Basil wasn't as excited as he appeared, or at least that's what Ferned inferred from his exaggerated smile. Except for the moments when they told him stories that would surprise anyone, it was hard to know what the gray-haired guy was thinking.
Sometimes he acted overly cheerful, other times he was too polite. Everyone found it quite unnatural, but they never brought it up. Even Merlian, who didn't particularly like Basil, avoided saying it openly. Ferned knew the reason well; despite everything, they didn't want to force the young man to say anything. Merlian—or perhaps Auryn—wanted to foster the trust Basil had in them.
The reason Ferned thought about this was because of Basil's strange request. After returning with Auryn and Merlian, the young man said he wanted to see the slums. It was quite strange for the elder since Basil always seemed interested in the more beautiful parts of the city.
I shouldn't worry so much; Miss Auryn will accompany us. Whatever happens, it won't be anything serious.
After airing his concerns, he knocked on the door of the room.
—Come in. —said Basil's voice without delay.
Ferned entered the room. The first thing he saw was the singed half of Basil's face, who was getting ready in front of a mirror.
—Mr. Ferned, give me a moment. —he said while styling his hair. His hair was a bit long, reaching just above his neck, which required a bit more care.
Ferned nodded and stepped aside from the door, as etiquette dictated. He avoided making eye contact with Castian and Paul, who also didn't pay him much attention. It was hard for Castian to show interest in anything, but Paul's indifference was because he was gradually getting used to the old man.
Basil glanced at Ferned out of the corner of his eye; it was common for butlers to wait by the door, which gave the gray-haired man a clue about the elder's identity.
—Isn't your assistant here? That's unusual. —Basil said as he put his brush away in a drawer.
Ferned looked at him for a moment and sighed, feeling compelled to break his servile demeanor.
—I apologize for contradicting you, Mr. Basil, but Mr. Fauste is not my servant. —He ignored the surprised look from the gray-haired man and continued—. Regarding your comment, Mr. Fauste is waiting for you outside along with Miss Aury.
Basil analyzed Ferned's attitude; it struck him as odd that a supposed butler would show such a lack of etiquette, but he quickly brushed it off. I suppose he doesn't consider me his master, so he can afford to be a little rude.
—Alright then, let's go. —Basil put on his hood after adjusting his belt where his syringes and weapons were secured. He looked at the gray hood with regret; it bothered him to dress up so much and hide his appearance, but there was nothing he could do about it. As usual, Castian and Paul followed behind him.
The group went down to the exit where they met Auryn and Fauste. The latter nodded at Ferned and joined the group. For her part, Auryn paid them no attention and moved to the back. Basil was already used to this, so he ignored her and continued on his way.
Despite his apparent curiosity about reaching the slums, Basil wasn't in a hurry; his pace was leisurely as he looked around curiously. They might have been the same streets from yesterday, but he found new comments about tiny changes.
—They put another pair of Circular Wings near that church; it breaks symmetry a bit, but I guess they don't mind.
Ferned realized that Basil was being more talkative than usual. He didn't know why, but there was something strange about it. He felt similarly when the gray-haired man praised the food from a local stall.
—It's quite delicious this... ice cream? It seems like a rather recent dessert. —He noticed Ferned looking at him amidst his chat with Paul; therefore, he flashed an educated smile at him—. Would you like some too, Mr. Ferned? You can buy one if you wish.
Ferned felt discomfort seeing his formal behavior. In a way, he had been getting used to Basil's exaggerated emotions; thus seeing him act with such modesty felt odd. The young man's golden irises were unusually striking that day.
Well, it's not like he's not human.
The night they arrived at their office revealed their acting skills. He refused to believe that the moans of pain were fake, but they could judge that half of his performance was meant to prolong the conversation. It was more realistic to think that he overacted on purpose than that he always acted this way.
But still... No. If Mr. Setracsed had replaced him, it would mean he'd evaded the restriction imposed by Mr. Lunhde—not to mention Miss Auryn's surveillance. Besides, if he managed to replace him we could already consider our mission lost...
»Anyway, I should tell Miss Merlian about giving the password to young Basil.
