Meliodas P.O.V.
"You're sure Princess Elizabeth is on the other side of this wall?" Arthur asks. "I don't feel a thing."
"Know this." Meliodas says. "For her, I can do anything. Now, let's see… The problem is how to get to the other side."
"Good point. If we take a wrong turn, we'll only end up further from each other." Arthur says.
I cross my arms, knowing that this feeling is different from Elizabeth. It felt more like a chunk of my heart that had been taken from me, and that made me more confused than ever. A memory of a happy bubbling Aggie passed through my mind, seeing her laugh; it made my heart clench and I furrowed my eyebrows as a dull ache came from my heart. A delicious aroma tickled my nose, bringing me back to earth as I turned back to the fire, seeing a new dish set out.
"This smell…" I say. "That's the meat of an Earth Crawler, isn't it? That means there's another victim to its awful flavor around here, like us."
"But it sure smells good, doesn't it?" Arthur says.
"Hm? The way the fire cooked it straight through, the preparation. They did a perfect job." I say.
Arthur takes a bite and I do to, chewing slowly.
"Oh, the salt and herbs mask the smell of the meat and draw out that umami flavor!" Arthur says.
"It's cooked just enough!" Meliodas says.
"Oooh, it's delicious! Even the royal chef would admire this work. Whoever it is, I'd love him to come to Camelot!" Arthur says.
"Enough of your nonsense, Arthur! The boar's hat is going to hire this mystery chef!" I say.
"That's not fair!" Arthur cries.
"Oh well, if you insist on hiring me, I'll come back." Ban says.
I turn around, seeing ban in bar uniform.
"Ban!" I call.
"Cap'n." Ban says.
"It's ban, the seven deadly sins' fox sin of greed!" Arthur says.
A tension settles between us and Arthur seems perplexed by it.
"Uh, huh? What's this tension in the air?" Arthur asks.
"Cap'n!" Ban says.
Ban smiles wide, lifting his hands excitedly, and I lift mine, just as excited.
"Baaan!" I say.
"Huh?" Arthur says.
Me and ban jump at each other, going all out in a high five battle. Ban smacks me across my face and I chuckle, hitting him back and sending him crashing into the wall.
"Gobaah!" Ban says. "Koff… Kah Kah! You really pack a punch."
"Sorry about that." I say. "I got a little too into it."
"In the little time I've been away, I can really feel the difference between us now." Ban says. "In fact, It's like you're back to being the same cap'n from ten years ago. So let's do this next!"
Ban lies on his stomach, holding his arm out. I lay down, taking it and chuckling.
"You sure?" I ask.
"Don't tell me you forgot. We were even ten years ago." Ban retorts.
"You give the signal, Arthur!" I say.
"R-right! Ready? Go!" Arthur says.
Ban slams my arm down easily, cracking the ground underneath us. We stand up and I brush the dust off my arm, smiling at Ban.
"Tch! I guess I lost." I sigh.
"A match like this calls for speed and instantaneous muscle power." Ban says. "Kah kah kah!"
"You look a lot more relaxed now." I say, getting serious. "Ban, have you come to the fighting festival to have a wish granted?"
Ban gets serious too, his smile dropping.
"No. I just got dragged into this while helping someone out." Ban admits.
"Helping someone?" I ask.
"Escanor asked me to bring some sake here to Vaizel." Ban says.
"You mean, you're with Escanor?" I ask.
"Yeah, and Elaine's with us, too." Ban asks.
My eyes widen as I realize that Elaine was back from the dead, and my mind wandered to Aggie once again, though she would probably never be in a dangerous labyrinth like this.
"Shocking, isn't it? To be honest, I can barely keep up with everything that's happening." Ban says. "Aren't you going to ask me anything?"
My heart trembles as my mind races, somewhere deep inside me realizing that Aggie could be alive as well, or there was a way to bring her back. My excitement dampened as I realized that it would be next to impossible for her to come back. I tapped my fist on Ban's chest, smiling at him.
"You got to see the girl you love again, eh?" I say. "That's great!"
"No, it's not." Ban says. "I tried to kill you."
"So where are Elaine and Escanor now?" I ask. "Ha ha! I bet you guys are all split up! In that case, we'd better all look for them and escape this labyrinth!"
"Cap'n, I'm sorry." Ban says.
"Let's go, old pal." I say. "For the ones we need to protect."
"Right." Ban says.