Astro carefully scanned the documents scattered across the unconscious shopkeeper's desk. The handwriting was neat, numbers and materials meticulously logged—but one thing immediately stood out. The communication lacrimas sold at this shop were being made by not only the owner but also someone sharing the same last name as the owner.
A lot of materials were still being purchased, yet production had noticeably dropped in the past few months. The lacrimas still in the shop had been crafted quite a while ago. Astro's mind clicked into focus. If they wanted answers, their next stop had to be this mysterious relative.
Loke returned from the storage room, carrying a small stash of lacrimas. "Check this out," he said, spreading them across the counter. "It's pretty clear this guy has been selling these." He pointed to a lacrima identical to the ones they had removed from the villagers.
Astro nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, but it looks like one of his relatives is making them these days. He's still buying materials, but lately he's producing fewer communication lacrimas than before. Something's not right."
Loke squinted at the papers. "Do you… understand all this? The numbers, dates, all this logging? My brain's about to explode just trying to follow it."
Astro ignored the complaint, already spotting the pattern. "It's simpler than it looks if you know what you're looking for."
Loke raised an eyebrow. "Are you seriously not from the Magic Council? You figured this out faster than half the council wizards I know."
Astro didn't bother to answer this for the third time. He turned to the shopkeeper and woke him up..
"Who are you? What do you want from me? I'll call the Magic Council if you don't let me go!"
Astro kept his expression neutral, lying without changing his face. "We're undercover investigators from the council. We have been investigating unauthorized lacrimas for the past few weeks. Now, tell us where you've been selling these lacrimas and who's buying them."
The man stammered, "I… I don't know what you're talking about—"
Loke glanced at the open storage box behind him, giving a small nudge with his elbow. The shopkeeper's eyes widened.
Astro's tone sharpened, calm but firm. "It would be a lot better for you to answer now. Cooperate, and you might escape serious punishment. Refuse, and things won't end well for you."
The shopkeeper slumped. "Fine! I'll tell you everything. My brother and I run this shop, and one day he came back with an offer from someone who wanted us to make custom communication lacrimas. They promised it would make us rich."
Astro did not care how much they were selling it for, he leaned forward. "Custom? How so? Are these different from regular communication lacrimas?"
"They're one-way communication lacrimas," the man admitted reluctantly. "But they can transmit sound perfectly.. You speak into one, and your voice comes out of a hundred others exactly the same. You can't do that with normal lacrimas of this size, especially two-way ones."
Astro thought for a moment. One possibility: the buyer wanted a sort of broadcast device, like a magical radio. But it didn't make sense to plant it secretly inside villagers. The second, far more disturbing option: the lacrimas could be used for mind control or hypnosis, implanted so the victims couldn't safely remove them.
"Where's your brother now?" Astro asked.
"He's at our workshop by the Starlight Opera Hall," the man replied. Before he could say anything else, Astro placed his glowing palm against the man's face, and the man slumped unconscious again.
"This is convenient, but also kind of creepy," Loke muttered, smirking faintly.
Astro ignored him, carefully hiding the man in a closet. He saw Loke still looking at him, Astro sighed and decided to reply to him "This only works on ordinary people or wizards with almost no ethernano left. Anyone with decent magic can resist it."
Loke raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't make it any less disturbing. Just… don't try it on any innocent girls."
Astro gave him a light smack on the shoulder. "Out of the two of us, you're the one most likely to do something stupid like that."
Loke scowled, he realized that Astro might have a wrong impression of him but didn't bother to argue right now. "Fine. Let's go. We're heading to the workshop. Once we have proof, we can report this to the council."
Meanwhile, two cloaked men stepped inside the workshop. The only resident froze at their sudden presence, legs trembling.
"Sir… you're early," the man stammered, bowing hastily.
The taller of the two removed his hood, revealing a scar across his face, while the muscular companion followed suit. "Are the goods ready this time?" the man at the front asked, his voice low and sinister.
"Yes, Master Reson. There was an inspection last week, so I had to hid the items in the shop's storage," the man replied nervously.
"Nobody will check there?" Reson asked his tone chilling.
"The shop is trusted by the council. No inspections have been done in years." the resident replied fast, almost to show off.
Before the muscular man could ask questions, Reson cut him off. He looked behind and shouted. "Who is there?"
The resident looked confused but the muscular man prepared for an attack.
It seemed like Reson was talking to the darkness but-
a confident voice echoed from the shadows. "So the council isn't even doing its job properly, yet they're ruthless when it comes to us?"
Loke stepped forward, emerging from darkness.
"Who… who are you?" the muscular man demanded, tension rising.
"Quick, Druvan," Reson looked at Loke and suddenly barked, "create a shield!"
Druvan blinked, confused, but obeyed. "Wood Make—Root Wall!" Thick wooden planks sprouted from the ground, forming a shield above them.
Astro's purple energy sphere slammed into the shield, splintering it but failing to penetrate completely. He narrowed his eyes, used the shield as a platform and jumped backwards and landed beside Loke with graceful precision.
"I didn't even use full strength, but I have to admit that this shield is impressive," Astro said casually, brushing himself off.
Loke looked at the wooden shield, his hand glowing brighter with light. "His magic reminds me of Laki's magic. But something tells me that Laki won't appreciate his naming sense. So let me take care of him. "
Astro hummed softly, keeping his gaze locked on Reson. His first impression was, that this man was unusually perceptive. He had sensed Astro's approach and responded with near-perfect timing.
"The lacrimas you've been distributing—they were clearly designed for sound magic users. Are you the sound mage?" Astro asked calmly, his eyes narrowing.
Reson's jaw clenched. "Why should I answer you? Who even are you? I don't remember ever meeting you," he growled, voice sharp with anger.
Astro did not reply. Purple winds gathered at his feet as he got ready to attack.
"I'll clear a path, playboy," Astro said to Loke, a smirk tugging at his lips.
He dashed forward, aiming a knee strike straight at Reson's face. Reson reacted instantly, crossing both arms to block. Astro was not surprised, a swirling purple tornado formed on his right palm in an instant.
Astro didn't waste any time. He flicked his hand, sending a smaller tornado hurtling toward the two men behind Reson. They were still distracted and unprepared, unable to defend themselves.
"Spiral Tempest!" he whispered as the small tornado reached the men..
The tornado expanded violently, slamming into Druvan and the shopkeeper's brother. Before they could react, the brother was hurled across the room, crashing into the far wall, while Druvan landed directly in front of Loke, stunned.
"Don't worry," Astro said, his voice low and chilling, finally replying to Reson. "Once we're done with you, the only thing you'll remember is how unlucky you were to cross paths with us."
Reson looked at Astro's face and at the sight of Loke confronting Druvan. His face grew distorted with anger.
"I will be the one to decide who's the unlucky one, brat.".