Mardias was using his grandfather's office. Nothing in the room had been rearranged. Just like his grandfather, he sat behind the same old desk, listening to the sound of footsteps coming up the spiral staircase outside the door. The same evening sunlight streamed in through the window, and occasionally, a bird would alight on the sill, its silhouette cast on the floor, tinted with a pale golden hue. The only change was that Mardias had removed the calendar that had long remained untouched on the desk. The door opened. A guard escorted Elin in and then left the room. Elin stood in a familiar spot: the very place any MI7 agent would choose to stop.
"I'm here to report," Elin said. "Hylan went to the Canal Prison yesterday to see Jorgen."
Mardias lifted his gaze from the documents on the desk to look at Elin. Elin frowned, feeling somewhat uneasy. This indicated that he still wasn't ready to face Mardias as an elder. Shawltly after Jorgen's imprisonment, Elin had punched Mardias; now, he had no intention of hiding the tension between them.
"He did it very discreetly," Elin added. "No prior announcements, and no discussions with anyone in the Church. At least, not on the surface."
"What did they talk about?"
"The only way to find that out is to get permission for me to meet Jorgen."
"Before the trial, the council has prohibited anyone from MI7 from meeting Jorgen. Even with special permission, the only one who could go would be me, and a council representative would be present."
"Another way would be for me to meet with Bossia. After all, she's seen Jorgen, and she must be in contact with Hylan. We could get useful information from her, and then speculate further..."
"What legitimate reason could you give the cathedral to request a meeting with Bossia?"
"For instance... investigating the attack on her by the True Prayer Society."
"I've already tried that. They refused, saying she needs a period of quiet rest to recover from the mental strain caused by the incident."
"What kind of reason is that?"
"A very weak excuse. From the start, detaining Bossia privately had no legal basis and lacked council support. Now, there's no indication that Bossia has done anything against Storm City or the Church. This farce won't last much longer. They'll have to release her eventually."
"But we need to see her before Jorgen's trial."
"The timing isn't something we can guarantee right now. As for Hylan, since it's your discovery, what's your own opinion, Elin?"
"Hylan has never targeted Jorgen. His aim is at the entire MI7. I see two possibilities. One is that Hylan is trying to gather information from Jorgen about MI7, to provide more evidence for his opposition to us. The second is that it now seems very likely Jorgen will be severely punished. Hylan might be trying to persuade him to make some compromises to gain a lighter sentence. That's why their meeting had to be kept so quiet."
"Which possibility do you think is more likely?"
"Based on the current information, the first. To support the second, we'd have to assume that Hylan knows something personal about Jorgen that we don't... I have no basis to make such an assumption. Even so, I still lean towards the second possibility."
"Are you relying on your intuition?"
"Partly. But there's also one piece of evidence: Hylan has already met Jorgen, but he's never shown any willingness to meet with you. For whatever reason, he's avoiding contact with you, and I think this will continue. To outsiders, this might suggest that although Hylan opposes MI7, he doesn't want to trouble you personally due to age or status. I think this actually shows that he has a set goal and doesn't want unexpected factors to interfere with its execution. On the contrary, meeting with Jorgen isn't an unexpected factor for Hylan. He must know something."
"You still haven't provided concrete evidence to explain these views, but I suppose that's not important to you."
The room fell silent for a moment.
"I want to save him, Mardias," Elin said. "And I think you should too."
"I know."
"Let's be clear. For so many years, Jorgen has been like a father to you. I shouldn't have to remind you of everything he's done. This time, he's shouldering the responsibility alone. I no longer wish to inquire into how you two discussed handling the matter because this is exactly what he would do. Now there's just one question: what do you plan to do?"
"When I was questioned by the council, I told Hamilton that Jorgen should receive a punishment fitting his crime."
As he said this, Mardias could clearly see the change in Elin's expression, hovering between confusion and anger, or perhaps undecided on how to express his anger.
