Mi-Yung frowns amidst the incoming headache while pulling herself away from William's shoulder. Massaging her temples with her fingers, she would curse these people to oblivion if she could. She tosses the package of Rose away, so it would not get in the way.

“What in the world are you doing here, Richards?” she asks in annoyance as she tries to fight against the headache.

“What do you think? I am here with sir Kaufman because he is worth working with. We share some personal interest in working together.”

“A butler of the Academy such as yourself? You sure have much better things to do. I see you are the same as usual, my little ex-boyfriend.” Mi-Yung says the cruel truth that crushes Richard's heart who knows for how many times.

Getting up to his feet, he planned another try to caress her face, yet another leg comes around his head before a chance to tell something more.

Dodging it in a back-step, he fails in quite a misery as he expects it with relative ease. He smirks at the outburst of wind that pushes his face without a choice.

Though a dodge at first, a fistful of anger on his face afterward is not good, according to his expectation.

Smack!

Mi-Yung punches him to her heart's content while Richards rolls in pain away and hits a tree in the corner. He did not dodge the effect all the way through, to his disappointment and pleasure.

“Want another one? Another? Huh? What is this about? I am in no mood for anything other than some rest in the warmth of the bed and Luke.” she let out in anger and frustration with this man she knew in the past.

“Ohhh. Ah, that hurt... Ok. Alright. I get it, we went over the line a little. Do your talking now, sir Kaufman, since you wanted this to happen.”

“Why should I listen to you? You peeping tom!? Hmph!” Mi-Yung says in displeasure and proudness that returns to her face after a bit of sobriety.

Kaufman walks without his favorite hat this time, which he leaves on a piece of a branch. Surprisingly, he has quite a luscious hair beneath it, with a healthy brown color, and stylish faded sides. It goes rather hand to hand with his trying to appear younger than he is.

Taking his gloves off, he steps a few feet away from Mi-Yung and standing William, who for the love of himself would rather run than anything else.

“What do you want, freaking old man?” she says, without a speck of respect, while her blouse's buttons shot across the street. It reveals her chest a bit, while the much more striking Emblem is there as well.

The Emblem in her chest shimmer in dissecting light that illuminates the darkness. The unique light of particles coming off her Emblems travels around her head, legs, and eyes to make her appear that much more striking. It almost looks like a veil of silk, made of a wavy pattern of water, or windy light.

Even her black hair starts to dance around her head as if a powerful force is being applied to her surrounding. William looks in shock, while not a single strand of this power is facing his way. He only sees the back of Mi-Yung, who is becoming shrouded in the light of her Emblem.

“Why so agitated? I want to talk business, not deal with it like some unpleasant people.” Kaufman says with an unbothered expression. His hair and clothes flicker in the wind and pressure through the motion of Mi-Yung's display of power. This is not showing off. Kaufman could tell that she is quite a serious person.

“I don't care what you want. I will be a proxy and medium for William, whether you like it or not. I know what you are like... I don't want William to be like you or people in the past.”

“How's so? Have you seen the past and what we experienced? I doubt. Have you figured something out with that boy behind your back?” Kaufman asks with an amused face while stroking his short beard.

“Why should I care about that? I don't care if you found something out since you would not tell me about it anyway. I owe his father, and that is enough for me, freaking old man.” Mi-Yung replies in the same manner while taking a step toward Kaufman, who appears calm as a morning lake.

“Your words are your choices. I am still interested, even if you are in the picture. Don't you think his place in the Academy could be rather interesting? That or the military department under the leadership of Cloud? Or... by extensive research and experience of someone like me?” Kaufman says in great meaning straight to her face. William also hears these words and questions, so that leaves something for him, at least.

“What do I think of them? Don't you think you are running into a conclusion a bit early on? The examination is yet to start, and everything can change afterward.”

“Being early is not a bad thing. I wanted to know your view on this matter while seeking you both at the same time. I have my reasons for doing this.”

“Like the 5th floor in the Library? I bet it must have been quite informative for yourself and Richards.”

“Heheheh. Mostly for Richards.”

“I bet. Are there others like you that are interested, or are you an early customer?”

“Less than 6 weeks can go by in a blink of an eye. There are certain problems in California, so it has left a few problems out there. Though it is not interesting for you. I guess talking this out is better before I will go Outside for a month or so.” Kaufman tells with a calm tone which goes bothered by the storm that is raging around the glaring Mi-Yung.

