"It's great to have you here, Kosmos, your eyes must have caught details among the ruins," Sean Stonewall said; the admiration in his sentence was not present in his tone.
A silence rose again among them. Poller cast a quick and powerless glance at Kosmos and sighed.
"Nothing, no culprit, no dissipating Rune energy, not a trace of any detail. It's as if the explosion just happened, no 'why', no 'how' either," he stated in resignation. "Haven't encountered a case this strange in years. Interesting, but not in a good way."
"There is a 'why' and a 'how' to everything, especially crime," Sean affirmed. "My men have begun searching. Maybe there isn't anything to be seen, but it can nonetheless be detected by other senses."
Lily scoffed, "Your men? You think your men can find evidence that even Kosmos can't? Some people are really confident, too confident for their own good." Her voice was more insulting than playful, without even a slight attempt to hide her hostility toward people of the Rune Arts Federation.
"Both Kosmos and I are trying to uncover the truth. Whether successful or not, it's better than a specific someone who doesn't try at all," Sean replied calmly, unaffected by Lily's mockery.
"Who said I won't try?" Lily argued. "I don't think you understand how omnipotent my Personalised Rune Art is."
"I look forward to seeing it." Sean shrugged.
"I'll find out what happened before you do."
"Don't spur absurdities like they are facts."
It was clear that this supposed collaborative investigation had become a competition between the Rune Arts Federation and the Pathtowers. Nathan rolled his eyes at how childish they were. It was as if they didn't care about their responsibility or the fame; all they cared about was that the opposing side was not the one taking it away.
Kosmos and Poller, who were out of the equation of this conflict, stood there with invisible smiles. They were among the few who only cared about the outcome of this investigation, not who took credit for it. Nathan finally understood why people say that High Court Ministers serve both parties at the same time. It wasn't that they worked under them, but they could be involved in matters without being captivated by the conflicts.
He wondered, "Why can't everyone just work together? That would be much more efficient, right?" But this was one of those times when you think so deeply you ignore the fact that your thoughts unconsciously escape your mouth. His words reached everyone's ears, and their reaction was as much as Nathan could expect.
They stared at him in disbelief, as if looking at a fool.
"Who are you?" Sean asked.
Nathan sighed; he was forced to speak, "Nathan, Nathan Modernson."
For the second time tonight, Sean Stonewall's pupils enlarged under something in between fear and astonishment, "As in… 'Modernson' Modernson?"
Nathan replied with a nod. Why did everyone respond like this every time they heard his name? Was it truly that surprising that Viviana had a son?
"Someone like Nathan Modernson should not be involved in matters like this. I recommend you take your leave," Kosmos said.
"Nathan, you and Monica should go back to the academy, but I must stay behind. This property belongs to my family," David interrupted Nathan's attempt to reply; something in his voice sent a chill down Nathan's spine.
"They are right, we can't help with anything here. We should leave, Nathan," Genesis agreed from the back.
Nathan furrowed his eyebrows. He never liked the feeling of being protected, especially in a case like this where he was basically treated as some endangered, rare animal. He sought a free, adventurous, and perhaps heroic—if possible—life. Leaving a case like this just wasn't his style.
"My apprentice can do whatever he wants."
Nathan looked up. When Nathan recalls his life in the future, it was from this moment that Lily had truly become his mentor. Not only in name but also in his heart.
"Did you destructively rebalance your own intelligence too?" Sean snapped. "It is Nathan Modernson we are talking about here. Your apprentice? Who approved it? What makes you believe you are worthy?"
"I approved it."
Nathan took a step forward, his usual courage had finally returned to him.
"I say she's worthy, and no other opinions matter."
Sean seemed uncomfortable, "You are the son of the First Seat. What good intentions would a Pathtower Spirehead have to approach you? I say that she only wanted you to stay to put you into danger!"
As Sean's sentence finished, he felt a burning, destructive energy by the side of his head, pressing against his skin just a few inches away. A complex and unusually chaotic rune was floating by his side, and he knew what would happen if it was activated.
"What are you trying, The Undefinable…" he muttered, voice shaking.
"Protecting him," Lily said. "It is King Eric Runaria's command." There was a burning coldness in her voice.
"Impossible!" Sean snapped. "Utterly impossible!"
"It's true," Poller nodded from the side. "His Majesty himself has given such commands, multiple times, to multiple people."
Sean Stonewall wasn't exactly familiar with this Minister of the Puppeteer's Carnival. It wasn't like anyone apart from the members of the organizations themselves knew anything about them. But if his memories functioned correctly, Kosmos and Poller held personalized Rune Arts specifically useful in gathering information. His statement must be correct, unless there was a reason for him to lie.
It was just hard to believe that the king would care about the son of the First Seat; it not only sounded wrong, but also stupid.
"Matters little to me anyway!" Sean turned around and signaled his men to spread out. "Mister Modernson, please take care of yourself. And as for the rest, good luck."
"Good luck to you too," Kosmos and Poller once again replied in harmony, but everyone else stayed silent.
Nathan's brain felt numb. Like everyone else, he couldn't discover a rational explanation for the King's command. He hadn't been so reckless since he decided to be born into this world. Confronting a president of the Rune Arts Federation? Since when did he become so confident… so stupid?
He didn't know what to say; voices rang around him, but his ears refused to take them in. Until one thought exploded into his head, connected by multiple details that he had never taken notice of.
"Your appearance does resemble the king."
He turned around instantly and asked Monica in a hurry that was usually aligned with his personality, "Monica, does King Eric Runaria have a brother?"
Everyone—Monica, David, and Genesis—shook their heads in definite dejection. "There can only be one son in the royal family, to avoid any competition between princes," David explained, surprised that Nathan didn't know such information beforehand.
