".....Nothing here."

Leon glanced around a few times before nodding and directing his gaze elsewhere. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

He was taking his job seriously.

Although he technically didn't have to be here considering that he already had a job, he chose to participate. Mainly because his 'instincts' told him that something was going to happen here.

What exactly, he wasn't sure.

That was why he was looking around and taking note of everything.

It was so that he could detect the abnormality and stop it before it was too late.

"What are you doing?"

As he walked, a figure suddenly walked up to him. The inmates jeered and whistled at her appearance. Leon couldn't blame them.

Her aura alone made her unique, and her appearance was hard to rival.

"Here."

Unaffected by all of this, Aoife handed him a small notebook.

"The Professor asked me to hand this to you. If you find anything that you think the prison needs to work on, then you can write it on here."

Surprised, Leon raised his brows.

Aoife raised her other hand to show a similar notebook.

"I've got one too."

"...I see."

Leon took the book and casually flipped over its contents.

It was empty.

"Is it going to be anonymous or do I have to write my name?"

"Whatever you want. The Professor said that it doesn't really matter."

"Oh."

If that was the case...

He took out a pen and started to scribble a few things. A dumbfounded Aoife looked at him with wider eyes.

"You've already got complaints?"

"Several."

The prison was generally well run, but there were still things that it could improve on. Having observed for over the past few hours, he had already made a short list in his mind.

"Overcrowded. The place has far too many inmates. There are over five inmates per cell. A situation like this is bound to create problems in the future. The nutrition is also not up to par with the meal composition missing a lot of fiber and protein. Ideally, it would be best if..."

He didn't shy away and started to write all the complaints he had.

Bang!

He was suddenly distracted by a loud banging sound. When he raised his head, he saw Aoife looking in the same direction as where the noise came from.

He followed her gaze.

"....Ah."

There, in the far distance, they spotted Kiera glaring around at everyone who was looking in her direction. The two of them weren't spared from her glare as she had a gaze that seemed to say, 'What? Mind your fucking business.'

"Crazy bitch."

Aoife muttered in a voice audible enough for Leon to hear.

Leon was taken aback.

'Did I hear, right...?'

The usually quite and refined Aoife swore?

".....You don't like her?"

For quite a while, Leon noticed a strange tension between the Aoife and Kiera. Sparks flew whenever the two interacted with each other.

"I don't."

Aoife's words served to confirm this.

Leon was curious but decided to keep his curiosity to himself. It was none of this business, and he wasn't sure if his inquiry would annoy her.

But much to his surprise, it was her who elaborated...

"Do you know what the first thing she did to me when we met?"

".....No."

How would he know?

Aoife massaged her temples. From the frown on her face, it appeared that the memory was a rather unpleasant one.

"She told me to fuck off and threw a middle finger at me."

"Oh."

That sounded oddly a lot like something Kiera would do...

"So if you ask me whether I like her, the answer is no. I don't like her. She's crazy."

Bang!

"....."

Leon found himself unable to refute her words. Staring into the distance, and seeing her beat up one of the inmates into a bloody pulp, he could only shake his head and ignore the commotion.

It wasn't his job to stop her.

He was about to go back to his job when his chest suddenly tightened.

"....Um?"

A familiar sensation washed over him, prompting his gaze to drift slowly towards the distance where a solitary cell came into view. His eyes settled on an inmate seated calmly in a chair, absorbed in reading a newspaper.

With his legs crossed, and his calm poise, there seemed to be nothing strange about him, and yet...

".....Why."

Why were his instincts telling him that something was wrong?

All of a sudden, as if sensing the gaze, the inmate put the newspaper down and looked up.

Their gazes met, and Leon felt the hair at the back of his neck stand.

'This...'

Who was this guy?

***

The residential hall was rather large. It took me several hours to walk the place, and even then, I couldn't find who I was looking for.

".Is he not here?"

I was told that he had been imprisoned here. Furthermore, the vision also said something along the lines of a former Haven Professor being one of the few people to have escaped.

Was it perhaps not him and some other professor?

"Or is he locked up somewhere else?"

I found myself frowning at the situation. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

"..Just where"

I stopped mid-sentence and turned to look back.

