Feidin shook his head. "You don't need to swear. I believe you."
Seliphaz nodded with a sincere smile. "I don't think you would ever abandon this company, either."
Cæ nodded with an appreciative expression. "I think I might be a little busy in the coming months as I deal with the Senior Program that's starting tomorrow, but I will be sure to be involved and updated with it at all times. Besides, for now, I'm not particularly needed."
His gaze returned to the data on the screen. "After all, as long as we maintain these numbers until next year's monsoons, we are in a great position. I will slowly flesh out a strategy for raising magicapita for expansions next year. But until then, the company won't need me."
The two nodded with an understanding question. Ordinarily the CEO telling the other owners and managers that he wasn't going to be extremely involved in the near future with the company that he was the CEO of was not something that would fly, but thankfully Cæ had had the foresight of having accounted for just this, and ensuring that the company was independent enough of him to thrive without him for limited periods.
One problem that Cæ could have when selling public or private equity in the company to investors was this tendency of his, unfortunately. An absent CEO was a recipe for disaster in business and the sign of a bad leader, according to the logic of conventional wisdom.
And to an extent, he agreed with the philosophy. The discrepancy that he had with it being applied to Trinity Housing was the fact that Feidin and Seliphaz were also leaders in the company and leaders of their own aspects of the company, which excused his absence.
With understanding established, Cæ had largely accomplished everything that he had come to speak to them in person for.
He departed from the Trinity Housings headquarters after bidding them goodbye, before immediately taking to the skies with magic.
WHOOSH
It drew attention from people around him who looked up at him with a stunned expression as several magic circles emerged right before him, allowing him to control his ascent into the air.
His gray eyes directed their gaze in the direction of the inner districts as he shot off in that direction with great speed, zooming through the air as the cool winds above the cityscape brushed past him gently.
His destination was not the Elendir Institute of Magic.
It was the Central Colohen Hospital.
The largest and best hospital in the city.
It was where the students and assistants injured from Master Mordir's heart magic were present.
These were cases that were more critical than his or some of the lighter cases of heart damage that could be healed on the spot or in the Elendir Institute of Magic.
These were cases that needed specialized heart healing.
Cæ didn't need to visit them at all, really.
However, he felt the need to.
He had taken responsibility over them as the leader of the entire task force, and this had happened under his watch.
He was not in a self-blaming spiral by any means, either.
He understood that the intervention of a hostile master mage was far beyond anything he could possibly blame himself for. This was more something that fell into the hands of the Headmistress, and it was something that she ought to have taken up herself.
Regardless, he felt the need to at least check up on them once.
WHOOSH
The cool winds of the morning skies brushed past him, causing his casual attire to flutter in the air as he shot through the air above the city, his eyes fixing on the distant structure of the hospital complex on the horizon, far away in the distance, as he drew closer and closer.
It was a vast expansive complex comprising many skyscraper buildings across a spacious estate, featuring the name of the hospital in giant letters that could be seen from a great distance away.
And just yet, just as he reached the airspace above the hospital, he found two figures rising rapidly to intercept his approach to the hospital. The two apprentice mages donned magic raiments with wands in their hands at the ready.
"Unauthorized magic flight over the hospital is not allowed." The one to the right sternly informed Cæ.
"Direct entry through the air is not allowed, please provide us with identification and state your purpose of visit," the other added.
Cæ didn't know that there was such strict security, but it made sense considering that it was an extremely affluent and large hospital. Security protocols were undoubtedly going to be very intense.
"My name is Cæ," he informed them, showing them a mage license issued by the government and an identity card by the Elendir Institute of Magic. "Here to visit former members of my task force."
That appeared to be enough, fortunately.
He was finally allowed to enter the hospital after having his wand confiscated and his entire person scanned with a powerful artifact meant to detect anything dangerous within him. By the time they were done with him, he was forced to walk on his two feet, much to his chagrin.
What surprised him, however, was what he experienced when he set foot inside.
VMMM…
He could feel a dense interference field warping acting on the forms of the entire hospital, impeding any attempt at magic within the entire estate.
"I guess magic is unauthorized, magic is prohibited," Cæ murmured as he headed into the hospital reception.
The deeper he went, the stronger the sterile odor of rubbing alcohol lingering in the air got. The atmosphere grew strangely sickly as he spotted many people in medical patient attire, as well as plenty of nurses and doctors walking within the corridors deeper in the building, past the reception.
Despite the bright light of the Sun outside, the mood was a little dark with dampened energy from the ill patients, causing the air to grow more serious.
"How can I help you, sir?" A receptionist greeted him with a perfunctory smile.
