"Officer Qingyi, I wasn't expecting you to be here." Caelus greets Qingyi as she gives him a blank stare.
"Did you forget? Meilian is my friend, and as a friend, I should find a time to visit whenever I can." Qingyi says as she places her left hand on her hip, glancing at the older woman. "I have been busy these few days, so I apologize for not visiting."
"I don't mind, Miss Qingyi," Meilian says with a gentle smile. "You have your job, and I can't complain about it."
"...thank you for understanding," Qingyi nods. If she didn't know Meilian very well, she would insist on apologizing. But Meilian is a very kind-hearted woman who was stubborn in refusing apologies from a friend over a minor mistake, and QIngyi believes arguing over apologies is illogical and a waste of time.
"Does it have to do with Vision?" Caelus asks curiously as Qingyi gives him a dry stare.
"I understand you play a very major role in that operation, but please remember that it's a confidential matter that shouldn't be discussed near civilians, even if said civilians are a famous singer," Qingyi explains as Caelus rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Caelus apologizes as Qingyi shakes her head.
"Anyways, Caelus." Qingyi starts. "I would like to have a private conversation with you."
"...can it be done after I eat my lunch?" Caelus asks as Qingyi sighs.
"You can bring them while we find a place to have this conversation," QIngyi says as Caelus nods before they walk out of the cafeteria.
"...I know you once mentioned about your friend being friends with the PubSec, but you didn't mention that he befriended a bigshot..." Evelyn mutters in surprise. PubSec has a habit of promoting their job using their best officers to attract new job seekers, and one of them is Qingyi. Everyone knows her for being an old-model Intelligent Construct from the old civilization, and her being the 'loli'.
"Caelus and Qingyi have been friends since Caelus arrived in the city," Phil says, not explaining further.
"I wonder what his story..." Evelyn muses. It's a habit of hers since she took her job as Astra's bodyguard, trying to look into the background of an unknown people who are attempting to get close to Astra. She knows it's a breach of privacy, but when there are a lot of Astra's rabid fans and haters, she didn't want to take a risk.
"It's better if he tells you when he trusts you enough..." Phil mutters. Evelyn notes how Phil sounds like he knows his friend's past but keeps it a secret out of respect, so she didn't push further.
It didn't help that the bunny looked so pitiful, and she would feel terrible for forcing him to spill everything.
"...I feel like being ignored..." Seed pouts.
"Same..." Astra mutters in agreement before they take a bite of the food. Their eyes brighten a bit at how good it tastes.
"Eve, you should try the food!" Astra exclaims as Evelyn glances at her food and silently takes a bite, a small smile forming on her lips.
"...It tastes much better than whatever we tried to make back then..." Evelyn says as Astra can't help but blush in embarrassment.
"Do you have to remind me of that day?" Astra exclaims as Phil and Seed tilt their head in confusion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In Caelus' Room
"...your room is quite messy," Qingyi says blankly as she glances at the floor, raising her eyebrow as she notices several pieces of machinery from a military weapon lying on the ground like it's nobody's business.
"...do I have to truly arrest you? How did you even lay your hands on a military-grade weapon?" Qingyi asks blankly as Caelus waves his hands defensively.
"H-hey, don't be rash," Caelus exclaims. "I got this stuff legally! It was one of commission requested by the Defense Force."
"..." Qingyi stares at him judgmentally, thinking Caelus had used the Inter-Knot to accept an illegal commission, even if it was from the Defense Force.
"It was requested from the higher-ups using one of the agents to pass the message," Caelus says. "We met when I was visiting a videotape rental store on Sixth Street."
"..." Qingyi simply sighs as she rubs her temple. "And why do you accept?"
"Because the agent is an assassin who can sneak up on me anytime she wants without making a single sound," Caelus says plainly. "...she didn't threaten me, but I still feel threatened."
"....alright, I ain't questioning about that," Qingyi feels like she is so done with this young man's antics. "Anyways, I would like to ask a few things. Please answer every question honestly."
"Y-yeah, sure." Caelus nods as Qingyi shows the wrapped baseball bat to Caelus.
"I want to ask, what is this baseball bat made of?" Qingyi asks. "The scientists working with the Public Security had tried to identify the alloy of this baseball bat, but no elements in the periodic table matches with whatever this bat is made of. We even did a few tests on it, and it doesn't seem to show any results."
"...did you guys try to smelt it?" Caelus asks dryly.
"I will not elaborate on that with an answer," QIngyi says blankly.
"So, yes." Caelus deadpans, causing Qingyi's left eye to twitch. "For your answer, no, I truly have no idea what this thing is made of. Dad once brought this home and gave it to me so he could teach me baseball. I didn't think it was anything special until I interacted with the Ethereals."
"...I see." Qingyi could detect a lot of emotions from Caelus thanks to some upgrades she added after experiencing 'malfunctions', and the results show no lies detected.
[Elation (Lvl 0): 990/1000]
'...' Caelus ignores the pop-up window and focuses on the conversation.
