Albert hadn't originally given the matter much thought. If anything, the way the two of them spoke in half-truths and evasions only drew his attention, convincing him that there was more to it than they were letting on.
…He'd have to wait and see later, find a chance to probe around the edges.
Coming back to himself, Albert heard Charles reply, "Of course not. If we really had been transformed by the banyan tree, how could we be trapped inside it, unable to move?"
On this point, Charles was surprisingly open.
"Then the vines we saw just now—"
"As for that, we don't really know either." Charles shrugged.
"It might sound like a joke, or like we're trying to fool you, but it's true. One day, out of nowhere, Eisen discovered that he could manipulate part of the banyan's root system with his mind—just a part of it, though."
"That really is inexplicable," Albert murmured. "Is it connected to the energy underground?"
