Law of Attraction 3

Rafinya jolted upright, eyes flying wide open.

The moment she realized she had accidentally dozed off in the grasslands outside the capital.

But...

She found herself lying in bed in her own private room, a dim bedside lamp glowing softly, and more importantly...

Sunlight streamed in from outside.

A new morning had arrived.

She hadn't just dozed off.

She had fallen into a deep sleep.

But when she pulled back her blanket, she found blades of grass scattered across the bed.

Her eyes went wide.

What happened last night was not a dream.

.

.

.

Opening her door, Rafinya walked downstairs to the reception hall, where Princess Nora Ophilis sat sipping tea today.

Today was their last day here. Today was a day when Nora had nothing scheduled and remained at the residence.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Not exactly..."

Rafinya pulled out a chair and sat down at the table with the Princess.

"Was Diablo's military satisfying enough?"

"It was fine..."

Rafinya answered, tearing a piece of bread and dipping it into her mushroom soup, eating absentmindedly.

"...It was fine."

"What else did Mr. Fury show you?"

"...A strange person."

"A person? Who?"

"Calling him a person isn't quite right... let's just say, a Diablo."

"One with a human form like Mr. Fury's?"

She nodded.

"How much would a ten-year-old Diablo be worth in human years?"

"About the same as us. Why? Did you meet a Diablo our age?"

Sharp, as always, for Nora.

"So how was it?"

"Pretty annoying."

"Don't tell me you beat him up?"

"What kind of person do you take me for?"

"You knocked out one of Freya's men, remember."

"How did that reach you?"

"Mr. Roma."

"Ah..."

Rafinya stared down at her reflection in her tea.

"If there's a Diablo outside the royal family who can talk back to Mr. Fury and not get executed for it, what kind of person do you think he'd have to be?"

Princess Nora's expression turned curious.

"Isn't Freya the only one who can do that?"

"There's another one."

"Then he must have something going for him that makes Mr. Fury turn a blind eye."

"....."

"Can you take me to meet him?"

"I'm not sure we'll even find him."

"That's fine. I'm free today."

The two students' agenda for the day was a relaxed one: heading outside the diplomatic district. Slipping past the eyes of the Snowhaven guards was not something beyond their ability.

The midday sun was quite strong, the air rather hot, but that did nothing to discourage Nora and Rafinya from walking through the green grasslands. Fortunately, the cool breeze flowing down from the mountains helped.

Did the stationed Diablo soldiers notice them? Certainly they did. But no one wanted to get involved, and no one dared to interfere either, since Fury had already made clear that this entire territory was theirs to move through freely, and that anyone could simply call for help if needed.

So they contented themselves with watching the girls from a distance.

"He really brought you this far out?"

Nora said, shading her eyes with her hand.

"Can't be helped. He seems like some kind of special unit that shouldn't be bothering with us."

"But he bothered with you... why?"

"Why don't you go ask him yourself."

"Sounds like he's curious to test something."

Then she led Nora to the spot near the waterfall from the night before. When they reached the shade of the great tree, it was as though the heat of the sun above had vanished entirely beneath the banyan's canopy.

The location sat right at the mouth of the wind current flowing down from the mountain, and it was then that Rafinya understood exactly why Yildiz loved this spot so much.

If you napped here in the middle of the day, you'd probably never want to get up and do anything again.

"It's so quiet here. Nice cool breeze."

Rafinya didn't answer the Princess. She scanned for the young man but couldn't spot him, until she looked up into the tree.

Nestled among the dense leaves and tangled branches... she spotted the figure of the young man hiding within that gap.

"...There he is."

She pointed.

Nora turned to look.

And just then, the sleeping young man's nose bubbled with a snot bubble that popped audibly, and he sensed he was being watched. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around.

Until his gaze met Rafinya's below, through the gap in the leaves. He flinched so hard he nearly fell off the branch.

"Shouldn't you be working right now?"

Rafinya asked.

"This is my break time."

"That's a different time from yesterday."

"My schedule changed."

"Would Mr. Fury say the same thing?"

"Hey, no... fine, I'll admit it. I'm sneaking a nap. Don't tell the Prince."

The young man climbed down from the tree, blades of grass stuck in his hair, and only then noticed there was someone else beside her.

"Princess Nora? Uh...?"

He hurriedly moved into a proper posture to show respect to royalty, his expression already turning to one of impending doom.

"Good day, Your Highness..."

"Hello, Yildiz."

He scratched his head.

"Why are you here, Your Highness?"

"Just wanted to meet Rafinya's new friend."

"What friend, ridiculous."

Rafinya frowned in objection.

"Are you the only Diablo our age on this whole island?"

"There's me and three or four other companions, but right now they're... um."

Rafinya: "Training."

"...Yes."

"And you snuck off to sleep instead?"

