To think that Cyprian would appear before me so suddenly. I didn’t know what he wanted, and neither the walk to the Shrine nor my low mood had done much to clear the alcohol from my head.

Ah, I really shouldn’t have had so much to drink tonight.

Next to me, Cynara lowered her head and dipped into a formal curtsy. Sluggishly, I followed her lead with a bow. “Greetings, Father,” she said. Her voice was a bit hoarse still, but it was steady and emotionless now, with barely a hint of her previous tears. “Please grant us your guidance.”

Cyprian chuckled. The lantern in his hand came alive with a gentle glow, shedding its pale light in a small circle around us. Beyond that circle, the world shifted to hues of black and silver, like etchings in a drawing. “Don’t be so tense, Cynara. Your performance has been nothing but exemplary. However…”

The tip of his sword touched my chin and lifted it up. Hesitantly, I straightened out of my bow and met his piercing golden eyes.

“Acacius.”

“I am here,” I said, when it became clear he was waiting for some kind of response.

His eyes crinkled in a smile. I was unsure if that was good or bad.

“Cutting off your support appears to have cut off your already paltry communications as well. Did you truly think to withdraw from the family like this?”

“I apologize for my lax attitude,” I said, lowering my eyes. “With Cynara so capable of handling affairs, I was content to focus my attention on other matters.”

“Indeed,” Cyprian said. “Your other matters.”

He handed the lantern to Graves, sheathed his sword, and clasped his hands behind his back, circling around Cynara and I slowly. I held my breath.

“The Fantasm World has been filed by M themself under your name, rather than under the family’s trust. How capable of you to form a connection with someone on the Council of Myths.”

I didn’t know why he was making that sound like a mistake, given how he’d tried to seize the principal’s favor for his son, but if I had to guess, he didn’t like the feeling of one of his children escaping beyond his control.

So, what justification could I give?

“M’s capability and expertise makes them one of the most qualified people to handle the research and potential of KP-04,” I said. “However, they are also extremely antisocial and dislike involving anyone more than necessary. To this day, we haven’t spoken in person, only through proxies. I believe it will take time for them to become amenable to further communications. I don’t intend to keep KP-04 as my responsibility forever, though — only long enough to resolve the current issues related to it. After that, anyone sufficiently capable can take over its stewardship.”

“Current issues, you say,” Cyprian mused. “I have always believed my children should be capable of solving their own problems. It would not be amiss to evaluate your capabilities here. However… Do your decision-making skills not leave much to be desired?” As he circled around, he narrowed his eyes at me. I quickly averted my gaze. “After all, Cynara tells me it was your idea to surrender our family’s claim to the golden dagger that was raised against the Great Dragon — for something as vague as the Dragon Shrine’s goodwill.”

I glanced under my eyelashes at Cynara, who wouldn’t look at me.

What the hell, here I was giving her some chance to help Linden, and she repaid me by blaming everything on me? I’d only said it out of frustration during the Fellowship’s meeting, but maybe Acacius really did exist as a scapegoat for everyone’s convenience. If that was the case, I should really teach them all a lesson…

Cyprian’s pacing finally came to a halt behind me. He spoke.

“What good is the Dragon Shrine’s goodwill when its power is in danger of being divided among the great families? Hm? Favor means nothing compared to the power grasped firmly in your own hand.”

I licked my lips.

“I admit my actions are unorthodox. However, if you look at the situation now, of the Six Families, our family is probably the closest to the Dragon Shrine.”

Cyprian let out a small hmm. I continued in a cool and confident voice.

“The events of KP-04 engendered the two Saintess candidates’ sense of trust in me. Surrendering the golden dagger to the Shrine removed a possible point of leverage from the other families over them. With some additional helpful deeds on my part, Verica has developed a dependence on my judgment, and Roxana wants to pull me to her side. No matter who succeeds the Saintess, I can sway them to my thoughts. Don’t say that I only nurtured connections for myself, either; haven’t I connected Cynara to the Shrine, and given her the opportunity to develop herself there, too?”

“So you seek power by grasping their emotional weaknesses, rather than more overt coercion. Such a tactic is only suitable if the target is too powerful to cave to other means, do you not agree?”

“After today’s events, how much leverage can the Six Families gain over the Shrine?” I replied.

Cyprian’s clothes rustled as he stepped closer behind me. He placed his gloved hand upon my shoulder.

“This is true,” he said softly. “But such a justification for your decisions can only be given if you anticipated the Shrine’s return to an advantage. So. Did you?”

If I said yes here, would he attribute it too prophetic ability, too?

