Chapter 814: Why? [1]

"I don’t want him on my team anymore."

Adrian sat across from the two Guild investigators, his hands resting against the edge of the table. There were several cuts along his knuckles, but he didn’t seem particularly concerned about them.

The man holding his report looked up.

"Emile Crow?"

"Yes."

The other investigator entered something into her tablet before looking towards him.

"According to the report, he left the staging area without permission?"

"I told him to stay there. His job was to watch the equipment and prepare whatever we needed, and nothing else."

"And he followed you?"

"He came to the gallery on his own! I understand that his intentions were good, but he directly ignored his superior’s command!"

Adrian’s fingers tightened against the table.

"We were already trying to recover two people. Then he appeared, and suddenly, I needed to account for him as well."

The man glanced down at the report.

"Tessa Reed was already missing at that point?"

"She was... already in the water. We were trying to get her back."

Adrian’s voice grew quieter.

"And instead of listening when we told him to stay out of the way, he started spouting a lot of nonsense. Jokes..."

The woman’s fingers stopped against the tablet.

"What sort of jokes?"

"Ask him."

"Team Leader Keller."

"He said he liked the water because it was wet."

"....."

Neither investigator immediately responded.

Adrian leaned back, rubbing the side of his face before continuing.

"I don’t know who assigned him to us. I don’t know what he was told before arriving. But I’m not taking him into another Gate."

"We understand your concerns."

"I don’t think you do."

His hand lowered.

"We’re an elite containment team, and every member has a clear role. We need to be able to trust that the others will do what they’re supposed to do."

The investigator nodded slowly.

"Crow doesn’t listen to instructions, and even when I recovered everyone, he did nothing but just smile and joke. What sort of behaviour is this? Is this some sort of joke? This is an elite Guild!"

Adrian paused, his gaze lowering towards the report.

"...I just can’t afford to have someone like that in my team."

"Are you saying his actions interfered with the rescue?"

"Yes."

The answer came immediately.

"I think he bears some responsibility for what happened to Tessa."

The woman looked towards her colleague.

He remained focused on Adrian.

"We’ll need to establish the sequence of events before drawing that conclusion."

"Then check the recordings."

"We intend to."

"Good."

Adrian pushed his chair back slightly.

"When Marcus was pulled under, do you know what Crow said?"

Neither answered.

"That he would probably drown in the next couple of minutes."

His jaw tightened.

"He was smiling. The entire time... he was smiling."

The investigator lowered the report.

"I see."

"And when I finally came up with Marcus and Vera, he just looked at us. I needed to tell him to help."

The room went quiet.

For a moment, Adrian looked as though he wanted to continue. Instead, he pressed his lips together and waited while the woman finished typing.

"We’ll include your statement in the incident report."

The man said.

"It will be submitted to the Guild Master."

Adrian looked up.

"The Guild Master?"

"Yes. He’s requested the findings."

"Then make sure he understands that I won’t continue with Crow. Whoever put him on my team can find somewhere else for him."

"We’ll pass on your request."

Adrian stood up.

The man waited until he reached the door before speaking again.

"We’ll contact you if we need anything further."

He gave a short nod and left.

***

Seth stood beside the chairs opposite the room, looking down at his temporary access card.

He lifted his head when the door opened.

Adrian stopped.

For a moment, the two looked at each other.

Then Adrian’s expression tightened, and he brushed past without saying anything.

Seth turned slightly.

"...?"

His head tilted as he watched Adrian walk away.

The movement caught the attention of several people nearby. One of them looked towards the interview room before leaning closer to the person beside him.

"That’s the temporary member?"

"I think so."

"He was with Keller’s team?"

The conversation lowered when Seth looked in their direction.

He glanced down at his clothes.

Then back towards Adrian.

Before he could say anything, the investigator stepped out of the room.

"Crow."

Adrian’s steps slowed.

Seth turned.

"The Guild Master wishes to see you."

"Me?"