—There's no need, Mr. Basil. —Ferned replied a moment later.
The gray-haired man merely shrugged and continued chatting with Paul, who seemed quite pleased with the taste of the ice cream.
And so it went for the rest of the way, with Basil making simple comments about what caught his attention. Perhaps with different company it would have been more enjoyable, but not many were willing to keep the conversation going. Paul barely responded to a couple of things, but he wasn't entirely interested. That didn't seem to bother Basil, who appeared to have woken up ready to talk and talk. He continued this way even in the slums, where his energetic tone clashed quite a bit.
—No matter where you are, the slums are still the same. —Basil's gaze fell on the dilapidated houses and poorly maintained streets.
—Mr. Basil, I have something to ask you. —Fauste couldn't contain his curiosity—. Why did you want to come here? It's not a very... touristy place.
Basil turned towards the young man with a smile.
—Well, spending so much time in the slums makes you feel a bit nostalgic. We don't know if I'm going to come back alive, so why not pay a visit to these streets?
Fauste listened without buying into his story.
Coming to reminisce? He left his home four days ago; I don't think he feels that nostalgic... Is he hiding something?
Not only did he suspect this, but so did Ferned and Auryn. Still, it was impossible for him to flee with Auryn watching over him, so they didn't pay much attention to it.
Basil seemed to realize that his words were suspicious, so he shrugged with a sigh.
—Alright, I'll be honest with you. I'm scared.
Ferned didn't expect that young man to say that, and judging by Fauste's expression, he assumed his companion didn't expect it either.
—Can you tell us... what you mean?
Basil's expression revealed a hint of regret.
—It's exactly as you hear it. I'm afraid, afraid of death. —His gaze turned empty and his lips tightened. To Ferned, it seemed that Basil could barely keep his head up—. I was just starting to adapt to my new life. It was hard, but things seemed to be looking up. Until suddenly, you all showed up and told me my life was in danger.
»In fact, just yesterday I convinced myself that what you said was true. Not one, but two Emperors want me dead. Do you really think I can be calm?
—Well... —Fauste felt uncomfortable; the conversation had turned somewhat strange—. We...
—Please, Mr. Fauste, I've heard it a thousand times from Merlian. I know you'll protect me, or at least that's what I want to believe. But still, can't a man be scared?
»I wanted to come to the slums for that reason. Even if you don't believe it, knowing you're going to die at any moment makes you feel a certain nostalgia for how your life used to be.
Fauste couldn't find the right words, so he turned to look at Ferned for help.
The old man stared intently at Basil's sad face, trying to see through him. After a while, he couldn't see any falsehood in his demeanor.
After all, he was just a simple con artist until a few days ago. I don't blame him for being scared.
He said nothing; he simply nodded at the gray-haired man. The young man smiled happily and the group continued walking as before. But now there was a small difference; Paul got more involved in the conversation, Fauste added a couple of comments too, and even Ferned said something occasionally. As for Auryn and Castian, they remained just as silent as before, but Basil could feel Auryn's gaze during their conversation.
Eventually the scenery changed. The houses became more neglected and the streets were much dirtier. Occasionally they encountered homeless people —Basil suspected they were CrystalClear addicts— sitting in the corners of alleys. Ferned realized they had ventured deep into the slums and spoke firmly.
—Mr. Basil, I think it's time to go back. We've gone too far into the suburbs. Even with Miss Aury here, it's not wise to draw attention.—said Ferned; he had gotten lost in conversation and didn't realize how far they had gone.
Basil, who seemed to be looking at the grass on the ground with satisfaction, stopped with some reluctance and slowly turned towards Ferned.
—Is that so? —His tone had a hint of pleading, but Ferned chose to ignore it, his attention drawn to something else. Basil's eyes, hard to discern through the hood, seemed to be waiting for something.
—I'm very sorry, Mr. Basil, but...
—You're not going anywhere. —said a raspy voice from behind.
The group quickly turned around; there were ten men spread out in the street. Their ragged clothing made it clear they were from the area, and their hands resting on their weapons told the group that they weren't going to be kind.