Could I afford for him to believe that? — But could I afford to imply the opposite, either?

As my silence stretched out, Cyprian let out a low chuckle. His hand slipped from my shoulder as he walked back around in front of Cynara and I.

When his gaze landed on me, it was almost fond.

“You have always been… the most prescient and reticent of my children.”

As his attention turned to Cynara, a faint smile became visible under his neatly trimmed mustache and beard.

“So you see, Cynara. Don’t be lax just because you have taken over Acacius’ work. If you want to become the successor, you still have a long way to go.”

Cynara bowed her head. Her bangs hid her expression. “Yes, Father.”

Cyprian’s smile broadened.

“Remember, complacency is poison. Therefore, Acacius, it is heartening to see your changes. The coming-of-age ceremony has given you the boldness you lacked before.”

A nameless pressure emanated out from him. Cynara’s breath hitched. I felt briefly stifled, too, before a familiar yet foreign energy rolled up from within me, pushing back enough for me to breathe stiffly.

It was the phaenescence that powered the use of my World Seed.

“And you have reached the Realm of Trials now, too,” Cyprian said softly. “Only one realm away from me, my son. Should I expect a challenge from you, soon?”

My heart thumped hard in my chest. I shook my head rapidly.

Cyprian laughed. The pressure slowly receded.

“No? What a pity. The son of the future king should have at least that much ambition.”

As he turned away from us, his dark cloak flared. He unsheathed his sword.

“Graves.”

“Yes, Master Cyprian.”

Graves offered the lamp to Cyprian’s outstretched hand. The pale light receded, and the strange etching-like tint on our surroundings with it. In a single slash of his sword, Cyprian tore open a black rift in the air. He stepped through.

Graves looked back at us, his smile warm.

“Congratulations, young master, on ascending in realm. And young miss… I’ll see you again very soon.”

With those ominous parting words, he stepped into the moon path realm, and the two of them disappeared.

The night wind was cold on my damp jacket. I shivered.

Cynara didn’t say anything. She drew her torn coat tighter around herself, as if trying to ward off the cold.

I had a lot of questions, like what work she’d been doing, what it would mean to challenge Cyprian, and how much trouble we were in if he wanted to become the next king.

But seeing Cynara like that, I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get to the Shrine and then get you home to rest.”

---

I was thankful that neither Roxana nor Veric were on shift at the Dragon Shrine’s healing ward that late at night. That way, Cynara and I didn’t get too many questions about what happened.

The Dragon Priests on shift said a prayer of healing over Cynara until her wound had mostly closed up, then gave her a dragon pendant and some healing cream to prevent scarring. They offered us beds to rest in for the night, but both of us declined.

I accompanied Cynara on the transit lines to the hotel she was staying at before returning to my dorm, exhausted. I took my second shower of that day, spending perhaps too long under the hot water, before collapsing in bed and passing out.

The next day, I woke up with a horrendous fever. I guess wearing damp clothes for that long at night hadn’t done me any favors.

Still, I couldn’t help but feel wronged, since I’d suffered through worse conditions back in my home world without getting nearly this sick. Wasn’t Acacius’ body a bit too fragile…?

Anyways, it meant that when Professor Raoul knocked on the door, I already had hot tea on the stove to serve.

Apparently, Artunis wanted to ask me some questions about what had happened yesterday, but upon seeing my condition, Professor Raoul changed his mind about whatever request he’d wanted to make and just asked me to write down some answers instead. I scrawled out something like, I was sent home sick two days ago and asked someone I knew to help me with a couple of things, go ask them if you want to know more, and left it at that. I didn’t have the energy to put in more effort than that.

Before Professor Raoul left, I caught his arm at the door.

“Hey, Professor?”

When he looked back, the gentle concern was easy to read in his dark brown eyes. “Yes?”

“Whatever reason you have to believe Artunis will uphold her promises to you… You shouldn’t trust it too much.”

Professor Raoul’s face became somber, and his gaze sharpened.

“Can you tell me why you would say so?”

I just looked at him silently.

And Professor Raoul, because he was an idiot like all kinds of people in my life lately, accepted that with a slow nod. He looked suddenly quite weary, like he could grow a couple more grey hairs in the next few moments alone.

“Artunis does try, in her own way,” he said. “But I suppose, given her character, that isn’t enough.”

When he left, his back felt very lonely and small.

My next visitors, arriving in the early evening, were Cynara and Linden. By this time, even though I’d fed myself porridge and slept a bunch, my head was pounding and my body was aching all over, and I wasn’t in the mood to host anyone. So after taking one moment to confirm Cynara looked okay, I tried to shut the door.

