Chapter 639: Malia [4]

My introduction was met with silence. The moment I extended my hand in his direction and greeted him, he simply stared at me with a baffled expression. Taking note of his trembling eyes and lost expression, I knew that he was in complete shock.

I didn’t mind such a reaction, as I introduced myself again.

"It’s nice to meet you. My name is Seth. What is yours?"

That seemed to do the trick as his face finally snapped back to reality as he hurriedly put his knife and fork down and reached for my hand.

"I’m.. Cedrick. Cedrick Vale."

"Is that so?"

I placed my hand under my chin, pretending to think as I muttered, "That name... it sounds a little familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

"Me? You know me?"

He looked surprised as he stared at me, his finger lifting to point at himself, as if struggling to believe that I had actually heard of him.

I just smiled and shrugged.

"Yeah, I think so, but I could be wrong. I do hear a lot of names lately, so I might’ve mistaken you for someone."

"...You probably don’t know me. I’m not very popular. I’m just an average recruit, unlike you."

"Is that so?"

I pointed at the seat.

"Is this taken?"

"Ah, no... You can sit."

He reached for his tray and was prepared to stand up when I stopped him.

"There’s no need to leave. Keep seated."

I then looked towards the others from my Guild. They were looking at me from a distance as I pointed at the seats near me and spoke, "I’ve found some good seats. Go and get some food. I’ll keep them for now."

The others exchanged looks before obliging.

Seeing them move, I looked back at Cedrick. He looked a little uncomfortable. But that didn’t matter to me as I started asking him questions.

"So, Cedrick, are you from here?"

"...Yes. I am. "

"What Guild?"

"Cloud Reverence."

"Oh? That’s a King-Grade Guild. You’re from a pretty reputable Guild. Not bad. Not bad at all. That means that you were underselling yourself. You’re actually pretty good."

"That’s... I’m average."

"Humble."

I leaned back in my chair, stretching my back slightly. For some reason, Cedrick’s gaze seemed to linger just over my shoulder, and as I tilted my head in confusion, I quickly understood why, my lips twitching faintly.

"I spilled something."

"...Oh."

He didn’t seem to believe me.

"I’m telling the truth. Well, it doesn’t really matter." I shrugged lightly. "I’m actually curious about something, Cedrick. Since you’re from here, you should have a better grasp of what’s going on. Can you tell me anything you’ve found about the disappearances? I already know what’s been shared so far, like the age range and zodiac signs. Has anything new come up?"

"Not... much to be honest."

His voice was rather quiet, forcing me to lean forward in order to get a proper listen to it as he continued.

"More people have started to disappear. The pattern is the same, but we’ve yet to uncover any sort of clue regarding the one responsible for all of this. We believe it to be an anomaly, but there’s also a chance that this might be done by humans. Considering the situation in the Western District, it wouldn’t be out of the question."

"But if that were the case, why such an age range and zodiac sign? What does the Zodiac sign have anything to do with this?"

"I’m... not particularly sure."

Cedrick scratched the back of his head. Lifting his head, his gaze eventually fell to the right, and when I followed his line of sight, I saw several familiar figures approaching in my direction. There was also Zoey, but the moment that we made eye contact, she turned her head away and moved towards a different area.

’Good. It seems like she’s still playing along.’

Soon, Clara and several others took their seats beside me. As they settled in, Cedrick rose to his feet, quietly muttering, "Excuse me," before leaving without another word. I didn’t stop him, instead shifting my attention to the tray Clara had brought over.

She had also gotten me one. Very nice of her.

Staring at the dish, I reached for the utensils.

I was rather hungry.

And just as I cut the piece of meat in front of me, Clara’s voice reached me.

"Who was that?"

"Oh, him?"

I brought the piece of meat close to my mouth as I paused for a moment.

After which, I smiled.

"A poor soul."

I brought the fork to my mouth.

’A very poor soul.’

***

"Soran, how is your condition?"

The Section Chief approached the Team Leader and took a seat among the ones reserved for Team Leaders and Section Chiefs of the guilds. With her sunglasses still on, the Team Leader’s fork paused.

After a while, she answered, "...Well, I’m still managing it."

"But are you?"

"Eh."

The Team Leader scratched the side of her face, then turned toward the Section Chief as she slipped off her sunglasses, revealing what seemed to be dark eyes, though for a brief moment, they flickered white.

"Y-you..."

The sight caught the Section Chief off guard, his expression changing. But right then, Soran placed her sunglasses back on.

"It’s nothing terrible. I’m only losing my sight. Nah... not even. I’ve become more sensitive to light. I’ve got no choice but to wear these."

"...Is it getting worse?"

"Maybe?"

Soran brought the fork to her mouth, taking a bite as her expression lit up almost immediately. "Wow, holy shit. Have you tried this? It’s really good."

Seeing her like this, there were many things the Section Chief wanted to say, but he held himself back, letting out a quiet sigh instead. Although Soran tried to make light of the situation, he understood that things were only getting worse for her.

’I’ve been managing her schedule carefully, giving her long breaks and assigning lighter tasks in hopes she’d recover, but it doesn’t seem to be working. Should I just have her retire...?’

The thought pained the Section Chief’s heart.

Especially since he was aware that even if he proposed retirement, Soran wouldn’t agree to it. But most importantly, he was saddened by the idea of losing someone as talented as her. Even though she couldn’t use her powers, her mind was exceptional.

Even without her powers, she was capable of clearing high-ranking Gates without becoming a liability. With a team and the right equipment, she could handle such operations without issue. If not for the guild’s reluctance to take risks, she would have been assigned to far more missions.

’...Honestly, it’s such a pity.’

The Section Chief looked away, his gaze eventually falling on a certain table. Or to be precise, two individuals.

Clara and Seth.

The two had become the cream of the crop within the guild. Yet, even as she looked between them, the Section Chief found her gaze drifting back to Soran.

Of the two...

’Perhaps, only Seth comes close to what she was back before her injury.’

Clara’s talent was exceptional, but she seemed to have already reached her limit. Seth, on the other hand, was still growing, and with no record of failure, he was on the path to becoming one of the best recruits the world had ever seen.

But there was only one issue.

This path that Seth was taking...

It was the same path the Guild Master had once pushed on Soran.

He was Soran’s predecessor.