After a short exchange, Tawana was well on her way to becoming a student - and the only student - of the Tower of Darkness faction. Although Kylie still had a few words to say about it, believing that necromancy wasn't something a little girl like that should be learning, and the source of Jared and Caroline's inner turmoil hadn't disappeared yet, they ultimately decided to leave it up to Tawana to decide on her own path. Not relying on others for answers was also a step towards independence. For Tawana, now that her parents were dead and she had no one to turn to, learning to be independent as soon as possible was essential. After all, Jared and Caroline couldn't take care of her forever.
Jared and Caroline had no idea what Tawana was learning - after all, they hadn't paid tuition, and if they had listened, they wouldn't have been able to understand it at all. It was as if Kelly had spent a whole hour earlier and hadn't been able to get them to understand why magical spirits existed anywhere and had separate personalities. In Jared's opinion, magic was so sensual that it was akin to being an artist. For example, Kylie had once remarked on the difference between using magic and working magic. A magician who uses magic is only able to follow the steps of a magical spirit according to the variables of its surroundings. To put it simply, it's a very passive behavior. If the type of magic that the magician specializes in is completely different from the magic spirit, then the effect will be very poor. But in the case of servitude magic, no matter what the spirit of magic is like, you can force it to flow, weave, and cast in your own way. Although the two of them still had doubts up to this point, they generally understood it, but what Kylie said afterward felt like a heavenly book to the two of them, full of irrationality and uncertainty, as well as a strange and inexplicable consciousness-only theory. To the two of them, who were "science-oriented" in their own specialties, it was an existence that they had no way of understanding. It was as if Jared didn't know how his light manipulation ability was formed, but he could use it in accordance with scientific knowledge, and every maneuver had a theoretical basis.
But Jared was sure that even if he explained it to Kelly, she wouldn't understand.
That's what the man meant when he said, "Science is science, magic is magic, don't think you can talk to each other."
So, the two of them focused their attention on the Kelly incident.
The Academy President wanted to get rid of Kylie, and after it became clear, the matter itself became complicated. If he protected her, the Dean would not be pleased. But if they just let Kylie be killed, Jared was sure they'd be sent to the gallows as scapegoats the next moment. It was too late to give up, too late to back out, and, as Caroline had said, Jared's vacillations had led them into even deeper trouble. But even so, Caroline didn't complain, and stayed firmly behind Jared until she realized she couldn't go on like this any longer, and then she finally remonstrated with him.
Just because Jared's come to his senses doesn't mean he's ready to leave this mess behind.
There are things that need to be done.
"... You mean, a middle-aged man with a scar on his face and slightly gray hair?"
Although Kelly's face was calm, Jared caught her unnaturally tight grip for a split second, and her pupils constricted in a reaction that was both tense and unsettling at the same time.
"Do you recognize him? I've seen him around here before, when he seemed to be watching the place from a distance, and I thought that even if he didn't have much to do with the murders, I might be able to find a break in him."
Jared, of course, didn't tell her that it was his own information and intelligence that he'd gotten from using light synthesis to create a false image of himself.
"No need!"
Kylie immediately demurred.
"This man must be fine, you don't need to find the murderer, just protect me!"
（Why? Ms. Kelly, we don't think it's a good idea to wait around. We need to be proactive. It's best to get this over with in the shortest possible time.)
"..."
In the face of Caroline's questions, Kelly clenched her teeth and said nothing.
"If you won't tell me, I can do my own research. Also, I need to warn you, as I said before, you must obey my orders unconditionally. Otherwise, we'll split up, and it's no use threatening me, I'm just taking orders from the Academy President. You are not our employer, and do not have any say in our actions ... especially if you do not cooperate."
Kelly shook her head .
"You have nothing to investigate. That's my father."
She looked up and stared at Jared and Caroline and said.
"I believe in him more than anything in the world. My mother died when I was born, and my father raised me to this day, and we were very close. My father had no reason to murder me at all. Not a single one. He had power, position. He was a tough, stubborn man who was hard to convince or change. My father has always protected me, taken care of me, and there's nothing more important to me than my father. If there's nothing else, please go out, I want to be alone."
On that subject, Kelly was obviously a little tired, so Jared and Caroline had no choice but to excuse themselves.
(Miss Kelly's feelings for her father are real, I think, and we'll have to start fresh with the clues.)
"That doesn't guarantee that her father really loves her, does it?"
（What are you talking about, Jared? If her father didn't love her, then Miss Kelly wouldn't have said what she just said.)
"I still don't believe it."
Jared frowned and shook his head, he had zero understanding of the so-called kinship, and the first feeling he got from the man's eyes was too much, not at all like the one Kylie mentioned." I think this man is very problematic, at least, we are not completely sure that he is not suspicious."
(Really ... Kylie is his own flesh and blood, and to do it to his own child simply defies common sense.)
"Why can't you do it if it's your own flesh and blood?"
