"So, what exactly happened between you two?" Asked Cyril another question.
Jack already regained his composure and behaved as if he didn't just put two of his companions to sleep.
"Exactly as you heard it. Our lives were ant for different paths. Nothing more and nothing less." He shook his head.
Quickly switching the topic, Jack asked sothing else. "But really? I give you a way to find , and this is what you do?"
"Well, now that I think about it,. There is sothing that requires your help," Cyril said with a nod.
While this was more out of curiosity on Cyril's part to co here, there were a few things Jack could be useful for.
"I've heard Lapis is on the move lately. Have you heard anything about that?" asked Cyril.
"Are they? I never paid too much attention to them," Jack quickly replied, "but, for the right price, I can find out."
"For how much?" Said Cyril. At the mont he didn't lack money.
Jack's eyes wandered to Morpho for a brief mont. "Not money per se. How about you help us out in a little endeavor? Then not only I, but others will help too! For free!"
Cyril frowned and didn't respond to anything.
"Don't worry, it's nothing too illegal for you. I would never incriminate a student!" Jack shook his head with pretend righteousness.
"I would need to hear what you want my help with in detail." Cyril still didn't budge.
...
As Jack was about to continue with a smirk on his face, the door to the room suddenly opened.
The people from the lounge walked in without restraint, wearing smiles.
"So how did it go, Jack?" ca an optimistic woman's voice.
"I never knew you had a sister!" said a rather ordinary man.
"This is the guy you told us about?" asked a skeptical man.
It appeared they'd been eavesdropping on the conversation, their faces filled with amusent and mockery.
"This is my business, guys!" Protested Jack with a frown.
"No, it isn't. If this little guy is to help us with that thing, we all need to approve of him." A rather tall man in a coat stood with his arms crossed near the doors.
A woman carefully put Cedric against the wall and sat on a chair closer to Cyril with her legs crossed. "That's true. I wouldn't want anyone too ugly in our squad."
She scrutinized Cyril at close range. He could even feel her breath at this distance.
Her gaze, full of mischief, sought amusent.
"This one's quite good, actually." She nodded. "Alright. I approve."
The woman seed to like acting inappropriately. The type to enjoy the embarrassed reaction of others.
"How proud she is of her ager beauty. That's laughable." Rhamn looked at her with disdain.
And she had the qualifications to say so.
So far, Cyril had seen many good-looking people. Whether it was Rose, Anna, Margaret, or this woman here, they all looked quite striking. None of them, however, compared to Rhamn.
It would be like comparing the light of a matchstick to the radiance of the sun.
So Cyril didn't feel anything when such a beauty was acting coquettishly in front of him.
"I haven't agreed yet to help you," he simply answered to everyone.
The woman leaned away, her deanor changed, imdiately becoming colder. "Why do you have to be so boring..."
"Your na is Cyril, right? Sorry, Cyril, but this business is a bit private. Jack was always a bit too unrestrained. Forgive him for trying to involve you." The middle-aged man with an ordinary face and voice bowed politely.
It seems everyone, aside from Jack, didn't wish to ask for Cyril's help, which was understandable.
"Hold on, guys. I understand your hesitations, but he is definitely soone we can trust!" Jack said, his hands clasped behind his head.
He continued in a relaxed manner, "And his butterfly has the ability that we need. It's mana sensitive, capable of sniffing out anything with a mana trace. Do you get my idea?"
The tall man sneered, "We do get it. What I don't understand is why you have such trust in so kid."
The others followed suit, agreeing with his words with varying degrees of subtlety.
At this mont Jack smirked, as if about to reveal a trump card. "It's simple. This guy's na is Cyril Felling."
"Felling?" The other people imdiately went silent, thinking about sothing.
What?
Cyril stared at Jack with suspicion. How was his family related to this place?
"It's no wonder..." said the ordinary-looking man.
Then he turned towards Cyril and politely said,. "Let's start from the beginning. Pleased to et you, Mr. Felling. Just call Kenneth."
He offered a handshake with a smile on his face.
Cyril didn't take it, instead asking with a frown on his face, "Do you people know my father?"
Their deanor changed quite significantly once they found out his last na.
"Who wouldn't know the famous Arthur Felling?" said the woman.
She continued, "My na is Katherine, by the way. Now that I took a better look, your face is quite handso indeed!"
Even the tall man from before changed his stance a little, though his eyes still held so distrust.
"That's not what I am asking," said Cyril with more open hostility.
"Alright, relax, friend!" Cut in, Jack, with a smile.
"If you really want to know the reason, it's reputation, I would say," he explained.
"Despite a bit more... unsavory rumors about your father, everyone can agree that he at least always fulfills a promise till the end. It's a matter of principle." When Jack said this, the others nodded in agreent.
"I am not my father. Why do you think I will be the sa?" Sowhat mockingly, asked Cyril.
"That's because you have the sa blood, of course! No matter what, you still have this connection." Jack nodded, his gaze briefly stopping at Emily, who was still lying on the floor in an uncomfortable manner.
"What a beautiful sibling relationship!"
...
"...I still haven't heard what you even need my help with," Cyril asked another question.
"Of course! Forgive us for rambling so much," said Kenneth.
He coughed to clear his throat and continued, "Our... organization has a bit of a competition going on. Whoever first found a certain magical item would get a handso reward. The problem is that we don't have the ans to search for sothing like that."
"Items or creatures with such abilities are terribly expensive, you see," cut in Jack with an explanation.
"...Right. So we have been casually investigating without any results and already half gave up on it. But with you we have a solid chance," Kenned said with a nod.
"What kind of item? Why do you need soone trustworthy?" Inquired Cyril further.
So far it didn't seem too suspicious.
"It is the value and danger of our target that might tempt a possible ally," continued Kenneth.
"We've been tasked with finding a most peculiar stone. It's pitch black in color and small in size. However, its value is anything but small. Inside of it hides a trendous amount of energy, which could pose a problem if it reaches the wrong hands."
Cyril listened with his usual face, not letting anything suspicious go through.
The stone they were describing was incredibly familiar to Cyril. Not that long ago he even sucked on one like a candy.
They are looking for The Black Tulip? Could they actually be part of Lapis? Cyril vigilantly thought.
He knew of only one such stone, and it was previously in the possession of this magic-hating group.
"Or could this be another one?" Rhamn said with so hope.
Cyril gave away the Black Tulip to Myra, and she really wanted to have one.
"Previously I told you I was trying to find out about Lapis..." Cyril cautiously said to Jack, trying to gauge the people's reaction.
No one was shook upon hearing the na, acting like curious bystanders who have nothing to do with this.
He continued after a pause, "...They also seem to be searching for a similar stone."
In case these guys were actually in cahoots with Lapis, these words shouldn't be too suspicious.
If asked how he knows this, Cyril can reply honestly—he found out about this through interrogating an ex-Lapis mber.
Hearing his words, everyone turned, surprised.
"Really? We haven't been told anything about this..." Thoughtfully said, Kenneth.
For now it looked like they really didn't know.
"We should stay cautious just in case. These guys are criminals; we should expect deceit from them," warned Rhamn.
Of course. But we must still investigate this. Like you've said, what if it's another Black Tulip?
"True"
"So we are searching for the sa thing..." Jack sighed while staring at the ceiling, "The reward better be worth it."
"That's a concern for the future. What say you, Cyril? Do you want to help us? We'll repay you in full; don't doubt this." Asked Kenneth with hope in his eyes.
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