In a dark room lit only by two light bulbs sat Taio Gress, hands cuffed behind his back. In front of him sat General Alsen Flamehart, along with the two people who had visited him a few hours prior.

Upon waking up, the last thing he could recall was being chased by some kid, then being hit in the stomach with something before losing consciousness.

He supposed it was only a matter of time before he got caught.

"I didn't want to hurt you since you were a civilian, but..." the general sighed, "I guess I'll have to be careful not to make that mistake again."

Taio said nothing.

"Regardless, the fact that you panicked and ran only made you even more suspicious. You can stay silent all you want, but... Eventually, the investigation will lead back to you, and the Ministerial Council will have to pass their verdict. That sure was some bad luck, kid."

He looked at Taio with... sympathy? Why? Everyone knew his story... Even he knew himself that he wasn't someone deserving of it.

"I don't need your pity," he spat out, "I've gotten enough glares and beatings in the school."

"Sorry, wasn't trying to offend. It's just..." He scratched his head, "I read your file and... After putting the pieces together, I... couldn't help it..."

After a moment of silence, the general straightened his posture and took on a more serious demeanor.

"But... I wanted to hear it straight from you. Gress... No, Taio, I want to hear your story. The truth... What happened between your fiancé and Edwyn Greenwich. Everything."

"What's the point?" Taio scoffed, "You said it yourself. Confessing now isn't gonna change my fate."

"All the more reason, Taio. You have nothing to lose. Please, Taio... Someone needs to know the truth."

Behind the general, his two assistants looked at each other in anticipation.

There was only silence in the room. A long, anxious silence. Then, as though out of resignation, Taio sighed.

"I got betrothed to Rose a few years ago. Even though our families were well connected, we were never particularly close. Back then I just did as my parents told, which was how I eventually got a job managing magifauna stables at the Academy, and this betrothal was no different, so I... never made any real effort to get to know her. Rose, on the other hand, well... I don't know if she was having a rebellious phase or something, but she didn't take the news well.

"Our parents made us see each other in person and they somehow got her to come, but she was still hard to talk to. I just wanted to get the meeting over with, so... I made a deal with her that I shouldn't have: As long as we pretended to get along, she could do whatever she wanted without me bothering her. She gave me a funny look for a second, but she agreed to it."

As Taio explained, he noticed that the general's male assistant looked like he wanted to say something, but the woman next to him nudged him to keep his mouth shut.

"And the next few years after were just that, us pretending to get along. When Rose went outside, our parents would usually think she was spending time with me, when she really wasn't.

"But eventually... I found out about her 'affair'... And of all people, it just had to be with Edwyn Greenwich. Even back then, he was known to be a playboy, and even I had heard the rumors of him just sleeping with any women that caught his eye, then dumping them like they were just toys."

Taio sighed, "The signs were all there, but... I didn't want to go back on my promise not to interfere," he paused before letting out a wry chuckle, "No, that's just an excuse, isn't it? I guess I really was just scared of what would happen to me if our families found out. So I... didn't say anything. And... given the rumors, I convinced myself that Rose would just get over it once he eventually dumped her."

As Taio's face grew even gloomier than it already was, the general's female assistant held her clenched fist close to her chest.

"Well... it turned out she was pretty serious about it. When he dumped her... it was like nothing else mattered to her. She closed herself off from everyone, including me. And to make matters worse, people started to spread rumors about her... slut-shaming her. At some point... it became too much for her to handle. That's why... that's why she..."

There was another long moment of silence. No one spoke a word, no asked what she did. Did they need to?

As a strong surge of emotions began to build up, Taio's voice began to shake.

"And if that wasn't enough, Edwyn Greenwich started to play along with those rumors. He talked about her like she was some kind of lunatic! On top of treating her like she was less than human, he was playing the victim!

"That's why I confronted him. I knew it was too late... I knew I wasn't any better... but I couldn't stand still anymore. I grabbed him by the shirt and told him to take back everything he said... but he just... got angry that I touched him in the first place, and... well, everything went downhill from there. Despite how beaten up I was, I got arrested and charged for assault. And because I tarnished my family's reputation, I ended up getting disowned. But... I guess the academy figured that I still had some value as a magifauna handler, so they demoted me and ordered me to work discreetly.

"For a while, I thought nothing of it. I just did as I was told, like I always did. Maybe I just... gave up on myself. But of course, I came across the younger Greenwich kid, and... seeing him acting like others weren't worth his time... it brought back all those memories. And with how the tricerabull stables were near the combat test area, an idea just... flickered into my head. And not even a good one. You know the rest."

The other three people in the room remained silent, unsure how to respond.

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"Pathetic, isn't it?" Taio said as he let out a weak chuckle, "All I've ever done was make the wrong decisions, and now here I am, acting like I can make up for it. I mean, I barely even knew her, for Sola's sake... So... why..."

He looked down as tears streaked down his face.

"Why am I crying?"

The female assistant suddenly walked out of the room, the other hesitantly following her.

The general before him remained silent as he continued to sob. However, after a moment of deliberation, he reached out his hand to caress his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I know it's not much, but... This is all I can do for you right now. Just let it all out. No one's here to scorn you for it."

