A royal carriage swept through the streets of Palem, its polished frame drawing the attention of passersby who stopped to watch it in quiet awe. Inside, Rentaro sat beside Bernard, while Lilou and Shizuka occupied the seats across from them at the back of the carriage.
The view outside was interesting, to Rentaro at least. He leaned slightly toward the window, eyes moving constantly as he took in the bustling streets, the people, the buildings, everything felt new, and he didn't want to miss a single detail. Like a little kid witnessing a playground.
It had been a while since he was able to see more of the city.
Lilou, much like Rentaro, was glued to the view outside, her eyes following every passerby with open curiosity. Beside her, Shizuka sat quietly, a book resting on her hand as she turned each page with calm focus, seemingly uninterested in the bustling streets beyond the window.
"Oi, Bernard," Rentaro said, still glancing out the window. "Just who is this Adler guy anyway?"
Bernard didn't answer immediately. His gaze stayed forward, and his expression was serious.
"…Someone you'd do well not to take lightly," he said at last. "...we are lucky that we even get to see him in your situation."
Rentaro, with a confused look, raised an eyebrow.
"Ehhh? That serious?"
Bernard nodded.
"…You could say Adler is… an acquaintance of mine." Bernard paused briefly. "A 'war' buddy, so to speak. He arrived in Palem not long ago, so I reached out to him about your situation, and he took an interest. Although the reason as to why he is here in the first place is unknown to me."
War buddy? I didn't think Bernard would have a past like that, but given his age, he probably must have been in that kind of situation.
Rentaro tilted his head slightly.
"Interest in what?"
Bernard exhaled through his nose, as if deciding how much to explain.
"You see, Adler's unit focuses mainly on research," Bernard said. "And your case… out of most I've seen, is by far the most unusual."
Rentaro remained silent
His gaze drifted slightly towards Shizuka, the earlier curiosity in his eyes dulling just a bit.
She didn't look at him at first.
Then, just barely, she leaned a fraction closer. Signaling him to lean towards her.
Rentaro raised an eyebrow.
"What?''
Shizuka's eyes remained on the page of her book
"Lean closer," she said coldly.
Her voice was quiet and direct, as if she were ordering him to do it.
Rentaro stared at her for a moment before sighing and leaning in.
"Happy now?"
Shizuka, with a frustrated look, ignored Rentaro's remark and continued.
"...This is an opportunity for us to learn more about this world, about your memories, and most importantly, the reason we are here."
"You sound overly confident."
"...I'm being logical here." She turned a page of her book and then continued. "...Bernard wouldn't be speaking about this Adler person in this way otherwise."
"Ehhh? What is so special about this guy?"
Shizuka paused as silence settled between them.
"...His knowledge might be dangerous. If he asks any questions, answer them carefully."
"And why is that?"
Shizuka briefly paused.
"... Because if he finds out what we are, this might end badly for us."
Rentaro shot a confused look at Shizuka. He did not understand exactly what Shizuka meant by this.
"...And we areee?"
Shizuka took a moment but finally answered with a serious look.
"People from another world, with no history and no past, if he ever so gets the slightest suspicion and searches for our past, then…"
"..."
Shizuka glared harshly at Rentaro.
"...He might even dissect us…"
The answer was delivered so calmly that Rentaro couldn't tell if she was joking, but knowing Shizuka's serious personality, she definitely wouldn't joke like that. A chill ran down his spine.
"…Right."
"Therefore," she said, "our objective is simple. We must learn more about this world."
Rentaro glanced at her for a brief moment.
"…Yeah," he muttered under his breath.
Shizuka sighed
"... Look, all I'm saying is be cautious, okay?"
Shizuka had already pulled back, her attention returning to the book in her hands as if nothing had happened
Sounds like a pain. he thought. Why am I being used here?
The carriage rolled on, the distant noise of the city slowly beginning to shift as they drew closer to their destination.
The streets grew wider.
The crowds thinned.
Stone buildings gave way to taller, more refined structures, their walls polished, their windows lined with glass that caught the light. Guards became more frequent along the roads, their presence quiet but unmistakable.
Lilou pressed her face closer to the window.
