"Busy day?" 

—Tik

The bartender placed a small glass on the wooden counter. 

"Kind of." 

Picking up the glass, she placed it on her lips and downed it in a single gulp. 

"Another."

She said, placing the glass back on the counter. 

"Yes." 

'I got the research, but what am I supposed to do with it?'

She pondered, absent mindedly tapping against the wooden counter. 

'Maybe I should check it out before handing it back. I have to see if he was the real deal, or just another one of those nobles.'

She was thinking about the black cube she had retrieved from the woman earlier. 

What was it? 

'I only got it because the Princess seemed interested in him, but he wasn't that weak either.'

—Cling cling

The sound of the bells chimming filled the air. 

The two bells that hung over the door rung everytime someone came in or left, making Wyge not pay much heed to it. 

"Ah! Boss?" 

She heard the bartender speak, referring to someone as Boss. 

'Boss? He's here? Nah. He calls everyone a boss.'

She dismissed it off as another trivial customer, nothing worth her attention. 

The chatter behind her was clear and concise. 

"What would you like, young lady?" 

A deep and strong voice spoke out. 

Despite her paying zero attention, she could hear the words clearly. 

This was mainly because her senses were much more enhanced than regular humans. 

Being a Four-star, her senses could be considered greater than average, humans, even awakeners. 

But it was strange. 

Strange that she could hear the deep voice despite blocking it off. 

"I'll take a Green Punch." 

The cheerful voice that followed however came in muffled. 

She couldn't make out the words, however the voice sounded eerily familiar and...very similar. 

A sudden thought appeared at the back of her head. 

'Doesn't that sound like her?'

She knew it wouldn't be her, but she still lifted her head, wiping off her groggy eyes. 

"Ever tried one of those?" 

The deeper voice spoke again. 

"I thought I told you, Boss, I've never been outside—much." 

"Oh, ho? Boss? Doesn't that sound a bit formal?" 

"Not at all. If you think about it, isn't that more apt?" 

The deep voice laughed, "Hahahaa! It does have a nice ring to it." 

Wyge couldn't believe her eyes, but she dismissed it, thinking she was seeing things. 

"Milady... why are you here?" 

Daniela couldn't believe it, and tried to shrug it off with an indecent tone. 

"Ah. Wyge, heya. Whatcha doing here?" 

"Whatcha... Princess! What are you doing out here at night?!" 

She stood up, slamming her palm on the counter. 

"It's dangerous, and there are many—Sir!"

Daniela noticed how Wyge's eyes shifted over to Martin behind her, her voice dropping slightly. 

Before Daniela could register the events, she noticed the bartender and Martin stand before her with lowered heads. 

"Eh?" 

Daniela made an annoyed mutter. 

Why? 

She was not used to this kind of formality, nor did she like the fact that authority often changed how they are perceived—she greatly disliked the shift in treatment. 

"Y-You are the Princess! Of course we must pay our respects." 

The bartender muttered from behind the counter, while Martin kept silence. 

"Look at what you just did, Wyge." 

Daniela turned to face Wyge who was far more surprised at how she had got out of the Palace on her own, but more importantly—her alleged befriending with the Crimson Tiger.

Her eyes kept shifting to Martin, the Sixth-star known as Crimson Tiger. 

Wyge's lips parted for a reply, "I-I... Milady, what are you doing out here at night?!" 

She brought it up again. 

Was it out of genuine care?

'How do I explain this mess?' 

Daniela made a small resounding sigh, placing a hand over her face. 

"You two," she turned to the bartender. 

"Stop that. Stand up straight, and get me that green punch." 

Twisting her head to the left, she spoke, "and you, sit. I do not like this wasted formality."

"Bu—!"

"No buts! Sit you butt down." 

_________________________

"It's somewhere around here." 

Finn waited outside the large building. 

—Yawn

Lazily stretching, he was out looking for his dear overseer. 

"I think it's that building." 

...

—Knock knock

The two knocks that fell on the door were returned with a simple reply. 

"Yes. Who's there?"

"It's me." 

He did not say much, but the person inside knew who he was even with the simplified reply. 

"I'm coming!" 

—Click clack!

The door knob twisted, and the door opened. 

Finn's eyes instantly caught the patch of red hair. 

Not like he was going to miss it, since the remarkably crimson hair stood out among the normal colours. 

Drops of water trickled down his hair dusted chest, all the way over the bump of his abdomen, a towel tied over his waist. 

"Quite unsclupted for an ex-knight." 

Finn commented. 

With a frown on his face, Jack asked, "You did not have to come all this way to judge me right in the morning." 

"Relax."

Finn waved him off, walking past him, into the room. 

Both of them always seems to be at ease around each other's presence. 

Sitting down at one of the chairs, he looked around the room which was slightly bigger than Finn's. 

The faculty had better treatment that students; a bigger hallway, a larger bedroom, a kitchen, while the student had to use the canteen.

Jack asked, "Would you like some tea?" 

He was holding a transparent teapot, and inside of it was a semi-transparent brown liquid. 

"Oh yes, a cup would be great." 

—Pourr!

Picking up the cup, he handed it over to Finn. 

Accepting the small gesture of welcoming treat, he flashed a smile back at him. 

"So, what does the great Finn Zen Tenebrion need this early in the morning?" 

He picked up a shirt that had been neatly resting on a nearby chair. 

Taking a sip of the tea, he said, "I'm having some trouble with my core—" 

Finn felt the shift in tension. 

It was brief and would have went unnoticed, had it not been for his senses which he had honed his past life. 

It was not as powerful, but he could use a part of it, letting him feel things beyond normal core-formation staged awakeners. 