"I'm looking for a group of patients brought from the Elendir Institute of Magic, comprising students and assistants with heart injuries," Cæ explained, rattling off a few names.
"And your name?"
"Cæ."
"Hm," she nodded, verifying his identity with his license. "They're in these rooms if you'd like to visit them. Some of them have protection and security, so you will only be able to meet them with their permission."
It was a little odd to learn about the security, since there was no real need for it. But given that the parents of the students were no doubt paranoid as all hell, they would no doubt be relieved by the token gesture. Headmistress Lenolia must have taken the efforts for it the placate the angered parents.
Cæ thanked the receptionist before heading off to the specified rooms across the labyrinth of a hospital, winding about stairs, corridors, and following maps until he finally got to the place where the students and assistants of the task force were accommodated by the hospital.
There was, as advertised, a team of apprentice mages who stood in protection. They donned raiments with the logo of the hospital on their chests, indicating that the security was provided by the hospital, rather than the Elendir Institute of Magic.
The headmistress must have used her status to get the hospital to secure the students with some safety, even if there was no real security threat.
"Name and identification," they demanded with a serious expression.
Cæ heaved a sigh as he acquiesced.
It was five minutes by the time he finally managed to get past them and enter the room with a familiar figure lying on the bed.
"Hey." A small smile uncharacteristically emerged on Cæ's face as he gazed at Sorenon lying in an elevated medical bed. "You don't look that bad."
Sorenon's brown eyes lit up with delight at Cæ's arrival. "You came…"
His voice was low.
A little strained.
Numerous tubes emerged from his chest, connecting to enchanted medical machines that measured his vitals.
"Who are you, might I inquire?"
An older masculine voice with a suspicious tone drew Cæ's attention.
Sorenon's father sat on a couch to the side of the medical room with folded arms, gazing at Cæ with a suspicious expression and a raised eyebrow. He donned a regular, formal business suit with a briefcase sitting beside him.
On the other side was his mother, who appeared to be rather stressed out, with dark bags under her eyes as her eyes lingered on her son before finally shifting to Cæ with a troubled expression.
"You must be his parents," Cæ tried to act friendly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Cæ. I am the leader of the task force that your son was a part of and suffered a wound in."
Sorenon's father's eyes flew wide open. "You mean a thug like you is an apprentice student in the Elendir Institute of Magic?! What kind of nonsense is that?! You don't even look sixteen years old!"
Cæ simply stared at him.
This wasn't exactly new, but it still wasn't something he knew how to deal with very easily.
"Mom… dad…" Sorenon winced. "This is Cæ. He is the one I told you about. He is also the director of the Outer District Talent Acquisition Program."
His father's eyes returned to Cæ in disbelief. "This man?! He looks like he was picked right out of the slums!"
His mother turned to Sorenon with a concerned expression. "Is this the person you have spent a lot of time with as your friend? You shouldn't be spending time with strange, shady men."
"That's right… You said you spent every day with him! Have you lost your mind?" his father scolded his son. "I told you to avoid bad influences!"
Cæ heaved a sigh.
It was a reminder that the harshest judgment he had received was from ordinary people in the city, rather than the richest few with whom he hadn't even interacted prior to getting into the Elendir Institute of Magic.
There was a great prejudice against people from the slums, and Cæ's appearance alone convinced everybody of his background, even though there was no connection.
The unnerving and intimidating scars that he had gotten across his face and neck were from the accident, as was the scary discoloration of his left eye that made the entire eye an almost continuous white.
Still, Cæ didn't blame them for all of their words.
He would be concerned, too, if his adolescent son were close to a twenty-five-year-old man. He hadn't intended on making any friends among the kids, but it somehow ended up working that way with the three of them growing more and more attached to him each day.
"I'm sorry for disturbing you," Cæ remarked, walking away.
"No… wait."
Sorenon called to him, glaring at his parents weakly.
"He is my friend."
His parents didn't look pleased by the fact that Sorenon asserted the friendship despite their reprimands, and yet, they kept quiet, given that he was injured and in strain.
Cæ turned back to him with a small smile, just barely cracking at the edge of his mouth.
"How do you feel?"
Sorenon winced.
"My chest hurts… a lot. They… gave me some anasthetics to… take the edge off."
His voice trailed off momentarily in between as he winced at the pangs of pain in his chest.
Cæ's expression darkened at the sight of that.
Seeing Sorenon in that condition made him feel a little bit more responsible for what happened.
"I'm sorry," Cæ heaved a sigh. "I am the director; I should have done more to maximize safety."
Sorenon smiled weakly.
"I was… the vice director, you know?"
Cæ couldn't help but smile. "And you did a brilliant job. I will speak with the Headmistress to make sure that your work gets recognized and rewarded."