Callen had had a very busy day.
Not only had all the paperwork he had been putting off for later caught up with him all at once, but a case of rune use had also been reported.
He didn't understand the mind of these alleged illegal sorcerers, they always did the same thing.
They'd get materials from who knows where, make their rune circles, something would go wrong and they'd end up in a way you wouldn't wish on anyone.
And then he would have to solve the problems they left behind.
"Captain, the suspect is already in the interrogation room."
An officer came into his office and informed him that the alleged suspect who had made the runes had already been brought into the barracks.
Callen knew that this person could not be the culprit, as usually when someone without knowledge used runes, it didn't end in the best way, and according to reports, the guy they had brought in was perfectly fine except for a few bruises.
The guy was probably just a poor bastard who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The reason he was doing this was just routine.
And to avoid further reprimands from his superiors.
"Okay, take me to him."
Sighing inwardly, Callen walked with the officer toward the interrogation room, where the detainee was currently being held.
"According to the report, the suspect was detained at the exit of the area where the use of runes was reported."
Callen reflected on the situation.
"Any sign that it would have been him responsible?"
The officer began to flip through the papers in his hand.
"Other than some bruising on his body, no sign of the use of runes was found. Oddly, aside from an initial outburst, he behaved in a strangely calm manner, as if he didn't care about anything that was happening."
Callen gave a curious look.
Very rarely did a normal person act calm after witnessing the aftermath of runes. Maybe the guy did have something to do with the incident after all.
Turning the page, the officer continued reading the report.
"A grotesque mass with tentacles extending from it was also found in the room on the third floor, in the same were the runes spread across the living room floor."
Turning the page, he added.
"Apparently a fight broke out there as well, the mass had signs of having been beaten."
Callen scratched his head and gave his opinion.
"So our dear guest accidentally ran into the man possibly responsible for having done experiments with runes... and he gave him a good whack?"
The officer shrugged.
"Probably?"
Sighing, Callen found the case annoying. Apparently it wasn't going to be as simple as he thought.
"And what has our dear guest said about this?"
The officer again concentrated his gaze on the papers in his hand.
"He hasn't said a single word, he's completely refusing to speak."
Callen began to massage his temples.
"Perfect... and where is Elei?"
The officer showed some concern.
"She's in the interrogation room."
"Ha."
Callen let out a hollow laugh.
"With her interrogating him, much less will he speak."
The officer adjusted his tie, uncomfortably.
As they approached the interrogation room, the officer turned to Callen.
"Well...here we are, I'll leave the rest to you."
Callen received the papers from the officer.
"Yeah, yeah, keep up the good work and all that."
Saluting his captain, the officer prepared to leave.
"I take my leave."
Taking a quick glance at the bundle of papers, Callen entered the observation area, where there were 2 other officers observing the interrogation.
"Captain."
"Captain."
Saluting their entrance, Callen gave a resting signal with his hand.
"Any progress?"
Looking up at the screen displaying the interrogation, one of the officers replied:
"Nothing concrete. Suspect remains silent."
Fixing his gaze on the screen, Callen saw the alleged suspect.
He was a young adult in his early 20s, with slightly long black hair and black eyes.
He was wearing a loose-fitting black baggy top and a white T-shirt underneath, along with black pants and black tennis shoes with white accents.
'Looks like someone likes black.'
With her dismissive comment, Callen saw that she was staring down at her interrogator with a bored look on her face.
His interrogator was a woman in public safety garb, a completely normal person...if you omitted her long white hair and a horn protruding from the left side of her forehead.
Who was also staring at the suspect without saying anything.
Callen pointed at the screen with a complex look.
"...What are they supposed to be doing?"
One officer replied with a shrug and the other informed him:
"They've been like this for a while."
Sighing again, Callen held the bridge of his nose and set the wad of papers down on a nearby table.
"Open the door for me, I'm coming in."
Approaching the door an officer prepared to open it.
"Right away."