"Yes. Someone will escort you upstairs."

Farther down the corridor, Adrian stopped completely.

He looked back.

Seth was still standing beside the chairs, his expression one of mild confusion as the investigator directed him towards the waiting staff member.

For the first time since leaving the room, Adrian’s expression eased.

A small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

Good.

***

The elevator carried us all the way to the top floor.

Ding!

[Floor 89]

I looked at the number before following the staff member outside.

A polished corridor stretched ahead, its lights reflecting against the floor as we walked towards a large wooden door. There weren’t many people around, and the few we passed only glanced at me before continuing with their work.

That was considerably better than downstairs.

I had quite a lot of fans down there. Well, they didn’t seem to like me, but I could only shrug. I knew the reason, and found it to be amusing. Especially since I was the one who had saved them, but then again, I didn’t really disclose the fact that I did.

’They probably think I’m some sort of obnoxious baggage.’

I nodded.

A proud one at that.

I was a bit tired of the looks of awe back in the Severed Stars Guild. This felt like a nice change of pace.

The staff member stopped beside the door.

"He’s waiting for you."

"Right."

I adjusted my sleeve before knocking.

To Tok!

"Come in."

I pushed the door open.

Light fell across the polished floor from the wide windows behind the desk. The city stretched out beyond them, with buildings that looked considerably smaller from here.

For a moment, I found myself looking at the roads below.

I couldn’t even make out the people.

’Quite high up.’

The Guild Master sat behind his desk, a folder open in front of him. His hat rested to one side, while the walking stick leaned within reach of his chair.

He looked up as I entered.

A warm smile appeared on his face.

"Come in."

I closed the door and approached the desk, taking another look around before settling into the empty chair.

It was comfortable.

I moved a little and rested my arm against the side of the chair.

"So...? Am I getting kicked out?"

The Guild Master’s brows rose.

"Kicked out? For what?"

"Well, the incident."

I glanced towards the folder on his desk.

Adrian certainly seemed to think I was in trouble. The look he gave me downstairs was rather difficult to misunderstand.

Not that I particularly blamed him.

From his perspective, I was probably quite annoying.

Then again, I was quite annoying from most perspectives.

The Guild Master looked at me for another moment before closing the folder.

"Why would I do that when you’re the one who saved them?"

"....."

My fingers stopped against the armrest.

Oh?

I looked at him more carefully.

His expression remained warm, and he didn’t seem to be waiting for me to explain anything.

That was what made me pause.

"What makes you think that?"

The Gate was dark.

Very dark.

I made sure nobody was looking when I used my abilities, and Adrian was occupied with the others for most of it. Even the camera on me was disabled.

The scout couldn’t possibly see—

"Are you not Seth Thorne?"

My thoughts stopped.

I looked at him.

He looked back, his smile unchanged.

"....."

Well.

A smile slowly formed on my face.

"I suppose I am."

The old man chuckled softly before moving the folder aside.

For a little while, I didn’t say anything else.

I liked this guy.

He was quite pleasant to speak with, and unlike everyone downstairs, he seemed to understand that I was a rather valuable person to have around.

A man with good judgment.

But...

My gaze moved towards the walking stick beside him.

Then back to his face.

That was the problem, wasn’t it?

He was making it far too easy for me to like him.

First, there was the sponsorship. Then he personally came to the hospital and arranged for me to leave. Now, after an operation that ended with several casualties, he was telling me that I was the one who saved everyone.

He wasn’t even asking me how I did it.

I shifted back in the chair.

The more comfortable I felt around him, the more I wanted to understand why he was going to so much trouble.

If he wanted to recruit me, I could understand that.

But sitting here, looking at the warm expression on his face, I couldn’t work out what he expected in return.

And I didn’t quite like that.

If someone’s intentions were unknown, it made it hard for me to trust them.

"Why?"

The Guild Master tilted his head slightly.

"Why? Why what?"

I watched him for another moment before speaking.

"...Why are you so nice to me?"