The words written on his father's slip of paper—Tsubaki Shinji remembered them even as morning came. The world can be touched without luminous essence. While boiling water in the kitchen, he opened his right palm. Beyond the morning haze, he could see the stake driven into the garden. The yellow cloth swayed slightly, though there was no wind. (It's still there.) The seal remained. Zeno's cold words, the rumors spreading through town—none of it had vanished. But there was one thing different from last night: something had solidified within Shinji. Not resignation. Not anger. Something quieter and more enduring. He prepared himself and stepped into the alley. The main street in the morning still had few people. The stone pavement glistened with dew, and the smell of the bakery's oven drifting from afar. As always, Shinji headed toward the Twin Blades Luminous Covenant—Feria branch. —— He opened the branch door and took his usual seat at the counter. His elbow fit into the worn depression. Fifteen years of habit. He spread the ledger and picked up his pen. The same motions as yesterday. The same morning. Yet today, Shinji's eyes saw the pages differently. A heavy sound echoed. The branch's thick stone door swung open forcefully. Shinji looked up. A large silhouette filled the doorway. A travel coat with mud splattered on the hem, both arms laden with heavy baggage—a figure stumbled in. One of the packages caught on a pillar and fell with a thud. "...I'm back." Silver hair streaked with white was slightly disheveled, and the old scar beneath his right eye caught the morning light. Sharp gray eyes swept across the branch interior first, then fixed on Shinji at the counter. A colleague emerged from the back, voice rising in surprise. "S-Support Chief! We were told you'd be at headquarters until yesterday——" "[serious]I moved up my carriage by one schedule." With only that, Alphas Vahlen made no move to pick up the dropped baggage. He walked straight toward the counter, mud still splattered on his coat hem, still in travel clothes—completely unbothered. With a stride that belied his fifty-eight years, he stood before Shinji's usual position. He glanced at the documents on the desk. Then slowly traced the old scar on his jaw. "[cold]Zeno Lax came here." It was a statement, not a question. Shinji stopped his pen. "...You knew?" "[serious]That man has a distinctive writing style." Alphas picked up the duty inspection record on the counter. He flipped through it quickly, stopping at one page. Thirty years of experience read the intelligence bureau's methods from a single document. From the back, the colleague's voice came as a whisper. "...Wait, am I the only one who doesn't understand what's happening?" No one answered. Alphas was already absorbed in the documents, and Shinji was still catching up to the reality of his support chief's return. —— Alphas called Shinji to the support chief's office ten minutes later. The office was at the back of the second floor. One window faced south, overlooking Feria's main street. A large, well-worn wooden table and shelves stacked with documents. Shinji still couldn't quite believe Alphas was back here. "Sit." Prompted, Shinji pulled out a chair. Alphas arranged three documents on the table. Zeno's duty inspection record. Shinji's insect shell powder sale record. Akatsutsubo—the center street's luminous essence equipment and material specialist shop—official purchase ledger. Three items in a line. Alphas pointed with his finger to the date column of the inspection record. "[serious]Three items flagged as record omissions. Look at this." Shinji leaned closer to the documents. "...The dates are off." "[serious]Exactly. There are traces of entries added the day after Zeno came to the branch. The order of the date writing and the normal workflow don't match. The ink density is also slightly different from the original record. To eyes that have seen request forgery many times, this is obvious at a glance." Alphas sighed. His voice was calm, but something hard lay beneath it. "[serious]Next, I cross-referenced the sale records with Akatsutsubo's ledger. They match perfectly. Not a single discrepancy. Insect shell powder is E-grade material—the lowest danger classification with no corresponding entries on the prohibited list. It's legitimate trade." Shinji looked between the three documents. The foundation of Zeno's claim of "questionable dealings" was being dismantled piece by piece before Alphas's hands. "This is..." "[cold]Not just a broad interpretation—it borders on outright fabrication." His voice was quiet. Not angry. Simply stating fact. That composure made it all the heavier. Something that had been stuck in Shinji's chest for so long shifted slightly. That helpless weight from the night he stood with his forehead against the fence. It hadn't completely disappeared, but Alphas's words had created a small gap in it. "[serious]I'm drafting a formal objection to the Royal Intelligence Bureau. Shinji, have all your records and Akatsutsubo's ledger ready." "...Yes." Alphas stood and looked out the window. He sighed once, then spoke without turning around. "[gentle]I'm glad you didn't give up." It was a short sentence. That was all. But to Shinji, those words sank in just as deeply as his father's slip of paper from last night. —— It was before noon. As Shinji organized the ledger at the counter, the branch door opened quietly. Not with a loud sound, but small and slow. A girl with long, straight emerald hair entered. Seidel Lynn. The fourteen-year-old girl who lived directly south of Shinji. Her odd eyes—right red, left blue—swept across the interior. She had a school bag on her shoulder, apparently returning from classes. Without a word, Lynn pulled a small notebook from her bag. She placed it on the counter. Shinji stopped his work. He opened the notebook. It was filled with