".....Is this them?"

Entering a certain room, Delilah glanced around before settling her gaze over the bodies sprawled on the floor. They weren't dead, but judging from the bruises on their bodies, they were obviously passed out.

"Did you detect anything?"

"Yes."

Standing up, a man with blonde hair and green eyes, Dr. Gabel Wright, lazily rubbed his hair.

"There's no trace of any spell being used on them."

Pinching his fingers together, which were currently covered by a blue glove, he rubbed them together.

"I believe Xyron powder was used. It's a rather weak hallucinat that can be used to turn people into mindless zombies for several hours."

The Doctor looked up to meet Delilah's gaze.

"....Of course, when I mean weak, I mean that it doesn't affect those that have reached a certain strength. I'd say above Tier 3."

Dr. Gabel went on the give Delilah a more detailed description of what the drug did.

In the end, his assessment was,

"It's good that it was taken care of before they could go out. Either way, this was no accident. That's probably pretty obvious to you already. While I am unsure who, I don't think their goal was grand. My best bet is that they were giving a warning, or testing something."

Mumbling to himself while pinching his chin with his hand, he frowned.

"....But I could just be overthinking. It's just that I have a hard time thinking they'd try anything big when you take into account that Xyron powder only turns them into mindless people who can hardly think for themselves. Even the weakest mage can take care of them."

Standing by the side, Delilah didn't say anything and just listened to the doctor's analysis.

But if one paid close attention, they'd notice a slight curl at the end of her lips.

'Finally.'

They had made a move.

She had been waiting for quite a while now, and it proved to be the right gamble.

The organization that she had been hunting for the past years, and had trouble looking for, had finally stepped away from their burrows. At the center of it all was a young cadet that she had taken as an assistant.

While they were probably aware of the fact that she had their eyes on him, they were probably also planning on using him as a means to monitor her movements.

Delilah was fine with that.

It was a game of patience, and Delilah was confident in her patience.

Whether she'd be able to get them to slip up, or she slipped up, Delilah was willing to gamble.

Because...

She had that much confidence in her strength.

"So as I was saying, we should take some time to properly investigate the situation. I believe that if news gets out that-"

Clank--

Cutting the doctor's words off, the door to the room opened and a figure walked in.

Immediately, the atmosphere around the room changed. It wasn't oppressive, but there was a certain air of regality and nobility that made one want to bow down before them.

Turning her head, Delilah made contact with the man.

His yellow pupils immediately stood out to her as he returned her gaze with a smile.

"I'm done on my end."

Closing the door behind him, he walked in and scanned the room, briefly pausing his gaze on the four cadets on the floor.

"Xyron Powder, am I right?"

"Uh?"

Stunned, the doctor looked at him. Atlas chuckled in return.

"The ones that did make it out to the stage also were affected by the powder."

"They were...?"

The sudden revelation stunned the doctor who blinked his eyes repeatedly.

"Haha, yeah. You probably didn't notice, but we all did during the play. I got several questions asking me whether something had happened. I had to tell them that it was all merely part of the act and a new way of 'method' acting."

".....Is this true?"

Turning his head, the doctor faced Delilah who blinked her eyes once before nodding.

"Yes."

"Ah, this...!"

"There's no need to worry."

Atlas reassured in a calm tone.

"They're being taken care of by others. They are currently unaware of what happened to them. A talented cadet had noticed that something was off during the play, and had the cadets escorted away to keep an eye on them."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Delilah watched the entire exchange from the side.

The entire time, her gaze wandered over to Atlas. He was an enigma to her.

As a member of the Megrail family, a very high-ranking member at that, one that could compete for the throne, he chose to work at Haven.

It was a choice that didn't make sense.

While it was also true that people thought the same way about her, she had also made her ambition rather clear.

'We don't have much time.'

The speed at which the Mirror Dimension was expanding was rapidly increasing each year, and Delilah knew that it wouldn't take long before the entire world was swallowed up.

For this reason, she chose to work at Haven.

With her strength, she wanted to help out and nurture the future generation.

It was also because of her ambition that she stood on the opposite end of the Megrail family.

Their tyrannical laws that stunted the growth of the younger generation were something that she wanted to be removed at all costs.

For them to survive in the future...

She had no choice but to oppose them.

And for that very reason, Delilah treated Atlas with the utmost caution. Was he here to monitor her, or did he have another goal in being here?

"Hm?"

As if sensing her gaze, he turned his head and their gazes met.

"Ah, right. You want to know about Julien, right? I had a talk with him like I told you before."

"....."

"He is doing fine. There are no injuries on him. He said he was a little startled by the situation, but hardly noticed it because he was so immersed in his role. Thinking about it, he did a wonderful job."

"....."

"In any case, you don't have to worry about him. He doesn't seem to be involved in this matter."

".....I see."

Delilah quietly nodded her head. Keeping her usual composure, she took one last glance at the bodies beneath before heading out of the room.

She felt uncomfortable in Atlas's presence.

Even though he was weaker than her, he gave off an unpleasant feeling.

Passing by him, she heard a few parting words from him.

"I heard he's your assistant. Do take care of him. He's quite talented."

Those were the last words she heard before leaving.

