"H-Hey, you are kidding, aren't you, boy? Please, say to me that it is just a silly kid joke of some sort," Mark said as he looked at that pendant with shock. For a moment, he barely could believe his own eyes.
The little boy with spiky hair, though, denied with his head. Even though his response was reluctant, Mark knew very well that it was due to his overreaction.
Anyhow, how could he react in any other way? If that pendant was in his hands, there was just one possible explanation: Valory was going to do something crazy. She was going to put her life in danger, and it was all his fault.
"Listen to me, kid," he said while kneeling on one knee in front of the boy, so his face could stay at the same height as his. "Valory gave it to you, right? You didn't find it on the ground nor stole it from her, right?"
The boy nodded again, sparring glances at the little girl beside him as if asking for help. However, she seemed to be too busy analyzing the bar of the old man. Little did she care about what they were discussing.
"No. She asked us to give it to you. That's it. I don't have anything more to say," he explained, getting a bit anxious due to the pressure. In his mind, he was just doing what others told him to do. He didn't do anything wrong to receive such questions.
"Okay, okay...", Mark said out loud with a distant look on his face. "It's okay," he repeated yet another time as if to reassure that information.
Mark Foster got up, looking at that pendant that was similar to his, except for the shade of the gem's color. He had a frustrated and worried look on his face.
'I need to prevent Valory from continuing with this idea of turning into a rebel as well just to help me. To prevent it, I need to bring back Tobey before she decides to leave the territory. However, I must retrieve Tobey while preventing the coup from happening before I return to our territory. Also, there is still the fact that Clementine is risking her life to buy time, and I don't want to let her die since she represents a good tool for the demons in the long run... Meanwhile, I cannot die on the way...', he thought, closing his hand tightly into a fist, covering the pendant with his fingers.
'I am in a tough situation. A tight spot. I shall act right now, or else I don't know how long I have until things start to crumble down. To be honest, I have my suspicions about Valory; she may be already inside paladin territory, after all.'
Mark sighed hard, looking at the ceiling.
"Be the strongest surely isn't easy, huh? If there weren't people I love and care for involved in this mess, it would be easy. It's much more difficult to protect others than protect only myself," he muttered.
He looked again at the boy and the girl, a soft smile on his face.
"Give it back to Valory if you find her before she finally enters here. Try to hold her as much as possible, at least until I come back, okay?"
Mark reached for a pen somewhere in the bar, then took a napkin and wrote something on it.
"Also, give this paper to her, but don't read it!"
The boy looked at that pendant with a complicated expression as Mark gave it to him again.
"But, Valory said to me to give it to you," he said. The girl beside him seemed to finally care for what they were talking about and nodded her head, agreeing with the boy.
"I know, but I am telling you to give it back to her. She will understand what I mean. I know that it is impossible for you two to make it in time. You are just kids, after all. I bet that you needed to struggle a lot to find yourself here in this maze-like city. However, I need you to try, at least."
"That's not the point, Mark. It's just that we don't ought anything to you. But we did with Valory."
Mark nearly broke into millions of pieces like a glass cup as he heard that. He was willing to break that kid's head in one of those chairs, but held himself, remembering how old was that boy.
"Look, if you don't do it, I will tell to your mother that you were harassing an old man, messing with his bar, and intimidating him by saying that you are a demon. Then, I will say to her that you were getting involved with the gangs of the city. And, finally, I will show her the bottle of alcohol that you were drin-"
"But...! But we didn't do anything like that!" he yelled with a teary voice. The girl beside him shook her head, denying it.
"Yes, but since I said you did, then you did! Can you prove to your mother that I am lying?"
The boy thought for a second, then shook his head.
"Good! Then go ahead and do what I am saying before I say it and a few more outrageous things to her!"
The boy nodded strongly with his head, then went running out of the bar.
"I didn't know that you were the type of adult who knew how to manipulate kids," the old man said with astonishment and a bit of disgust.
"I learned it with a certain someone, hehe," he said rubbing his neck. Then, he cast a cold gaze toward the old man. "You better never touch those kids again, you disgusting old rag."
"I said to you what happened already! Who do you think I am!?"
"Well, I gotta go. There are too many things I need to do," Mark said, waving at the old man and walking away.
"Hey... You aren't going to die, right?" the barman asked hesitatingly.
"Haha! Are you kidding? Did you forget who I am?" he said in an arrogant tone, leaving the establishment.
"Yeah... you are Mark Foster, after all..." the old man muttered. Nevertheless, he breathed a heavy sigh while closing his eyes for a moment. "But, seriously, until when just being yourself will be enough? Did you ever stop to think about it, you damn fool?"
****
After the interrogation, Tobey left the police station. When he was walking to get out of the police station, nobody in the corridors that looked at his face would ever think that the interrogation was so successful. The air around Tobey wasn't the best after he left that room. The chief even tried to talk to him but Tobey didn't give him the opportunity to.
'I am sorry, but I am not in the mood to talk right now chief,' he thought, completely aware that his cold and straightforward actions had driven the man to stay quiet in his corner.
Tobey entered his car, closing the door quietly, though what he wanted was to slam that door to vent his frustrations. His mind was a mess and he was doubting himself regarding driving to the place he needed to go.
'I hope I don't end up hitting my car somewhere or run over someone in the way... I am really not in a good state right now. I hope this day ends quickly.'
He rubbed his face and took a sip of water from a water bottle that he left in his glove compartment. It was hot and didn't solve his thirst, but he couldn't stop anywhere to get more water right now.
Tobey turned up the radio as he started the car, hearing the motor working somewhat gave him a bit of comfort.
"Breaking news: today in the morning, three notable persons got arrested in the downtown, in a reckless and courageous action lead by the investigator called Tobey Foster, currently considered the most competent investigator of the city by many. We have little information about what is unfolding under the covers, and our reporters are trying to get more with the local police stations and the MDCI..." before the radio anchor continued, Tobey turned off the radio and sighed both in relief and concern.
'Soon, every paladin of this city will know my name and figure out that I just arrested three of the five most important or strongest paladins of this region. Or so I hope... I have no clue about their influence, despite the fact that the demon that saved me prioritized giving me their names beyond any other paladin.
'It's a huge responsibility to carry on my shoulders, to be honest. Soon, this territory will be full of enraged paladins trying to break all my limbs... or so I think. Let's see how chaotic the next days will be.'
[Why try to expose yourself so much when you are still being chased?] Mask asked after a long while being completely silent.
'You aren't talking too much recently, are you?'
[Hmm, I am just trying to quietly analyze certain possibilities. But it doesn't matter right now.]
'Well, answering your question...'