"Have you withdrawn your allowance already? Don't spend it all on junk food and soft drinks. You’d better make sure you're eating right.

Also, did you wish your grandfather a happy birthday yesterday? He was rambling on about missing his grandchildren when we video-called some time ago. You should free up some time to see him, you know."

Jay's mother was currently giving her eldest son some much-needed care through a video call in the middle of the day.

"Yes, ma'am, I already withdrew it a few days ago. Yes, I'm eating quite well. It's not like you don't know it's been a long time since I've eaten junk food. They just make me hungry. I can't promise anything about the soft drinks though.

Yes, ma'am, I chatted with him yesterday, though I can't go back to our hometown until the semestral break. You know how busy college is."

Jay dutifully answered every topic his mother brought up.

This was his weekly correspondence with his parents, who were working abroad.

Even though his parents were a bit chatty, he didn't mind it at all.

He was even looking forward to such conversations, considering that it had been quite some time since they had last seen each other.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Do you want us to get something to include in the package? The package will arrive around mid-December, so consider it your Christmas gift."

"Hmm. Can you get me the perfume you bought me last time? The one called Rising Wave. They're not available even in online stores here, somehow."

His father, who was cooking in the background, chimed in.

"What about that hair wax you always bugged us about? I think it was Gatsbee something."

"Ah, right. It's called Gatsbee Grunge Matte. You don't need to get it, though. I already found it online."

"But wouldn't it be significantly more expensive though? You know how it is with imported products."

His mother was quite sensitive when it came to finances.

"You don't need to worry about that, ma. The prices are quite close after conversion. I already checked."

"Oh, okay. Good. Anyway, if you want anything else, make sure to tell us while it's still early. We still have to budget the space inside the box."

"Alright, ma. I'll message you if I think of something."

Their conversation then floated towards other mundane matters, such as 'How was school recently?' or 'How are you faring living on your own?'

It was only after half an hour that they said goodbye, and the conversation ended with his mother's gentle nagging.

In the past, Jay would get annoyed by the care and concern shown by his family, especially his parents.

Now, he even found his family's nagging quite soothing to the ears.

His solitary life in the city made him think about many things he took for granted.

One of them was the bond he had with his family.

He realized that it was the strongest rope that tied him to the realm of sanity, preventing him from floating away to the endless skies of delusion or falling down into the deep abyss of despair.

-

Unbeknownst to Jay, a certain observer was enjoying his chocolate frappe in a nearby coffee shop.

The long-haired middle-aged man had been observing Jay for a few hours every day during the past week, assessing the latter's aptitude and conduct.

The observer had already determined Jay to be last week's suspect and was currently deciding if the latter was a threat to society or a talent worth nurturing.

So far, he was satisfied by what he had seen.

He was only waiting for confirmation from the local headquarters to finalize his next course of action.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The observer found Jay to be an intriguing young man.

The latter was quite high on the scale of introversion, yet seemed to have no issues in using words to get by.

The young man always carried an indifferent face, which gave the impression that he didn't care about anything besides himself, but was quite conscientious and polite in reality.

The young man would make way for others without a word if he felt that he was being a hindrance, offering a slight bow with an apologetic smile.

The observer had even seen him picking up trash in a hallway while walking to class, albeit muttering curses with squinted eyes along the way to the nearest trash bin.

The local headquarters was currently deciding if they would leave the young man alone or allow the long-haired observer his request.

Personally, the observer would like to take the young man as a student, considering the many intersections between their specialties.

Throughout the past week, the observer had already formed some assumptions regarding Jay's ability, which he derived from the latter's actions and his own knowledge base.

It seemed like the young man was extremely suited for the role of an observer, both ability and personality-wise.

-

It was a hot weekend afternoon, and Jay had the urge to get something cool and sweet.

Coincidentally, there was a nearby coffee shop just a minute's walk from his room.

The problem with some coffee shops and restaurants was their wordy menus filled with jargon.

Jay, not wanting to deal with decision fatigue, just chose the first 'okay' item he read without looking at the price.

It wasn't that he didn't care about money. It was that he was already familiar with the price range of this type of item.