Linden stuck his foot out before I could close it all the way. “Wait.”

“I distinctly remember saying I didn’t want to be bothered by you. Why do you keep coming back?”

“We brought you something,” said Cynara.

From behind her back, she brought out a fancy paper bag with some frilly stuff at the top that kept me from seeing inside.

After yesterday, she was still in the mood to give me gifts? I had to question if there was something off in her head.

I begrudgingly let them into my dorm and made my way to the kitchen, sinking into my favorite chair by the window, where I still had my cup of tea out.

“You look tired,” said Linden.

“Because I’m sick as a dog,” I snapped, and coughed pointedly into a napkin. Whew, it sounded pretty bad, too. How convenient.

Linden and Cynara exchanged glances, the meaning of which I was too tired to read into.

“I’m sorry for getting you into trouble yesterday,” Cynara said. She held the bag out for me. “And… Linden and I talked. We realized we never said thank you, back then. So this is for you.”

Oh. I understood. They were bribing me to keep taking the fall and not sell out whatever they were doing at the Shrine to their dad.

Feeling much lighter in my heart, I accepted the bag and peered inside.

There were three metal tins of tea, beautifully inked with floral patterns: mint, sage, and linden flowers. The first two flavors, I’d already sampled during my time here, but I’d never tried the last one before. I picked it up to examine the ingredients on the back.

“We got the premier loose-leaf tea that you like,” Cynara explained. “Mint and sage since you’ve always been partial to that, and linden flowers because — um.”

“It’s supposed to be good for stress,” Linden said.

Well, it was certainly topical. If these teas were from some luxury brand, they would definitely taste good, right? I didn’t really feel like brewing anything complex right now, but it would be fun to try these later. It was pretty great that Acacius had the same liking for tea as me.

“Thanks,” I said, pushing the tea containers back into the bag. “Can you help me put it away? Pantry’s over there.”

With all the hot and cold flashes I was having, and the muscle aches, I really didn’t feel like moving more than I had to.

Cynara obligingly did as I asked, but after opening the cabinet door, she pulled up short.

“What?” I said.

“Why do you have so many jars in here?”

Oh. That stuff.

“Just in case.”

“In case of… what?”

I shrugged half-heartedly. Knowing Linden and Cynara’s overactive imaginations, they’d probably think it was in preparation for some kind of horrible disaster I’d foreseen. But you didn’t need to be a prophet to know the importance of a food stash. If they didn’t have one, maybe this would serve as good impetus for them to start saving up.

“It’s pretty easy to make dried fruit and bread from what they give you at the cafeteria. I bought the meat for drying from elsewhere though.”

“Is… something coming?” Linden ventured.

I glanced at him disdainfully. “Disaster prep is just common sense, okay?”

“That’s true,” he said, with that tone of voice that suggested he just wanted to avoid an argument. Whatever. “In any case, if you’d like me to repay you in any way, let me know, alright? I’ll do my best.”

I snorted, and then I coughed, which made my head hurt more, and put me in a worse mood.

“What, worried about some hidden trap? Stop worrying so uselessly and just take advantage of the situation while you can.”

“You’re projecting your paranoia onto me.”

I scoffed. “So you’ve never wondered why I’m doing what I am?”

Linden leaned against the kitchen wall, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. “Maybe I just want to understand you better.”

“Don’t say something so vomit-inducing.”

“Then if you have any questions for me, why don’t you ask? Surely an exchange is possible.”

I squinted at Linden through my building headache. This was a surprisingly calm and level-headed way of extending a peace offering to Acacius, where this family was concerned. Should I praise him for that progress? But I didn’t want to reward him at all for trying, or he’d think he could do it again.

“Fine. What is the condition the Saintess is seeing you for?”

“That…”

“Too hard? Then what’s your relationship with Xander, really? He got worked up so easily; you’ve become a splendid weakness of his.”

“…”

I laughed. “Isn’t this your problem, Linden? You want so much without giving up anything of your own.”

Linden sighed. He tilted his head down, and long strands of red hair brushed over his serious face.

“If you can answer these questions, I’ll answer, too,” he said. He took a deep breath and met my eyes with great resolve. “That year… Why did you kill our brother? Even if you didn’t like Yarrow, you’re more than capable of tolerating what you dislike, aren’t you?”

At that, a hot flash of hatred seared through my chest. A blurry impression surfaced in my mind.

A dim room, a locked door, someone smiling down at me.