"Trouble with core? How so?" 

Despite the shift in tension he felt, he quickly noticed it came from Jack. 

But when he looked at him, the man was still smiling, the innocent smile he wore at all times. 

'Strange...'

"I'm not sure..." Finn spoke. 

He continued, "...there are multiple sensations in my core. For example, the cold from my Cryo element, a distinct feeling of darkness, and mana." 

"Ahh! You idiot! You got all the elements jumbled up," Jack made a small chuckle. 

At these words, Finn's expression contorted, prompting him to ask, "...jumbled? But wouldn't that be extremely dangerous?" 

"It still is. The state of different types of mana tangled with each other is a bomb waiting to explode. At worst case, you could lose your core to a rejection, but—!"

"But?!" Finn looked at him with expectant eyes. 

He replied with a smirk, "There is a chance." 

"A chance?" 

"You see, mana is like a thread, a thread connected to oneself." 

Jack points at Finn. 

"When you decide to see through the different paths of your existence, you'll see more threads. But when there are way too many threads, they tangle."

"That sounds very poetic," Finn paused for a second, "...but how did these threads form? I was simply trying to form netherane." 

"Ha..." Jack ran a hand over his damp hair, "I don't know where you got the Wellington technique, but it certainly did not work well." 

A certain sense of surprise took over his expression as his mouth gaped, "...how did you know I used the Wellington technique?" 

"Oh! That's easy, there are only a number of techniques that form knots of mana like yours, and the way the mana is always fluctuating around you, it was an easy guess."

Finn couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

He had simply came here to ask for guidance, but he had not hoped for the man to know an answer to his condition. 

"I also have a solution to that problem." 

"A solution?" 

"Yep." 

Opening a nearby drawer, he pulled out a book with a strange symbol on its cover, a symbol of a blue bird. 

"A solution."

_________________________

"The Bureau was fine with it. What's wrong with you?" 

The white haired woman leaning against the lamp post asked. 

Her red gaze fell sharp on him, however the man standing in front of her did not reply. 

He placed a hand on his chin, pondering deeply about something. 

"It's not that bad, McGalen," a figure came out of the shadows. 

The pair of pearl beady eyes and the silver hair arose the question, how was he hiding in the shadow, so seamlessly?

"Not that bad? We're talking about lives." 

The brooding man replied to the figure who formed out of the shadow. 

His expression changed. 

McGalen spoke, lifting his chin to face the duo. 

"I know I was the one who pushed the idea, but did we not change too much?" 

His voice wavered at the words, unsure of the decision he took. 

Regret seemed to loom over his once sure choice. 

"McGalen, dude, come on," the white haired man got closer, throwing a hand over his shoulder. 

"It's just happening a bit different from our prediction, how bad could it be?" 

"Because—I was there when we made that man, Ambrose." 

The white haired man seemed to twitch at how he called his name. 

"Eh...it feels very weird when you call me by my name."

"Wait..." 

The woman cut in, asking, "What do you mean you were there?" 

"Hwaa, it's just as I said, I was there, and he is dangerous, beyond—"

"You mean the others inside him?" Ambrose asked. 

"No..." shaking his head, McGalen replied. 

"That's far from him. The one with the smile..."

"Leaving that aside, where did you send the Princess girl?" 

Hwaa took a step forward, flauting her white robes before poking on McGalen's forehead. 

Shrugging off her hand, McGalen replied, "...that one, the one we gave the Monarch of Goodwil." 

"Oh? Why that world?" 

"Why do you even ask? It's the best choice." 

"Ha... I see."

"Hey! I thought we were going to get dinner, not discuss work." 

Ambrose, the white haired man stepped closer, pulling the woman and the man closer. 

"I get to chose this time." 

"Whatever," McGalen replied. 

_________________________

—Beep beep beep beep

'Uhh... What's that smell?' 

A strange smell lingered around. 

She felt her throat tighten at this, but she had zero control over body. 

All the girl knew was, she was laying in a bed. 

Even the lids protecting her eyes refused to open, refused to let her see. 

Thankfully, breathing or necessary actions weren't reprimanded by the unseen phenomenon she had faced. 

'I went to sleep, and then this is how I've been feeling. At first I panicked, but I still couldn't open my eyes, or even move my hands, not that the situation has changed.'

She wanted to tilt her head, and bring up her hand to rub and warm them up since the air was extremely cold. 

There was a blanket or something of sort over her, and from what she could feel, she had figured out her clothing was a gown. 

—Beep beep beep beep

The constant beeping sound kept her mind from drifting off far. 

Finally...

She was able to make a sound, her lips parted succesfully, while her eyes slowly pulled itself open. 

The sudden intervention of light blinded her for a moment, leaving her mind incapacitated for a brief moment. 

"Ahhh!" 

She made a loud gasp, bringing up her hand to block out the light. 

—Beep beep beep beep 

"She's awake!" 

Someone called out. 

It wasn't a familiar voice, but she was not familiar with everyone in the medical ward either. 

But she had expected the sound of a relative, maybe her brother or even her father. 

"Get Lord Marcus." 

'Marcus?'

She tried to situp, and slowly opened her eyes once more. 

The earlier exposure left her feelings discomfort, but now she took her time before opening her eyes. 

"The patient's up!"

While the chaos around her went on, she thought about the name she had heard earlier. 

'Lord Marcus? Who is that?'

"What was her name?"

'They don't know my name? Am I not at the palace?'

This came as a surprise to her. 

"Rose. Rose Morris."

'?!'

'Rose?! Who is that?!! My name is Danie—'

_________________________