"Woah…"
Her eyes lit up as she watched it all pass by.
"This place is huge!"
Bernard didn't respond, his posture straight, gaze fixed ahead.
"…We're nearing the central district," he said after a moment.
Rentaro leaned slightly to the side, trying to catch a better look outside.
"…So this is the main part of the city, huh…"
Shizuka turned a page in her book.
"…Not quite," she said calmly. "If what Bernard implied is correct…"
Her eyes lifted briefly.
"…Most likely we're heading somewhere more significant."
A faint shift in the carriage followed as it began to slow.
Bernard exhaled quietly.
"We're here."
The carriage slowed to a steady halt, the faint jolt running through the cabin.
For a brief moment, no one moved.
Then the sound of boots approached from outside, followed by the soft clink of armor. The door opened with a quiet creak.
Light spilled in.
A uniformed guard stepped out of the carriage, posture straight.
"We've arrived, Master Bernard," he said.
Bernard was the first to step out, his expression already set, composed. He turned slightly, gesturing for the others to follow.
Lilou didn't hesitate, slipping past Rentaro and hopping down with barely contained excitement, her eyes already darting around to take everything in.
Shizuka closed her book and stood, moving without a word.
Rentaro lingered for just a second longer.
Then he stepped down.
The air felt different.
Quieter.
More controlled.
Before him stood a large estate, its structure refined but not overly extravagant, stone walls, tall windows, and guards stationed at a distance rather than crowding the entrance.
Rentaro's eyes moved across it, taking in every detail.
"…ehh, such a huge place, this Adler guy must be rich or something." he muttered.
Bernard adjusted his posture slightly, and he began walking forward.
After a brief pause, Rentaro followed.
The sound of their footsteps echoed softly as the path shifted from an open stone walkway to a more enclosed corridor lined with tall pillars. It was as if the hall itself was judging them, taking a glimpse inside of their past, present, and future and shifting it to conclude their being.
Awfully quiet, with guards stationed every so often.
"...this hall gives me chills…" stated Rentaro. "And what's with the over-the-top uniforms?"
Indeed, every guard wore basically the same fit overall, with the only difference being their height, hair, and small emblems on their sleeves. Each guard possessed a different coloured symbol, some had blue ones, some had red ones, some had white ones, and some didn't have any at all. What intrigued Rentaro the most was a lone guard wearing a semi-green uniform, completely different from the others. His emblem was… black?
That's weird, he thought.
Rentaro glanced at the guard, as soon as he did, the guard glanced back, and Rentaro immediately regretted looking in his direction
Eventually, they reached the main entrance.
Two large doors stood ahead, carved with subtle markings. Guards were posted nearby, but none of them moved to stop the group. Instead, they stepped aside silently as if expecting them.
Then…
A presence made itself known.
From the side of the entrance, a figure stepped forward.
A girl.
She looked human at first glance, but the wolf-like ears atop her head and the faint gray tones in her hair immediately broke that impression. Her eyes were sharp, alert, scanning the group with quick precision. Furthermore, she wore what looked like a conductor hat. To Rentaro at least that was the only way he could describe it.
"N-No way…w-wolf people?" Rentaro commented.
She tilted her head slightly with a serious, annoyed look.
"…How rude of you. You must be the person we were waiting for."
Before anyone else could respond, Bernard let out a quiet but audible laugh.
"Lina!" he said, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "It's been a while."
The girl's ears twitched slightly at the sound of her name.
Bernard studied her for a moment, almost amused.
"Last time I saw you, you were barely tall enough to reach the counter. Always
causing trouble."
Lina's expression shifted instantly.
"Ehh, that was so long ago," she muttered, crossing her arms as she turned her face slightly away.
Her ears flicked again, betraying her irritation more than her words did.
Bernard chuckled softly.
"I can see that."
"Don't treat me like a kid," she snapped, though the edge of her voice didn't carry much weight.
Behind them, the atmosphere remained tense but now layered with something lighter, almost familiar, as the group stood at the threshold of Adler's estate.
"…A-anyways," Lina cleared her throat, straightening her posture slightly. "Master Bernard requested assistance from Master Adler, no? And Master Adler kindly accepted."