Ah

It was there that I finally spotted him. I peered beyond the large window at the end of the hallway, toward the outdoor area. A figure sat with their back turned, their hands moving in a familiar manner.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

Even though I couldn't hear from my vantage point, observing his movements and posture sparked my imagination as I heard the sound of the pieces falling against the board, and I found myself involuntarily smiling.

Even now

He hadn't changed.

I stepped out of the residential area and onto the outdoor area.

Tak. Tak.

The nearer I got, the more pronounced the sound became. It was a sound that I hadn't heard in quite a while and felt rather nostalgic.

I eventually stopped a few meters away from him and asked,

".Can I play?"

Surprised, Professor Bucklam turned his head and our eyes met.

It was at that moment that I finally found the answer to one of the questions I had been dying to know.

"You remember, don't you?"

He sat there, his face frozen in what seemed to be shock and surprise.

I sat down on the opposite end.

Tak.

And started to fix the board.

"I haven't played since then, but I'm still confident in my ability to beat you."

Even as I said those words, he didn't react. At least not immediately.

Eventually, he let out a soft smile and mumbled in a quiet tone,

".So it wasn't a dream."

"What was?"

I already knew what he was referring to, but I still chose to pretend like I didn't know.

Tak.

"Let's get started. I'll make this a quick one."

"Ah"

With a soft sigh, he shook his head and reached his hand forward.

"You've gotten very bold after beating me once. Things won't be as easy as last time."

Tak.

He went on to move his piece.

"Your habits are the same."

Tak. "So are yours."

"What makes you think I'm not doing it on purpose?"

"Same goes for me."

We went on to bicker like that for the next few minutes. Eventually, the area around us became quiet.

Strangely, the silence didn't feel at all uncomfortable as we both focused on the game.

Tak. Tak.

Though it had been a while, I still remembered how to play, and was able to keep up with his moves. Just barely...

This went on for the next few minutes until I eventually broke the silence.

"Are you planning on escaping?"

His hand froze halfway and his head flicked up. He looked at me with a look of genuine confusion.

I didn't lift my head and continued to stare at the board.

Judging from his reaction, it was clear that he knew something.

"I won't stop you."

That was the decision I had come up with for myself.

"You can escape. I won't do anything."

"....."

I couldn't quite tell what reaction he was making since I wasn't paying attention to him, but I was sure it was filled with surprise.

For the past week, I had been debating over the situation in my mind.

I was still uncertain of the goal of the mission, however, from what I knew, it was something related to the second calamity.

Things would surely become clearer to me with time.

However, if possible, I wanted to let him go. Of course, it wasn't because I felt pity for the Professor. I did to some extent, but not to the point where I'd help him escape the place.

.....I just needed someone on my side.

"I can more or less tell why you did the things that you did. You were either promised a cure for your memory problems or threatened with your family..."

Which one it was, I wasn't sure.

However, when I lifted my gaze to observe his reaction and saw his eyes quivering, I knew that I was right.

I continued.

"It would be unfair for me to stop you. I know exactly how it feels to lose someone important to you."

Just slightly, my voice layered.

The Professor's expression cracked and his arms started to tremble.

I reached to hold it.

"You must resent the people who did this to you, right?"

The mana inside of my body started to drain. I kept my face composed and continued to make contact with him.

I felt a little disgusted with myself. Using my powers to manipulate his weakness, but... it had to be done.

For the sake of my goal.

I had to do it.

His expression started to distort and his fists started to clench. A fit of visible anger.

I continued.

".....That's why I won't stop you. If possible, I want to help you."

What was my end goal in all of this...?

I realized quite a while ago that the organization that I was dealing with was a lot more dangerous than I thought.

Even now, I was clueless about the extent of their powers, and given how they had managed to manipulate a professor and succeed in getting five inmates out of one of the top prisons in this world, I knew they were powerful.

For this reason, I needed allies.

People who could help me from the inside.

Having seen all his memories, I knew exactly what type of person he was. What he cared about the most, and how desperate his situation was.

It was for this reason that I believed he would make for the right person to use.

I squeezed his hand and my mana drained further.

I instilled even more anger within him.

"I'm sure you have some resentment against the people that did this to you. That forced you to do things that went against your morals. I fully understand where you're coming from, and that's why I want to help you."

Finally, I let go of his hand and he lifted his gaze to meet my eyes.

I smiled.

"Let's help each other."

Please...

"Tell me everything that you know about the situation. In return, I'll offer you my help in taking revenge."

Join me.