Eryndor grabbed his hair due to frustration of not being able to think of any other possibility.
The possibility that Rodrick might have mind controlled an anomaly was too scary.
Should I tell other people?
Perhaps.
That was the only choice left. He decided he would tell his teammates first.
As for why he couldn't just leave all of it aside?
He already knew how Rodrick wanted them to head towards the fake bear area. Eryndor could choose to avoid it, as their mission would be completed without heading there.
But he didn't feel like leaving it here.
Since he already knew about how Rodrick was trying to drag them deep into some scheme of his, it would leave a bad taste in Eryndor's mouth if he just let him be.
It was also not as if Rodrick was an unsurpassable existence in the face of whom Eryndor could only run.
No, with denial of his human identity and an almost certain guess that he was an Eldritch Entity came pride, with it came ego, with it came confidence which was only boosted by his various abilities.
Rodrick would pay a steep price.
Eryndor had to continue gathering information and strategize how he could change the situation.
He slept with restlessness that night, his subconscious brain still trying to come up with solutions.
*****
"I have something important to tell you guys."
Eryndor spoke in a rather serious tone, his voice cutting through the idle chit-chat his group was having.
"There were problems with the blue haired guy who shared us his contact card."
Eryndor went on to tell them the result of his findings without exposing any of his abilities.
They were free to interpret it anyhow they deemed fit.
There was a stark silence on the table as the three of them stared at each other, stunned at the revelation Eryndor had given them.
"You sure Rodrick is behind all of this?"
Valentina asked.
"At least all the clues point to him."
Eryndor nodded. He then glanced at Drakarion and Paulina, before explaining where he had used their explanations.
Well, how did Eryndor know how the mind of Jeremy looked to deduce he was mind controlled? Again, they were free to guess.
Seeing that the conclusion he reached was from their own explanations, they had no choice but to believe him.
They didn't expect that on their first mission they were already facing such a difficult obstacle.
Valentina suggested they move out as soon as the mission was over, but Drakarion had a completely opposite view.
"How dare he move against us when we haven't even done anything? I'll rip him into shreds as soon as he appears before me. He isn't up to any good I am telling you.
"As for his mind control? Just let him try haha, I'll give him a good gift."
Eryndor didn't know if he was boasting, but his last sentence made him feel like his decision of not using Cognitive Scrying on his teammates, an extremely right choice.
"He'd be dead if I knew his location."
Paulina only spoke a single sentence but it was enough to show her stance.
Eryndor got a good view on his teammate's personalities through the small exchange.
Valentina preferred not to fight. Eryndor was uncertain but he felt like she was also very morally inclined, thus her decision of not acting upon Rodrick without concrete evidence.
Drakarion was hot tempered and preferred fighting to solve pretty much everything.
Paulina was silent but deadly. The aura she gave off made Eryndor put her on the same level as Drakarion.
Both Drakarion and Paulina were morally gray.
Eryndor heaved a sigh and put forward a suggestion.
"I am thinking of alerting professor Melissa about this. If at all Rodrick has even mind controlled her, I don't think he'll be doing it at all times."
Paulina nodded her head.
"Yea, not to mention abilities do in fact need energy to be used. The Human Federation hasn't yet figured out what this fifth type is.
"He definitely cannot use his abilities all the time."
No one else gave their opinion, but their silence was answer enough.
Eryndor simply nodded.
"I'll do it after I have more conclusive evidence."
"Huh? Don't lie, you simply wanted a reason to contact professor Melissa is it not so?"
Drakarion grinned.
Eryndor helplessly raised both his hands and replied.
"Don't keep accusing me or I'll beat you black and blue someday.
"You can contact her instead. I don't mind."
The rest of them laughed at that, with Drakarion not taking the joke to heart.
He simply shook his head while replying.
"Don't worry, I have no interest in these things. Contact her yourself."
Eryndor smiled, but told them he would still need to wait a few days for more evidence.
Eryndor could feel the shift in atmosphere as they talked about other things over breakfast.
It was only a tiny bit more serious.
He wasn't sure if it was because they had confidence in themselves or had a reliance he wasn't aware of.
He simply shrugged.
After breakfast, the four of them headed towards the outer parts of the town once again, carrying big green leaves on them.
Today they would be fighting infected dogs the entire time as all the infected cats had been captured.
So far there wasn't a single casualty on the side of infected animals.
It helped that the storage compartment of the vehicle of the Academy was inscribed with healing spells.
They walked leisurely, having already settled on a schedule and how many infected animals to capture. There was no hurry.
When they finally reached the location of one such infected dog, Eryndor once again activated his ability.
One, to more easily locate their target, and second, to keep manipulating the contact card.
After a couple minutes he had already found their first target.
Handing the assortment of equipment on him which included safety pills, antidotes, tranquilizers and a few other stuff to Valentina, he walked ahead.
Putting a hand on Drakarion's shoulder, he stated.
"Let me handle this one."