The sun continued to assault us from above, I wanted nothing more than to get inside and have a cup of water. And as if things weren’t uncomfortable enough, Father was awfully sheepish, clearly deep into the misunderstanding from before about and… well, .
He was like a high school girl who just received the hottest tea. That image really doesn’t help his dignified impression…
Eventually, after a long awkward walk, we arrived at my ho—Feyt’s ho, to be specific.
I stepped up as Feyt and knocked on the door. After hearing so shuffling inside the house, the creaky wooden door opened, revealing Dad in his casual attire, which was his usual plain shirt ant for fieldwork.
His face lit up in surprise as soon as he saw . “Feyt? Already ho?”
I nodded, forcing a small smile. “Yep, I’m back.”
Before I could brace myself, Dad grabbed into a bear hug, the kind of strong, overenthusiastic hug that felt a little too tight. I could see where Fray got her habits now. At least Dad’s hug was a lot gentler.
“Welco ho, Feyt! Didn’t expect they let you out this early! I was just about to pay another visit!”
He let down from his hug gently, then as I was about to reply to him, Father spoke up. “Hey there, Rayn!”
Dad peeked behind , noticing Father who was standing in front of the porch. “Kyrat? Why are you–” His eyes t the other . “And Carine too?”
…
The three of us were invited inside. The rackety wooden chairs felt uncomfortable to be sat on as Carine, despite I was just fine as Feyt.
My body’s gotten way too used to luxury...
Trying my best not to shift around too much, I sat silently as Mom began cooking up a al.
“Thank you for coming such a long way to our house!” Mom said enthusiastically as she was whipping up her specialty, vegetable soup.
Father waved his hand, flashing a gentle smile. “No, no, there’s no need to thank . I was escorting Feyt back ho safely. It’s my duty to protect, after all.”
Dad joined in. “Seriously though, thank you!” He bowed deeply. When he raised his head, his face was filled with worry. “Since you’re here, I’m guessing you want to talk about sending Feyt to the training school?”
Father chuckled, waving it off. “Haha, there’s no need to worry about that for now.” He clapped a hand on Dad’s shoulder. “Let us celebrate for our children’s safety first and foremost!” Turning to Mom, Father asked,. “Tell , have anything to drink?”
Mom’s eyes sparkle. “Oh, do I ever~?” It was as if she was waiting for that question her entire life.
Dad’s expression turned grim as he locked eyes with Father. "You've dood us all."
Father blinked, thrown off by the sudden shift. "W-What?"
Mom practically shouted, "Fray! Get those bottles from the shack! All of ‘em!"
Father tried to rein her in. “N-No, there’s no need to go that far. One glass is enough, right?” He glanced at Dad for backup, but Dad had already resigned.
“My wife will use any excuse to drink.” He patted Father’s shoulder sympathetically. "Hope your stomach’s ready for this."
They talked as if they were heading to war for God’s sake. I was a bit out of the loop, why were they so grim?
Sure, Mom might drink a lot… but it wasn’t that bad, right?
Mom shouted again, “Fray! Wake up!”
All of a sudden, the snoring I kept hearing inside Fray’s room stopped, followed by an annoyed grumbling and a quiet, “Dammit.”
Fray got out of her room, hair ssy and clothes loose. She rubbed her eyes as she waddled down the cramped hallway to the dining room. “What is it, Mom?” she said before yawning.
I looked at her dumbfounded. Had she been asleep all day long?
“Oh? Is this your daughter?” Father asked Dad. Before Dad could answer though, Fray stopped once she reached the room. Now everyone was here.
Her narrowed eyes opened slightly, and then she saw us. “Eh? We have visitors?” Her eyes widened even more when she saw , Carine.
Her earlier fatigue vanished in an instant. “Ohh!” She turned her head towards the other who was unfortunately her little brother. “First day off the clinic and you already brought a wife! Nice one!”
““Over my dead bodies!!””
It was then I realized, I was in a world of hurt if I didn’t resolve this misunderstanding completely.
—
It was another rainy day on the outskirts of Setus. Kiren had returned to the previous base where his co-workers were waiting for him.
“See? Told you there was nothing worth chasing for in that kid,” one of them said to him.
The other one nodded. “Yeah, let’s just focus on scouting and follow Sir Sauro’s plans for now.”
It would seem these two never had faith in him. Well, no matter, he was about to prove them wrong anyway.
“There’s no need for that,” Kiren said confidently. “I already called Sir Sauro here for a eting.”
The two n in front of him widened their eyes in shock. “Are you crazy?!” the lanky one shouted.
“We haven’t produced any results yet! If he shows up to our empty hands, he’ll demote you—no, us!!”
