“So, how do we access your base from here?”

As soon as we entered the cafe, I questioned the president because I didn't want to waste any more time. My perception ability may not be as high as hers, but I had also noticed that Anastasia, Melina, and Lucas were following us and the game she was playing with them on our way here.

“From here.”

The president stopped in front of a normal wooden wall and looked at me with a mischievous smile. “Do you want to try and see if you can unlock the hidden door of our base by yourself?”

“Sure.”

I started analyzing every single detail of the wall in front of me. It was easier when you already knew what to look for. Thanks to the information that the president just slipped, I knew that the wall was a type of door and there should be a special mechanism that unlocked it.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t any special mechanism connected to the door, so my guess was that magic was required to open it. I looked at the president's hands and noticed a few rings on her fingers.

“One of your rings acts as identification for the door to open, right?”

“That’s what I like about you. When you can’t find the answer to something, you always think outside the box, and your deduction is always very accurate. This time, too, you got everything right. Like you said, all I need to do is coat a little mana on this ring, then press it against the door, and voila.”

The outline of a door suddenly appeared on the wall, and after a few seconds, it opened, allowing me to see the interior of the base.

***

I was in my private laboratory working on some experiments when I noticed the president approaching me. This was a normal occurrence, except that this time, a white-haired boy was accompanying her. My research and experiments were all kept a secret from everyone except the president, so I was getting a little curious as to why the president would bring someone who I hadn’t seen before inside my laboratory.

“Hey Diana, I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Of course not, president. But why did you bring someone here with you? I thought that you said that I could be in trouble if anyone learned about the research and experiments that I'm working on."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. This charming young man may be the newest member of our organization, but I also appointed him second-in-command from now on. If I’m not available, everything should be reported to him instead.”

I was really surprised by what the president just said. Although not official, everyone working here knew that Samuel Avongus was the second-in-command in the organization. However, at present, the president has introduced a newcomer as the second-in-command.

I didn’t really care about the hierarchy of the organization, but I’m sure that there were going to be some conflicts around here in a few days, and I just hoped that it wouldn’t affect any of my experiments.

“So, you are Diana Lau. I'm Alex Fawn; nice to meet you."

I was completely shocked and frozen when I heard his name. It was true that Alex Fawn was a well-known genius around the world, but for researchers like me, he was even considered a god. His recent research paper was on a level that normal researchers only dreamt of, and I still haven’t been able to process how he was able to make such an achievement with only the minimum information and equipment. The way he described his methods was so clean that even a newborn could understand it.

I quickly composed myself, removed some dust from my clothes, and bowed as low as I could.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Fawn. I’m really sorry to introduce myself in such a state. If the president had warned me that such an important person would visit my laboratory, I would have at least cleaned up a little.”

“It’s alright, Diana; get up and don’t worry about it. I told Alex about the research you were doing, and he agreed to look at it and help if he could. I hope you don’t mind letting him see your work a bit.”

“Sir Fawn is interested in my research? How could I even mind? Sir, let me show you all the progress that I have made so far, and feel free to ask me any question if you have any.”

***

Although elves were known for their cleanliness and organization, Diana Lau was an exception. Papers of all kinds covered the floor of her messy laboratory. At first, I didn’t know where to walk, but the president was stepping on the papers as if they weren't there.

Diana Lau was in the same condition as her laboratory. Her hair was completely disheveled, and there were several cuts and holes in her long white coat. I could easily guess that she didn’t leave her laboratory since the weekend started, and neither did she get any proper sleep since the dark circles under her eyes and pale skin were indicative of both sleep deprivation and fatigue.

"Based on the experiments you conducted, I can conclude that you are working on a potion that will boost an individual's ability, am I right?"

"Yes, you are perfectly right, sir. I can’t believe you were able to understand the real purpose of my experiments in just a few seconds. You really are godsend.”

It wasn’t that I understood your experiment at a glance; it was just that I already knew your purpose. Based on her current progress, she should be able to complete her formula in a few weeks. However, why wait when I already knew exactly what was missing in order to complete it? I took a glance at the president, and her eyes confirmed my suspicion. She wanted me to accelerate the potion's production for a specific reason.

***

"You're not going to reveal the existence of the potion to the world. That’s why you wanted me to help Diana, so that the potion would then be owned by two people instead of only Diana. Knowing her personality, the moment she was going to complete the potion, she would announce it to the whole world. But now that I’m also part of it, she won't be able to do anything without my permission first."

“How much were you able to deduce this time?”

“My guess is that the potion went into the wrong hands in your future, and the demons were able to take full advantage of it.”

“That’s only half of the story. What actually happened was...”

“Stop. Did you forget his last words? Don’t tell me anything about what exactly happened in your future. You should have already taken enough action to make it completely different. What you are going to say is now completely irreverent.“

“You are right; I’m sorry, Loic.”

“Instead, why don’t you give me a little background information on the members of your organization that are still a mystery to me?”

“Of course, I have already called some of them for you to meet today, and they are already waiting in the training room right now.”