As she left, her lips gently opened as she quietly mumbled.

"I know."

***

The Festival was an event that hosted many attractions. In particular the play, and the combat experience by the cadets.

Unfortunately, due to some circumstances, it was postponed by the Academy for the next month. While some of the guests were understandably annoyed, there was nothing they could do about it.

....And with that, the festival neared its end.

"Haaa...."

It was dark outside, and I sat on a bench. Leaning against it, I stared at the night sky. It was filled with stars, and the moon shone brightly.

The sight was one that always took my breath.

In the last moments of my life, the only thing that I remember seeing was the ceiling lights of the hospital room.

The air I now breathed felt refreshing. A stark contrast to the stifling one in the hospital room.

Every day, I'd just take a few moments to appreciate what I once took for granted. It was weird, but losing everything made me understand just how important the little things were to me.

"....A dumb thought."

"What is?"

A figure appeared beside me all of a sudden. When I turned my head, I saw Leon standing on the other end of the bench.

With his hands in his pockets, he similarly stared at the moon.

"I took care of the ones that were probably going to give you a hard time."

"Oh."

"...."

"...."

He turned his head.

"A word of thanks?"

I tilted my head.

"Aren't you my knight?"

"I am."

"Okay."

"....."

"What?"

".....I'm thinking of resigning."

"What a pity. I'm not paying for your severance fee."

"....."

"....."

None of us said another word as the surroundings were engulfed in silence. I thought it'd be like that until one of us spoke again, but strangely, the silence was shattered by Leon who covered his mouth with his hand.

"Pftt."

"....?"

Was this guy...

"Are you laughing?"

For some reason, just faintly, my lips pulled up into a smile.

There was something about Leon holding his laugh back that felt contagious. Shaking my head, I looked up at the sky again.

It was Leon who spoke first.

"You're different compared to him."

"I know."

It became clear to me after my last talk.

".....You know what he told me the last time I told him I would quit?"

"What did he say?"

"Nothing, he just slapped me."

"..."

Blinking, I looked back to Leon.

"Should I have done that too?"

"You can try."

"Hmm..."

I thought about it for a good second before shaking my head.

"I'm not into that stuff."

It's definitely not because I was afraid he'd slap back.

Staring at me for a brief moment, Leon shook his head and leaned back on the bench. As his smile started to fade, he started to speak.

"Do you miss it?"

"Miss it....?"

Miss what?

"Home."

"Ah..."

Home... Right, I had one. Or did I?

Thinking back, I never truly had a home. I wasn't rich enough to be able to afford a proper one. I was only able to rent a small studio apartment while I paid for my brother's education.

The reality of the matter was that I had no home.

But even so.

"I do."

Because my home was wherever my little brother was.

"....Is that so?"

I turned to look at Leon.

"What about you?"

It had been a while since I knew him, but in actuality, I hardly knew anything about him. Besides the fact that he was my knight, he was a complete enigma to me.

I was a little curious.

"Do you miss your home?"

"...."

At first, Leon didn't say anything. I thought I had touched a sour spot, but just as I was about to speak again, he spoke over me.

"I don't remember."

"....?"

"I see it sometimes. When I sleep."

"In your dreams?"

"....Yes."

Leon nodded his head.

"My youngest memory is that of when I first joined the Evenus household when I was young. I think I was ten, or twelve. Been a while now."

"Is that how you met Julien?"

"Yes."

Frowning, Leon continued,

"He was a lot milder back then. He used to smile a lot and was quite talented. He was the pride of the family."

"Then...?"

Leon's voice changed, lowering a bit.

".....He changed."

Right. That much I expected.

"It wasn't a quick change. It happened gradually. Over the years. I told you before, but he used to smile a lot. At some point, he stopped smiling, and he turned into a completely different person."

With a subtle laugh, Leon shook his head.

"....And just as I had started to get used to his new self, he changed again."

Turning his head, our eyes met.

"You came along."

"Ah."

Right, I did.

I opened my mouth to reply but closed it a moment later. In the end, I didn't really know how to reply to that.

"Don't worry."

Eventually, Leon shook his head and stood up.

"I'm not interested in trying to find a way to bring the old Julien back. He's probably long gone. Maybe it's good that way."

Brushing his hair, he took one last glance in my direction.

"I didn't expect our conversation to spiral this way. Originally, I was just planning on telling you about the situation with the cadets that you took care of. In the end, I ended up rumbling about myself. I'll leave now."

He was just about to leave when his steps halted.

From the tilt of his head, he appeared to be struggling to say his words until eventually, he lowered his head to mutter.

"....It was a great performance."

"Hm?"

And then he truly left.

Did he just...

"Ha."

Staring at his back which slowly started to fade from my view, I shook my head and looked up at the sky.

It was at that moment that my chest prickled slightly. The emotions from the performance were still lingering in my mind.

They weren't as pronounced, but they were clearly there.

"Emotions, huh."

I think...

I was slowly starting to understand them.

***

Volume [1] - End

A rather short volume, but it was the introductory volume for the story. To get an understanding of the characters, and the power system before the story can start flowing more smoothly.

The next volume will be a little bit different.

And no. I'm not taking a break.