“Hehe…” Kiren chuckled silently, making the two in front of him worried that he might have gone crazy. “Who said we didn’t produce any results?”
“What are you–?”
Kiren pulled out a scroll out of his coat. He threw it onto the recently wiped wooden table, and the scroll naturally unfurled, revealing its contents.
The two n reluctantly leaned forward, reading the symbols displayed on the aging paper. After only a few seconds of gazing upon the scroll, the two n stood up in stunned amazent.
“T-This symbol!”
“That definitely looks like a potential Unique Symbol!”
Besides the two easily recognizable basic Symbols, there was one that looked foreign, as if it was a random scribble or a failed art project. But the important thing was the fact that they never saw it in the past, which ant it was… unique.
The two n raised their heads, their eyes could pop out at any mont.
“W-Whose Talent Scroll is this?!”
“A-And how did you find them?!”
Kiren let out a laugh. He raised a thumb and pointed it at himself. “My instincts never lie!!!”
The two n stood dumbfounded, but they couldn’t deny his achievent. If they showed Sir Sauro this finding, the three of them would be promoted. But, Kiren would not allow that.
When Sir Sauro promotes Kiren, which he undoubtedly would, he would announce himself as the sole contributor to this finding. That’s right; the only reason he called for a eting in front of his co-workers was to rub it on their faces.
After a while of waiting, a trail of footsteps could be heard descending the stairs heading into the underground base. The clicks of his formal footwear were unmistakable to the densest of ears, so Kiren could deduce who it was.
Kiren turned around and imdiately knelt vigorously. “Welco, Sir Sauro!”
Sergio, who just arrived at the room, looked down at the kneeling Kiren with curious eyes.
“You were the one I punished last ti, yes?”
Kiren pushed his head deeper. “Yes, sir! I have fixed my ways and am willing to prove myself to make it up to you, sir!”
“Hmm,” Sergio humd to himself as he stroked his chin. Then, without even acknowledging him, Sergio walked past Kiren and sat on an empty seat.
Kiren’s eyes twitched, but he swallowed his pride. In the future, when he would inevitably be a mber of Right Hand, Sergio would be his co-worker. He needed tolerance, so after taking a few deep breaths, Kiren stood up and turned to face the back of Sergio.
“Now then,” Sergio said. “I was on an important mission up north, so I hope this is worth it. Which one of you called here?”
“It was , sir!” Kiren said with confidence.
Sergio turned around from his chair. “You?” His face, while still composed, had a certain aura of suspicion in it.
Kiren grew nervous, but he needed to convince Sergio the most of his plan if he wanted it to work.
“A-As you can see on the table, Sir Sauro, I have found quite the interesting Talent Scroll.”
Sergio turned back towards the table. He grabbed the unfurled scroll and held it in front of his face. His eyes scanned its contents, and he widened his eyes.
“This Symbol…”
Kiren held his breath. He hoped Sergio wouldn’t see that the entire scroll was fabricated. If the deception were to be exposed before the operation’s end, chaos could spiral out of control in an instant. Failure was a luxury he couldn’t afford—not now, when the stakes were so high.
The room was silent. The atmosphere was so thick, you could cut it with a butter knife. Yet still, Kiren held his ground, waiting for Sergio’s reaction.
Then, with a sudden motion, Sergio closed the scroll, causing the three n around him to jump in surprise, especially Kiren.
Kiren’s heartbeat began to beat faster. Did Sergio see that it was a fake? Did he say sothing wrong? Was the fabrication done by the spies lacking?
Then, unexpectedly. Sergio said in a calm tone, “Impressive work.”
Sergio bought it.
Kiren let out a giant sigh of relief, internally, of course. Kiren imdiately took the chance and stepped forward.
“I-It was , sir! I was the one who found the Talent bearer! I did it all myself!” Kiren didn’t hold back on the details, which shocked his two co-workers. Their faces were filled with betrayal, sothing Kiren had always wanted to see.
“Is that so?” Sergio turned around to Kiren. “Then why did you call here?”
“Y-Yes, sir! If I may, I have so plans on grabbing this kid involving you!”
Sergio shot a curious gaze. “Elaborate.”
Kiren believed he could kidnap the girl alone if he wanted to. Hell, it could even give him extra credit. But there was sothing else he was curious about.
Sergio’s Unique Talent.
He had heard it was so kind of ntal manipulation. He thought only Dark Magic was capable of those types of manipulation, and you would need to dedicate your entire life to that type of magic too.
To think there was a Talent capable of such a similar feat… Kiren was a bit skeptical. He didn’t mind sacrificing his potential credits if it ant he could satisfy his curiosity.
And so, Kiren began explaining to Sergio his plan.
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