Sidius halted his steps for a moment.
He narrowed his eyes and turned serious before he continued walking until he reached a park bench.
Facing the other side of the garden, he seated himself and leaned forward.
The sun's cool rays filtered through the surroundings, casting a soothing, dappled pattern on the ground.
Standing a few meters from Sidius was Rainer who leaned back against the bench, opposite from Sidius' view. His arms were folded across his chest, and his eyes scanned the surroundings, vigilant and focused.
They both seemed immersed in their own thoughts and monitored the crowds, before speaking again without looking at each other.
"Is it them?" Sidius finally asked. His voice hushed and his heart was pounding in anticipation.
The "them" he referred to was a notorious force that the camp had been investigating lately. They were a group of experts in their line of work, skilled at leaving no traces after committing heinous crimes.
Sidius tried to investigate them when he was still in the agency but he did not even get a clue. One might know that Sidius was an expert when it comes to gathering pieces of information.
"No," Rainer replied.
"But Madam gave the order directly, so it must be related," he added, his tone carrying a sense of heaviness.
Sidius let out a sigh of relief. If they were indeed dealing with the mysterious group, it would mean trouble beyond measure for this quiet town.
However, his eyes flickered with determination. He knew he needed to get stronger quickly before the storm.
"Focus area?" Sidius inquired with concern, furrowing his brows, yet still keeping his gaze fixed on the serene garden.
"Immussillus City."
Hearing the place, Sidius' expression turned serious.
The upcoming auction in the city held great importance for him. This new development raised the stakes considerably, making it a matter of utmost concern.
"Leaks?" Sidius continued, trying to gather every piece of information he could.
"You know me Sidius. It's not my expertise so I don't know either," Rainer replied.
"Then, what's the level of emergency?"
Rainer heaved a sigh. His eyes turned serious as he replied with a heavy tone.
"Red."
Boom!
Another revelation was told. Bigger than the previous one.
Sidius became anxious. Ever since he worked as an information broker in the camp, he had never heard of a Red level emergency. Mostly green, yellow and orange.
'This upcoming chaos was unlike anything I had encountered before.'
Sidius's mind raced as he contemplated his plans.
The elixir of life was crucial to cure his sister, and the urgency of the situation weighed heavily on his mind. He knew he had to act swiftly to secure it, but the looming danger left him torn between his personal quest and the need to stay away from the approaching turmoil.
Noticing the weariness in Sidius's demeanor, Rainer offered a comforting smile and patted the young man's back reassuringly.
"Don't worry too much about it, Sidius. The camp was just assigned to monitor this matter and report to the higher-ups as soon as possible."
"Don't try to persuade me, Rainer. They even deployed you, a disciple assassin," Sidius disagreed. "I remember you haven't finished your training, right?"
"What do you mean?" Rainer gave an innocent look. "This is training!"
Sidius gave him a serious look. "This is not a game Rainer, you might lose your life."
"I know…" Rainer replied with a solemn look but soon he tried to change the gloomy topic. "It's not just me, though. Junior sister too." he added with a smile.
"Nicsia is here at the academy?!"
Sidius asked with a mixture of shock and weariness.
The image of the girl sent shivers down his spine. While she didn't physically bully him, her words could cut through even the toughest souls and heart of diamonds.
"Huh? How did you know?" Rainer asked, his confusion was evident in his furrowed brows. "I didn't say that she's deployed here..."
"...or did I?" he added, trying to recall his words.
"The whole camp knows you always find a way to pick a fight, so Nicsia was always by your side to make sure you did not cause troubles," Sidius explained.
"Hey! I always behave!" Rainer protested with feigned innocence.
"Speaking of her, why didn't I see Nicsia around?"
"Because I don't need her scolding. I'm the senior brother after all!" Rainer replied with confidence.
"Just say you escaped from her," Sidius teased. "Anyway, where is she?"
"Oh! She's probably stuffing herself at the academy cafeteria. You know she's always a glutton," Rainer chuckled, playfully mocking his junior sister.
However, Sidius didn't respond to the banter. Instead, he twitched his lips and shifted his gaze to the side, feigning innocence.
Seeing this, Rainer was puzzled by his response. "What's wrong? Don't agree with me?"
"Hey, Sidius—"
Before he could finish his words, the air around them suddenly changed, becoming heavy.
A lady in her teens with piercing red eyes, appeared behind Rainer. Her long black hair was floating, and a dark, menacing aura emanated from her.
"Youu," The girl stated in a heavy voice.
Rainer's whole demeanor shifted from playful to nervous in an instant. He shot a quick glance at Sidius before sprinting at full speed.
"Sidius! You traitor!"
Rainer yelled and started running. However, the girl was quicker. In the blink of an eye, she caught up to him and delivered a swift beating using her unsheathed katana.
"I searched the whole academy, and you're right here!" The fierce young girl scolded Rainer, gripping the collar of his uniform tightly. "You've barely been here for a week, and you can't even behave in one place?!" She added, before glancing over at Sidius' position.
"Junior sister, stop! Please, stop!" Rainer begged, his voice filled with desperation.
The girl ceased her beating and began dragging him towards the position of Sidius.
Sidius turned around and tried to escape, but he felt paralyzed in place just from sensing Nicsia's presence.
"Let me see who is the guy worthy of wasting your time," she declared, fixing her serious gaze on the shivering young man's back.
'I couldn't get a clear look at his appearance earlier because I was so mad at my senior brother, but hehehe... I'll crush your pride,' she thought, smirking to herself.
Nicsia walked past the young man to see his face.
However, when she finally saw it, shock and chaotic feelings washed over her.
"S-Sidius?!"