"I'll have a chocolate frappe, please." Jay took out a hundred-peso bill from his wallet.

"Alright. That will be eighty-five pesos."

Seeing the bill in his hand, the cashier paused for a moment.

"Can you add another five pesos? I'll give you a twenty-peso bill."

"Alright, here you go."

Jay already expected this after hearing the price, so he had already taken out a five-peso coin from his transparent coin pouch while the cashier was speaking.

Jay kept his coins separate to keep his wallet thin.

Also, having a coin pouch greatly eased the search for specific coins, especially during jeepney rides.

Some drivers tended to give back less change when handed a bill.

He didn't want to waste his time arguing in public over just a peso or two, so he preferred to pay the exact amount, despite the extra effort.

After getting the drink, Jay found an empty seat near the corner, along the same wall as the entrance.

This was a good spot that wasn't too exposed and offered a decent view of the entire coffee shop while being near the entrance.

As for why he chose to drink in the shop instead of his room, he merely found plastic cups bothersome to dispose of.

There was a gentleman at the neighboring table, drinking the same chocolate frappe as him.

However, he didn't think much of it, and began enjoying his own.

Out of habit, he used Identification on the cup while glancing around the coffee shop.

It just so happened that his eyes met with the nearby gentleman, who raised his cup toward him with a smile.

Jay subconsciously reciprocated the gesture and was turning back to his own table when the gentleman spoke.

"It's a nice cup, isn't it? I think this was made by Polymind Plastics. I heard that they have a factory on the northern outskirts of the city. This cup probably came from there."

Jay already knew that, but he had to act as if he didn't.

This had been an inconvenience that had popped up from time to time ever since he got his Identification ability.

He found it rather bothersome, but he was also aware that having this sort of problem was much better than not having it.

"Oh, is that so? Hmm. How much do you think this cup costs, mister?"

Jay had some experience dealing with older people.

He found that most of them liked to talk, albeit falling into loops sometimes, so he had to ask relevant questions at times to keep the conversation going.

He didn't have anything urgent to do later, so he might as well humor this older gentleman for a while.

"Well, factories generally deal with bulk orders, so I won't be surprised if individual cups only cost a peso or even less. I don't know how much, though."

At this moment, the gentleman showed a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"But I bet you can tell me the exact amount, no?"

"How would I know that, mister? You're thinking too highly of me."

Jay felt unnerved by the knowing look the gentleman gave him.

The stalemate continued for a while as the gentleman maintained his expression without saying a word.

Jay, on the other hand, was still waiting for the gentleman's reply even though he was already feeling uncomfortable.

After half a minute or so, the gentleman finally let go of his weird expression and let out a small laugh.

"Alright, I won't mess around with you anymore, young man.

You don't need to feel alarmed, though. I came here with good intentions.

Consider me a comrade. You know what I mean."

Jay knew that he had already been exposed, and there was no point in denying it, considering the certainty in the gentleman's words.

"Was it that obvious, mister? I like to think that I have been careful enough though."

Jay could only let out a helpless smile as he asked.

The gentleman had just finished wiping his previous table and was occupying the opposing seat at Jay's table.

"Not really. I think you've been cautious enough, considering your basic understanding of metaphysics. I only came upon your trail by chance. Do you remember that Jolluboat figure last week?"

"Oh, that one. Were you among the people surrounding the mascot, mister? I couldn't see well that far."

Jay ran his fingers through his hair in disappointment. It seemed like he had thought too simply of matters.

"Yes. Although if it was someone other than me, you probably wouldn't have been discovered. In a sense, you're very lucky, young man."

The gentleman chuckled softly, though it felt like a sneer to Jay.

"Well, I'm already caught either way. What's going to happen to me, mister?"

Jay didn't have thoughts of resisting, especially when the gentleman had been amiable so far.

It might also lessen the severity of his possible offense if he complied peacefully.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. You did nothing wrong.

In fact, I'm here to take you in as my student. Are you interested?

You are free to ask questions. I will answer as long as it's not beyond my clearance."

The gentleman had just received approval from the local headquarters about his request.

If the young man accepted, then they would have another intern observer in their ranks.