Jeremy studied Delia closely and observed a subtle narrowing of her eyes, accompanied by a puzzled expression that twisted her eyebrows. He could tell that his sudden change in demeanour confused her, and more importantly, Jonah hadn’t told his account of the story.

“No?” she answered, confirming his thoughts. “We haven’t spoken about the Kraken. I don’t even really want to bring it up. Not until we can have a proper conversation, at least.”

“I… see,” Jeremy replied, disappointed.

“Why did you ask?” she said, her brow furrowing.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“No, Jeremy,” she said firmly. “You can’t ask something and expect me to tell you, but not have it the other way around. Not when you literally just moaned about Pa holding stuff back from us.”

“It’s nothing new. I was just wondering if he told you about the Kraken, and… you know, about how something had already injured it.”

“You think something else killed it?” she said speculatively, “That something else is out there, nearby. And you think Jonah would know?”

Jeremy shrugged. “There are definitely other things out there. I mean, if you’re to be believed, there are sirens out there and —”

“Do you actually doubt me?” she cut in, voice tinged with hurt.

“No. No, of course not,” he replied placatingly. “Not on this. It’s just… hard to get my head around.” He shook his head. “But to answer your question, yes, I think there are other things out there. I mean, if there are Krakens and Siren’s out there, then Athena knows what else lurks around.”

Delia tapped the green tome beside the scribbled parchment. “I think this bestiary isn’t as fictional as some would think.” She let out a light chuckle. “I mean, you clearly don't think it is, do you? I imagine you were going through it, trying to find whatever killed the Kraken.”

He looked at her sheepishly. “Nothing gets past you, huh?”

Her lips quirked into a small smile. “Nope.”

Delia's attention to detail, ability to connect with and read others, and her intuitive nature were well known, so it was no surprise to Jeremy that she had seen through him; it was why she was often involved in any sort of meetings, despite not being officially part of the senior team.

“So, what makes you think something else killed the Kraken?” he asked. “You seem to have doubted it before I brought it up. And Jonah hadn’t told you of its injuries.”

“Jonah killed the Kraken,” she replied definitively. “But I don’t disagree that the Kraken was injured. Like you said, it was missing tentacles. I saw one of its stubs flailing around.”

Jeremy shuddered. “It was more than just sliced-off tentacles, Delia,” he explained, his voice quivering with the memory of the mutilated corpse. “It was a hollow carcass of a creature. I mean, I could see its insides all the way… they were on full display.”

He gulped, moistening his throat. “The creature's skull was partially carved out, leaving a gaping hole where its brain should have been. And what remained of the brain looked like a mess of smashed peas, only instead of green, it was a deep shade of red.”

Jeremy took in a deep breath, the memory unfolding to reality, the stench of death heavy in the air assaulting his nose once again.

“I think I'm okay without the visual descriptions, Jeremy,” Delia said softly.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” He shook his head, trying to banish the thought. “Anyway, I was just… you know, curious if Jonah spoke it. If it could help narrow down whatever did that to the thing.”

“I think he’ll have as much of a guess as you, Jeremy. He was fighting for his life out there, you know. Not really taking in the scene.”

That was reasonable, he supposed. The confrontation had left Jonah with enough bruises that he had been comatose for three days after the battle. Paired with the fact the incident had occurred three months ago, it was likely the specifics had blurred away. That, or Jonah dreamt nightmares like Jeremy himself.

“And it’s not like it matters,” Delia said. “Whatever did that is probably far away. Maybe it was the Sirens. Khaleel did say the stronger coloured ones could kill a Kraken, didn’t he?”

That was also true, Jeremy conceded, though he didn't want to say it aloud for fear of attracting the attention of Ares and Fortuna. The gods seemed to have a habit of using the crew for their own amusement, and he didn't want to invite their unwanted interference.

Tired of pacing around, Jeremy sat back in his chair. He turned his attention back to Delia and watched her eyes go distant as they scanned over the scribbled parchment, her mind piecing together the puzzle in front of her.

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“Jeremy…” Delia said pensively. “You’ve been to the capital, right?”

“Been all over Askern. Why?”

“Say, the royal guards. Have you ever seen them?”

He nodded, confused. “You can see them all over the place, in those big guild clubs they all loiter in.”

“Yes, but they publicly train in the capital, don't they?”

“Yes?”

She leaned forward, eyes locked onto Jeremy's. “Have you ever seen them train?”

He nodded slowly, trying to piece together what she was getting at.

“Were they as fast as the Khaleel's men?” she asked.