Lina's gaze shifted briefly past Bernard and Shizuka, settling directly on Rentaro.
"…However," she continued, her tone returning to something more firm, "Master Adler was kind enough to accept your settlement but has made one thing clear."
Lina glared at the group.
"Only the boy is to enter."
The words landed cleanly.
Lilou blinked while pouting.
"Ehh? Why just him? I wanted to meet Adler tooo!"
Bernard didn't react immediately, but his eyes narrowed slightly as if he had expected this.
"I see," he muttered under his breath.
Shizuka's expression remained unchanged, though her eyes flicked toward Rentaro for a brief moment.
Lina crossed her arms, ears twitching once as she added.
"The rest of you are to wait outside until master Adler is finished… or leave, frankly, I do not care."
Rentaro stayed quiet for a moment, letting the words settle.
"Only me?" he repeated, glancing between Lina and Bernard.
His eyes narrowed slightly, not in suspicion, but in thought.
"Master Adler is cautious about newcomers," Lina exclaimed. "He only requested to see you specifically."
Rentaro remembered what Shizuka had told him: "Be cautious".
This is my chance to learn more…
If I'm going to be alone with Adler, then I need to be cautious. I can't let him find out about my true identity…not that there is "an identity", but then again…
"Alright then…"
Rentaro, with a serious look, stepped forward while glancing a look at Shizuka.
"It's time to get serious."
***
Walking between the halls of this great estate was Rentaro, accompanied by Lina. The wolf girl cautiously guided him through the long halls. Her face was serious, not much lack of joy, just serious. To Rentaro, it resembled Shizuka's serious look, although he thought no one could replicate "that" look.
The halls were quiet.
Long, polished stone corridors with tall windows lining one side. Light cut through them in clean, sharp angles, casting the floor in pale strips which highlighted the long carpet.
"Your comrades were escorted out a short while ago," Lina said, gaze staying forward.
Rentaro got confused.
"Ehh? Comrades? What does that mean?"
"The old man and the two girls. They are your companions, no?"
"Oh. Well, if you say it like that..."
His uncertainty conflicted with his reaction. He didn't even know why he felt that way, and it showed, Lina noticed.
"Master Bernard left early," she continued. "Someone contacted him. He said he had people to meet, if I were you I wouldn't expect him to return early."
Ah, Bernard did mention he'd had to leave for the time being. Although he didn't tell me how long he'd be gone for. Not that he owes me an explanation. But still…
"What's with the fancy "Master" stuff anyways?"
Lina glanced at him briefly.
"Is there a problem with that?"
"No, it's just… the old man runs a cafe and…"
Lina's ear twitched.
"Master is the lowest title I could refer to him by," she said flatly.
Rentaro stared at her.
"Lowest?"
Lina took a second.
"When you come across people that are leagues far beyond your own, you must refer to them with their proper titles. I'm quite shocked that you of all people refer to 'Master Bernard' without a title at all. I myself am a companion of Master Adler, and I always make sure to address my Master with his proper title."
Rentaro was taken aback by Lina's statement.
"S-sorry…I didn't know," he said finally.
Lina glanced at him sideways.
"That much is obvious."
Her ear flicked once as she turned her gaze back to the corridor ahead.
"Sir Bernard's name carries weight in places most people will never set foot in," she continued, her tone settling into something quieter. More deliberate. "You wouldn't be talking about a Defender's name in that way, would you?."
Rentaro's eyes narrowed slightly. His mind filled with questions, but his body was too scared to ask, ehhh? defeeeenders? What even is that?
The corridor narrowed slightly toward the end, the ceiling dropping just enough to feel more enclosed. Less grand. More deliberate.
Lina's pace slowed.
Just enough that Rentaro matched her without thinking, his footsteps falling softer against the floor.
Then she stopped.
He stopped beside her.
A tall door stood at the corridor's end, its frame carved with clean, precise lines, nothing ornate, nothing decorative. Just structure. Just weight.
Lina's hand rested against the frame without pushing it open yet.
"What I will say," Lina said, ears still, voice even, "is that a man like Master Bernard choosing to help a boy like you is not something that happens without reason."
