"You sure he’s chard?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Doesn’t he look chard?"
Better safe than sorry.
Anyhow, I took a few steps forward and crouched down, eting Vincent’s cloudy eyes.
"What is your na?"
"...Vincent Lightfore."
"Age?"
"...58."
Damn.
At least it seems like it’s working.
"What is your Gift?"
"...Mirage."
That’s a pretty fancy na for an Illusion-based Gift.
It almost makes wonder what else it can do.
But that’s it for the basic questions.
"Why have you co to the Harper Citadel?"
He paused longer than usual this ti.
But thankfully, he still answered:
"...I’m here to retrieve an alchemy pill."
A pill?
"What pill?"
"...I don’t know."
My brows furrowed slightly.
"Where’s the pill?"
"...Under the cathedral."
I glanced back at Clentine, and she just shrugged.
"My Charm is working fine. If he doesn’t know, then he doesn’t know."
"..."
If he didn’t know the important bits, then what good was he?
Furrowing my brows in irritation, I turned to him again.
"Who gave you this mission?"
"Kai."
I nodded. "And who is Kai?"
"...I don’t know."
Now, I was even more confused.
The two traveled around together, and yet Vincent didn’t even know who he was?
But right as I was about to ask another question, Vincent spoke up again.
"Kai can turn people into... d-demons..."
His voice was different than before.
And only then did I realize his eyes were only partially foggy, as though he had broken free from Clentine’s Charm.
Or maybe only partially?
"That’s what you wanted to hear, wasn’t it?" he added as blood began to drip down his nose.
"He can turn people into demons. And that’s all I’m telling you. If you try prying into my mind again, I’m going to kill myself."
"..."
Kai can turn people into demons?
Although I wanted to ask more, I also saw the look in his eyes.
I knew for a fact that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill himself if I even uttered another question regarding Kai.
And if I do that, I not only lose a valuable potential ally, but also get a target on my back in the form of Kai.
Even so, if Kai can really turn people into demons, then this is much more serious than I thought.
I needed to kill him at any cost.
But I also knew that as it stood, I was currently way too weak.
Even with the Wrath Transformation... I wouldn’t stand a chance.
I sighed in regret, and Clentine patted my back in understanding.
I kissed her hand, and then glanced back at Vincent, who was slipping in and out of the Charm effect.
He was determined.
But there was sothing I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
Why?
Why was he so determined?
"...This is not a question related to Kai or any of what you’re doing in this place."
Seeing his eyes beco clearer, I continued:
"I feel like you’re not the type of person to side with demons. I figured that much when you confronted on the train."
"I also assu the reason you waited so long to kill the conductor is because the conductor hadn’t always been a demon. Kai had turned him into one."
Despite my words, he maintained his composure.
But I knew I was right.
Deep down, he hated demons.
And so when Kai turned the conductor into a demon... he might’ve not been the only one turned, hence why Vincent had to go to such great lengths and kill so many people.
So the main question was there.
"Why defend soone so despicable?"
The mont I said those words, his eyes turned fully cloudy.
He opened his mouth and mouthed a single word.
I wasn’t good at reading lips.
But Clentine, who was a charming singer, obviously could.
"Daughter...?"
My eyes widened.
"Does Kai have your—"
Before I could finish my words, I caught sight of a familiar white-haired figure blurring into existence, and so I imdiately backed off alongside Clentine.
Soon enough, I saw Kai, and although he was smiling, I could feel great anger in his gaze.
"It’s as Vincent had said. You really are nosy."
He glanced at Vincent, then back at .
"You roughed him up a fair deal, huh? Though since his head is still screwed on, it looks like he hasn’t told you much."
Could he not hear what Vincent said because of my Telekinetic barrier?
I did add several hundred segnts to it so it’s sturdier and more soundproof, but... really?
"I apologize," I said.
Clentine copied .
"I’m sorry as well. We thought he was just too suspicious, and since he wasn’t answering any questions, we—"
"Now, now."
Kai’s cold voice rang out, interrupting her.
"Excuses are only slightly believable when one isn’t caught completely red-handed."
His smile widened.
"How I love people like you two... Waiting for to escalate the situation so you understand my intentions."
He let out a chuckle, and then grabbed Vincent by his hair.
"Our ti together is nearing the finale, but until then..."
A powerful burst of energy washed over us, forcing us to montarily close our eyes.
Yet when we reopened them, we realized that Kai had taken Vincent and vanished.
Clentine and I exchanged a look before finally exhaling relieved breaths.
He didn’t even finish his sentence, almost as if to let our minds fill in the blank.
I rubbed my temples in frustration.
Just then, Clentine collapsed to the ground, looking completely exhausted.
"I thought he was going to kill us."
"Sa... We’re lucky, but it seems like we also need to make it into that underground area no matter what."
I had surrounded us with the Telekinetic barrier, and since it wasn’t as large as before, I made a couple hundred more segnts.
If Kai could hear through this many... I would just wave the white flag.
"But what is that alchemy pill? Do you rember any pills in that video ga that were here?"
I shook my head.
"The ga didn’t even include a secret underground room, let alone a pill. I’m sorry."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"We’ll just have to go down there and see for ourselves, won’t we?"
That’s right.
But the odds of us walking straight into a trap were also as high as ever.
Still... we still had nearly a whole day ahead of us.
"Clentine, let’s go rent a room so you can wash up. You don’t want to be late for your first-ever outing with a friend, do you?"
The tips of her ears turned slightly red.
"Are you sure...? I an, with everything that’s happening, won’t it be best if we brainstorm this together?"
I patted her head.
"Don’t worry about it. Have fun."
She seed a little happier than when she ate food.
It was a good sign.
And so while she’s busy with her outing... I’ll push the Mystic Eyes to their absolute limit without having to worry about Clentine scolding .
I held out my hand.
"Let’s get you to an inn, shall we?"
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