Jeremy paused in thought. “I… don’t know. I mean, I've seen them leap like they’re rabbits and run like horses, but it’s not like they fight in front of us. They might be as fast in combat? Why do you ask?”

“I’m speculating here –”

“–I thought speculating was a big no-no,” Jeremy said jokingly.

She glared at him.

“Right, sorry.”

“As I was saying,” she began, “I think I know what makes a Red. Yellow even. Maybe all the colours.”

He quirked an eyebrow at that. “And that is?”

“Mana.”

“Mana,” he repeated. “That’s it?”

“Think about it,” she said. “What is the royal guard known for?”

“Money. Fame. Gold-plated armour. Being stupidly strong and fast.” He scratched his chin in thought. “Artifact usage. Mana manipulation…”

“Exactly!” Delia said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “We know you need large mana reserves to use any artifact without charging it with a cell. It’s why anyone with a decent capacity is nabbed by the royalist cult. Jonah has the largest capacity amongst us, and he’s a high red. Not a regular red or low red. And not an orange. Yet…”

She let the words hang in the air and looked at Jeremy expectantly.

It took a few seconds, but then his heart fluttered and his eyes widened, catching on to what she was implying. “You mean… you can grow it?”

She nodded. “I don’t think it’s determined by birth. Or at least, I don't think it’ll stay the same forever. Khaleel said Sirens start red, and he called them hatchlings. Which means they change colour as they age. Their mana capacities increase. Why won’t it be the same for us?”

“And the guard being master mana manipulators?”

She shrugged. “Probably true? I mean, think about it. Imagine mana is like a muscle. Having muscle and strength isn’t useful if you don’t know how to use it. Like bodybuilders and power-lifters. I don’t know what mana manipulation means, but we know mana capacity determines artifact usage. It’s why hardly anyone can ever join the guard. We ordinary folk just don’t have enough mana.

“So if mana capacity is to do with artifacts, then maybe mana manipulation affects people. Maybe that’s how you get faster and stronger.”

Jeremy hummed in thought. “If being yellow means having more mana than a red, and a yellow is faster and stronger than a red, wouldn’t that mean mana capacity is what affects your physical traits?”

“Could be,” she conceded. “Maybe mana manipulation is strictly related to Artifacts then? And that there is a baseline of mana needed to use tools. Like you need to be red to use certain tools.”

“Anyone can use Jonah's sword,” Jeremy said, his mind going back to when he released his own air slash. It was paltry compared to anything Jonah could produce, but he could still use it.

“Yes, but none of us can cut anything with it, even when we pour our mana into it,” Delia said. “It could be that we just don't know how to pour the mana, hence mana manipulation. Or maybe it is a capacity thing. It could be both. I just don’t know. I think the bottom line is, mana is what differentiates the rankings, and we can increase it.”

He nodded along with her explanation. “Ok, and how do we go about doing that then?”

Delia sighed, slumping back into her chair. “I don’t know,” she said, resigned.

Jeremy made a sound of irritation clicking his teeth together. “It’s frustrating that the nobility pricks and royal guards withhold that knowledge,” he said bitterly.

“Well, it’s more an open secret than it is witholding knowledge,” Delia replied. “And I don’t blame them.”

“What?” His irritation and anger made his voice louder than he intended. “If you can naturally increase your rank, why would they hide that from us?!”

“Think about it. If you told every single person, then you have the potential of making every citizen a super soldier,” she explained. “Think about how easy an uprising would be. There’d be no stability. Might and strength would reign. It’s the same reason why crossbows are policed weapons.”

"Yes, but if it’s only the royal guard who knows this information, along with the king and those he deems necessary, doesn't it mean that the power lies in their hands?" Jeremy questioned. “They are the might and strength that rules.”

“I’m not saying you're wrong, Jeremy,” Delia said. “I just don’t think it’d be wise to give every person the ability to split rocks, run like a horse or leap like a rabbit. Soldiers being stronger than civilians makes sense to me. It’s the same principle as to why they can be armed with crossbows, but regular civilians can only bear swords.”

“The only reason we can bear swords is that people would riot if you took that right away,” Jeremy muttered.

“And think about how much worse every riot would be if they could cause as much damage as a Kraken.”

Jeremy reluctantly grunted in agreement.

“Anyway, this is all speculation,” Delia said. “We need to confirm things.”

“And how do we go about doing that?”

With a determined gaze and a firm voice, Delia rose from her seat and smoothed out her dress. "By asking Pa."