She finally looked at him directly.
"So the fact that he brought you here… says more about him than you probably realize."
Just as she said those words, she turned around to leave without a second glance.
Rentaro stared at the door.
Bernard…
The man who called Rentaro "family".
Was now keeping secrets from him?
Rentaro's hand reached for the handle and slowly opened the door.
****
Upon entering the room, Rentaro first noticed piles of books scattered across the floor, each book with unique covers and colours.
Not shelved and certainly not stacked with any particular care.
"Man, this place is a mess."
Book. Just… placed. Wherever they landed, apparently.
Some were open, face down against the floor. Others had loose papers slipped between pages, and some had weird drawings in them that Rentaro didn't recognize.
Rentaro stepped around another pile carefully.
"Ehh, quite a weird place for someone with that kind of recognition."
Then he heard it. A voice.
Quiet at first.
It was unmistakably barely above a murmur.
"…Apple trees and pear trees were blooming…"
Rentaro's steps slowed.
"…Mist was floating on the river…"
A voice. Low and unhurried, carrying the words the way someone does when they aren't aware they're singing at all.
Or simply don't care.
It was coming from behind an elegant looking desk.
Rentaro stepped further into the room. He had a better view now, he could see the remainders of a clean organized room beyond the piles of books.
"…Katyusha came out on the bank…"
He turned a page.
"…On the steep and lofty bank…"
His hands moved. Inspecting, or maybe underlining something onto the pages he was reading. The man's aura was noticeably uncanny, to the point where Rentaro noticed.
Then silence again.
As if the person singing ran out of air.
Rentaro stood still for a moment.
…Who the hell is this man?"
"Sit down."
The voice was calm.
Not loud. Not sharp. Just like the way someone sets something heavy on a table without effort, knowing it will stay exactly where they put it.
Rentaro sat in front of the man's desk, a chair placed there conveniently.
The man didn't look at him directly.
Rentaro could feel the unwavering aura that this man had inside of him, from his movement to his looks…
Rentaro took a moment to look at the man properly.
From his neck hung a pair of goggles, resting against the collar of a white patterned robe, its surface marked with symbols Rentaro couldn't recognize. Dark hair. Sharp profile. The kind of face that gave nothing away. Not exactly unemotional, not exactly.
…Looks like a scientist.
A very strange one. A very magical one.
A very… scary one, Rentaro thought.
After a moment the man's eyes met his.
Pale. Still. Carrying the full, undivided weight of someone who had spent years fully understanding things.
They didn't move from Rentaro's face.
Not once.
The room felt smaller suddenly.
…Ah.
I get it, so that's the kind of person he is.
"You must be Rentaro, correct?"
"And you must be m-master Adler?"
The person in front of Rentaro, Adler, took a moment to answer.
"I'd prefer it if you called me by my real title, I'm a doctor, not more, no less."
"...Doctor Adler, so why exactly did you want to—"
"Are you familiar with the concept of fate, Rentaro?"
The question landed cleanly in the middle of his sentence, not in an aggressive way, not in a dismissive way. Just placed there. Precisely. The way Adler seemed to do everything, maybe out of curiosity? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? What?
Rentaro stared at him for a moment.
What is this man asking me?
"...Not really, I'd like to think I do, the concept of it, but I don't get it at all..."
Adler's pale eyes stayed on him, at first, he was quiet, but he began.
"Fate," he said, "is not a concept most people understand. They hear the word, and they think of destiny. Romance. The idea that somewhere, written in the fabric of existence, there is a plan designed specifically for them, and an untold story waiting to be preached." He paused. "That is not what fate is."
He turned slightly, though not fully, toward Rentaro.
"An invisible force maybe, something more, something more magical, indifferent to everyone's actions and beliefs, it pulls you in more and more, without asking, because you walk the path made by it."
He continued.
"Would you think every action taken is made by oneself? Every action made, every word spoken, every decision you believed in with one hundred percent certainty is actually yours and yours alone? That the moment you decided to turn left instead of right, to speak instead of stay silent, to reach out instead of pull away, that moment was already accounted for. Already written into the sequence long before you arrived at it."
