The cafe was tucked between two tall rune-lit towers—one of the quieter corners of Asterblume's sprawling internal market. Soft lights floated above small wooden tables, enchanted to glow like fireflies without heat.
The group had finally sat down—no shadowy figures, no underground fights, no mana-induced violence.
Just… warm air, clinking glasses, and chairs that didn't vibrate with tension.
A small golem rolled over with a tray and gently placed their drinks.
"Milk for Zhen Yuxin," it beeped.
"Black coffee for Tanaka Ruka."
There was a beat of silence as everyone at the table stared at the reversed drinks.
Blanche blinked once.
Vila raised a brow.
Rea gasped dramatically.
"Wait—you drink milk?" she asked Yuxin like she'd just confessed to owning a plushie collection.
"I mean I respect it, calcium and bones and all, but I expected... blood? Fire? Maybe, I dunno, tar?"
Yuxin sipped her milk without a word.
Rea kept gawking.
"That's so... pure. It's illegal."
"Shut up," Yuxin muttered, placing the glass down.
"I don't like bitter stuff, okay?"
Blanche tilted her head slightly.
"Not even a little?"
Yuxin's gaze lowered, her fingers tracing the rim of the glass.
"Reminds me of back then."
Her voice was quieter.
"Used to drink whatever we could find. Once spent a week puking because the river was half sludge. Thought it'd be fine—looked like tea. Wasn't."
Nobody said anything for a moment.
Rea blinked.
Ruka quietly held her cup with both hands and took a long sip—grimacing slightly.
"...This is horrible."
Yuxin squinted at her.
"Then why are you drinking it?"
Ruka hesitated.
"I… I read somewhere it relaxes you."
Vila finally spoke, flatly.
"Does it?"
"No."
Blanche chuckled softly, stirring her tea.
"The contrast is... amusing."
Yuxin side-eyed Ruka's cup.
"I'll trade you."
Ruka instantly slid her coffee across the table like it was cursed.
Yuxin returned the milk.
They sipped in sync.
"Better," Yuxin muttered.
"Mm," Ruka nodded quickly, then whispered:
"...Thank you…"
Blanche set her teacup down with a soft clink, posture straight, expression shifting back into focus.
"Alright. Let's review what we know.
Kael's faction has a centralized arena—the Iron Pit—hidden underground. It's organized, guarded, and tied to enough students to make it a silent network. If we can trace supply lines—training patterns—maybe even the—"
"You can stop."
Yuxin's voice cut through, flat and unfazed, sipping from the milk cup she stole from Ruka earlier.
Blanche blinked.
"...Excuse me?"
"The kid you're looking for—Erin Vos?"
Yuxin didn't even look up.
"She's alive."
Rea, mid-bite of a biscuit, paused midair.
"Huh?"
Blanche sat forward slightly.
"What do you mean alive?"
Yuxin leaned back.
"I heard about her yesterday. Turns out she got cocky. Tried to fight in the Pit like she knew what she was doing."
She set the glass down, then wiped her mouth with her sleeve.
"Got folded in round one. Internal injuries. Some bone damage. Nothing fatal."
"She's in the infirmary ward at the eastern med sector."
Ruka blinked rapidly.
"So she's not… missing?"
"Nope. Just dumb."
"Why didn't anyone say anything?" Blanche frowned.
Yuxin looked at her with a bored stare.
"Would you? Imagine telling a teacher you were at an illegal brawl in a mana-flooded death ring. They'd turn your bones into lesson material."
"She told her friend to cover for her and the others kept their mouths shut. That's it."
Silence fell for a moment.
Even Blanche was quiet.
"...Well that completely derails the investigation," she finally muttered, rubbing her temple.
"Told you your investigation was boring," Yuxin added.
Rea, mouth full of cookie, raised a hand.
"Wait wait wait—so we fought, infiltrated, almost got arrested by sweat, AND you're telling me the missing girl is just having mana soup in a hospital bed?"
"Yup."
Rea slumped over the table.
"This school is broken."
The warmth of the cafe felt like it faded.
Yuxin leaned forward, eyes narrowed, voice sharp and low.
"You knew, didn't you?"
Rea blinked, feigning confusion.
"Huh?"
"About Erin Vos. You already knew she wasn't missing."
The table went still.
Rea opened her mouth. Closed it.
"I—uh. I mean. Not… knew knew. Just—"
Yuxin slammed her empty glass onto the table with a sharp clack.
"Cut the act, gremlin. You talk like you know everyone's breakfast schedule. You think we believe you missed this?"
Rea flinched slightly.
Ruka went quiet. Vila's gaze locked onto Rea.
Blanche finally turned her head toward her.
"Rea," she said softly.
"Is it true?"
Rea looked away, the playful spark in her eye flickering.
"...Yeah."
Silence again.
Blanche's voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Rea fidgeted with her sleeves, uncharacteristically quiet.
"Because… Silas told me not to."
Blanche's expression didn't move, but something behind her eyes changed.
"He gave me the mission."
"I know."
"A mission that… didn't matter."