I couldn’t conjure up anything more concrete than that. The memory dispersed like smoke as I grasped for more. My temples throbbed sharply, and I pressed a hand against my head.

“Or last year,” said Linden, when I failed to muster a response. “It was you who orchestrated the collapse of the Morgan family’s mithril mines, wasn’t it?”

My heart palpitated with a foreign fear, and goosebumps rose on my skin. But what the hell was mithril?

“If you were aiming to undercut the Morgan’s finances, it would have made more sense to target their bigger export, orichalcum. It wasn’t an effective way to undercut their strength, either, because of what is stored in their family vault.”

Another blurry impression surfaced. A massive sword, shimmering like a pearl dream, hovering over a frozen city. Human statues made from ice, shattering into dust.

“Compared to what you told our father, there are too many strange details from the Morgan family’s side… Hey, Acacius. Are you listening?”

An uncontrolled shiver shook through my body from tip to tail. I tried to take deep breaths, but my heart rate wouldn’t calm down.

Bound to a single path? What a joke! I couldn’t tell if it was a voice or a memory screaming in my head. There are countless paths! There’s just no way to survive!

By now, my ragged breathing was audible, and it felt like my heart was about to pound out of my chest. Was this some kind of panic attack? Linden had straightened up with a frown, hesitating to move closer, and Cynara had taken one step towards me. I raised one shaking hand to ward them off.

“Just—“

My voice cracked embarrassingly. Acacius’ fear was slipping out of my control, and now his body was, too. I squeezed my eyes shut.

The problem was all these leftover emotions he had. I just needed a way to manage them, right?

So mentally, I reached out for the title I’d never felt the need to touch before.

[Detached Performer on the Record’s Stage].

Like magic, the fear and adrenaline coursing through me became distant, like it was happening to someone else. How could I describe it? I could tell that it was having some effect on my body, like, Oh, I guess I’m scared right now. I felt a twinge of annoyance and pity for my “self” that was experiencing it.

But at the same time, it hardly touched me. In fact, it barely felt real at all.

And because of that, it was easy to ignore the racing heart, the rapid breaths.

I slowly lowered my still-shaking hand and looked up at Acacius’ siblings with a calm expression. “I was just feeling unwell.”

Though my voice came out smoothly this time, there was still a strained undertone I didn’t know how to get rid of. The panic attack wasn’t actually getting better, either. It was probably best to end our interactions here so I could deal with it in private.

“Sorry, but I think we should continue this conversation another time.”

Cynara’s eyebrows furrowed. “Acacius—”

“I’ll see you to the door.”

“Maybe you should stay seated,” Linden said.

I just wanted them to leave. I shook my head and braced my hands on the table to stand up.

That proved to be a massive overestimation of what Acacius’ sick and beleaguered body could handle. His vision clouded, and his body tilted to the side.

Dimly, I felt his knees hit the floor, and then a pair of hands catching me. I tried to raise my head, but the whole world spun, and then it darkened and drifted far away.

Linden and Cynara’s voices came floating to me from a great distance, calling out Acacius’ name.

Ah, I thought. So it was like that.

And then everything went vague and fuzzy for a while.

When I came to, I was lying in my bed, and there were not two, but three faces peering down at me.

I squinted up. “Roxana?”

Roxana withdrew her glowing blue hands from my forehead and waved cheerfully. “Hi, Acacius. I’m glad you’re up!”

“What are you doing here?”

“I heard you were sick, so I thought I’d stop by.” She covered her mouth with one hand and giggled. “Good thing I did. Your family didn’t have a clue what to do with you.”

A twinge of annoyance reached me through the thick barrier of calm provided by [Detached Performer].

“So you all let someone into my dorm without asking.”

“Ah, no, please don’t blame them,” said Roxana, widening her eyes pleadingly. “Even though they were the ones who agitated you into this state, they were still worried about you. It’s not their fault they lacked the ability to help.”

Linden winced and Cynara looked away.

I couldn’t help but laugh hoarsely. Roxana, ever with that personality. “You should all know each other by now, right?”

“We’ve met,” said Linden uncomfortably.

“What a beautiful relationship you have.”

“The Saintess’ grace extends to everyone, after all,” said Roxana sunnily. “Even to the most careless, graceless, and lacking members of society.”

I smiled. “Was that a comment about me, or them?”

Roxana blinked innocently. “Oh, no, that was a general statement! I just meant the temple is great enough to accommodate even the darkest stains upon society, needless to say some minor mistakes as well. You know I love having you around, Acacius. I wouldn’t say anything bad about your family.”