Rentaro stood silent, his mind… his mind could recall… situations like these… his confident face distorted into an awkward mess of confusion.
"We were born to believe that choices are sacred, that what matters is a person's beliefs. People find comfort in what they don't fully understand, and that's exactly the point, fate is not reassuring, to suggest otherwise feels like an insult." He looked at Rentaro steadily. "But comfort and truth have never had much to do with each other."
"..."
"There are people in this world who exist at what I call pressure points. Intersections where the current of fate is strongest. Where the most force is concentrated. These individuals do not choose to be there. They are not special in any way they decide themselves. They simply… are. And because they are, the world bends around them. Events accelerate. Consequences compound. The people near them are caught in the pull whether they want to be or not."
He looked at Rentaro directly.
"Then there's the opposition, people who, despite being challenged by the 'strings of fate,' stand against it, they don't want to be predetermined by someone, they want a future they and only they choose, their wills hold out. Hope? Maybe. Maybe not.
The room was very quiet.
Outside, somewhere, the city continued without them, a moment in time.
Adler folded his hands together.
"I have told you what fate is. I have told you what it does. I have told you what happens to the people who stand at the center of it." He tilted his head slightly, just a fraction. "So tell me, Rentaro."
A pause.
"What do you think?"
Rentaro was quiet for a moment. His mind went back, weeks ago, when [that] girl confronted him.
He looked at the desk. Then the window. Not making eye contact with Adler.
"…When I found myself here… when I began to feel my senses," he started slowly, "I didn't know anything. Not my name. Not where I was. Not even if I was supposed to be alive or keep living." He paused. "I just… stood there. In the middle of a city full of people, and I couldn't think of a single reason to move."
Adler said nothing.
"I didn't feel scared, exactly. I just felt…uhh what's the word? Like a room with no furniture in it, just walls and nothing inside."
He looked down at his hands briefly.
"Then this little girl grabbed my hand and dragged me somewhere warm. A kind lady gave me food. An old man gave me a place to stay." A short pause. "And a girl made me think reeeally hard about the future. I didn't ask for any of that. I didn't choose it either, I guess it just… happened."
He leaned back slightly in the chair while placing his hands behind his head.
"But then things after that… are things I chose to do. Or at least it felt like I did."
He frowned faintly, not at Adler, just at the thought itself.
"Bernard tells me to do stuff, and that's fine by me. I could choose not to do them, but that would be unpleasant for him, I guess. And I don't really enjoy talking to people. It's uncomfortable most of the time and I never really know what to say." He scratched the side of his head. "But somewhere along the way I started doing it anyway. Not because someone told me to. Just because…"
A moment skipped between the conversation as if Rentaro's mind cleared completely only to confront Adler's question.
"But, every time Lilou teases me, or Marlene waters the plants, every time I pick up a new flower I see outside or think of something interesting… anything I do afterwards… the decision is mine and mine alone."
Rentaro thinks back to a few days ago when Lilou demanded that he play hide and seek inside the cafe with her. He was hesitant at first, he thought it was stupid and pointless, but he figured if it was for the sake of Lilou leaving him alone, he would do it. And he actually found it amusing
"Sooo, I don't have a clue what you're talking about. Frankly, all that crazy talk you did sounds stupid and lame."
And just like a bunghole, Rentaro put a stop to Adler's curiosity, or so it seemed. Adler didn't react, didn't flinch, he just stared Rentaro for a moment longer, then…
"Rentaro…"
With a swift move, Adler extended his hand towards Rentaro.
"Tell me…"
Adler's hand reached Rentaro's chest.
"Do you know… what a Fate bringer is?"
Adler's extended hand was resting on Rentaro's chest.
"uhh, ehh??"
Rentaro felt a weird sensation all over his body, he couldn't explain what it was, but he felt very… watched. His confidence was completely depleted.
"H-huh?? ...I-I have no ideaaa…"
Rentaro stammered, his expression caught somewhere between shock and confusion.
The silence stretched a second longer than it should have.
Adler slowly retrieved his hand.
"Very well."
He looked… relieved. For some reason.
