nodded confidently.

”People like him cannot afford clothing like that.”

Zero stared at him.

He did not know whether to laugh.

William continued.

”You should be careful, Zero.”

”About what?”

”People might misunderstand your position.”

Zero looked around.

”What position?”

William spread his arms.

”Your position in society.”

He spoke loudly enough for several nearby observers to hear.

”I am an S Rank adventurer.”

He placed a hand against his chest.

”I belong to the upper class of society.”

His followers nodded.

William continued.

”You, however...”

His gaze moved over Zero’s suit.

”You have always been poor.”

Mia’s eyes narrowed. Almosting freezing the surrounding bringing down the temperature.

Zero remained silent.

William smiled.

”Perhaps you should be grateful that someone like me is willing to speak to you.”

One of his followers laughed.

”Master William is generous.”

Another nodded.

”Indeed.”

William looked at Zero.

”Someone of your status should understand his place.”

Zero looked at him.

Then sighed.

It was not anger.

It was pity. Has it not been for the extra luck and his Parrallel memorry skill he would have been in the same position may be not necessarily a small time villian but a supporting character building up the scene for heros entrance.

William mistook it for fear.

”You should be honored.”

Zero looked toward the main entrance.

Then reached into his pocket.

He pulled out a card.

The card was simple.

But the moment he revealed it, the expressions of several people in the hall changed.

William’s smile froze.

The card carried the seal of the assembly.

Not an observer’s invitation.

Not a visitor’s pass.

It belonged to someone seated at the members table.

Someone with the right to speak.

Zero held it between two fingers.

”I think you have mistaken my position.”

William stared at the card.

One of his followers leaned closer.

”What is that?”

The nearest guard answered.

”An official member’s invitation.”

The follower’s face changed.

William’s expression became stiff.

Zero looked at him.

”I am not here as an observer.”

The silence around them grew heavier.

”I was invited to participate.”

William’s followers slowly turned toward him.

The expensive suit.

The calm expression.

The official invitation.

The fact that the guards had allowed him to enter without question.

Everything William had said suddenly collapsed.

The suit he had called fake was real.

The man he had called poor had been invited to sit among the decision-makers.

And the person he had just told to serve him had the right to stand at the seat where William could only watch.

William’s face became red.

One of his followers swallowed.

Another suddenly found the floor very interesting.

Mia stood beside Zero.

Her expression was beginning to change.

She had noticed.

Zero had not become angry.

He had not insulted William.

He had not even attempted to humiliate him.

He had simply shown the card.

That was worse.

William had done everything himself.

Zero had only allowed reality to answer.

For a few seconds, nobody spoke.

Then Zero looked at William.

”Are you finished?”

William’s jaw tightened.

”Don’t misunderstand.”

”Misunderstand what?”

”I was merely...”

He stopped.

There was no good answer.

If he claimed he had been joking, his followers would know he was retreating.

If he continued insulting Zero, he would only embarrass himself further.

So he did the only thing left.

He raised his chin.

”Rank S.”

Zero stared at him.

William’s voice became louder.

”You may not have noticed since you are weak but I have ascended to S Rank.”

Zero looked at him.

”And?”

William waited.

Nothing else happened.

His expression twitched.

”Do you understand what that means?”

”Yes.”

”I have reached the highest level of power available to most people like yourself.”

”Congratulations.”

William’s face darkened.

”You are mocking me.”

”No.”

Zero looked genuinely tired.

”I’m not.”

That answer somehow made it worse.

William’s followers stood behind him.

They had expected a confrontation.

They had expected Zero to become scared.

They had expected William to prove his superiority.

Instead, Zero looked at William as though he were dealing with an annoying child.

And that was something William could not tolerate.

He clenched his fists.

”You have always been like this.”

Zero looked at him.

”Like what?”

”Looking down on me.”

Zero paused.

Then answered honestly.

”May be I used to”

William froze.

Zero continued.

”Now I don’t think about you enough to look down on you.”

The hall became silent again.

Mia turned her head slightly suprised to see Zero chase them away with words instead of reacting Seeing the mature side she fell for him harder.

One of the guild masters nearby coughed into his hand.

Several observers struggled not to laugh.

William’s face became even redder.

The words had not been cruel.

That was the problem.

Zero had not said them to hurt him.

He had simply spoken the truth.

William had always believed himself to be one of Zero’s greatest rivals.

But to Zero, William had never been important enough to become one.

He had been a recurring inconvenience.

A small obstacle.

A person who appeared occasionally, became humiliated, and disappeared again.

A small-time villain in a story that was not about him.

Zero understood that.

Perhaps because, in another life, he had once been similar.

He had once been the kind of person who wanted to prove himself.

The kind of person who measured his worth against others.

The kind of person who believed being stronger than someone else made him important.

He had changed.

William had not.

And for that reason, Zero did not feel anger.

He felt something closer to pity.

But he did not say it.

Some things were better left unsaid.

William stared at him.

The humiliation of the moment was visible.

His followers had seen everything.

The observers had seen everything.

Mia had seen everything.

And the worst part was that Zero had not even tried to embarrass him.

William looked toward Mia.

Perhaps he hoped she would say something.

She did.

”William.”

He immediately looked at her.

”Yes?”

”Stop.”

The single word was cold.

William froze.

Mia moved closer to Zero.

The action was small.

But it made the message clear.

William’s expression darkened.

For a moment, he seemed ready to argue.

Then he remembered the card.

The guards.

The observers.

The representatives.

And Zero.

His fists slowly relaxed.

He stepped backward.

”This is not over.”

Zero looked at him but said nothing

William’s face twitched.

He turned around and walked away.

His followers followed him.

But none of them spoke.

The silence behind him was worse than laughter.

************************************************

Zero watched him leave.

Mia looked toward him.

”You didn’t have to be so cruel.”

Zero blinked.

”What did I do?”

Mia stared at him.

Then sighed.

”Exactly.”

Zero looked toward the main hall.

The meeting was still continuing.

The treaty was still undecided.

The Human Domain was still divided.

And now, somehow, William had appeared in the middle of it.

Zero looked at the rows of observers.

Then at the representatives.

Then at Mia.

”You look different.”

Mia’s expression changed.

”Different?”

”You’re smiling.”

She immediately stopped.

”I am not.”

”You were.”

”I wasn’t.”

Zero smiled.

Mia turned away.

But the cold expression she usually wore did not return completely.

For the first time in weeks, she had seen Zero .

That was enough.

The meeting continued.

The representatives returned to their arguments.

The observers continued watching.

William remained in the gallery.

Silent.

Angry.

Humiliated.

And Zero finally took his place among the people who had the right to speak.

The peace treaty still had no decision.

The month-long debate was not over.

In fact, with Zero’s arrival, the assembly was about to become even more complicated.

But for the first time in weeks, Mia no longer cared about the treaty.

Zero was here somehow she felt relaxed.

And for the moment, that was enough.