meticulous, fine handwriting. As he turned the pages, dates, times, locations, names of people contacted, and summaries of what Zeno had said were listed in bullet points. Five days' worth. When and where Zeno had gone, and what he'd told everyone in town. All recorded. In front of the Mudwheel Tavern. In front of Pale General Store. Across from Akatsutsubo. The names of those he'd approached, the times, and summaries of what he'd said. (What is this...) When Shinji looked up, Lynn was watching him directly. Her expression serious, as always. "[serious]Zeno didn't realize I was watching the garden." Shinji couldn't find words to respond for a moment. "...Why would you do this?" "[gentle]Because I saw you change first." That morning when the garden's sinkhole first appeared, it was Lynn who'd confirmed it from the window. Before Shinji even noticed. From that day on—those quiet eyes had been watching him from next door. Shinji tried to say something, but his voice caught. Then footsteps came from behind. "[surprised]What is this, exactly?" Alphas, coming downstairs, leaned over the counter to look at the notebook. He took it from Lynn and slowly turned the pages. As he read, his eyebrows gradually rose. "[sarcastic]...A royal intelligence bureau investigator being surveilled by a fourteen-year-old child. This can't go to headquarters." Lynn replied directly. "[serious]Even at fourteen, observation is possible." "[laughing]...That's true." Alphas laughed. His first laugh since coming down from the support chief's office. The heavy air that had filled the branch softened, just for that moment. Shinji tried to thank Lynn. The words "thank you" were ready in his mind. But when he opened his mouth, something larger blocked his throat, and the words wouldn't come out properly. Lynn looked at Shinji and narrowed her eyes slightly. "[serious]I'll need the notebook back." With only that, she opened the door. Her emerald hair swayed as she left quietly. The small sound of her bag shifting. The door closed. Shinji stared at the door for a while, unable to move. —— Evening came. While Alphas was finishing the draft of the objection in the support chief's office, a shadow fell across the first-floor window. A girl in a red jacket stood before the door. Shinji looked up from his documents. Seraphim Yulia. Her blonde short bob swayed with the feather ornaments at her ears. Her usual bright emerald eyes were slightly red today. The sound of her opening the door and entering wasn't the usual light patter. Yulia came to the front of the counter and stopped. Then she bowed deeply. The words came after the action. "[crying]Master...I'm sorry." Her voice caught. She tried to continue, but couldn't get the words out. Zeno had told her something, she was scared, her feet wouldn't move, and she couldn't come that night. She couldn't forgive herself for not coming. She was trying to put it into words, but her shoulders trembled slightly as she remained bowed. Shinji came out from behind the counter. He stood before Yulia, thought for a moment, then spoke. "[gentle]You were scared." Yulia didn't raise her face. "[gentle]Even adults get scared. I was scared too. But you came back. That's enough." He didn't blame her. Didn't press her. Shinji understood there was no need to say more. Blame wouldn't solve anything. The fear was real, and her return was real. That was the only reality that existed here and now. When Yulia raised her face, her eyes were red. She started to say something, then closed her mouth, and finally nodded slightly. At that moment, footsteps came down from the second floor. "[serious]I apologize for interrupting a touching moment, but——" Alphas came downstairs holding a stack of documents in one hand. He walked normally while reading, without even his glasses on. "[serious]We need to prepare to confront Zeno directly tomorrow. Time is precious." Yulia spun around and froze. "[surprised]Wait a second! The support chief is here!? Since when——why——!?" "[serious]I was at headquarters until yesterday. I came back this morning. That's all." "[surprised]Don't say it so casually, I had no idea at all!!" Alphas lightly brushed off Yulia's outburst and spread the documents on the table. Shinji couldn't help but smile wryly. The heaviness from moments before had been blown away by the sound of her voice. This is it, Shinji thought. This is what it feels like. The three of them gathered around the table in the support chief's office. They spread out Lynn's notebook and Alphas's draft objection, discussing tomorrow's plan. Yulia traced the documents with her finger, eyes widening. "[surprised]Did Lynn write all of this? She's not even in elementary school..." "[serious]She's fourteen." "[surprised]She's not in elementary school but that's incredible!?" "[serious]It is incredible." Alphas nodded with a straight face. Shinji nodded too. Outside the window, the sky was painted in sunset colors. The stone roofs of Feria were bathed in orange light. The voices of the three echoed quietly off the stone walls of the support chief's office. —— Night fell. Alphas laid down his pen on the final page. The stack of documents lay complete on the table. The objection. A copy of Lynn's records. The guild's official sale records. Three items compiled into one formal document. The document contained three key points: evidence of post-dated entries in Zeno's inspection record; the insect shell powder transaction matching Akatsutsubo's ledger perfectly with no prohibited items; and the possibility that the no-entry seal hadn't undergone proper danger assessment by the Royal Ruin Survey and Preservation Bureau, failing to meet the procedural requirements of the Ruin Management Ordinance. "[serious]We submit tomorrow. We deliver it directly to the Royal Intelligence Bureau's local liaison office before Zeno makes his move." Shinji accepted the document.