"Are you being too intense?" Akira didn't react to this question and instead gave Anton a look. Anton, who hadn't considered any of this, could agree with Akira because he truly didn't know how to clear his mind from all the things he had been through. He had thought about spending some time in Japan to then resume his work and thus maintain better mental well-being.
All he wanted at this moment was to clear his mind; the questions that others might find uncomfortable or intense certainly weren't unfounded considering the emotions behind them. "I was just curious about what you were thinking. I don't usually talk to many people, and truth be told, I find it hard to find an interesting topic."
Akira looked at Anton and, as she looked away, smiled slightly. She considered Anton to be very honest with his words and, at the same time, different from what she had imagined. "I thought you would be different; you're too honest."
"Maybe that's a problem. I'm sorry if it bothers you," Anton said with a somewhat awkward smile.
Akira sighed and said, "If you want to know what I think about our engagement, it's indifference. I'm not bold enough to go against my father's words, but if there's something I don't like, not even my father has the power to force me to do it."
When the ice broke between them, the conversation flowed more smoothly, and neither felt uncomfortable being next to each other. They discovered that they were quite similar in terms of education, preferences, tones, and the way they spoke.
"Is your dad at the Continental?" Anton asked as they exited the elevator, intrigued.
Akira sighed and said, "My father only knows how to belittle; it would be false to say he does anything else besides work."
"He's a very dedicated man." Anton thought that Akira's father was very similar to his own, so he saw him as a strict man who loved his family in his own way.
At that moment, a Japanese man in his thirties approached Akira and, without looking at Anton, said, "Concierge, someone has died on Continental grounds; we need your presence."
"A death?" Akira exclaimed upon hearing that statement and quickly followed the man, who was one of her father's trusted employees.
"This is a problem..." Anton followed Akira just to find out what had happened and if he could be of any help.
When they reached the lower floor where the workers were, Akira entered a small room where a corpse with signs of strangulation around the neck lay.
"Did anyone see who did it?" Akira knew it was a murder from the struggle of the worker, who had been half-strangled.
"No one else had entered to rest; we didn't see anything."
But Anton, who was in the background, looked at the blank TV and furrowed his brows, letting his concentration speak for his sight, and soon, a sinister feeling ran through his body.
"This is not a normal murder."
Akira, who hadn't seen Anton, turned around and asked, "What do you mean?"
"That man was killed by a dark entity; I suppose this job would fall into the hands of the Light Association." Anton looked at Akira, who took it seriously.
"Can you prove it?"
Anton nodded but said, "With one condition."
"What?"
"Everyone except you leaves the room. I don't usually work in public, so it would be bad for my concentration to do it now." Anton didn't want to reveal his working methods to anyone, so he quickly had everyone leave.
When only Akira and he remained, Anton joined his forearms and murmured, "Reveal yourself."
At that moment, the TV changed color, and the wall where there was nothing at first caught fire in a circle that began to release intense water and a bluish fire.
Shocked, Akira took a step back. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, and only then did she realize that the rumors about exorcists were true.
"Impossible..."
Anton looked at the circle, and after seeing the TV, he roughly understood what had happened. "It's a curse that attached itself to your worker. It seems it hasn't been there for just a day or two. I want you to investigate if anyone else has been in close contact with him during the last week and inform me if anyone else has shown strange activity."
"What will you do in the meantime?" Akira looked at Anton seriously.
"I'll protect this place. At least you won't have another death on Continental grounds," Anton said with a slightly understanding look.
"I'll make the preparations. You'll have to deal with a lot of paperwork because an exorcism on Continental grounds is rarely done," Akira said as she left the room to ask questions.
Anton nodded, looked at the murdered body, and muttered, "Not even on my vacation can I work in peace."