"She's not your real aunt, is she?" Hecathe didn't bother beating around the bush as he questioned.
"Eh?" Zail was taken back by the sudden question and it took him a whole minute to reply, "Um... How did you know?"
"It wasn't hard," Hecathe sighed as he replied, "For starters, she has eight legs and you don't."
"..."
"You guys look nothing alike and she paid you for bringing me here, didn't she?"
"Ah... That's right," Zail scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he responded.
Hecathe chuckled as he heard the man confirming it.
He had already guessed it to be something like this.
"Then when you said that there are only two tenants here... Did you include yourself as one of them?"
Zail nodded his head as he smiled and tried to flatter Hecathe, "Sir, you're so sharp! How did you figure it out?"
Hecathe sighed and shrugged his shoulder as he simply gave the same response, "It wasn't that hard to guess."
'It's because you are too dumb and easy to read...' Hecathe thought in his mind but didn't bother saying it out loud for Zail to hear.
"You must have been living here for a long time," Hecathe commented casually.
Zail smiled as he nodded his head and replied, "That's right. Ever since I left home, I have been living here."
"She umm..." Zail spoke up with a sigh and looked to be a little hesitant about it, "She might sometimes come off as a bit rude and controlling, however, since I've been here for so long, I can assure you that she's not really that bad."
"What is she?" Hecathe questioned as soon as the man completed his sentence.
Zail gulped as he acted oblivious, "What are you talking about?"
"She can still talk like a normal human being so I don't think she's a mutant. She doesn't seem like a normal person and her legs, I really don't think they are something natural even among ability users," Hecathe spoke up as he raised his hand and stroked his chin, acting as if he was thinking deeply on the topic. Cold sweat seemed to form on Zail's forehead as he heard Hecathe saying something like this so openly, "Sir, you should just let it go, don't you think?"
Hecathe let out a dry chuckle as he heard this suggestion, "Let it go? I'm sorry but I don't plan on doing such a thing. I'm quite a curious guy. Don't worry about it, no matter what she is, I wouldn't be using it against her."
"..."
"Didn't I already tell you? I don't judge people that easily," Hecathe added with a smirk, "So you can tell me willingly now or I'll eventually find it out by myself later."
"S-she's like Alphius, Sir."
"Hmm?" Hecathe's eyebrows creased together as he heard this answer.
"They say that Alphius has mixed mutant blood inside his body. She is also the same as him. She was born this way and because she was so different, her parents had raised her in isolation which has now become a habit for her."
"She was born that way?" Hecathe questioned with a frown.
Zail nodded his head as he confirmed, "That's right, sir. Her parents were really afraid that she would be killed as soon as she was found out so they didn't even dare contact a doctor or someone that could help understand her condition."
"Ah!" Hecathe was a bit surprised but it didn't last for more than a few seconds as he commented, "Then you must have been guessing when you said that she was the same as Alphius."
"It is the only thing that can explain her situation."
Hecathe took a sharp breath as he disagreed, "You can't just say that it's the only thing that explains her situation. In fact, you are saying this only because there is a rumor about Alphius being another one of the victims suffering such a condition."
"But if he is also suffering through this then it must mean that the condition is real and she can also be affected by it," Zail argued.
Hecathe chuckled dryly and it almost sounded as if he was mocking the man, "Zail, I think there is a misunderstanding."
"Huh?"
"Alphius doesn't have mutant blood running through his veins," Hecathe spoke up calmly and clearly with confidence.
"Eh...?!" Zail's eyes widened as he processed this information and digested it, "H-How would you know?!"
Hecathe pursed his lips as he stayed silent for a minute, taking his time to come up with the perfect way to explain things without exposing himself, "I know it because I'm investigating him."
"Investigating him?" Zail muttered in disbelief.
Hecathe nodded his head as he added, "Alphius is often misunderstood. He is special and has a unique power, however, none of that makes him evil or bad. He can control mutants but that doesn't mean he had mutant blood coursing through his veins."
Hecathe was confident because it wasn't exactly a lie. The original Alphius was indeed trying to figure out more things about himself and it just so happened that Zather brought over the research papers for Hecathe to read.
When mutant DNA was compared to Alphius's DNA, the result shockingly didn't match at all.
"T-then... What is he?" Zail asked cautiously.
Hecathe frowned as he heard this question and snapped, "What do you think he is? He's just a mage with a unique ability."
"Then Aunt is also just a mage with a unique ability," Zail hung his head down low as he muttered defensively.
Hecathe's eyes narrowed down on the man as he commented honestly, "I thought you were ignorant and believed in every rumor and lie but it seems that you're just a hypocrite who is also a bit dumb."
"Eh?" Zail blinked as he looked at Hecathe and tried to understand what the man had said.
Hecathe sighed as he added, "At least it's a good thing that you know how to care about people you're close to."
"..."
"It might not be that bad living here and who knows?" Hecathe smirked as he looked at Zail, "I might just learn to get along with you."
Zail's eyes lit up at that last sentence and he looked to be really happy as he questioned, "Does that mean we can be friends?"
Hecathe frowned as he stepped away from the man, "Don't even think about such ambitions."
"..."
"I'm not letting you be my friend. Friends are a hassle."