“I can't care more about what someone like you does. I have plenty of things to care about in charge of the place you all made.” Mi-Yung keeps on talking to his face, while Kaufman could all stand there without any issue for days.

“Of course. Of course. Since you insist on being the proxy, it could cause some trouble regarding your position. Although you act independently, I fear my help would be better. I for sure know plenty of organizations will like him, while I, for one know a lot.” Kaufman says the last thing and steps back to pick up Richards from the ground.

Mi-Yung messed up his nose quite a bit. “Huh... sir Kaufman. Y-you... That wasn't what we talked about?!” He blurted out.

“What does it even matter to you, boy?” Kaufman glares at him as he lifted him up with a single finger through his collar.

Gazing him up is a pair of the utmost calm eyes of a man he fears and respects at the same time.

Maybe he was too considering his position while thinking too high of himself as well. Richards, for one, knows the deals and underlying stories of Kaufman to his bones.

“I am sorry... sorry.” He shakes his head while being a good boy in the hand of this old man. He no longer even glares back at Mi-Yung as his wounds don't bother him as much as Mi-Yung, hitting him.

“Scram. I want to sleep. What sort of reason is there to seek us out? You knew the answer, to begin with, Kaufman” Mi-Yung retracts the effects of the Emblem back to herself. The pressure, power, and glistering light disappear in a couple of moments. The goodness of light is gone from this corner of the street, which is barren of any pedestrians at this time of the day.

Walking to William, she pats him on the head and apologizes for this mess. It helps nobody, as he already went through enough in a couple of days already. He feels his world becoming stranger and stranger since coming to the Federation. It all started with the strange piece of misery by Kaufman when he reached the 6th floor for the first time.

Then, everything goes downhill ever since.

“Is this all because of me, or is this so strange and funny to you?” he let out two questions he had to ask out loud.

Cringing a little, Mi-Yung does not know the answer to it, since there is a little bit of truth in this. Everyone is strange in the middle of the apocalypse, or perhaps it's safer to call it the epilogue? Who knows?

“We do things according to the wishes of the top. There is more to this apocalypse and Dark than meets the eye, boy.” Kaufman glances at the pair and shakes unwilling Richards who put his hand forward in the direction of Mi-Yung. In a pleading or a sorry state, she doesn't even blink at his try.

“Are you not at the top, though?” William points with his finger toward Kaufman with obvious intentions of his question. He could at least figure this bit out at this point.

“Who knows? You don't. While you also don't know a lot of things, William. It is only fortunate that you don't need to worry about it for now. The dealings of the young Walkers are not something that they dealt it by themselves. We, as the Federation, have to perceive the young in some way, and we hold the examination for this exact reason. Fresh blood to our ranks of Walkers. They are as important as any new human settlement, or defense against the hordes.” Kaufman says to William as he puts Richards down to his feet.

“Tsch... same with everything. I am going home.” William, upon hearing such boring words, snorts and shakes the Mi-Yung's hands away. By himself, he walks forward as the obscurity is long gone. They only wanted to strike some drama with Mi-Yung who... has plenty of strength herself while Kaufman is not here to hurt anyone. Since Mi-Yung is all sober after her little episode, he doesn't care about leaving her be.

Sighting, she follows, as this incident could have ended in drastically different endings if Kaufman would be a bit more brutal with his methods. She knows him as well, after all.

“I will watch out for you, old man! Remember my words,” she tells at last, as she walks around him.

All she could do for William is to act as his proxy, so nothing like this will happen again. However, she doesn't know if there are more Walkers like Kaufman. Many channels lead to a good deal of shared information and digging for them is easier for stronger Walkers. That could lead to some people being interested in the surname Gale, but it is a name of the past, so she isn't sure about it.

There is always a possibility that there are more Walkers like Kaufman, so that is quite frustrating for her. The frustration of gaining new recruits is tough and taxing for any organization. Most often than not, they are not willing to compromise on gaining the upper talents of young Walkers that are fresh for taking.

For all he cares about, Kaufman believes that the surname Gale will lead to an interesting and powerful Walker. Like his father, William could have the potential to reach rank 6 before turning 30. That could lead to releasing the gate of the above rank 8 that has been a goal of many high-rank Walkers in the past decades.

Though, this piece of information is not something he shared with anyone. The world of the upper Walkers is actually not something common at all. One needs time, talent, and many lucky opportunities on the Outside. That, plus the one obvious topic... that is the System and the Emblem.

