"....It looks like there’s another person inside. Judging by the fact that they’ve yet to detect the Will, they don’t appear to be incredibly strong."
This was the conclusion that I drew after inspecting the room that Caius was in and determining the situation.
Finding Caius was relatively easy. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide himself, and with the minimal security around him, I found him in no ti.
But of course, the lanchony helped out too.
Already aware of Caius’s scent, it helped find him in no ti.
I leaned back against one of the houses while looking at Leon and Linus.
Eventually, I paused in Leon.
"Should we go?"
"But what about ...?"
"Hmm. Right."
I looked at Linus. He wasn’t exactly weak. If there sohow existed a hidden force, he’d be able to serve as a good distr—
"Yes, you can co."
"No, on second thought—"
"Nope."
It was too late for him to change his mind. With a wave of my hand, I cast [Lant of Lies] around us before finally heading towards where Caius was located.
The building wasn’t very far from where it was. It was in a rather well-built inn, with tall white walls, a large garden, and wooden balconies. The place looked rather fresh and clean, and as we hopped the fence to the back, we noticed that despite the place looking very nice, there was a severe lack of people.
’Maybe because this place is in a tall mountain that soone needs to walk for several hours to get...’
Whatever the case was, it was of no concern to as I jumped from one of the balconies and eventually entered the room I suspected Caius to be in.
’He’s here.’
I caught him standing next to a table in a fairly large room. It was clean. With a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk, the place looked nice.
But that wasn’t what grabbed my attention. The mont I arrived at the balcony, the first thing that caught my attention was the other man standing in the room. Wearing a black robe, he appeared to be saying so random stuff. Most intriguing was his strength.
He was...
Very weak.
’I don’t think even Linus would struggle against him.’
Not that Linus was weak. He was on the verge of developing his own domain, just taking a bit of ti to fully create it.
His talent was at the sa standard as those within the Academy, if not better.
But that was the thing..:
For a Tier 7 like , he was still rather weak. And that was what kind of threw off.
Why would they send soone like him with Caius?
’Maybe he’s got other uses?’
That was probably it.
I slid the door open and looked around.
"Is this the place?"
"...Seems like it."
"...!?"
Imdiately, the face of the robed figure changed, and before he could even react, threads appeared all over and enclosed him from all directions.
I didn’t even spare him a glance before looking at Caius. Leon appeared right behind him.
"I’m not quite sure what happened to you, but—"
He never got to finish his sentence before Caius sprang into action, his body twisting as he tried to directly fight Leon. Thankfully, Leon was already prepared for it as he leaned his head to the side and dodged Caius’s attack. He quickly followed up with his own attack, pressing his hand against Caius’s head and halting him on the spot.
"Hmm."
Leon’s face turned stranger as he looked at .
I frowned.
"What?"
"No, it’s just..."
Leon shook his head and squeezed hard before Caius fell limply on the floor. I stared at the scene, baffled.
That easy...?
I wanted to check up on Caius, but decided against it. Instead, I focused my attention on the hooded man before . With his hood down, I could see his features clearly. His face was extrely pale, and his cheeks were sunken.
I stared at him for a good couple of seconds before opening my mouth.
"What’s your goal? What are you—!?"
Before the words could fully leave my mouth, I caught a glimpse of a faint purple light. A wave of dizziness imdiately washed over shortly after that, forcing to stumble back as I lost concentration for a brief mont.
It was only for a brief mont, but it was enough.
Before I even had the ti to react, the black robed man suddenly freed himself from the threads. His figure faded shortly after that.
Swooosh!
"No, damn it!"
I chased after the man, gritting my teeth while shouting.
"Damn it!!"
I looked around, flipped the bed, and the room all over before glaring at the window. I only stopped when I saw Leon with his face covered.
"What?"
"....."
He didn’t say anything, his ears looking strangely red.
Eventually, I looked down to see Caius staring at from the ground.
I waved at him.
"Done acting?"
"...."
Caius didn’t answer and just sat up. At the sa ti, he looked at Leon, who was still covering his face. And then, he looked at Linus, who stood petrified behind .
Neither said a word, but felt as though they had an entire conversation in their minds.
I frowned, but I didn’t say anything else.
Eventually, Caius turned his attention towards .
"How did you guys figure it out?"
"That you were acting?"
"...Yeah."
"I didn’t. Leon did."
Caius turned his attention towards Leon.
He simply shrugged his shoulders.
