Chapter 87 - Tour

Vern, Lucian, and Shinsei sat in what could only be called a dining hall. Its decor was nothing to scoff at, but Vern focused on finishing his meal as soon as possible.

He didn't want to exert himself physically after stuffing himself full of delicious food. Filling up another spoonful of pudding, he eyed the Captain, who had brought them straight down here.

After a little deliberation, he said, "Captain, I have a few questions."

"Fire away, my friend."

"Do you know why only two of us were assigned under Kingsmen? Does it have something to do with us not being nobles?"

Captain nodded, using chopsticks to shovel rice down his mouth. After a few seconds, he added, "Akira picked you two because of that. I remember him saying Kingsmen didn't want to nurture nobles."

"Ohh? Why is that?" chirped Lucian, showing off his lackluster table manners.

Captain Shinsei gave a helpless smile and put his bowl down before replying, "Kingsmen were established during the previous Empress's reign, and I think it has been a tradition ever since? I…I don't know exactly why."

So, Vern asked something else that's been on his mind for a while, "Captain, do you know what the Kingsmen are expecting from both of us? Or why they agreed to teach us at all?"

The swordsman pondered for a while before replying, "I think this is a joint attempt from both organizations to foster Observers that aren't just…you know, good for their Visions, or Kingsmen that can't Observe anything subjectively."

Ohhhh. Pieces of the puzzle fell in place, and Vern nodded slowly. That made sense. Except that Captain phrased his words in a way that put both organizations on a similar level. Yes, Kingsmen were feared and all, but were they really a match for Observers that could change the very reality?

So he asked, "But Captain, does it mean Kingsmen are as powerful as Observers? Aren't they just…humans?"

Captain didn't even wait for him to finish before he started shaking his head side-to-side, "Don't make that mistake, my friend. Never underestimate the Kingsmen. You haven't fought one, so you don't know, but they are far more than just…humans. How could they be normal when they don't even appear in our perceptions? It's almost as if they're some kind of Observers themselves."

Vern furrowed his brows. That was unexpected. He had believed that Kingsmen were just highly trained individuals. Though he'd been doubtful ever since he saw Mistress Amelia fight back on that bridge.

Lucian gave the Captain a 'what the hell are you talking about' look, and the swordsman sighed before adding, "See, I wouldn't go as far as to say they're as versatile as us Observers, because all they have is their physical strength, but with all the outlandish gears that fundamentalist friends like you have made for them, they are more than a match for most Observers."

Lucian dropped his fork and asked, "How? How does that work? Where does that power come from?" Vern leaned in, very interested in the answer himself.

But Captain gave them a saddened look and shook his head side to side, "…I don't know, my friend."

That was disappointing.

Lucian closed in further, "They've been around for so long. Surely the secret would've gotten out?"

Captain Shinsei looked around, trying to recruit some help, but vigil members at other tables ignored his pleading look, focusing on their own new squad mates.

Lucian kept pressing, "Are they going to share that secret with us? Will we become as strong as them?"

Captain drank some water and sighed another time, melancholy drowning his tone, "I am really sorry, my friends. But I don't know. I am a foreigner and was never really interested in the affairs of the city. Neither did I bother asking Akira about it. Please forgive my ignorance and incompetence."

Lucian was taken aback at the sincere disappointment in the Captain's words, and he fumbled around, "Uhhh, umm, don't worry, sir. I was just asking, you know?"

"No, my friend. I pride myself on helping new friends like you to the best of my abilities, but it seems I am failing already." He clutched his forehead and looked at the ground, utterly disappointed in himself.

Vern couldn't sit back anymore and tried to clear up the air, "It's okay, Captain. We can always go and read about these things in the library. I remember De Flanc told me there's all kinds of confidential information in there." Then he squinted and turned to the blonde, the knife in his hand gleaming sharply, "Right, Lucian?"

The very mention of books caused a terrified expression to surface on Lucian's face, but he gritted his teeth, looking back and forth between the despondent Captain and Vern's menacing gaze. However, he soon gave up and admitted, "Yes. Yes. Vern's right, we can just go…read about it." It almost seemed like someone held him at gunpoint.

