Announcing my decision to Master and Aide was my biggest mistake, and now they're messaging me like crazy, as though I had won a major competition. I left them on read, because we'll be seeing each other soon enough.

There's another name for Eurus Keeper Main Office; Woodcut. Sadly, it's not made out of wood, but it does have a cute sound to it. Everything all you need to know about Eurus' security, this office has it. Offices located in other nations are either branch offices or liaison offices. As of now, it stands as the tallest building in Cathures, complete with a complex of smaller buildings housing various Departments. Inside the main building, the crowd is expectedly packed and dense. People roaming from one division to another with bags and papers within their grasp, working day and night to ensure Eurus’ safety and well-being.

The significance of Keeper as a major part of Tellus' infrastructure made itself a dream job for countless youngsters out there. I’m proud to say I wasn’t among that consensus, with my family problems and all. I heard the administrative procedures are strict and highly specific enough to discourage applicants from proceeding into the entry test, but given the importance of this organization, that might have been a given decision. 

Reconciliation is underway, but it will take a long time for things to return to how it used to. On the bright side, this could very well be a major advancement towards my path to mend my mistakes. Maybe, this is what I've been lacking towards that goal. 

At the lobby, I sit alone, ignoring glares that are most definitely directed at me. The worst part of coming here is that everyone knows me already as both Roland Richter's niece and a Defiled. 

"YOU!!"

"Ugh, really..."

A familiar voice caught me by surprise. Turning around, I never found myself so irritated at someone with curly chestnut-colored hair before. Although his rim glasses give him the image of an intellectual, I don't think he is, at least his emotional level.

"...Hi, Edward."

Allow me to introduce what could be the massive jerk in Keeper, at least in Eurus. His name is Edward Clarence. He's rich and holds an important position in the Treasury Department. His family owns a real estate business which he manages from time to time, and he's my biggest hater to date. 

Tellusen has a reason to hate Defiled. Sadly, this doesn't apply to him. His hatred towards Defiled, or just me, actually stems from his father's teaching, instructing that all Defiled are meant to be an object of resentment, and he nodded at his words like a good son he is. In other words, his hatred is not his.

What a massive jerk Daddy's good boy has become.

Edward is the biggest contributor of slurs directed at me so far in my life. Too much, to the point where it slowly becomes a part of my daily life. Rather than weeping over it, I consider it like a fly buzzing around me. In fact, his presence made my life less duller. If anything, it would be bizarre to see him not cursing me. 

“If that’s the case, then finish whatever you’re doing and leave this building at once! Imagine the unrest upon knowing there’s a Defiled within Keeper’s premise!”

Keeper's stance against Defiled has always been ambiguous, despite their recruitment isn't only limited to Tellusen. To prove themselves, Keeper officers are forbidden for unleashing their Trait, and are subjected to an assigned weapon during duty. If I remember correctly, the "release" of their Trait can only be announced when the situation has risen to a crises, but this restriction is limited mostly to low rank officers. People like my uncle, and those who directly answer to him are not bound to this rule. 

At the same time, however, no matter how much the press demands a response about Defiled from them, they tend to switch the topic rather than answering. Although they claim to be fighting against "ideology" instead of a particular group, it must be difficult for their Defiled members to be forced into battling their own kin. 

“Relax. That’s what I’m planning to do anyway, and speaking of obligations, aren’t you supposed to be somewhere, Edward? Or maybe, are you slacking right now? My, what will happen to the department if they realize their most prolific officer is lounging in the lobby wasting his precious time arguing with a Defiled~”

I’ve never been this satisfied before arguing with him, and the look of worry in his face just made things better. Especially with how surprisingly easy it is to beat him in arguments.