The warm sunlight of a new day shined through the windows and into the room, illuminating it with its luminary brilliance.
Nestled among the white sheets of the bed, Isaac laid sound asleep before being woken up. His eyelids twitched before gradually opening, revealing his dark murky eyes that resembled the calm surface of a deep body of water.
His eyes shifted to look outside and saw that it was — once more, and as always — raining lightly, bringing a touch of chilliness to the morning.
At the far distance, he could hear the faint chirping of the morning birds, blessing his ears with the song of nature.
He inhaled deeply and released a content sigh, relishing the crisp morning air, all the while enjoying the comfort of the softness of the pillow he was resting his head on.
He felt blissful.
"I would never get tired of this..."
This was the life he always wanted. No trouble, no distraction — only serenity and the peacefulness of the mind.
In the past, prior to Vertin's summon, Isaac once had a cabin of his own in Switzerland. Leveraging his exploits, as well as some connections he had made in Britain, he managed to settle there for a time — albeit quite shortly.
Nonetheless, he enjoyed his time in that cabin he had there. It was a simple and peaceful time...
But unfortunately, all things must eventually come to an end.
After rolling around the bedsheets for a while, Isaac soon decided to get off and start another morning. Once more, he did his daily morning routine without exception.
Afterwards, he went down and took a moment to appreciate the interior of the cabin once more, but this time in daylight.
There wasn't that much decorum nor furniture, but there was enough to give off a warm and quaint charm.
"A Knight's taste in interior design is... unexpectedly great." He mumbled to himself while walking over to the fireplace, his head looking around. "He managed to make this place look good with so little resources..."
It was the truth. A Knight volunteered to design the cabin, and, sure enough, he kept his word. Even if there were so little furniture present, he still managed to pull through and deliver.
Now that was resourcefulness.
He lit a fire in the fireplace, sat down on the sofa near it, and felt the texture of the rug beneath him.
Feeling the warmth, he lingered around the fireplace for a bit, enjoying his quiet morning.
Along the way, he couldn't help but reflect on his life and what had led him to this point.
He had a lot of problems in his life — from the moment he transmigrated, to what he experienced for the last twenty years, and now that he was with Vertin and the others — but never once did they cloud his mind and stop him from pursuing peaceful moments.
He didn't acquire this mindset out of nowhere — he bled until he became sore, cried until he became numb, howled until he ran out of breath, and chased until his legs gave up.
He had witnessed many tragedies, for the road to heaven feels like hell.
In the end, he had to learn how to make peace with himself in the most desperate and harrowing situations. He couldn't say that he was truly free from the anguish of the past, but he can admit that he learned how to cope with them a bit.
Staring at the dancing blaze of fire in the fireplace, Isaac remained motionless for a while before sighing, tilting and holding his head in his hand as he did so.
"...Victory belongs to the most persevering."
That's right... To achieve his goals, he has to keep persevering towards it. He had done it back then... He can do it even now.
He has to keep running, pursuing that selfish goal...
---
A few hours later in Madam Z's office.
Currently, Madam Z was talking with another person from the Foundation. They talked extensively for a while before the person left, leaving her alone in her office once more.
Suddenly, a thin veil of mist suddenly appeared. A moment later, it gathered over to the sofa before coalescing and forming the visage of a familiar young man sitting.
Seeing him manifest again, Madam Z, who was holding a file, nudged her glasses and narrowed her eyes with a frown. "Do you not have any manners, Isaac? To barge in without any notice like this two times already is highly unprofessional and rude."
"I do apologize about that, Madam Z..." Appearing from the faint mist, Isaac's figure fully appeared. A faint smile was present on his face as he spoke. "But you have to understand. I currently can't leave the confines of the building I'm at... What do you think would be the reaction of the Foundation staff when they see me?"
"That's a valid point, but still — At least make a notice before you enter and manifest." She shook her head with a sigh, clearly not satisfied with his answer. "What would you do if I was doing something highly confidential?"