Anyhow, these words seemed to have done the job. Captain looked up and nodded very seriously, "You guys are done eating, right? Let's go to Vena's archive. I can introduce both of you to Irene so she won't give you any trouble later on, and you can read all about Kingsmen."

Vern instantly stood up, wiping his hands and lips with the handkerchief provided, and exclaimed, "Let's go!"

Lucian looked at them, then at his mushroom and truffle pastries. Sensing his hesitation, Captain added, "I have to give both of you a tour of the rest of the Vigil before I hand you over to our Kingsmen friends anyway. We should get going."

Lucian continued to drag his feet, so Vern picked a tissue and placed a couple of those pastries on it. Handing it over to Lucian, he pretty much forced the guy up and set him in the direction towards the exit of the mess hall.

Captain didn't care about Lucian's antics and led the way. "The archive's entrance is on the ground floor, though it spans at least three floors."

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

"Just how it should be," Vern replied, his smile a little too wide.

Lucian appeared to be more interested in his pastries and the interior as he followed them from a distance. Vern took the opportunity to ask very sensitively, "Captain, don't worry if you're not sure about my next question. I'm just curious, but why is the library called 'Vena's Archive?'"

Captain tapped the finger resting on his sword's handle and replied with a repeated nod, "I know this one, my friend. The previous Empress of this kingdom, Lady Sinatra, had two daughters, 'Eleonora,' and 'Vena.'"

"Lady Vena was apparently displeased that her elder sister alone had been immortalized with a library named in her honor. So, to appease her young daughter, the Empress renamed their in-house library after her."

Oh, right. Vern nodded. He remembered hearing somewhere that Eleonora's archive was named after the previous Empress' daughter.

Still, Vern stared at the Captain dumbfoundedly, unsure why his knowledge distribution was so skewed. How did he know so much history about the previous Empress but not the Kingsmen of the present?

And it seemed his confusion was too obvious, for Captain smirked, adding, "Don't look at me like that, my friend. I know all this because this is Akira's family we're talking about. Lady Vena was Akira's mother."

Before Vern could reply, Lucian butted in, extricating himself from his sinful gluttony. "Ohhh, were they as beautiful as Captain Akira, too?"

Vern rubbed his chin, connecting the dots in his mind. This answered some of his burning questions, but more cropped up right after. Lady Sinatra was the previous Empress, and Captain Akira was her grandson. But the fact that neither Lady Eleonora nor Lady Vena became the next Empress suggested that something had gone wrong with the succession.

Mix in the fact that people called Captain Akira an exiled prince who was shunned at an early age, and one had the plot of an insidious political drama. Though the current emperor had the same last name, so he was probably some uncle of Akira.

The whole thing Intrigued Vern, but Lucian was too excited about the question he asked. So when they stopped, the Captain pointed at some painting far down the hall, "That's Lady Vena. You can go and judge for yourself."

Lucian ditched them instantly and walked up to the painting while Vern focused on the large door with transparent panels right next to them.

Captain disregarded Lucian and pointed in the room before saying, "That's our communication hub. Currently, we have only managed to connect to a couple of our hideouts in the inner districts. There's even one in the Athenaeum district now. If we had that beforehand, we could have called reinforcements at Starfall Heights right from the start."

Vern, who was curiously feeding his brain on all the delicate machinery at display, responded with a shake of his head, "It's great that wasn't the case. Who knows how the 'vessel' would've reacted to a bigger group." Hopefully, he didn't sound sympathetic to the 'vessel' at all.

Shinsei nodded and made to walk away, calling Lucian back. Vern asked, "Can we not go in right now?"

"Uhh, not much to see, honestly. And we shouldn't disturb our ordinary staff for no reason."

Vern nodded reluctantly and sighed before joining them. Shinsei resumed their tour, and after crossing another corridor, he pointed at a hall that had a reception. A lady sat behind the desk, looking utterly bored.

"That's the resource allocation hall. You can receive a gem for your vigil badge over there. The type of gem depends on your contribution to the vigil. Think of it as something akin to clearance levels. The more shades in your gem, the higher your clearance."

Vern questioned back, "Shades? In the gem?"

