'I think that this one is a must to check out,' Tobey thought as he stood in front of an enterprise situated in a busy part of the city center. That was an enterprise turned to systems development, security systems to be more precise. It was one of the biggest in the city and its facade always amazed Tobey.
[A must, huh? Like all the houses and establishments you visited before coming here!?]
'Yes. Those were needed as well. But, anyway, now is different. The person inside this place shall be interrogated.'
[Why do you say so?]
'Because he is not related to me, only. He is directly related to Han. Her older brother. Way older, by the way. It's nearly ten years of difference, I guess.'
[Hmm, I see... So, as a starting point to find the suspects, you are going to search the paladins that are hidden in your past, right? Many people related to you and your past may be your enemies. The same goes for Han's family since one of them is an paladin, and Han herself is one too, most likely.]
'You took your time to discover it, huh? But, yeah, that's my plan. Most likely, all the paladins I need to find are somehow related to my past. Think about it with me: these guys are obsessive about me. They are doing anything they can to capture me, even sacrificing their cover and doing some crazy things. Also, that demon that protected me was not a weakling at all. There are powerful people on my tail.
'That said, wouldn't it be strange if they weren't extremely cautious with me since the day I arrived here? I bet that they put lots of powerful paladins around me to watch over me just in case I went overboard and transformed into a demon. It means that they always had a paladin watching me, and that means that there is one for each of my daily activities: one for school, another for when I was home, one or two among my friends, and so on.'
[Hmm, that's an interesting point. I can't disagree with you at all. There is no way that they would stay far away, just stalking you 24/7. They would want to see how you are raised and what kind of personality you develop.]
'Yes. I have a feeling that the goal was to me never turn into a demon. After all, they only started to pursue me after my transformation happened.'
After reviewing his own train of thought and explaining to Mask what he had in mind, Tobey turned his focus to that enterprise again. He was standing in front of its entrance, wondering what kind of approach he would choose.
'I think it's better if I do it inside there. It would be a hassle to wait out here until he left the enterprise, after all. Also, I think I can take advantage of the fact that we will be in a place crowded with people.'
He approached the intercom beside the huge portal of the enterprise, pressing its button.
"Hi, sir. How can I help you?"
"I am here to visit the director of this enterprise: Mr. Phill. Tell him that an investigator is waiting out here," Tobey showed his identification, making it clear that he was a detective.
He could hear the other person gasping and nearly chuckled when hearing it.
[Aren't you an intimate friend? Why don't you say your name?]
'Because... I want to see his reaction when he sees my face.'
****
Tobey knocked on the door after he arrived at Phill's room. The doormen finally let him enter after some minutes of talking. Tobey knew that he was trying to convince the man that there was, indeed, a detective in front of the enterprise willing to interrogate him.
"Enter," someone rudely said from inside the room.
Tobey silently opened the door and entered there with quiet steps. At first, he was looking coldly at Phill's back but slowly began to change his expression so he wouldn't seem very suspicious.
Phill had his back turned to him and was looking at the huge window behind his desk. He seemed quite tense and his fingers were fidgeting.
'Hmm, that's interesting. I didn't expect this reaction from receiving a detective in his room. Is he afraid of being caught or wrongly accused? Anyway, I will keep this in mind.'
"So... what will it be? Want to start the unreasonable questions now or would you prefer to drink a coffee?"
"First of all, I would like to know how are you doing, Phill. Besides that, coffee doesn't sound too bad, to be honest..." Tobey said in a mocking tone. His eyes were mischievously narrowed as he watched Phill looking over his shoulder with an astonished face.
"W-What!? Little Tobey? Tobey Foster? F-For real?" For any other person, his face could've been mistaken by surprise, and to some extent it was. However, shock was the better definition for what he was feeling.
"What's it, Phill? You seem quite... dumbstruck," Tobey asked, his eyes deliberately acquiring a sharpness that seemed to pierce through the manager's covers.
After that sharp gaze, he felt like he was naked; a completely open book showing all its contents to the man in front of him.
"Erm... I was just surprised, hehe! Wow, you felt sharp just now, man! Are you really realizing your dream and working as a detective?" Phill said, abruptly changing the subject and walking towards Tobey, giving him a bear hug.
"I think that I can't really address you as little Tobey anymore... You are taller than me, after all! When did you grow up so much?"
"I think you are the one who got shorter, Phill. It happens to very old people."
"B-but I am thirty, only! I-I mean, thirty-three..."
Phill was a short man, almost 168 centimeters tall, which wasn't that much in comparison to Tobey's height. Also, it felt like Tobey was taller than what he really was due to his body constitution. He had an athletic physique, different from the man hugging him, who probably was a bit overweight.
Phill already had some white strands of hair on his head due to how much stress he should go through every day. His hair's natural color was brown, though. His eyes were dark enough to mistake its color for black, but it was a very dark shade of brown. He had very pale skin due to how long he stayed inside the office, never taking a single ray of sunlight on his face.
His body reflected the harshness of his professional life very clearly.
"Why didn't you just say your name, Tobey? You nearly killed me of heart attack, you know?" he gave a slight punch on his chest while chuckling.
"I just wanted to prank a little with you, Phill. Just to remember the old times. I mean, since I began to go to the university and focused on my career in public security and militarism, I barely had time to see Han, let alone you."
"Oh, well... there is a clear limit to what human beings can do with twenty-four available hours, right? I don't blame you. Sometimes, I don't even have time to go home to see my wife."
"Well, yeah..."
They spent some more time talking about pointless things. Phill ended up bringing coffee to Tobey as he promised, also as a pot with some snacks.
"Since you seem so tired, a bit of coffee will surely help, right? I know you like it, so give it a go. My coffee is delicious."
[What a fool! Anybody can see that he did it in a machine. Praise the enterprise that made that thing, not your own self... Any idiot could turn on a machine and put a damn capsule inside there!]
'Not you. You can't even control this body by your will alone.'
[You...!]
"Well, thanks! I was really longing for some coffee. I mean, I couldn't sleep at all... in these last few nights..."
"Much work at the department?" Phill asked while taking a cup of coffee to himself.
"Pretty much. What about you, Phill? Could you close your eyes even for a bit these nights?" Tobey narrowed his eyes at the dark circles around his eyes. They were explicit.
"Pretty much?" Phill ignored his questions, placing his cup on a near plate and looking at Tobey with a knowing gaze. "I thought that you got a little vacation, Tobey, hahaha..."
His laugh was false most definitely. It was as clear as the sun to him.
"I don't remember saying it to you, Phill... Who said it to you?" Tobey's suspicion was growing even further, but he decided to trigger more reactions.
"I mean, Han and grandma told me," Phill shrugged his shoulders as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Ah... for real? I mean, I remember that Han called me to talk about it. She was so excited and I felt so glad for hearing her voice...", the detective took a sip of his coffee, his eyes suddenly acquiring a strange gleam that Phill couldn't notice.
"Haha, yeah... You always were into my sister, right? Anyway, I called her some days ago and she ended up telling me that-"
"I didn't finish," Tobey said, interrupting him.
"As I was saying, I felt so glad, and she seemed so excited... that I didn't even wonder how did Han know about such a thing when I didn't tell her... Also, your grandmother shouldn't know about it as well."
Tobey took a last sip of coffee, his face darkened as it was slightly turned to the ground, but his eyes were still coldly staring at Phill.