Walking toward the entrance to the interrogation room, Callen flashed a small smile.
'Well, let's see what our dear guest has to tell us.'
And with that thought, Callen entered.
***
'When is this woman going to get tired?'
Jun had remained silent since he was captured, as he knew that's what you had to do when you were captured until things worked themselves out.
He'd heard it!...from somewhere...probably....
Either way, being silent had been relatively easy while other guys were constantly asking him questions. While he had decided not to answer any questions, he still didn't understand the things they were asking him.
Normalcy?
Rune?
Catalysts?
Those things were supposed to be heard only in fantasy... although he might not be the right person to say that, considering what happened a while ago.
But everything got complicated when this woman appeared, replacing one of the men who was constantly sighing in front of him.
At first she had also started asking the same questions she had been told before. But after a while, she simply stared at him in silence.
The woman had long white hair and somewhat cute brown eyes, he had begun to appreciate them, considering he had been looking at them constantly for a while.
Ah, she also had a black horn with a red tip on the left side of her forehead, Jun had been trying to ignore it from the beginning, he didn't want to seem rude in this staring contest.
Even so, it was true that he had been feeling a bit awkward for a while now....
But la was wrong if she thought he would sedate in this!
"Excuse me."
Suddenly, the door through which these guys had been entering and exiting opened again and the woman in front of him averted her gaze to the person entering.
'Ha, take that!'
Gloating at his victory, Jun allowed himself to look away from the strange woman and focused his gaze on the person who was entering.
He was a burly man with long brown hair and tanned skin.
He wore a dark coat with a grayish shirt, both somewhat unkempt.
The woman with the horn addressed him as she gave him an annoyed look.
"You're a little late."
The burly man offered a simple smile to the woman with the horn.
"Let me talk to him."
The woman stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed and rose from the chair. She leaned against the wall beside the door as she continued to stare at Jun.
Then, the man moved to sit across from Jun as he gave her another simple smile.
"Well, I hear you've refused to talk..."
Settling back in his seat, the man continued.
"According to the report, you were found leaving the apartment building where the use of runes was reported."
Giving himself small blows to his head, he added.
"A mass of meat was also found lying on the floor of the third floor, according to the mess in the living room, apart from the initial mess, traces of a fight were also found."
I now switch to gently banging my fist on the table.
"We want you to give us a report about what exactly happened in that apartment room, so we know how to proceed. Also, if possible we would like you to inform us about the runes found in that room."
Jun remained silent, as he had been doing since he was apprehended.
He would most likely end up being released for lack of evidence sooner or later. So he just had to persevere to the end.
The truth was that he didn't want to talk about what had been happening to him recently. He had already gotten himself into so much trouble, he didn't want to mess it up and get himself into more.
Suddenly, the burly man stopped moving his hands.
"You know, it's creating problems for us that you don't want to cooperate with the case. So let's do this, I'll inform you of what will happen to you if you keep quiet and then you'll decide whether you want to cooperate or not."
Jun made a confused face.
'Now what do you want.'
"If you don't cooperate, we will hold you responsible for causing the rune incident. Since, other than you, the other possible suspect now is a deformed mass that stopped moving."
Settling back into the chair, he continued.
"So you will be taken to the Asyl, a place where you will be chained together with other people who are not quite right in the head. Plus they will possibly experiment on you to try to find more answers to doubts about the imaginary. And where the only way out is dead or someone who's practically brainwashed..."
Resting his head on his hand, the man asked.
"What do you say?"
'Ok, I didn't expect that.'
Jun continued to feign boredom as he considered what he had just heard.
Which was worse, talking about what happened to him, or remaining silent and possibly being taken to a place where he would be treated like a lab rat.
'That... would be problematic.'
He wanted to complain that they couldn't accuse an innocent person like him, but considering how serious the burly man had been, he was most likely serious about blaming him.
Staring at the man, he too continued to stare at him, waiting for an answer.
Sighing, Jun changed his bored face to an annoyed one.
"Okay, question."