Rea shook her head quickly.
"No—no, it's not like that! It wasn't useless! It was a test."
"A test?"
"Yeah—he was testing you. He wanted to see how far you'd go. If you'd really follow through with your responsibilities, even if the trail seemed pointless."
Blanche looked stunned—then… hurt.
Not angry.
Just… quietly disappointed.
"So this entire operation… was never about Erin. It was about me."
"I didn't want to lie," Rea muttered.
"But he's my brother. And you—"
She paused.
"You're the only person he actually thinks might stand equal to him one day. He just… didn't say it out loud."
Yuxin scoffed.
"Wow. Noble family drama. So touching."
"Please don't be mad," Rea added quickly, voice smaller now.
"I—I just… I didn't want to screw things up for either of you."
Blanche didn't speak right away.
She sat still, gaze drifting toward the window—processing.
Blanche leaned forward, elbows on the table, and brought her hand to her temple. Her fingers rubbed her forehead slowly—deliberate.
Then…
A long, exhausted sigh.
"All of that effort.
All of that planning.
For absolutely nothing."
Ruka shifted awkwardly in her seat.
Yuxin just sipped her milk again.
Rea, meanwhile, sat very still—then slowly raised a hand like a guilty student.
"So uh… I am sorry. For real."
Blanche didn't look up.
Rea bit her lip, then continued.
"Let me make it up to you. All of you."
Her voice was more grounded than usual—no bouncing tone, no jokes.
"You each get one thing.
Anything.
Information. Secrets. Student files. Instructor rumors. Black market lists. Pacta mutation reports. Secret dorm passages. Who's dating who. The best hidden vending machine. I've got tabs on it all."
She gave a sheepish shrug.
"Seriously. I'll answer anything. One thing each."
Yuxin raised an eyebrow.
"Anything?"
"...That I know. Which is most things."
Rea clasped her hands together on the table like a merchant in a shady stall—but for once, she wasn't smiling wide. Her voice still had its usual rhythm, but there was a weight behind it now.
"Fours questions. One each.
Ask whatever you want—unless it'll get me vaporized on the spot. Then I might lie. Slightly."
Yuxin leaned back, arms crossed, clearly unimpressed but watching.
Blanche was first.
She didn't hesitate.
"Who's backing Kael?"
Rea blinked.
"Straight to it. No foreplay. I respect that."
She leaned in.
"Kael Dymont isn't smart enough to run a syndicate this tight. His hands are dirty, sure, but the paperwork? That's someone else."
She tapped the side of her head.
"His biggest backer is a staff member. A low-tier adjunct instructor in Elemental Combat Theory. Guy's name is Helven Rusk. Failing career, rich uncle in border trade. That uncle? Smuggles forbidden Pacta relics into the city and sells them through student 'training exchanges.'"
Blanche's expression darkened.
"You're sure?"
"I have a copy of his mana signature in the backroom of The Iron Pit," Rea added casually.
"He left his rune seal on a supply crate. Dumbass."
Vila raised an eyebrow.
Blanche nodded slowly.
Then looked to her.
"Your turn."
Vila's silver eyes met Rea's like a quiet storm. Her voice came soft—but firm.
"Tell me everything you know about the Ætherial Veil.
Especially the failed experiments."
Rea sucked in a sharp breath and sat back.
"Oof. Going for the existential crisis card early."
She drummed her fingers once, then began.
"Alright. So... some twenty years ago, there was a faction—small, scattered, hidden—made of exiled Pacta researchers. Thought the Veil could be… rewired. Not just channeled, but broken. Bent. Rerouted."
"They created artificial anchors—Veil 'tethers'—to try and summon Astraga directly into fused hosts. The hosts weren't volunteers."
Vila's fingers twitched.
"What happened to them?"
Rea's tone dipped lower.
"Most of them died. A few turned feral. And one... disappeared entirely.
No remains. No soul signature. Like they phased into another plane."
Ruka had stopped drinking entirely, her cup still in her hands.
Rea gave Vila a knowing look.
"Their base? The ruins under Myrdvawein. Most of the glyphwork is still there. Sealed under forest growth and denial."
A long pause.
Then Blanche turned to Ruka.
"Ruka."
The girl flinched.
"Ah—y-yeah. Um…"
Her hands tightened.
"Do you know anything about… an astral disturbance? A long time ago… in a small village?"
Rea turned her head slowly, like she already expected that.
"Your Village. Right?"
Ruka's eyes widened, but she didn't speak.
Rea exhaled.
"That place didn't collapse naturally. It was hit by backlash—Veil resonance. Something triggered a rupture in the Astraga pact channel. Wild surge."
"Someone... lost control. Big time. Enough to tear the connection between spirit and vessel. Left a scar in the local leyline. Still hums if you walk over the dirt just right."
Ruka trembled faintly.
"W-who caused it?"
Rea looked at her gently.
For once, no joke. No noise.
"...I don't think you really want me to say it out loud yet."
Ruka's grip tightened around her cup.
Silence.
The Question That Wasn't About the Case