"I heard you got news for me, sir," Minus approached the man in the laboratory.
Minus was a little bit of an impatient man. Although the government and JEWELS had contacted experts from different sides, they just did not have the necessary equipment and people. Minus stretched his luck and asked for a favor from Orion.
Sir Tanori raised an eye at him when he requested it. Orion agency was strictly for moonmage matters but Minus still gave it a shot.
"Looks like the situation is that bad, huh?" Sir Tanori had asked.
"Sir, believe me when I say that the Prime Minister called our university president himself saying that he will visit JEWELS in the coming days."
Which was ridiculous. Sure, they would be grateful for his presence but what would that contribute? Their school will be just subjected to more publicity which they did not need at the moment. Minus released an order telling all students of JEWELS to stay away from the buzz of social media and would be subject to reprimand if ever anyone is found sharing misleading information, reminding them that their school had a good IT system. It would be easy for them to trace those who would be taking advantage of the situation for money even if they used fake accounts.
Doctor Ildan took off his gloves and glasses before turning to Minus.
"The drug put inside the drink was quite something." He held a sachet with a cloudy liquid inside, much like a sugar syrup.
"This is the poison. I already ran it to the drug agency. Nothing."
Minus stopped typing on his phone. He was about to message Raii. "You mean that this is new?"
The doctor shook his head. "Not in the known market. Headquarters called. They found the matching substance in the illegal market. Its name is Scarlette. This is the first record of it being found in our state."
Whoa.
"Why do I feel like this is not just an ordinary poisoning incident or a hate crime?"
"Hate crime? This is already enough to put the whole state in an emergency mode. Be careful. You might be dealing with a syndicate or a scandal. Elections are near. Whoever they are, they managed to put dozens of this dangerous poison in drinks unnoticed."
"But for what reason?" Minus asked.
"Good question. You might want to work that out. Maybe it will lead you to the culprits."
***
Minus spent the night watching and rewatching all CCTV footage from all angles of their school. Had Sir Tanori not knocked in his room, he would have not noticed that it was already morning.
Minus was a special case. He had his own quarters at Orion which he earned thanks to his achievements so far.
"It's rare for you to be empty handed for days just for a 'school drama'," Sir Tanori teased. "Need help?"
And they spent the next few hours watching as well.
"Aren't you busy yourself? You seem to be involving yourself too much with us when you also have a lot going on." When it was just the two of them, Minus refrained in addressing him formally as 'sir'. It was Sir Tanori who requested it himself.
"Just be grateful, lad."
Minus did not ask any further. Maybe even the head of Orion was tired from the mainstream events and just decided to have a break. It was rare for him to appear in person. This was the longest period that Sir Tanori had been with them continuously. Usually, he was always being summoned by headquarters.
He remembered Sir Tanori wishing that he would be demoted to his position at their headquarters so that he could just focus on Orion. But looking at how things are going, that was far from happening. Everyone could feel that he was up for a promotion.
"There," Sir Tanori pointed to a certain figure. "Did her hair color change?" Minus screen captured it and enhanced the photo. A group of students dressed in the kitchen uniform of JEWELS passed through the entrance of the room where the drink was made. They also came out after one hour but one of them had a slight change in hair color from honey blonde to strikingly gold. But that was not what they really discovered.
It only became noticeable when she walked directly under the light and a big male student bumped into her. The bump was so strong that even the male student got unbalanced. Minus was not generalizing but he was sure that no woman would react calmly after being unnecessarily touched by a man even if it was an accident. The woman in question just walked dead straight making the male student scratch his head in wonder.
Arko Redanda had a lot to learn on how to be a woman.
***
Since Minus finally had concrete evidence to tie Arko with the incident, he would just need to find him.
Problem was, his apartment was empty when the police came. The criminal knew how to run away.
"Looks like he has not come home since the incident," one officer said after coming out of Arko's room. "Unfortunately, the CCTV footage malfunctioned a day before the incident."
Shame.
But Minus saw a familiar set of clothes inside his laundry machine. It was not yet taken out.
Minus entered the kitchen. The sink was wiped clean. There was no speck of dust or crumbs on the table. Even the trash bin was empty.
He immediately dialed Sir Tanori. He promised beforehand that he would only call him in emergency cases but he could not rely on the current manpower provided by the city. He needed Orion again.
"Arko's been kidnapped," he immediately blurted as soon as he heard Sir Tanori answer it. On the other end of the line, Sir Tanori was composed.
"How sure are you?" Sir Tanori asked.
"The police said he has not come home since the incident but he did. His white tux, the one he wore that night, is in his basket. I just don't know how the CCTV was tampered because the footage is clear. Also, his apartment's clean. Too clean. Every dish is arranged and not a shirt, sock, or a used wiping cloth can be seen.
Sir Tanori got his point. "Someone made it seem like his apartment's been unattended for days. Go to the police station and report it. Although I already have our men doing it, file the report like an ordinary human being so that..you know."
"Copy that." But before either of them could end the call, Minus spoke. "Sir, after this is done, I will withdraw from my studies and focus on being a moonmage. I think it's time for me to finally give back all the favors that you've done for me ever since you let me enter Orion."
Amidst what was happening, Minus had the rush to tell it at the moment. The thought had been lurking in his mind for a while, especially because of his last mission. No matter how enticing and fun living a human life was, it was inevitable that he had to choose. One way or another, the world will need him and that he needs to be ready for it.
"Save your sentiments for later, Magnus. You have a case to solve first."