—Let's make this quick, who sent you? —said the man, who appeared to be the leader of the group.
Ferned sighed; it would be problematic to deal with the gangsters. He saw losing as impossible, but it wasn't wise to show they were Disciplinarians in broad daylight. We will have to flee. If we can get them to lose sight of us for a second, Miss Auryn can help Mr. Basil and his group escape over the roofs. As for us, we'll enter their Law Zone to avoid suspicion.
The old man mapped out his plan in less than a second. He turned to Basil to signal him to flee. Then he saw the gray-haired man aiming his weapon at the leader of the group.
—Wait...! —Ferned extended his arm just as a powerful blast sounded in his ears. He didn't have time to turn around when he heard many more explosions coming from the other side. Amidst that cacophony of bullets and gunpowder, he caught something on Basil's face. A smile.
—And that's what happened. —Ferned explained to Merlian, whose furrowed brows did little to hide her anger.
She turned to look at the disaster; multiple cracks filled the dirty streets, almost as if gunpowder had exploded everywhere. Auryn had been quick and removed the stems as soon as the disaster ended, but she couldn't do anything about the damage.
—Miss Aury was the fastest; she seems to understand the danger of those weapons better than we do.
Merlian didn't pay her any attention; she looked at the group of people lying on the ground. Except for one who was clearly dead, the others were shaking their bodies while foaming at the mouth. Thank goodness Auryn's Defensive Law leaves no traces...
Finally, her gaze landed on a gray-haired man lying on the ground, smiling.
—You... —Merlian approached with determined steps.
Here we go again.
She stopped in front of him. But contrary to what he thought, she didn't attack him.
—Why? —Merlian asked.
—Hm, you're not going to hit me?
She clicked her tongue.
—I've hit you enough already. Answer the question.
—Well, it's simpler than it seems. —Basil said after a while—. I have to eliminate the competition.
Merlian looked at him in silence, so Basil continued.
—Once all this is over, I plan to make a name for myself in the underworld again. For that, I can't afford the existence of other gangs. —Basil's smile widened—. This one in particular was a nuisance, mainly because they were affiliated with the Wayatte, who distribute drugs here and in my city through Sanma, my competition.
»I figured that if suddenly this gang was attacked by an unknown Wanderer, there would be an investigation into it and they would reach Wayatte.
Of course, Basil didn't know if Wayatte was connected with that gang. He didn't even know if they were the ones supplying drugs to Sanma. In fact, none of that mattered to him in the slightest; everything he was saying was a lie to mask his true motive.
When he realized he was truly in danger, he concluded one thing: I can't trust these people.
It was too suspicious; why would they choose to let him live and protect him instead of killing him to prevent Mr. S's ascension? For Basil, it was impossible to overlook that detail.
There's something you haven't told me, Merlian. Only an idiot would buy that story so easily.
But he was weak compared to those people. If it all ends, what will he do when Merlian reveals his true face and attacks him? That's why he had to grow stronger and used his only option: external pressure.
A group of gangsters being killed by a supposed Disciplinarian. This will draw attention from the Great Headquarters, and that won't be good for you, will it?
The only way to counteract a powerful force was by using another powerful force. Of course, it wasn't wise to give more battle fronts to his protectors, but he couldn't trust them either. Once Merlian realized the danger, she would reinforce defenses which meant she would increase her rank helping him become a Machinery Spear.
As for how she would do it, he didn't think it would be very difficult for a powerful Wanderer. She would just have to threaten an Ivory Engineer from some unfortunate noble family.
Of course, I would have to suggest it little by little, but it was a good first step.
—This is a problem, Mr. Basil. —said Merlian—. I can take care of the memory of these guys, but what about the people who saw everything and ran away? Aury couldn't risk catching them and exposing herself. If we're unlucky, rumors will spread about an unknown Disciplinary controlling the plants.
—Oh, no way, I hadn't thought of that. —Basil said, giving it his all in his act.
Merlian sighed, and with an almost perfect smile, said.
—Well, we have nothing to worry about; we just need to take out your heart-engine and keep you away from the world until this whole thing is over!