Adler's hurtful glare turned into a more relaxed stare. Just after he spoke, he picked up his chair and sat right in front of Rentaro.
"Listen, kid." Adler started. "When Bernard first told me about your… condition, I didn't believe him. But now, witnessing you right here makes me think this impossibility isn't so unfathomable after all."
Rentaro stared back at the man who's now seated right in front of him.
"Listen, uhh, Doctor… Adler, I don't really understand what your point is with all this weird 'fate' talk-"
"…Let me explain something to you," Adler said."The pure existence of a person, the thing that makes them what they are, what they'll become, and who they currently are, is determined by one thing." He paused. "Their core."
Rentaro's mind went back to what Shizuka told him, she didn't mention anything about a "core". So much for all that studying, ehhhh.
Adler continued, his voice steady as ever, as if explaining this concept to Rentaro was everything to him.
"This 'core', every being has it, the manifestation of one's true self, everything beneath the surface. This 'core' is linked with people's brains, more specifically with people's memories, their experiences, their moments of happiness, their moments of pain, all stored inside their 'core'."
Rentaro's eyes are focused straight onto Adler.
"This is the exact reason why magic differs so much from person to person, every individual experiencing life in a different way, in a different direction, with different meanings. All that affects their core differently. Their energy force dispels differently. Sure, the capacity for how much mana someone could hold inside their core is biological, but the systematic way of using it is completely up to the individual."
Rentaro blinked.
"Do you understand?"
"Ehh, uhh, I think so!"
Rentaro tried to picture a baby, freshly born, blinking up at a world it didn't understand yet, no memories, no experience, nothing to draw from, and beside it an old wizard, weathered and wise, a life stretched across decades of adventure and hardship, a mind layered thick with everything he'd lived through, so the baby's magic would be weak and the wizard's would be strong, but then what did that make him, no memories, no past to speak of, yet somehow standing here, functioning, thinking, not like a baby at all... so which one was he supposed to be?
"H-hey… hey wait a minute, are you implying I'm like a baby–"
"By every principle I have just described, your existence is a mere impossibility. No foundation. No shape. Nothing for magic to draw from." Adler's gaze sharpened. "And yet you sit here, entirely stable. Coherent. Capable of reason, judgment, the moment you gained awareness should also have been your last… yet here we are."
The room fell quiet for a moment.
Rentaro shifted slightly under the weight of that stare.
"…So what," he said finally, "you're saying I shouldn't exist?"
"I'm saying," Adler replied, "that whatever is keeping you alive is something I don't understand." He paused. "And I don't know what that means for you going forward. Whether your core stabilizes. Whether it grows stronger, weaker, or fractures entirely under the wrong conditions. I have no data for a case like yours."
Rentaro frowned.
"Ehhh, That's not exactly reassuring..."
"It isn't meant to be." Adler's tone stayed even. "I'm not going to pretend I know something I don't. I don't know what you'll become, Rentaro. No one does. Not even me."
He slowly rose from his desk, moving toward the window, hands finding their place behind his back.
"What I do know," he continued, "is that a core with no foundation tends to be shaped by whatever fills it first. And right now, yours is about as empty as I've ever encountered." He glanced back. "So my only real recommendation, and it isn't a scientific one, is that you should try to become someone decent. While you still can."
Rentaro stared at him
"…Decent how? That's kind of vague, doctor."
Adler was quiet for a moment, gazing out the window at something Rentaro couldn't see.
"Where I came from," he said finally, "there was a man. He wore the stars as a charm, if I remember correctly." A faint pause. "People called him a warrior, a fighter, a soldier. A symbol. All sorts of things."
Rentaro tilted his head slightly, listening.
"But the interesting part was never the title," Adler continued. "He didn't fight because a crown told him to. He wasn't defending some throne, some legacy or some bloodline, or whatever nation happened to claim him." He turned back toward Rentaro. "He fought because he cared about the people standing behind that flag."
"…That's it? So what?"
"I'm not telling you to become a soldier, or a hero, or whatever grand thing you're imagining ." He sat, reaching for his pen again. "I'm telling you that if your core is going to be shaped by something, you could do far worse than that."
Rentaro sat there for a moment, quiet.
