After a series of questions and examinations, Priest Edith left the room. Dolan and Magnus saw her out, leaving only Edris and Celio in the bedroom chamber.

“Master, are you sure you’re okay?” Celio grumbled. “Why not just rest a few more days here? His Highness and Priest Edith suggested that you take it easy at least until the end of the month.”

“I am taking it easy. Just not here.” From across the bedroom chamber, Edris was packing the few things he had.

Tying up his bag, he pressed two fingers to the side of his neck, just beneath the jawbone. After half a minute, his hand fell to his side, fingers tapping against the sofa.

"How strange," Edris mumbled. "I'm feeling fine right now, but..."

Why was there no pulse?

Priest Edith had created a fuss after discovering his pulseless body, rolling out a number of other machines and tools immediately for a more thorough examination. But much to her chagrin, the examination results were all within a healthy range of values. Edris was as healthy as any other average human being—except that he had no pulse.

Edris closed his eyes. Thanks to the doings of the Sacrificial Hourglass, he was now extra sensitive to his bodily states.

Hunger and sleep levels being one aspect, if he focused his mind, he could even sense strands of hair nagging at the nape of his neck, his lungs expanding at every breath, and the very presence of thinking in progress.

Indeed, if he tried, he could become aware of every one of his bodily processes, voluntary and involuntary—including his beating heart.

Yet when he put his fingers to the surface of his skin, there was nothing.

How very strange.

Edris lowered his gaze, contemplative. Heightened awareness could be helpful in situations where he needed to precisely evaluate his conditions to make decisions accordingly.

For example, he'd fainted back in the Slums due to mana overuse, but with this skill in hand, he would know exactly when he'd reach his limits and how far he could go without endangering himself. If he ever got injured again, he'd also be able to pinpoint the exact location, though treating them would still require a professional.

However, this awareness also came with its own dangers.

Edris shook himself out of his trance.

Hyperawareness could easily lead to obsessive behaviours. Currently, Edris could actively control where to focus on and evaluate his inner states, but what if there comes a day where this hyper-perceptivity becomes permanent in his consciousness?

This strange phenomenon aside, his healed injuries were also a matter of concern.

According to the priest, he had underestimated black mana's potential; supposedly, exposure to it was enough to cause discomfort, but the moment black mana invades the flesh, it'd be impossible for even archmages to survive.

But if that was the case, how did Edris, who wasn’t even an Awakened, heal after only five days?

Of course, the wound from black mana had caused him considerable pain. It was dulled by his lack of thermoception, but still severe to the point where he’d found it hard even to move his arm.

However, when he'd brought this up to Priest Edith, she only shook her head.

“In normal circumstances, you would have died before you could even feel the pain,” she explained.

The priest didn’t know the answers to his conditions, but she did come up with a complicated, burdensome examination schedule that'd supposedly help him find answers. When he turned down her offer, she'd then referred him to a well-paid research position in the Healing Faction—as the experiment subject.

Naturally, Edris had firmly refused that offer as well.

“This kingdom really isn’t very friendly to me.” Pulling a grey turtleneck over his head, Edris suppressed a shudder.

He had come to Nolmes for the opportunities, but all he received in return were troubles. Edris wasn’t superstitious, but at this point, even he was wondering if he had done something that had led to all the misfortunes.

Should I just settle down somewhere else before it gets worse?

Amidst his thoughts, the door to the chamber swung open, revealing none other than the Crown Prince.

“Magnus left to finish some matters.” Dolan eyed him up and down. “Leaving already?”

“I have troubled you enough, with the chamber, medical care and all.” Edris smiled.

“Not at all. In fact, I would feel more comforted if you had stayed at least until the end of the month, knowing your injuries. You know, Priest Edith called you a healing miracle.”

Edris let out a small laugh.

“I guess I was lucky.”

Despite saying that, he knew more than anyone that the reason would be anything other than luck, considering the number of misfortunes he had experienced in the past months. He did admit, however, that the yieldings of the exchange with the Sacrificial Hourglass this time had surpassed his expectations.

The artifact seemed to have given him a dose of vitality, or something along those lines. Not only did he heal from what was supposed to be a lethal wound to the average human, but he was also in a better state overall, especially on a physical level. Although his complexion appeared more sickly to others, Edris felt healthier than ever.

“About the incident,” Dolan began. “It seems to be the doings of an organisation called Nest. We’re investigating the details right now, but so far, it's spelling out dark magic affiliations.”

“The person we came into contact with introduced himself as Robin, a member of an organisation called Nest.” Edris shared what he learned back in the underground chasm. “They possessed a sacred artifact, too. The Plunge, they called it.”

“Correct.” Dolan nodded. “We found the Plunge to be an unlisted artifact. We’re unsure of its origin, but judging from the witnesses’ descriptions of its functions, it’s at least a category two artifact.”

“Category two?”

