"Bingo~! You got an eighty, Shepherd~." Exclaimed Clara with a mug filled with mirth.

'Ugh. Eighty? I still missed something?' I grumbled inwardly.

Sensing the disparity in my face, Clara stepped up and opened her mouth.

"You are someone who strives to rule both the Light and Dark, Shepherd...That's why you only get eighty." Hinted her.

Thanks to that, something clicked in my head.

"The Phantom Squad!" I almost shout.

Clara snapped her finger, satisfied with my answer.

"Isn't it weird how a giant like Phantom Squad keeps their nose low and hands clean despite having almost the kingdom's entire underground world under their beck and call? They don't have any reason to let such a huge pass by from under their stubby noses without cutting a piece for themselves, don't you think so?"

'Yeah...For those people who would even sell their skin for a bag of gold, it's nearly impossible for them to do nothing.' I nodded along. "Do we still have no news about them?"

"We're closer than ever. But since they're also trying their best to track us back, it's not easy...You should know. Just look at how Assassin kept rolling day and night without any meaningful progress so far. She must be disgusted with herself for letting her dear lord down." Scoffed Clara dry.

"Is that why she's away?"

Clara merely shrugged, adding. "You really need to tell her to cut herself some slack, Shepherd. I'm not putting words in your mouth or anything, but we need to realize that she is doing all this while still pumping herself full with those juices from the Doctor."

It tingled honestly, hearing sincere words of concern for Renata, and it came from Clara, of all people. But she did make a valid point.

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"What Helios has to say about this?"

"He's going to cut her off if she refuses to have her scheduled checkups. That thing where he makes sure Assassin doesn't break herself every two months." And she was back again to her grapes.

'Dang it...she's too good and crazy for her own good, that Renata...' I heaved softly, imagining the scene where Renata stubbornly argued with Helios. "Tell her in my stead when she gets back, Clara...I did not send her away, only to spend her day in bed later when we needed her the most."

"By your will, Milord~." Answered Clara with the gestures and all.

I rolled my eyes in return. "Jokes aside. We need to prevent that Conquest or whatever from happening."

Reflecting the grim hue from my own, Clara's eyes flashed in a sharp glint. "Is this one of those things we must do?"

"Yes. We must prevent them." I answered firmly.

"...Understood~. I will schedule a Council with this as the agenda." A tinge of playfulness returned to her voice in a blink of an eye.

"Can we do something to find out why that old man suddenly wants to do this after staying still all these years? As far as I know, there has been only one instance where the Saint himself led Boreas in a war, which also was his first and last." The pace of my tapping increased adjacent to the rising annoyance inside me.

'History painted the Saint as someone with so much compassion that he decided to withdraw himself from the battle after he won. Would someone full of compassion flatten thousands of people without batting an eyelid? What a load of bullshit...He clearly got bored of it as quickly as he won.' I sneered inwardly.

"Hoo~ You've done your homework, ain't you?" Teased the woman.

"The fact that he has been weird from the start aside, how do you suggest we do that when establishing contact alone would be near impossible? It's a known fact that even the greedy king, Voressa Demeria Boreas, would have to wait for almost two hours before being granted the chance to hold an audience with the Saint." Snorted Clara with a mocking tone.

"We're talking about his own son here, Shepherd. Two hours. That man is impossible to reason with...But I get what you're trying to say. If we know the reason behind his action, then we'll know what the problem is. And by knowing the problems, we're at least halfway to solving them."

"It sounds like you have an idea." My voice trailed off.

"It'll be a wild goose chase, trying to guess the thoughts of a crazy person. But if we take a step back and try to look at the picture from a different angle, then we might have find something we can use." Stated her.

"And that is...?" I questioned.

"A pattern, Shepherd. A pattern...Humans are beings of pattern whether we like it or not..." Smirked Clara mischievously.