"I’ve got great instincts. After that, I signaled what I found to Julien."
"Oh..."
Caius simply accepted his answer like that. I just sighed. I was already aware of his skill, and hence I wasn’t very surprised. I just acted based on the visual cues that he gave out.
’That being said, the guy really did escape under my nose.’
That wasn’t an act.
I really did feel a bout of weakness the mont I caught a glimpse of the strange purple necklace. It completely shut down my thoughts and allowed him to escape. He seed to also have so sort of weird escape relic.
"You two should get away from here soon."
Hearing Caius’s voice, I turned my attention towards him as he sat down on the ground and ruffled his hair.
"We’re not the only ones here. We ca with a group sent directly by the Emperor. There are a few powerful figures among them, and this sudden commotion will certainly reach them. They won’t take long to arrive."
I looked at Leon silently.
He seed to have foreseen this as well.
But that wasn’t the reason why we were here.
"Can you tell us what’s going on at least? We ca here to get my ring fixed, but suddenly I spotted you here as well. I’m sure it isn’t a coincidence."
"It’s not."
Caius replied flatly while massaging the bottom of his eyes.
"...We’re also here to repair several relics. The Emperor had directly asked the blacksmith to co to us, and he did. However, when we presented the artifacts to him, he imdiately rejected us. We’ve been stuck here for the past several weeks, trying to convince the blacksmith."
"I figured that much."
This part had been fairly obvious. But that wasn’t what I was curious about.
"Why did you have to pretend to be under their influence if you’re on the sa side as them?"
"I am...?"
Caius looked at with an ambiguous expression.
I opened my mouth, but soon closed it.
"...Oh."
So he wasn’t...
"Are you supporting soone for the throne?"
"No."
"Then...?"
Caius didn’t reply, but his silence spoke volus to as my mouth fell open. The sa was for Leon.
Don’t tell ...
"The Emperor’s movents have been rather strange lately."
Reaching out for his shirt, Caius slowly pulled out a small necklace that seed eerily familiar to the one that the robed man wore.
"He’s recently been giving all of his close vassals artifacts like this. At first, it seed like a nice gift, but this thing right here is anything but nice."
Caius’s grip over the necklace tightened.
"It slowly takes control of a person and turns them into mindless puppets that follow orders."
"Wait, if you know this, why are you—"
"Because if I don’t wear this, it’ll be impossible for to investigate the situation. Sothing extrely weird is happening in the Empire, and I’m trying to figure out what is happening."
"And this is why you’re here?"
"Yes."
Caius nodded.
"I’m trying to understand why the Emperor is trying to have the artifacts repaired. I understand that they are powerful, but I’m sure there’s more to it. And..."
He suddenly paused, his gaze lowering to stare at the ring on my finger.
"...He’s also been hoarding the artifacts, snatching them from whichever place he can find them. I heard them talk about you recently. I’d be careful if I were you."
"....."
I didn’t reply and instead fell into thought.
’Sothing is wrong with the Emperor. He’s been hoarding the seven artifacts and trying to fix them. Seven artifacts...’
A thought suddenly struck as I raised my head up.
"Wait, if he’s hoarding all of the artifacts and he’s trying to repair a few, then..."
A certain book ca into my mind.
"....!?"
"Yes."
Caius nodded, seemingly reading my mind.
"The book is one of the things that we’re trying to get fixed. Although I don’t know the details, it seems like you had a part in damaging it."
"That’s..."
I didn’t even feel like making a joke about the situation. A lot of things suddenly beca clear in my mind, especially the identity of the person who was supporting Prince grail. It was none other than the Emperor of the Aetheria Empire.
In that case...
’Regardless of how much I think about it, I am sohow involved in this matter. Let’s set aside that I’m the one who damaged the artifacts; they’ll also soon be coming for my ring. That’s a given. What I need to understand is the reason why they’re hoarding the artifacts, and what they’re planning.’
I’d have an easier ti if this were one of the Inverted Sky’s sister organizations. At least then, I’d have so idea of their motives and the reasons behind their actions.
Here, however...?
I knew nothing. And it was this sense of the unknown that was weighing down on my chest.
".....!?"
Suddenly sensing sothing, my head flicked up.
Caius’s expression quickly shifted as he looked at Leon, Linus and . The three of us didn’t need him to say anything to understand what he was trying to say. Hurriedly casting [Lant of Lies], the three of us imdiately left.
We had learned everything that we needed to know.
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