“Since sacred artifacts are meant to mimic Signas, once acknowledged, they’re then categorised based on their predicted potential, impact, and general compatibility. Category four includes artifacts safe for general use, while category one are those reserved for professional, urgent circumstances.” Dolan sighed. “Unlike the seven Signas, which are blessings from deities, sacred artifacts can be crafted by machinas. It’s a strenuous process, though. At most, only one is produced annually.

“All the known artifacts are monitored strictly by the Resource Faction. We didn’t expect an organisation to have a sacred artifact as private property. This means someone in the Resource Faction might have secretly produced an artifact and supplied it to Nest.”

“There’s a second possibility, Your Highness.” Edris regarded him. “Nest has a machina member of their own.”

Currently, they knew little about Nest, but this lack of knowledge only further implies this organisation’s hidden dangers. Machinas were an extremely rare group of Awakeneds, but thinking back to Robin's abilities and their members' associations with black magic, he wouldn’t dismiss this possibility.

Machinas were rare, but not that rare. In fact, Edris was acquainted with one himself.

“ …You’re right.” Brushing his red hair behind with one hand, Dolan frowned. “This Nest is definitely something we need to be on guard about. Apart from the fact that all the victims are Awakened, we found the majority to be from Adalan.”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

The Crown Prince’s face fell grim.

Edris understood his worries. Viscount Eathe was one of the nobles involved in this year’s Hunt. Not only was he a part of Nest, but he was also one of the leading players in bringing together the “preys.” A notable noble taking part in illegal slave imports across kingdoms…

His actions were more than sufficient to elicit hostile sentiments between the two kingdoms.

If not resolved effectively, this initial hostility may become the instigator of something far, far worse.

“There are many problems with this kingdom. It’s laughable that I’ve only noticed this now.” Dolan rubbed his face, sighing as he did so.

Absentmindedly, he strolled past Edris and Celio, towards the windows at the end of the room. He glanced out into the colourful city, contemplative.

“Beginning with the Slums, there’s a surprisingly large number of underage residents there. This shouldn’t be something children like them need to undergo. We’re coming up with plans to improve its current conditions, as well as providing opportunities for the people who live there, but it’s been difficult.”

“Can’t everyone just help out a little?” Celio asked.

“The Resource Faction could only provide them with temporary dwelling and accommodations, and the nobles, they’re another problem on their own.” Dolan sighed. “The guest list you provided us has been immensely helpful. Even though they were coded, we could pin out many of the involved families through the Risk Faction and those who were present at the Hunt. But it’s not easy getting them punished.”

At the Crown Prince’s words, Celio furrowed his brows. “But what they’re doing is obviously unjust, so why?”

“Well…”

“Corruption, human nature, you name it,” Edris answered for him. Despite the bluntness of his words, he had a gentle smile on his face. “After all, how can people be judged with fairness by a structurally unjust system?”

“But…” Celio’s lowered his gaze to his feet. “This isn’t right.”

“It’s not. But unfortunately, this seems to be the case right now,” Dolan said. “And of the uninvolved nobles, most of these families are unwilling to provide support nor associate themselves with them…”

His sentence trickled off as the Crown Prince slowly inhaled. After a few seconds, he turned towards Edris.

“Your wish,” Dolan said. “I will fulfil it.”

He was talking about the verbal agreement they had a while back. Silence dawned between them as Edris returned his gaze, calm as usual.

“I look forward to it, Your Highness.”

“As for the investigation, I’ll let you know if more important information comes up.”

“That you don’t have to, Your Highness,” Edris said immediately. “I fully trust you and the factions will take care of it.”

“You now…” Dolan laughed. “Let’s talk about you, actually. I’m sure you know this already, but you’re quite the figure right now.”

Edris’s smile stiffened. “Am I?”

“Yes, you are!” Celio said enthusiastically.

Seeing the beast tamer’s sparkling gaze, Edris was starting to get an ominous feeling.

“The kidnapped Awakeneds all shared what they saw back at the Slums. Thanks to them, your reputation is now saved!” Celio grinned.

“This is considered a nationwide event, after all. And you played the major role in minimising the casualties in this event.” The Crown Prince seemed to be looking at him with an expression containing both amusement and pity. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that your actions have spread throughout the entire kingdom.”

Ah.

Edris felt like swearing right now.

So that’s how it is.

During the confrontation with Robin, he had intentionally hid his identity from the other Awakened in the chasm. He thought it would've been a hindrance to his carefree life if he were to become famous because of his actions.

In fact, he had planned to escape right after teleporting everyone to safety, but his body ended up giving out on him right after.

“That reminds me…” Dolan’s expression turned strange as he glanced toward Edris. “Prophet Edris, who's the man with white hair with you?”

He was referring to no other than Ace.

Edris blinked twice. He'd completely forgotten about this trouble. He fell silent, causing Celio and Dolan to exchange looks with each other.

"His name is Ace," he finally said.

“Is he really an angel?” Celio asked, and Edris looked up from his trance.