"Tell me, why did you go full violence on one of the suspects?" Qingyi asks. "A swing so powerful that it rips someone's hand off is a lethal blow."
"I...didn't mean to do that. I forgot to control my strength when I tried to confront her." Caelus says with a wince. Not one of his proudest moments.
"...is this woman the same person who you mention about saying weird stuff?" Qingyi asks as Caelus nods. He shouldn't be surprised at how Qingyi remembered the report that was dismissed because they were dealing with Vision. One of the perks of being a robot.
"Thank you for answering that," Qingyi says before sighing and returning the baseball bat to Caelus. "Here, I return your bat."
"...I honestly expect you guys to keep it in custody," Caelus admits.
"We planned to, but some problems happened in the PubSec that made us believe this weapon is much safer in your hands," Qingyi admits bitterly.
"...did someone try to steal my bat?" Caelus asks as he grips the baseball bat tightly, out of protectiveness.
"...yes," Qingyi admits. "Thankfully, our senior inspector managed to retrieve it."
'He tried to steal it, but was caught. And due to his reputation as a former hero, people instantly believed he tried to retrieve the stolen item.' Caelus thought.
"Speaking of inspector..." Caelus says, getting Qingyi's attention. "I remember when I tried to chase after the second suspect, I overheard the woman muttering about 'this isn't in the plan' and 'the moles in PubSec are useless'."
"...that's a very heavy accusation there, Caelus," Qingyi says with a warning tone. Her system indicates Caelus is not lying, but she refused that one of the friends she made in PubSec is a traitor.
"I am not accusing, I'm stating what I have witnessed," Caelus says calmly. "If my guess is correct, the mole is from the higher-ups as they-!"
"Stop!" Qingyi exclaims, her eyes glow blue slightly as Caelus feels a weird energy fluctuate from Qingyi, causing him to pause. "...I thank you for cooperating with us, but I would rather you stop."
"...I'm sorry," Caelus apologizes as Qingyi nods, her eyes back to normal before she walks out of the room. As she did, Caelus was greeted with another system pop-up.
[Remembrance (Lvl 0): 999/1000]
'R-Remembrance!?' Caelus thought before turning to stare at Qingyi's retreating form. 'Why is she exuding the Path's power!? I know that Aeons had set their gazes onto this planet, but for someone already on their path to become Pathstrider!?'
'Oh, fuck. Please tell me Nanook didn't grant any powers to the Exaltists, because I don't want to deal with that!'
Meanwhile, Qingyi silently walks towards the elevator while doubt slowly creeps into her mind. She knows Caelus isn't lying, and she knows the possible suspect of said mole. She had seen it herself that one of the inspectors was suspicious, but for the sake of Zhu Yuan, she didn't doubt him.
'I shouldn't be feeling this way...I am but an intelligent construct...so why am I acting so irrationally...' Qingyi thought before entering the elevator, letting out a sigh. She blinks when she notices a cold fog coming out of her mouth.
'...winter is still far away...' Qingyi thought with a frown before more flashes of memories entered her mind. She winces as she leans into the elevator wall, taking a few deep breaths.
'The upgrades should've fixed this...so why am I still seeing those visions...those memories...' Qingyi slowly calms herself as the elevator reaches the ground floor. Without a word, she left the apartment building, not noticing Caelus had also reached the ground floor through the stairs.
"...." Caelus silently watches Qingyi leave the building while leaving a trail of ice on the floor. Lowering himself, he gently touches the ice before a tiny fragment pops out of it as his eyes glow slightly purple.
He suddenly notices that he's now in an empty void filled with nothing. He glances around in confusion, his hands still holding the tiny fragment, before suddenly, he hears a noise slowly getting louder. He looked at the fragment in his hand, and he was greeted with a pink mammal trying to approach the fragment.
The creature notices you before smiling and winks, causing Caelus to be brought back to reality with the fragment still in his hand.
[Remembrance (LVL 1): Unlocked!]
[??? has gazed on you]
'Wait, what!? Not Fuli!?' Caelus thought before shaking his head as he looked at the tiny fragment on his palm, a roughly preserved memory belonging to Qingyi. '...this is not what I expect...'
[Notice: A new memory file, 'As I've Written', has been added to the System]
[Would you like to see 'As I've Written'?]
'As I've Written...isn't that the name used for a book filled with the sagas of the Chrysos Heir?' Caelus thought as he looked at the pop-up screen. On one hand, he wanted to watch it since he didn't finish the Amphoreus saga, only reach the Cerydra and Hysilen's arc, but he stopped himself as he didn't know what might happen if he pressed yes. He watches and reads too much fiction to know how a memory overload could affect someone.
'Maybe I could take a look before sleeping.' Caelus thought before he looked at the news, showing a report about Belobog Heavy Industry managing to gain the rights to demolish and reconstruct the old capital metro.
'...OH! So that's what I've been forgetting!!!'
[Remembrance (Lvl 1): 10/100]
'Oh, fuck you, system!'
To be Continued