“Really? Shouldn’t you be more wary of what sinister designs we might have on the Dragon Shrine?”

“No problem. All the more opportunity to bring you into our clutches. Our healing services are quite excellent, you know? You’d never have to worry about lacking care ever again.”

“Hey, which is it? Is the shrine full of the Saintess’ grace or the Saintess’ schemes?”

“The Saintess is perfect, of course,” Roxana said demurely. “I’m simply not at the standard of the Saintess yet.”

Linden and Cynara watched our exchange with bemusement. I laughed again.

“So what really brought you here, Roxana? This couldn’t have just been a wellness visit, could it?”

“Well,” Roxana tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “I’ll admit I was a bit curious what position you’re aiming for in the work-study program. You’ve stood out so much this year, I don’t know if things will go as you plan. Should I help you out a bit?”

“Oh, how troubling,” I said. “And what kind of position should I aim for?”

“Hmm… The competition for the Atmospheric Chancery slots is pretty fierce right now! Or how about the Bureau of Disaster Planning and Relief? It’d be the perfect place for your talents to shine.”

“Where are you headed?”

Roxana tossed her hair back. “The Atmospheric Chancery, of course. It’d be a shame not to fight for the opportunity while it’s here.”

“Ah,” I said knowingly. “And you want to drag me in with you?”

“We’ve made such a great team before, after all.”

“Are you sure you’re not trying to pile work on me? If you really want to help, just send me somewhere pointless where I won’t have to do anything.”

Roxana giggled. “Careful, Acacius! Your terrible ambitions are showing!”

I sighed with great melodrama. “Is a period of peace and rest truly so difficult to achieve?”

I don’t think Linden or Cynara knew what to make of our talking. It didn’t matter too much, anyway. When Roxana laid glowing hands on me again, the tension in my body drained out so fast that I nearly passed out again right then and there.

As I struggled to keep my eyes open, Roxana smiled gently at me and patted my forehead.

“At least for now, it’s possible. Don’t worry about anything, okay? Just go to sleep.”

It seemed to be the same relaxation technique she’d used to help me sleep in KP-04.

I probably could have fought it if I really tried, but it wasn’t like [Inevitable Survivor] had anything to say, and even through [Detached Performer], I felt mentally exhausted.

Glancing at Linden and Cynara, I said, “I guess you’ll have to see yourself to the door after all.”

“…Right,” said Linden. “We’ll… talk another time. Rest well.”

“I hope you feel better soon, Acacius,” Cynara said quietly.

“We’ll lock the door when we leave,” Roxana said with a cheerful smile.

I rolled my eyes. “Are you talking, or leaving? Just get out of here already.”

As Roxana herded them from the room and out the dorm, their chatter slowly faded away. I let my eyes fall shut.

I didn’t even notice when I fell asleep.

---

Throughout the night, I went through a few rounds of feverish sleep; in between, I’d wake up and force down some water and porridge to keep myself hydrated and fueled. My dreams were unhappy and restless, but whenever I tried to recall them, I couldn’t remember a thing.

Thankfully, by the time the next morning rolled around, my fever finally broke.

By that time, my emotions had stabilized enough that I deactivated [Detached Performer], too. I could see why Acacius might have employed it, but it felt a bit dangerous to feel so disconnected from the world. No matter what, it probably wasn’t good to get used to ignoring what my body was saying.

Now that I had more energy, I contemplated the flashes of memory I’d gotten from Acacius yesterday. Unfortunately, nothing more was forthcoming, and even the emotions were fading like a dream. Had I only gotten them because of my weakened state? If so, it was a good sign I wasn’t receiving any more, but it was still frustrating to feel answers so close and yet out of reach.

In any case, I guess Acacius had foreseen more than one danger, and been scared of a lot of things. Combined with the fact that he hadn’t told anyone he was a prophet, it seemed like he’d had a really lonely life.

More importantly, that bit about having “no way to survive” sounded pretty bad. What hidden dangers still lurked around me? [Inevitable Survivor], please carry me through any disaster, okay…?

I treated myself to a slow and leisurely morning, eating something light and taking a long shower before leaving my dorm to stretch my legs. After being indoors for so long, I was really craving some sun and fresh air.

It was as I was wandering around the campus gardens that the air shimmered next to me. Multicolored fractals of light overlapped each other before coalescing into Principal Sun’s form.

Crap. What was she doing here?

“Hello, Acacius,” she said. “What a pleasant surprise to run into you. Shall we have a little chat?”

Chapter 65 Chapter 67