Perhaps thanks to complete mental exhaustion, Taio let out months, maybe even years of frustration, grief and loneliness.

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"Two instances of property damage in a month... My moms are gonna execute me for this!"

Fable held his head as he nervously lamented his prior actions. He knew how scary his mothers can be when they were angered, especially when it involved his powers. He groaned at the thought of it.

However, said thought left his mind once he noticed that Frederick was quietly sitting on the stairs next to him, with a distraught look on his face.

"Hmm...."

The worried Fable clasped his hands as loudly as he could in front of his friend's face.

"Ah! Wha-... What?" Frederick flinched as he was snapped out his thoughts.

"Wow... you were really in your thoughts, huh?"

Frederick remained silent as he calmed down.

Huh... Guess what we heard back there is really bothering him...

Taking a deep breath, Fable sat closer to Frederick.

"Fred... I... don't have all the answers... but if you wanna talk... I can at least listen."

Frederick hesitated. He wanted to tell Fable that he was fine, but the firm look on his face told him that he could see through him.

He sighed.

"When I was young... younger, my mother was only person I was ever comfortable talking to. So, after she passed, I... I just felt lonelier than ever. My father rarely ever came home from work... not that we were ever close to begin with. Edwyn, on the other hand...

"When it came to Edwyn, all I ever heard wes people praising him, saying how he was a prodigy and all that. I tried to get close with him, but... He just said I wasn't worth his time. Maybe it was just desperation, but... It gave me the urge to work for something. I thought... if I could become as strong as him, I could try again."

"But?" Asked Fable.

"But... even though I got stronger... When I tried again... He just pushed me away again. And... maybe because of all the stress and frustration built up from training myself to death all those years, I lost my composure and... challenged him to a duel... you know the rest."

Fable remained silent.

"All these years, all that training. I just wanted to... be worthy of standing next to him. I wanted him to praise me. I wanted to be his equal... I wanted us to be like real brothers. But now I don't even know what kind of person I'm chasing after," Frederick sighed, "I don't know what to think anymore."

"Hmm...." Fable took a good few moments to deliberate on his reply, before turning to Frederick.

"From my experience, Fred... You can never fully understand other people. No matter how close you think you are to them, there's always a side to them that you'll never even learn about. I would know, because... I don't know as much about my moms as I'd like."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... My moms know all about me but... They've never told me about their lives before they came to Blackbrick, no matter how many times I asked. Hell, I don't even know their real names."

Frederick had no response.

Fable sighed, "What I'm trying to say is: I don't think you're wrong to want to get others to praise you and stuff, but... maybe you shouldn't make that a life goal? I mean, everyone's got their own thing going on... everyone's got something they want or build for themselves. Maybe... you just haven't found that thing yet?"

The boy thought back to that moment on the tower, to the memory that he thought he had buried long ago. His mother had taught him a simple wind spell to help blow a kite into the air. He remembered the pure, innocent joy he felt in that moment.

When was the last time he had done something for himself?

"Maybe... maybe you're right," said he, "All I've been doing is trying to learn how to swing a sword. If you hadn't told me to, I probably never would've thought to try something else. I've been so focused on Edwyn that I never tried anything new," he sighed, "I've probably worried Philip, too."

Fabled smiled, "Well, it's not too late to start. If anything, now's the perfect time to try new things! So... let's do it together, it'll be fun!"

Seeing his friend's enthusiasm, Frederick couldn't help but smile back, "Yeah."

A few moments later, they were greeted by General Flamehart, who stepped out of the building.

"Well? How'd it go?" asked Fable, with Frederick anxiously standing beside him.

Alsen let out an exhausted groan, "Well, his stunt ended up putting a lot of VIPs in danger. That puts the Academy's, and by extension, the Empire's reputation on the line. Needless to say, this is serious. The Ministerial Council has decided to take over the case. Once they're ready, they'll pass the final verdict."

Frederick couldn't imagine what Gress was going through. Was this really okay?

On the other hand, Fable stood in deliberation for a moment, before puffing up his chest and facing Alsen with a serious demeanor.

"General, about the service tunnel," he said, "I'm willing to take full responsibility for the damage. I'll take whatever punishment you see fit."

"W-what?" Frederick turned to the general to plea, but he raised a hand to stop him.

"Your reckless act of destroying a service tunnel entrance could've put other civilians in danger. But... it's also true that it helped apprehend a fugitive. So... on account of all that..."

The two boys held their breaths...

"You will be helping with the reconstruction of the property you destroyed."

The boys looked at each other in surprise, before Fable turned to the general.

"You don't have to make any monetary contributions," he continued, "But in turn, you'll be assisting the workers with physical labor at appropriate working hours. Understood?"

Fable smiled, "Yes, sir."

Alsen smiled back as he turned to reenter the building, "Good. Now, get some rest. Both of you. You've earned it."

The boys let out sighs of relief and exhaustion.

"What a day," said Frederick, "I think I've had enough action for now."

"That makes two of us," Fable stretched his arms, "You... still up for dinner at Tabeso's? Y'know, just a little reward for a job well done?"

Frederick chuckled, "Yeah. I'll talk to Philip."