"...cover my eyes like a good boy?"
"Not funny."
"I'm sorry."
After that short banter, she sighed softly before returning to her desk and sitting down on her chair. Then, putting away the files she had, she glared at the young man sitting in her office.
"Well, it's not like I wasn't intending to call you today, so I'll gloss over this for now."
He raised a brow. "Oh? Am I finally gonna be drafted into battle? Just tell me who or what it is and I'll handle it to the best of my capabilities."
Madam Z remained silent for a while, looking at him, before emitting a low hum. "Let me ask you first... Have you seen your friend Regulus this morning?"
Isaac, taken aback by this question, instinctively responded. "Eh? Well, I didn't check... Why the sudden—"
Suddenly, he froze as he immediately guessed what she meant by her words. He stopped his sentence midway.
The smile on his face soon transitioned into a frown as his brows furrowed. "Has she already been contacted by the enemy?"
"Referring to the other side as an enemy... Well, I won't stop you from doing that since it's not the wrong term for you." She nodded slightly. "That's right. People from the Laplace Scientific Computing Center (LSCC) fetched her this morning to recruit her."
"Regulus has shown capabilities of a sharp mind, and Laplace has taken it upon themselves to take her in." She continued.
'Damn it... How did I not know about that this morning?' He remained silent as he listened to her words. 'No one in the suitcase noticed her leave, otherwise we would have known that the Laplace personnel entered.'
'So she could have only been ambushed when she was out, dragged to Laplace for recruitment.' Imagining the rebellious Regulus squirming and attempting to escape the Laplace personnel, he sighed.
When she was finally finished with her words, he immediately went straight to the point. "I'll be direct — what should I do? I'm confident I can take Regulus out of there, but dealing with the political consequences behind that action would surely eat me alive."
This was one of Isaac's weaknesses — politics. In the past, he was too engrossed with other matters and left such matters unattended. He knew some of it, but never really sharpened it enough to stand against a monster like Constantine.
As such, he was turning over to someone who has expertise in the field — Madam Z.
She nudged her glasses and took a light nod. "I see that you're wise enough to not barge in there without a plan. That's good."
She paused for a moment before speaking slowly. "Right now, we can't make any outright advances against Laplace since they're a big faction under the Foundation. What we can do, however, is play by the books."
"According to the Foundation's internal personnel regulation clause: Rescued Arcanists must undergo a discretionary period before assignment to Foundation sub-divisions unless the individual or their legal guardian has voluntarily agreed."
Isaac took a moment to scrutinize her words before snapping his fingers, enlightened by it. "But Vertin, the one responsible for Regulus, is currently asleep and thus cannot make that decision for her, leaving it in her hands..."
'But knowing Constantine, she'll most likely convince, offer, or pressure Regulus to join...' His frown lengthened. Having thought of this, he then responded to Madam Z. "I know you must have a reason for mentioning that clause, and most likely have something to fight against it. So..."
"...what do you want me to do?"
"It's great to have an attentive listener. You catch on fast." Madam Z nudged he glasses slightly, satisfied by his question. She then continued. "You're right. I do have a way. But to do that, I'll need you to do some under-the-table missions."
She then pulled a new file and slid it on her desk. "Convince these people to be on our side, and I'll handle the rest."
Isaac stood up, took the file, and reviewed it for a bit. He then eyed her back. "A few researchers with some influence... It's not impossible but it's gone take a while. Of course, I can come up with a method that would make it quick."
Of course, that "method" may or may not include unorthodox or straight up illegal methods. But that's to be expected, because...
He closed the file and smirked at her. "Well, that's the job of a gray chess piece, innit?"
"I'll bring you good results, Madam Z. Thank you for your time and goodbye."
With that said, Isaac immediately disintegrated into a white mist before disappearing, leaving her in her office alone once more.
Seeing him disappear on his own again, Madam Z sighed lowly.
"...no proper manners whether it's entering or exiting."