"Do you think he did it on purpose?" asked the man bearing the emblem of a potion enclosed within a geometric shield.
Thor closed his eyes briefly, recalling what had happened, then said, "Yes. It seems he did. He could have acted carelessly and let Ralph take the box that way… but when he looked toward the balcony where I was sitting, he chose confrontation."
The man laughed softly, a hint of arrogance in his smile. "Heh. That means he chose to fight Ralph just to prove, right before your eyes, that he is strong and intelligent. In your opinion, why would he care about something like that?"
Thor moved toward the exit to take Ralph to the infirmary. "He likely knows about the joining trials, so he wanted to shorten the path—prove himself directly to me so I would choose him."
After Thor left, the man with the emblem continued, "And I suspect his goal was either to gain real combat experience at the borders… or to draw closer to the place where the catastrophe that struck his village occurred."
…
"Why did you hit him so hard? Ralph's face is almost ruined."
Milisia was clearly upset; from her perspective, Eugene's actions had been excessive.
Eugene looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "For me, that was the bare minimum."
"Bare minimum? His face is purple and red—how is that not enough?"
Eugene tilted his head slightly. "No. He's irritating and provocative."
Before Milisia could flare up again, Eugene continued, "And besides… he tried to kill me."
Milisia's eyebrows shot up. "He tried to kill you?!"
Ren lifted his head sharply. "He tried to kill Eugene?!"
"I-it's nothing, he ju—"
Eugene lightly kicked Milisia's foot, signaling her to stop.
She understood immediately—he didn't want to frighten Ren or the others.
"No, she was just telling me about a movie she watched recently," Eugene said with a slightly foolish smile.
Fred pointed at Eugene curiously. "What's in the box?"
Reem and Ren turned their attention to the box Eugene was carrying.
Eugene tensed for a moment, then said, "This… it's a gift."
"A gift?"
The three of them reacted in unison, a mix of disbelief and surprise. Still, the moment passed without further issue.
As the hours went by—singing, music, food, and endless questions—Eugene was fully immersed in eating, Reem chatted with Milisia, and Ren talked with Fred.
During the conversation, both Fred and Eugene stood up at the same time.
"Wait, where are you two going?" Ren asked, surprised by their synchronized movement.
Fred replied, pointing behind him, "I'm going to meet an old friend."
Eugene gestured in the opposite direction. "And I'm going to get some fresh air."
Fred and Eugene left, leaving Ren alone. As Ren stared at the food in boredom, a voice came from in front of him. "Excuse me…"
…
Under the dark night sky, beneath the moon and stars, at around eleven-fifteen…
Eugene stood on the outer balcony, gazing at the night sky, when someone approached from his left and spoke confidently.
"So, you're Eugene?"
Eugene turned to see the same man who had been with Thor earlier.
"Yes. I'm Eugene. And you are?"
The man removed his glasses and polished them before speaking in the same confident, arrogant tone, a smile on his lips. "My name is Idris. I am the first disciple of Lord Alchemy—one of the Four Geniuses. Oh, right… and I'm also Milisia's older half-brother."
Eugene paused for a moment, then said, "Milisia's half-brother… that explains why you don't resemble her at all."
Idris raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking to himself, "This boy is strange. He didn't care that I'm one of the Four Geniuses, nor that I'm the first disciple of Lord Alchemy—nor even that I'm her half-brother. He just made that comment."
"Heh."
Idris chuckled softly and put his glasses back on. "You're an odd one, kid. Tell me—did you beat Ralph that brutally without a reason?"
Idris already knew the reason, as Thor had told him, but he wanted confirmation.
"That's strange. I heard you talking to Thor. You mentioned my name, said you were Lord Alchemy, and alchemy is closely tied to psychology… Are you trying to analyze my motives for beating Ralph so severely?"
Idris looked at Eugene with visible surprise. "Hahaha. Oh, kid—you seem foolish, but you're sharp in a strange way."
Eugene frowned. "Who are you calling foolish?"
A gust of wind passed, and silence settled briefly between them.
"Listen to me, boy," Idris said.
Eugene looked at him. "What?"
Idris raised two fingers. "I have two questions for you."
Their gazes locked for a moment before Eugene replied, "And I have two questions for you."
Idris raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'm making a deal with you? I'm the one asking questions."
Eugene shrugged lightly. "Two for two. That's my condition if you want answers."
Idris sighed. "Fine. My first question."
Eugene's expression shifted into mockery. "Are you questioning me or testing me? No need to announce 'my first question.'"
Idris frowned as Eugene chuckled lightly.
"…Fine. Do you know what really happened in your village incident?"
Eugene's face stiffened as memories flooded his mind like a storm of arrows, each carrying a fragment of that catastrophe.
"…I don't remember everything," he said after a pause. "All I recall is an attack, blood, screams, chaos—and Ren pushing me away before I was struck by a massive rock."
"Is that really all you remember?"
Before Eugene could answer, a spark ignited in his mind, memories replaying slowly.
"The symbols."
"What symbols?" Idris asked, confused.
Eugene continued, his emotions mixing mystery with realization. "The golden symbols didn't appear randomly. Before the attack, they formed a specific geometric shape."
Idris's eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes! And what shape was it?"
Eugene recalled it clearly. "It was like an inverted pentagram inside a circle."
"Inverted pentagram… I feel like I've seen that symbol before."
Idris's thoughts spun like a storm.
"I don't know if it's a coincidence or not. Anyway—your second question."
"My second question… ah, right. You know the Empire's borders are extremely dangerous."
"Yes," Eugene replied confidently.
"And neither the borders nor the mountains will protect you from such an attack."
How does he know I want the truth? What a stupid question—Milisia must have told him, or he figured it out himself.
After a few seconds, Eugene answered, "Yes."
"Then why do you want to go there? Why persist on your own when there are organizations, investigators, experts searching for answers? Why act alone?"
Eugene thought for a moment, tilting his head, then raised a finger toward the sky. "Because in the end, that place is my home. Under this sky, no one has the right to seek vengeance or truth there except those who belong to it—Ren and me."
He continued, "And ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a cultivator. Battles, victory, journeys, learning, adaptation—those things excite me far more than a dull life. That attack was like a key that unlocked all of this."
Idris stepped past Eugene and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Your answer is strange. On the surface, it sounds noble and grand… but deep down, it's selfish and unsettling."
Idris disappeared into the crowd. Eugene returned to gazing at the sky.
Elsewhere, someone else was also staring at the night sky.
It was Musa. Eugene saw him sitting at a table, gazing through one of the windows as the night breeze stirred his long hair.
Eugene moved toward him.
Musa's heart began to race. He feared Eugene would ask about the symbol, about James, or about his strange reaction earlier.
Eugene pulled out a chair and sat across from him…
…
Ren lifted his gaze and saw an elderly man with neatly trimmed facial hair—a rectangular beard connected to a thin mustache. His brown eyes were calm. He wore a full black suit and leaned on a wooden cane.
"Yes, how may I help you?"
Despite the wrinkles that suggested age, the man's voice was clear, strong, and confident. "I'm looking for a woman—rather tall, blonde hair, blue eyes like diamonds. She wears a white and light-green dress and appears to be in her late thirties. Did she pass by here?"
He means Milisia… but no, Milisia isn't in her late thirties, Ren thought before answering.
"No, I haven't seen her."
"Oh, I see. Sorry for wasting your time."
The man smiled gently.
Ren returned the smile. "Not at all."
The man walked away, gradually disappearing into the crowd.
To be continued
End of the Chapter