Jared said he couldn't understand.
"It's just a product and a continuation of genetic factors, and I can't think of anything that can't be done about it."
(You ...)
Caroline was dumbfounded.
She had almost forgotten that the young man in front of her had no understanding of the so-called bond of flesh and blood.
Caroline and Jared are polar opposites in terms of personal experience. Caroline has been pampered by her parents since she was a child, and even after her powers were revealed, they even risked their own lives and the family business to protect Caroline against an irresistible force. Although they failed in the end and became the most criticized sinners, to Caroline, they were still her parents, her dearest people.
Jared is the complete opposite.
Abandoned at birth,he was picked up by a criminal gang and raised as a criminal reserve. Just to use him as a tool. But after Jared's powers awakened, he quickly changed that and left the gangs of thieves to roam the streets on his own. He's good at scamming, and he likes to cheat. He has a history of entering a bank under a false identity and escaping with a huge amount of money. Although Jared changed his ways after he met Caroline, there was something in him that wasn't so easily changed. Caroline had argued with him a few times about this, but each time Jared's rhetorical questions had left her speechless.
"Why did my parents throw me away if there is no substitute for flesh and blood? Don't say that there might be a reason of necessity or helplessness, that's just a nice self-anesthetic. The moment you're abandoned, it's clear that for your parents, practical interests far outweigh affection. If, according to your definition of affection, a parent would give up everything for their children, what about a parent who would give up their children for profit? Rather than accepting something I've never known, I'd rather trust a companion in life and death than someone who shares the same blood. Blood ties are the most unreliable of all human ties."
Jared's statement was realistic and harsh, and it made Caroline very sad. She had been pampered in a way she would never forget, and the warmth of those memories was an important pillar of support for her later in life. But not Jared, who had never placed his hopes in such illusory things, only in what he could grasp and what he could see. Perhaps it was because of these extremes that they never left each other.
The truth was, even if there had been a time when Florence had been protective of Tavana against them first, Jared had no comprehension at all of the so-called bonding of flesh and blood, after all, it was something he'd never been given.
"I'm going to check it out. You come too."
Jared thought it over and made his decision.
(Is it okay if there's no one to protect Ms. Kelly? If the other side takes advantage of the situation?)
"This is an academy anyway, and if the other guy misses once, he's bound to get paranoid. Anyone who can pull off a chain like this wouldn't be stupid enough to let someone else do it."
Jared shrugged his shoulders, now he was no longer so focused on purpose, but rather on his own flexibility and maximum judgment. Danger and opportunity, this is how Jared really lives and fights. He's the kind of guy who, even when he knows the negotiation site is in a minefield, will walk through with a smile on his face and a Coke in his hand, confident that the gun pressed against his partner's head won't fire.
I wonder if Jared has realized that peace is his worst enemy?
Caroline, who was holding an umbrella and following behind Jared, thought to herself as she gazed at Jared's back with her beautiful two-colored pupils.
Walking through the bustling streets, Jared felt something he didn't at the academy. Most of the people at the academy were students, and the teachers were almost invisible. But everyone was very conscientious about keeping quiet. But since chanting was something that women were good at, there were a majority of female students at the academy. Jared had thought that it would be easy to start a harem in a place like this.
Of course, it's just a "thought".
He wouldn't be so stupid as to forget the eyes behind him that had been watching him.
The city of lilies itself was also very quiet, the white marble pavement and the ornate sculptures of the houses reflected a different kind of beauty. Although she didn't know where Kylie's home was, but if she used Caroline's ability, it was easy to find it. It was a large manor, and even from the looks of it, it gave off a feeling of majesty and oppression.
"We already know the Academy President's position, so what is Kelly's father's position ... Caroline, over to you, no problem."
Jared and Caroline hid in the distant woods, watching the tall houses in the distance. Jared didn't need to know why Kelly's father would want to kill his daughter, just that he was the most suspicious.
（Uh, I'll give it a try.)
In response to Jared's question, Caroline nodded softly. Her eyes looked into the distance while she focused on the sound of each person's voice.
Sound, the hardest thing to change and the easiest thing to hide. Jared can rely on light to see his surroundings, and Caroline can sense things in the distance through her voice. A person's personality is inextricably linked to their voice, and a person's tone of voice, language, and inflection can easily reveal who they are. Even if one can disguise one's dress or change one's appearance, what has been accumulated over the years is not so easy to change.
(Just imagine a more dignified tone than Kylie's, I guess.)
It's like a master. What kind of education produces what kind of people. Kylie's dignified and haughty demeanor would be hard to imagine if it weren't hereditary.
Caroline quickly filtered out the useless voices and searched as fast as she could; Kylie's father wasn't necessarily home, but it was better than doing nothing at all. The range of her "thought communication" slowly narrowed, and then Caroline's eyes suddenly widened slightly, and she turned and gave Jared a slight nod.
"Found it."