...A guy who fought for people, not the
crown.
He didn't fully understand why that stuck with him.
But it did.
"…Huh," he muttered. "Weird thing to bring up."
"Perhaps," Adler said, not looking up. "But you were the curious one."
Adler paused.
"Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"
For a brief moment, Rentaro's hand shifted instinctively toward his pocket, toward the small metallic compass resting inside it, the one that pointed to nothing, the one he still didn't understand.
"His knowledge might be dangerous… if he finds out what we are, this might end badly for us."
Shizuka's voice echoed in his head, calm and precise as always.
Rentaro's hand stopped halfway.
"…No," he said finally. "Nothing else."
Adler studied him for a moment, that same unreadable look from before, pale eyes searching without seeming to search at all.
Then he nodded once.
"Very well."
Rentaro stood, pushing the chair back, and made his way toward the door. He paused with his hand on the handle, glancing back.
"…So that's it? I can go?"
"You can go."
Rentaro hesitated another second, unsure why he was still standing there.
Adler, watching him, allowed something close to a small, tired smile.
"You seem like a decent kid, Rentaro,"
he said.
"Whatever it is… I'll try to help you as much as I can."
Rentaro blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in tone.
"…Huh?
Adler didn't elaborate. He'd already turned his attention back to the papers scattered across his desk, pen moving in that same slow, unhurried rhythm as before, as if the offer had already been said, filed away, and there was nothing left to add.
Rentaro stood there a moment longer.
"…T-thanks, I guess…" he said finally, quieter than he meant to.
He turned toward the door.
"Oh, and Rentaro."
He paused.
"In one week, there will be a summit. The king of Sizzelia has called upon all the defenders to show up." Adler still hadn't looked up.
"Inform Bernard. He'll understand what that means, even if he seems hesitant, try to convince him to come. And I'm hoping I'll see you there too."
Rentaro's expression was filled with confusion. What does that even mean?
"…Alright." Rentaro nodded slowly. "I'll tell him."
He pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway, the quiet swallowing the sound behind him as it clicked shut.
Adler remained seated for a moment, motionless, staring at the space where the boy had been sitting only moments before.
He sat in his chair for a few seconds, clenching his hands while touching his face.
Once a moment more, once a moment less, and once and only once he left, his thoughts became much clearer to him.
"You let him go."
A voice.
Between the dark, dark shadows of a bookshelf, a voice made itself known to Adler.
Adler didn't turn his head to acknowledge the voice, he plainly answered.
"I did, didn't I?"
A woman stepped out from the darkness, her movements silent, deliberate, the kind of quiet that came from years of not being noticed until she wanted to be. Her hand rested loosely near her side.
"I was reeady," she said simply. "One word from you and it would have been over before he understood what was happening, honestly, Adler, I would have made it painless."
The woman spoke in a snarky playful tone, quite unserious.
"I know."
"So why didn't you give me a signal?"
"Because he isn't a Fate Bringer, Claudia… he's not one of them…"
The woman, whose name appeared to be Claudia, narrowed her eyes. "You're ceeertain?"
"I'm certain." He leaned back. "I searched. Thoroughly. There was no resistance. No defensive pull from his core."
Claudia studied him for a long moment, her expression carried an 'i told you so' weight.
"Heh, Well, that's a relief, look at you making a big deal out of nothing again!"
Her expression became more relaxed.
"Then whaaat is he exactly?"
"I don't know," he admitted quietly.
Claudia said nothing, waiting.
"His core… his core has no foundation," Adler continued. "No memory. No history for it to draw from. By every principle I understand, that boy should not have been capable of sitting in that chair, let alone speaking, reasoning, resisting a technique that has unraveled far stronger minds than his." He paused. "And yet."
His fingers tightened slightly against one another.
"There was nothing there. Not fractured. Not damaged. Not suppressed." His voice lowered, almost to himself now. "Just… empty. Completely, impossibly empty. Ever since the day I started, I haven't come across a person like this. How many more things don't I know about this world?"
The room fell silent.
Claudia watched him carefully, the concern beneath her composure barely visible, but still there.
"Why," he murmured.
"Why is he empty?"