Captain chuckled, "Haha, don't worry, my friend. It's not what you're thinking. Someone came up with the idea of using gems that can show different colors when Observed, and no one disagreed. So the more colors in your gem, the higher your clearance."

Vern let out a sigh, "Fair enough." He was expecting it to be some mysterious affair.

But then Lucian rubbed his chin and said, "Hmm, Captain. You said we can receive a gem for our badge? Do you mean me, too? Should I go get one right now?"

Captain responded, clearly amused, "I said 'you' to Vern. Not you, my friend. He's contributed quite a lot to our coffers and arsenal because he helped save some very rich ladies. You have yet to do anything of the sort. Don't worry, though. I'm sure it won't be long before you have a high-shade gem on your badge, as well."

Lucian looked back and forth between Vern and Captain, mouthing soundlessly. After a while, he gave up with a grumble.

But the Captain didn't take them to the resource allocation hall and instead turned them onto another section of this labyrinthine castle.

I guess I'll have to go get that badge later. Wonder what my 'clearance' is. Vern thought to himself as they passed one chamber after another.

Finally, after a while, they stood in front of a huge door with a signboard proclaiming 'Vena's archive' in gorgeous fonts. Captain wordlessly pointed at the sign and then pushed open the door.

Blue hue filled his vision, and when his eyes adjusted, inordinately tall shelves greeted him, each one filled to the brim. A smile began forming on his face, but he soon noticed something off.

His eyesight had improved quite a bit since he had Shaded his Perception, and he could read most of the titles on the book's spines. They were…mundane. He obviously hadn't seen all of them before, but he didn't need to read them to know they weren't anything special.

A little worried, he whispered—not forgetting library etiquette, "Captain Shinsei, umm, is this really the archive where information regarding Observers is stored? No offense, but all I see are ordinary books."

Captain smiled back and gestured with a dismissive wave of his hand, "You need clearance."

Ohh, right. That completely slipped his mind.

In what could only be called a muffled shout, the Captain called, "Irene."

“Hello, Irene?”

"Irene? Are you here?"

He tilted his head and looked around past a couple of shelves with nothing to show for it. After trying another couple of times, he became despondent and staggered back to Lucian and Vern.

Looking all downcast, he said, "My friends, it seems Irene isn't here right now, and I have no idea where you could find more about Kingsmen in this mess of a library. I—I really couldn't do anything about such a simple request. I failed you. I—"

Lucian's smile returned, and he started backing out of the library, but Vern cut in before things went any further, "Umm, it's okay, Captain, don't worry about it. We don't have the time to read anything right now, anyway. If it's about putting in a good word, you can always do so whenever you meet Lady Irene."

"I suppose…"

"Please don't worry so much—"

But he suddenly stopped mid-sentence. And he felt it. Again. It was that feeling of being watched. He didn't know if this had become some kind of talent of his now, but he was pretty sure someone was watching him.

And this time, no one warned him to not look back. So he snapped his head backward in an instantaneous motion, focusing above and behind himself. It was a rack above the archway of the door, books stacked atop it neatly, but he saw it. For the briefest of moments, two green eyes stared him down from the gap between two books.

He instantly turned alert and pointed at the position of those eyes, shouting, "Someone's there!"

RUSTLE

It was a little dark above the archway because a hanging scroll blocked the light, and he couldn't be sure what actually happened there.

Lucian seemed to catch his drift and quickly took on a fighting stance—something Vern didn't have. So he instead backed up behind a shelf and readied his perception.

He was just waiting for Captain Shinsei.

But what was he doing?

Instead of taking cover, he looked at both of them with a strange expression.

THUMP

But Vern felt it again, and he jerked his head towards the source. It was coming from right above him! He saw those green orbs for a fraction of a second again before they disappeared.

He took a deep breath and made up his mind. It wasn't the greatest idea to recklessly use a Vision on his first day in the organization and in front of a Captain at that, but he can always Observe, right?

Not waiting for the swordsman anymore, he opened up his perception for general structures, and a black…blur shot from above him towards the Captain. Stunned, he yelled, "Captain! It's coming for you!"

But then he heard a sound, and his perception shattered on its own.

Meow