At the moment, Kaufman is resilient to fight the notion of forcing things a little. He is unsure if things would be the same if William ends up well or not in the examination. After all, he is a son of two Walkers with potential Mutation Emblem of unknown powers.

That, plus the mention of birth between two Walkers, is quite rare. There are only a few dozen such cases with many tries in the last century. Figuring out the methods of birthing more Walkers led to much... stranger encounters and methods.

But as with the source or origin of everything in this apocalypse, few could go against the secrets that are the last 130 or so years.

At last, the angry fit of a teenager and reluctant follow-up of his guardian leads this street with only two men. Their little play is over now, so they rather leave this place at this sorry hour of the day.

On the pavement away from the west district, Kaufman is dragging the sorry figure of a grown-up man who seems more hurt than before. His play of playing tough was enough for a bit, but Mi-Yung still hurt him a lot. Though, he was more hurt by her sheer will of ignoring him, which his soul couldn't take. A bit of touch was enough for him to put a smile on his pained expression.

“I messed up. Apologies, sir Kaufman.” Richards utters from an awkward position while being dragged away like a child.

“It is fine. I bet we would not force things anyway with her. She has quite a personality like her mother. Being like that is not surprising at all. You would not change anything, while all I did was some trouble and discovery.”

“I see, sir. I overestimated my abilities, which leads to my sorry figure. Well, at least we know her view of William as a whole. She doesn't know about his mother for sure. That is a critical variable.” Richards speculates.

“What do you mean? You deserve this. Heheh.” Kaufman says with an unapologetic laugh.

“Sir Kaufman....” Richards sights by couldn't disagree with him at all.

“I am not sure about the mother. William was retrieved by the notion of someone from the Academy. That is not something I am aware of, and that grinds my nerves a little. Mi-Yung should know about the source of the mother, but I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't.”

Richards shakes his head, and as a butler of the Academy, he is ashamed of not knowing about these matters. There is nothing that he could find about the context of William in any records.

No order of the helicopter was available. Even the mention of the Yondu division's Captain Luke went through the Mi-Yung with no talk or mention of the Academy. Yet, the Mi-900 is far too important in the Federation, and any deployment of the high-distance helicopter is not for a singular person. That would be very inefficient in the current age, but it happened, and that is the fact.

It is bizarre, and Kaufman has trouble imagining what sort of problems could arise with it in the future.

“Well, it is not so bad. This try was worth it, wasn't it, sir Kaufman?” Richards asks in a try to ease up the mood.

“You are terrible at this, but I don't blame you. I blame the goddamned politics. They did not lessen as I rose to higher ranks, but instead, went higher than the sky itself.” He laments for himself while knowing a little bit more than Richards.

Though, as a butler of the Academy, he is not unordinary. After all, he sneaked into the Mi-Yung countless time in the past, and more would follow.

In fact, the whole situation is complicated for two reasons. Kaufman is not part of the Academy while is as powerful as a few directors of it.

Another is the involvement of the Academy itself, which is hard to guess. It is a restricted place outside of the view of the Federation. Located 100 miles from the Federation. A fortress of archipelagos stands upon a volcanic island a few decades old. It is quite a complicated place, according to Kaufman's knowledge.

Even when he was there a couple of dozen times, one could only wonder what goes behind the scenes. After all, the director of that place is quite a mystery, even for himself.

That is one of the reasons he sought out Richards to work with him. He uses his weakness of Mi-Yung while he himself acts as a chess piece for another power in the Academy. That, Kaufman knows.

These are already 3 variables in place. One is Kaufman, who wants William for himself. Second is a mysterious involvement from the Academy in William's retrieval. Third is Richards, who is recruiting any potential Walker for the one particular power in the Academy.

Sighting, Kaufman finds this whole situation not one bit to his desires. But he could understand that he caused all of this mess to himself.

No one would bat an eye if he kidnaps or forces William upon him. It could be done before the examination, but it could trouble some people for sure. Especially the mysterious involvement in the Academy, and Mi-Yung would not live it down.

He could remember the incident when she was younger. Learning about Victor Gale's missing status was a shock to her. That... was quite a situation back then. A fresh Rank 4, while unyielding and talented. While Rank 8, he doesn't need to care about her feeling, though.

As he walks further, unnoticed by anyone, the presence of Richards had already disappeared. With no words or steps, that is his style. That leaves Kaufman all alone, but this is better for him than dragging an adult like a bag of clothes.