"What if there was a twin?" Nathan persisted. For some reason, he really hoped someone could prove his hypothesis wrong.
Everyone went silent and cast uneasy glances at each other. This was a question that no one wanted to answer; it was too cruel, too inhumane.
"One of them would not be allowed to exist," Genesis answered in one of the mildest ways possible. "Twins are the most dangerous of all."
Nathan took a deep breath; a chill was sent down his spine. But at least he could affirm that his father was not a descendant of the royal line. That would mark him as the most powerful person in Runalond in terms of identity, but also one who will not be fully accepted by either side.
What if there was a mistake in the execution? What if empathy overtook discipline? he asked himself, but his mind was occupied by something else.
Through his prior prediction, Genesis should be the product of the Heaven's Child Project. He was, however, no longer certain. Someone who was born recently would never be taught such useless information. There was much more urgent information and skills he needed to dedicate his life to learning.
"Forgive me, Nathan, I lied to you…" Lily approached him and said quietly.
Nathan didn't say anything and shook his head slightly; his movement was robotic and emotionless.
"Sorry, I need to start investigating now…" she continued, visibly downcast by Nathan's response.
"Don't worry, David, we will find whoever caused this explosion, or at least, the reason behind this accident," Monica patted David on the back. He replied with a courageous smile that seemed slightly silly on his face.
Nathan was still trapped in questions and emotions, but he wasn't weak enough not to realize this was not the time for confusion. Not every question has to be answered the moment it is asked; sometimes, destiny will reveal the answers in the most random, incidental times.
"We don't have Investigative-type Rune Arts, but if David is staying behind, Monica and I are not returning to the Academy with a missing classmate," he said, trying to suppress everything in his heart. This was something that Lostburg had taught him. In some circumstances, you must digest your emotions slowly; outbursts will only lead to destruction.
Here was the problem: Kosmos had his eye that could catch every detail, Lily had her Rune Art to break down materials for thorough analysis, Sean and his men were raised on investigative skills and Rune Arts, but they had nothing.
All they could do was mindlessly wander around under the dim light produced by the three light-element Rune Artists. At least Nathan could cast Illuminate—a nice way to convince Genesis that he wasn't completely useless in the field of Rune Arts.
Nothing was significant, and even if there was, Nathan couldn't distinguish the details apart from the other parts of debris, which were identical to everything else around. The moon had almost climbed directly above them, silently warning the Academy Students that it was probably time for them to return to their dormitory.
Nathan's mind uncontrollably started to think of the hot spring that he loved to visit. He wished he could take a small nap inside the warm water and not need to care about a mission that they had forced upon themselves but simply could not accomplish. Amidst his thoughts, he seemed to notice something glowing under a pile of dust.
He approached it and blew the dust aside, revealing the purple light glowing underneath.
It was an eye, an eye that was embedded into the ground and stared directly into his own pair. Kosmos's Rune Art. Nathan sighed; it seemed like the High Court Ministers were also still clouded in mist.
Sometimes, Lily's Rune Arts made enough noise for them to hear, but most of the time there was only silence. To prevent the building from further collapse, Sean Stonewall used his Rune Arts to support the structure firmly, so if anything was reassuring, it was that a rock wouldn't fall from the sky and squish them flat.
Then an idea struck Nathan's head. If this explosion was of artificial cause, then they didn't need to investigate through digging through rocks.
RunaLine Corporation is a company under the Edmonds family's name. The culprit must be someone standing in an opposing faction or at least possessing some extent of hatred toward the clan.
Everyone else ignored David Edmonds' existence among the dispute, but he was possibly the only clue that they could excavate.
"David!" Nathan called out to David in the distance and rushed towards him while asking, "Recently, is there any dispute between your family and another party?"
David looked at him in confusion and sighed, "I wouldn't know… I don't have authority over the businesses of our family. Whether there was a dispute or not, I will never have any information."
Nathan nodded, "Okay, that's fine. We'll just ask other members of your family, then." At least there was a direction for them to go. The Second Department must have already caught onto this clue. If Lily wanted to win this unmarked competition, Nathan must tell her this information.
Perhaps Lily approached him under royalty's instructions, but she was still his mentor. Nathan wasn't someone who would judge someone's good deeds for their intentions. What makes someone respected is never what they think, but what they do, not who they are, but who they decide to become.
Nathan looked around; both Monica and Genesis were panting with exhaustion. Their eyes, barely visible in the mixture of moonlight and the light on top of his wand, were emptied of their energy and determination. Their work was pointless from the start, but they wanted David to know that they cared.
He rubbed his eyes and gently punched his own face, an unintentional act to remind him that this was not a dream.
Who would've guessed that at the start of the year, Monica and David, just like William and Leo, thought of each other only as enemies?
And who would've guessed Genesis was someone that they had just met tonight, and possibly an artificial human of a new experiment?
Nathan's vision blurred, but he couldn't tell whether it was the night getting darker, he was just too tired, or something else. Nathan Modernson thought, Life is truly better outside Lostburg. And, the world is a great place, even though most of the time, it might not seem like such.
He shrugged to himself and announced a command to the others.
"Enough for tonight! We are all tired, let's get some rest. Tomorrow will have another tomorrow."
"Let's go back after we update Lily. The others would be worried about us…"
"David, I can't promise everything, but we are always by your side. If your family is in crisis, we will not stand behind and watch. We will find the culprit behind this explosion, and, as you wish, before everyone else too."
David's eyes widened slightly, followed by a sudden tremble.
"Thank you, Nathan," he said.
"But you might have misinterpreted my intention."