Ren sat up slowly, taking in their surroundings. The room was beautiful, with rich furnishings and tasteful decoration. But the walls themselves seed to hum with the energy of detection beasts, their presence a constant reminder that this comfortable prison was still very much a cage.
To his surprise, the potions sat untouched beside his bed. They hadn't taken them away... His gaze drifted to the adjacent bed where a familiar figure lay.
"Liu," Ren noticed his roommate's dejected expression on the nearby bed. "Are you alright?"
"Define alright," Liu attempted a smile that ca out more like a grimace, his usual cheerfulness nowhere to be found.
"Are you still hurt? Does anything pain you?"
"Not really... maybe just my ego," Liu tried to smile again but only managed a twisted expression. His eyes fixed on the floor, unable to et Ren's gaze. "I tried to stop him, you know? When I saw he had a girl..."
"You saved her," Min interjected softly, his voice gentle but firm.
Liu shook his head, self-loathing evident in every movent. "It wasn't enough. That attack you taught , Ren... I think I executed it perfectly, concentrated the sonar just like you explained, but..." his voice cracked slightly. "I only managed to get myself knocked out. Couldn't even help her."
"You're wrong," Ren straightened, his voice carrying absolute conviction. "Think about it. He must have been disoriented when he fought after your attack, his movents probably clumsier. You gave enough ti to prevent worse outcos, prevented deaths. We can't know for certain but I believe..."
"But..."
"No, listen," Ren pressed on, refusing to let his friend wallow in self-doubt. "Luna and her guards probably only managed to resist because he wasn't at full capacity. Your attack weakened him, damaged his senses, affected his balance. We barely had ti to find the guards… so surely... you gave them just enough ti."
"Ti Min needed to heal them," Taro added, backing up Ren's assessnt.
Liu lifted his gaze, a spark of hope breaking through his defeated expression. "You really think I helped that much?"
"I don't think, I know," Ren smiled warmly. "In fact..." he paused, weighing his next words carefully. "I've been thinking about what to do with the remaining potions."
"Those 5 you have left? You're not selling them to kill Finch and Theodore with a heart attack?" Min asked jokingly, though having received one himself, he suspected he knew the answer.
"No. Two are for my parents," Ren began counting on his fingers. "One definitely goes to Lin, she's more than earned it. But the other two..."
Liu blinked in confusion, not daring to hope. "Why are you telling this?"
"Because I think you've earned one," Ren responded simply, though the weight of his words filled the room. "What you did today... I don't think just anyone would do that."
"But I failed," Liu's gaze dropped again, sha evident in his posture.
"You didn't fail, you stubborn fool," Ren shook his head emphatically. "You gave them a chance. Without your intervention, without the damage you caused him, the girls might have..."
"But a potion to beco a double tar... it's too valuable."
"Those of us in the grey wing need to help each other," Ren shrugged, as if giving away a priceless artifact was the most natural thing in the world. "What you did today proved you're soone valuable."
"Besides," he added with a theatrical gesture, "what better use than giving it to a friend who's already proven he'll use his power to help others?"
Liu opened his mouth to protest but closed it again. His eyes moistened slightly with unshed tears.
"I..." he began, his voice trembling with emotion. "I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll accept it," Ren smiled warmly. "And that next ti you see soone in trouble, you'll have double the power so you can help better."
Min and Taro observed the exchange in respectful silence, understanding the weight of the mont. This wasn't just a gift, it was recognition.
"Thank you," Liu finally managed, his voice firr now. "I promise I'll use it well and repay you many tis over."
"I know," Ren nodded with absolute certainty. "That's why I'm giving it to you."
"Although," Liu smiled weakly, so of his usual humor returning, "I still think I should have practiced that attack more."
"Oh, trust ," Ren laughed, the sound lightening the mood, "we'll have plenty of ti to practice. After all, I'm going to need your help getting rich since I won't be selling any of the potions."
♢♢♢♢
Min and Taro exchanged aningful looks before moving closer to Ren, their expressions turning serious.
"Listen," Min lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. "There are so things you need to know before they co to interrogate you like they did us."
"Princess Larissa explained us about lie detection," Taro continued in the sa hushed tone. "About what to say and what not to."
"Oh yes... I know how it works. What did you tell them?"
They shared the official version they'd maintained, the three truths they needed to protect, the role each had played in the story they'd constructed.
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"So," Ren repeated the information carefully, "the light beam ca from the center of the chamber?"
"Exactly," Min nodded.
"And the ring simply... disappeared."
"Nobody saw it after," Taro added. "One mont it was there, the next it wasn't."
"And about Larissa's potion..." Min murmured conspiratorially.
"Technically she wasn't the one who 'took' it," Taro completed.
Liu watched them curiously from his bed. "What are you all whispering about?"
"Just confirming what happened," Min straightened, returning to a normal volu. "Don't worry about it, you don't know anything because you were knocked out, and that's better."
"Ah yes," Liu deflated slightly again. "After that bastard hit , everything went dark... By the way, can soone explain exactly what happened after I blacked out?"
As his friends began recounting the subsequent events, Ren noticed the guards outside and in the walls seed particularly interested in their conversation. Perfect. Letting them hear this version of events would only strengthen their cover story.
"It was incredible," Min was saying with carefully asured enthusiasm. "Suddenly there was this brilliant light from the center of the chamber and..."
"And the bad guy just... disintegrated," Taro completed, gesturing dramatically.
"Such a sha about the ring," Min sighed theatrically. "It just disappeared."
"As if it had never existed," Taro nodded solemnly.
The mushrooms in Ren's hair pulsed softly as he listened to the story. His friends had beco surprisingly good at lying with the truth.
"By the way," Liu coughed lightly. "I heard them talking about making you nobles or sothing."
"Apparently it's the law," Taro shrugged with feigned nonchalance. "Sothing about finding ancient artifacts."
"Though first we have to get through more interrogations," Min grimaced.
"It's not so bad," Liu tried to smile encouragingly. "Just have to tell the truth."
The guards at the door shifted, apparently satisfied with what they'd heard. The story remained consistent: the mysterious beam, the vanished ring, the three used potions...
♢♢♢♢
The other girls knew almost nothing of importance, Luna, Liora and the four guards had no trouble sharing everything.
The only two guards who seed to know sothing only repeated what Larissa had said.
Finally, it was Ren's turn.
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