"My lord, why are we meeting here?"
"Because Erta wanted to try their cake."
Reynor met with Caelum in a café near Halo. The message he received last night sounded serious so he prepared himself fully, however, the gazes of people felt like needles prickling his skin.
In front of him was Caelum wearing a serious expression in stark contrast to the woman beside him who was all smiles. Erta was busy eating her cake and feeding Caelum every now and then. Reynor wanted to leave immediately even though he just arrived.
"Let's get to the point, my lord. I don't want to interrupt your date."
"Oh no, it's fine. We had our date yesterday. Today we're only here to talk to you about something."
Caelum fished out his phone and tapped on it a few times. He showed the screen to Reynor who was wondering if he was actually joking. However, he changed his mind when he saw what Caelum was showing him.
It was the list of Chosen who went missing within the past week, including the two that were on the news earlier that day. There were now a total of six Chosen that have gone missing.
Reynor frowned, holding back a sigh that threatened to escape his lips. Evidently he was also troubled by this news.
"My lord, this is becoming a very big concern, at least to the guilds in the city. Do you know something about this?"
"Let me ask you this first. Has anyone conducted a proper investigation? Whether it be the authorities, the guilds or the Global Alliance, it doesn't matter. I want to know if anyone has noticed anything?"
"Of course, especially the guilds whose members went missing. But they couldn't find any leads which makes this case even more troublesome. There are even rumours that some monsters from the Battle of Sylven survived and are ambushing the Chosen."
"Well, they're not too far off."
Erta muttered as she fed Caelum another bite of cake. He seemed to like mild citrus flavour, so she made a note of it.
Reynor looked at her strangely, still unable to reconcile the image of the Angel of Light he had seen countless times in the news with the girl shamelessly showing affection in public. Her words as well were a point of concern.
Could those rumours actually be true? If they were, then whatever surviving monster it was must be a rather special one on the level of the bulimeus that Caelum and Erta had fought. It was the only thing that could justify it being able to evade their detection.
And such a monster specialised in stealth was a much greater danger than a frontal battle. He should know as someone who specialised in stealth as well. If the monster was quick and strong enough, it would be able to massacre about a fourth of the entire city before it gets put down.
Just the thought of it sent shivers down Reynor's spine. Such a thing cannot be allowed to happen. But before he lost himself in his thoughts, Caelum's voice came once more.
"So what measures have been taken so far? I'm quite intrigued by the fact that two people went missing last night. It's breaking the pattern. I assume there's a reason for this."
"Yes, you are quite right, my lord. Previously, patrols were done by two teams from different guilds, spreading their members out to cover more area. This meant that they had to go move individually, following their assigned routes.
There was not much problem with this initially since everyone had thought that the area was already safe what with all the rescue and cleanup efforts that had already been conducted.
However, because of the missing persons case, every guild in London, including us at Halo, have decided to increase the number."
"So you paired them up, is that right? Has there been anything unusual during the patrols? If there were, at which location and what time of the day was it?"
"There was nothing really, my lord. Most civilians stay away from the area so there's less to worry about. The Chosen have been working nonstop for two weeks already though. This case is just wearing us out even more. I wouldn't be surprised if a few just collapse while out on patrol."
Caelum sighed. It seemed Reynor did not have a full grasp of the situation either. However, it was understandable that he would not realise that something was wrong since he was the Head of Security of Halo.
He was not in a position to always move out at the slightest bit of strangeness. His focus was also mainly on Ceres and Halo's headquarters rather than the city itself so not everything would be easily noticeable to him.
Sensing Caelum's mental exhaustion, Erta gave him another bite of her cake. The sweetness was enough to reinvigorate him. He finally decided to tell Reynor his thoughts.
"I need to ask you a favour, Reynor."
"Anything, my lord."
"I need you to ask the guilds to send at least one member each to the Watchtower tonight. If possible, someone sensitive to mana. We'll be meeting them there."
"You'll be there personally, my lord? What exactly will you be doing there?"
"A stakeout. Oh, send someone from Halo too. I need someone who can talk to the other guilds in case they don't listen to me."
"I doubt there's anyone who would do that now, my lord. I don't know if you've realised, but people are starting to recognize the two of you even as we speak."
Caelum looked around in response to Reynor's words. Indeed, the other customers in the café were all watching them with interest. Some were even sneakily taking pictures.
Caelum knew it was only a matter of time. After all, the video of him fighting in Reignbow Park had already spread all over the internet. To add to that, the woman beside him was an unprecedented beauty with a unique hair easily recognizable to anyone who had been watching the news.
Although Erta was innocently and adorably eating her cake at present, she was undeniably the Angel of Light, one of the heroes of Sylven. With her as the proof, it was easy to confirm that Caelum was her partner whom people called the Angel of Slaughter. He shivered slightly when he heard someone whisper that name.
"Damnit, I want to be rid of that embarrassing name already. Anyway, make sure they send someone. If they refuse, just tell them that the next time a Chosen goes missing, it's on them."
As he was saying that, Erta was feeding him the last of her cake. Somewhere within the café, a camera flashed. The rest of the customers averted their eyes as though to say it wasn't them.
Caelum decided it was a waste of energy to even mind them anymore. On the other hand, Erta was going through the menu once again, seemingly wanting to have an ice cream this time. Reynor looked at them awkwardly.
"My lord, you're being tamed."
"That's just your imagination."
"Well anyway, if we're done talking, then I'll be taking my leave. But before that, I've come to deliver these as well, my lord. Custom suits made from the most advanced materials we have.
R&D was quite proud of them. They're prototypes meant to conform to your mana signatures though. That means they're harder to use than the standard gear we have. There's one each for my lord and Lady Erta."
"Wow, thanks. To be honest, I was quite worried that I'd have to keep buying new clothes every time I went out to fight."
Reynor got up to leave after giving them their suits, but then he stopped. He looked at Caelum with an anxious face, deciding whether to say something or not. In the end, he just gulped and spoke.
"My lord, are you not going to visit Lady Ceres?"
"Reynor, answer truthfully. Did we meet before everything that happened three years ago?"
"...Yes. I was already the Head of Security of the House of Grace back then. I have… watched you grow into a fine adult."
"And there's your answer. I don't even remember you from before we met in that training room three weeks ago. I can't pretend like I'm her brother when I don't even remember who she is. I only know her name and that she's my sister. I'm not the Caelum Grace that you all remember."
"...If I may say just one thing, you have not changed in the slightest, my lord. You are and always will be the Pillar of Grace. Well then, please excuse me. Have a great day, my lord, my lady."
After Reynor left, Caelum spent some more time relaxing in the café with Erta. The work they had to do from now on was time-sensitive, but cannot be hurried. The tension it brought was sure to be great, so he wanted to relax while he could. That night, the Chosen finally met the heroes in person.