"If you can accept that this entire situation was a plan jointly decided by Jorgen and me, then you should equally accept my statement that Jorgen should be punished. If you can't, it only shows that you still haven't fully understood the situation. If I show any ambiguity in front of the council, the whole thing will be in vain. For the future of MI7, someone must be punished."
"That doesn't mean you can just sit here contentedly waiting for the trial to end."
"I'm simply telling you not to apply a double standard when looking at this whole situation. My approach has also been approved by Jorgen. Your mistake is seeing Jorgen only as your friend, not as the most important member of MI7. I know what you think of my grandfather. You haven't seen that the qualities my grandfather possessed also exist in Jorgen."
"Of course I've seen them. So what?"
"Remember your position and where you stand. If you want to use your identity and privileges as a MI7 agent to save Jorgen, then you must follow the rules. Coming to me and emphasizing how firmly you regard him as a friend won't do any good."
Elin found Mardias's tone had changed. It was no longer a rigid and feeble self-defense but a resolute declaration, as if emphasizing a fact that others should have long known. Elin still remembered that manner of speaking, which should have already been buried in the grave.
"Listen. You haven't provided anything useful about Hylan's meeting with Jorgen. Now, with the archbishop election approaching, any direct action against the Church would be unwise, so don't expect to have a chance to meet with Hylan or Bossia alone. You want to save Jorgen, but you insist on a path that leads to a dead end. I won't waste the already severely damaged resources and reputation of MI7 on such a foolish decision. However, you can make efforts in other areas. Earlier, because members of the True Prayer Society resisted arrest and committed suicide, MI7's investigative powers were significantly restricted. But now, due to their attack on Bossia, a new opportunity has arisen. The incident happened near the cathedral square and was clearly an organized act of violence, even injuring a paladin, which shows that their threat is more serious than imagined. During and after the archbishop election, they are highly likely to attempt a major disturbance. The Department of Public Safety's investigation has made no progress, and the council has relaxed the restrictions on MI7's investigation of this matter."
"You want to take down this organization quickly and gain favor with the Church?"
"It's not that simple. Tony has already gathered a lot of intelligence on the Prayer Society. They've grown rapidly, and their criticism of the archbishop and the Church is very intense. Although most members were dissatisfied with the Church before the archbishop's death, it's unnatural for their views to have become so extreme in such a Shawlt time. According to Tony's analysis, key figures in the Prayer Society even believe that their views are authoritative, not just speculative. This suggests they may have an internal source within the Church."
"They've been so critical; under the old rules, the Church should have publicly condemned them for spreading corrupt beliefs and should have suppressed them. It's very suspicious."
"It's too early to draw conclusions, but if you really want to do something, then participate in this investigation."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Listen carefully, Elin. You cannot undertake this mission with the intention of using it as a way to save Jorgen. You must approach it as a MI7 agent. You can make promises, but I have reasons not to believe you. You won't receive direct orders from me. Go see Tony. He's leading the entire investigation. Your tasks will be assigned by him."
"You want me to be Tony's subordinate?"
"If you want to be part of this, that's a necessary condition. You must follow all his orders and take no unauthorized actions. Do you understand?"
"No problem."
"Go now."
"One more thing... I think it should be made clear."
"What?"
"This will probably be my last job at MI7."
"Then do it well."
Elin left the room.
During this not particularly long conversation, the sky had darkened considerably. Mardias looked toward the window. It was the same sunset his grandfather had seen countless times... He quickly dismissed the thought. What his grandfather had seen was the same as what countless others had seen. There was nothing special about it.
He hadn't expected Elin to agree so readily to the request. Even for an ordinary agent, working under the seemingly inconspicuous and utterly indifferent-to-respect Tony Romani was quite unpleasant. Elin's behavior, however, aligned with the requirements of a MI7 member. Ironically, this was precisely because he hoped to help Jorgen.
If Elin hadn't agreed immediately, Mardias had intended to add another sentence to persuade him.
He took a silver badge from the drawer and watched as the dim light lingered in the small dents worn into its edges.
Something that had once belonged to Jorgen.
A direct agent of MI7, defined as the executor of the will of Panthonia Shawl. Now it no longer had any meaning.