“Angel?”

"Master, do you know what people are saying about you two right now? There’s been stories circulating these days, saying that the Fallen Prophet was saved by an angel sent by Serenity!” Celio pouted. “They’re dismissing all your efforts and making it sound like he did most of the work.”

What is this? A theatre series?

Edris listened to the beast tamer’s words with a straight face, but internally, his head was filled with question marks. He didn’t expect a continuation of the “Fallen Prophet” shenanigans. It was already absurd enough that he had been suspected of being a prophet, but he didn’t expect Ace to be deemed as an angel.

His mind unknowingly flashed back to Ace’s foul vocabulary, and Edris stifled a laugh.

At his action, both Celio and Dolan looked at him.

"Your Highness, I've been wondering something," Edris said. "What made you think that I was a prophet in the first place?"

At first, he thought it was because of the Tempest, or maybe the teleportations. But even then, prophets were considered mythical beings. He was sure that these skills could be pulled off by others, especially people like Saire Harkness.

"Ah, well..." Dolan scratched his face awkwardly. "To be honest, I'm not quite sure."

Edris blinked twice. "Huh?"

"His Majesty was the one that told me to ask you about it." The Crown Prince laid out his hands. "My father never explains the things he does and why. But from what I know, it's probably related to our kingdom's history. You've heard about the stories about The Giver, right?"

Edris nodded. The Giver was the title Toren Zacriya went by during his time as the leader of the Seven Conquerors. These legendary figures played an essential role in securing humanity's victory during the Creatos War, and afterwards, they dispersed themselves to various parts of the world, protecting the newly gained peace.

Many fables rose in response to this history, be they about the Conquerors or the origins of their weapons—the seven Signas. One of the stories stated when Toren Zacriya passed away, he was invited to the Realm of the Clouds by the Serenity Deity and became a prophet.

"You see, the sayings about our ancestor being a prophet, my father sincerely believes in them. I can't go into the more confidential details, but every king in Zacriya receives a prophecy the night of their coronation."

"A prophecy? From Toren Zacriya?"

"Perhaps so, or maybe even the Serenity Deity herself. The contents of the prophecy are strictly confined to the King, but as long as he acts accordingly based on the prophecy, the kingdom will continue to prosper, and peace will be maintained." Dolan shrugged. "Sounds sketchy, I admit. But according to His Majesty, this prophecy is one of the most crucial reasons why we, the Zacriyas, stayed in power to this day.

"He called it an inevitable responsibility, a calling."

"Is it okay for you to be saying these things as the Crown Prince?" Celio asked. "Calling these things sketchy and all..."

"I'm not denying their validity. I just won't wholly believe it until I go through the experience myself,” Dolan said casually.

Edris nodded. As an atheist, he wasn't in the position to make any comments about the Zacriya family's beliefs. He did find the Crown Prince's attitude towards the situation impressive, though.

"And the angel part? Where did that come from?" he asked.

"About that..." Dolan looked hesitant as he ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, doesn't he look like the angels we grew up reading in fables? The kidnapped Awakeneds were all talking about it too, about how he was glowing and things like that. I guess that's how the news spread."

"..."

Mind flashing back to Ace's overall appearance, Edris let out an awkward cough.

Given a face like his, he supposed there were bound to be rumours like these.

“He’s not an angel,” Edris said, clearing his throat. “Just someone I know. He helped me out back at the Slums.”

“You seem to know all kinds of people.” Dolan raised an eyebrow.

Edris laid out his hands with a shrug.

“Comes from being a traveller, Your Highness.”

He paused.

“Actually, about that person—where is he?”

“After you fainted, he was taken to the Mage Faction. After all, apart from you, he was the only other witness of the entire situation.” Dolan pursed his lips into a line. “But he wasn’t very cooperative. He wouldn’t say anything about himself, and only gave us the minimum about what happened in the chasm.”

Sounds like Ace.

Edris thought back to the man’s stern personality and sharp tongue. He also recalled Ace’s strange sense of logic that strayed from the average human brain.

“He also went off track for many conversations, mentioning things that sounded… quite preposterous.”

“A war?” Edris asked, and Dolan widened his eyes.

“How did you know?”

“A lucky guess, I suppose.” Not bothering to elaborate, Edris straightened his turtleneck collar and grabbed his bag.

A mysterious person with a suspicious background but outstanding abilities. Furthermore, this person was being difficult throughout the investigation process, even muttering ominous statements related to war and violence. Edris could already imagine the faction’s wariness towards him.

But what’s more? This person was currently bound to him by a contract.

Massaging his temples, Edris let out an inaudible sigh.

One trouble after another.

This kingdom really wasn’t planning to let him breathe.

“Master, where are you going?” Celio blinked.

At his question, the dark-haired man glimpsed over his shoulder.

“The Mage Faction.”

He needed to get Ace out of there before the man turned himself into a suspect.