Yildiz gave an awkward, dry laugh. Rafinya shook her head at his hopelessness.

"Only four of you?"

"Yes."

Nora and Rafinya exchanged a look.

Young Diablo like Yildiz made up a tiny minority in this country. The overwhelming majority of the population were Diablo of the same generation as Fury.

It was incredibly difficult to find a Diablo friend of the same age.

And they were sure the other side felt the same, rarely getting to see a human their own age either.

The other companions might not have dared, but Yildiz had been bold enough to poke his head out and observe Rafinya that day out of sheer curiosity.

"I heard Mr. Fury ordered you to stay in human form?"

"I probably shouldn't tell you that..."

"Just like I probably shouldn't tell Mr. Fury that you snuck off to nap?"

Rafinya smirked. Nora really was ruthless.

"Your Highness, we shouldn't discuss this any further."

"Why not? Didn't you say you wanted to see a human? Well, here I am, right in front of you."

"Not every Diablo has a human form."

Rafinya said.

"Who are you, Yildiz?"

"I'm one of the Prince's soldiers!"

"You're Mr. Fury's illegitimate child, aren't you?"

Nora cut in with remarkable confidence.

"Huh..."

Rafinya turned.

"What are you talking about, Nora?"

"Come on, think about it. Escaping punishment, daring to talk back, and having a human form on top of it all. If he's not Mr. Fury's illegitimate son, what else could he possibly be?"

"What are you even saying, it's obviously—"

Rafinya was about to turn and point at him, but she found that the young man had already bolted, running away from them at full speed.

"HEY!!!"

Nora: "He'd rather take the punishment than answer us?"

"Get back here right now!"

On the other side of Diablo,

the TA and the other two professors had no idea what had happened that night. They didn't know what method the project's owner, Dan, had used to persuade Professor Pi'erre and Thomasin Mayfield. But the fact remained, afterward,

"Everyone, we're free to conduct our research at Diablo. They'll fully assist us. No need to worry."

Thomasin's announcement left everyone bewildered, compounded by her unusual demeanor, as though she had gone through something deeply affecting. She seemed like an entirely different person. What could have caused it?

Dan Burn stood behind them, arms crossed, watching his staff spend their final day here examining the cliff strata with curious eyes. Professor Pi'erre stood beside him, hands clasped behind his back. Roma and Freya stood supporting from a distance.

Even someone as composed as Professor Pi'erre broke a slight sweat standing next to him. But Dan showed no trace of concern in his eyes, gazing at his staff with nothing but sharp, unwavering resolve.

"Your Grace."

Professor Pi'erre said cautiously.

"What sparked these questions in Your Grace's mind?"

"I once spoke with someone from your country, Professor."

"Zentinel, then?"

"That's right."

Dan gave him only that answer, then continued,

"I had Roma investigate all of your backgrounds. That's what gave me the confidence to do this. Nearly everyone on your team, yourself included, comes from Zentinel."

"You wouldn't have dared do this if my team included anyone from Velmount or Luminus, would you?"

"I don't wish to stir up complications, Professor Pi'erre."

"I understand completely."

Professor Pi'erre was from Zentinel, and so his feelings toward the Diablo remained neutral, since Diablo had never caused any friction with Zentinel.

"Then I will avoid bringing anyone of Luminus or Velmount descent into our organization."

"I doubt anyone from those places would care much for paleontology anyway, but yes, Professor, I agree."

"...I assume you've already looked into Thomasin's background as well."

"Yes, Professor."

Dan nodded.

"I'll handle that matter myself."

Professor Pi'erre nodded before walking off toward the staff, who were busy documenting the rock strata.

The steady crash of waves. The sea breeze tousling their hair.

Thomasin Mayfield stood at the edge of the beach, her gaze distant. Just then, Dan stepped up beside her.

The young TA flinched, her voice trembling, and she stumbled backward three body-lengths at high speed, fingers digging into her notebook, giving a small bow.

"Y-Your Grace..."

Dan nodded.

"Why so frightened? You're my secretary now. I've never had a secretary before. You're the first."

"N-not at all, sir, I wouldn't dare!"

"Come, walk with me a moment."

"Y-yes..."

Thomasin followed Dan to another stretch of the beach. No one trailed after them. Glancing back, she saw only Roma watching from a distance.

(Both Totti and Zeedee are probably...)

She swallowed hard.

"Senior Thomasin... about your concerns yesterday regarding Diablo's laws, let me tell you something. Those laws were drafted by my own sister, with her own hands."

They were written to 'guard against opportunists' who would come to drain this land dry and destroy it for political gain. But that law was never meant to obstruct 'seekers of truth.'

Dan's gaze drifted out beyond the tent, toward the ancient limestone cliffs. He pointed for Thomasin to see.

"In that cliff face lies coral fossils possibly three hundred million years old. It doesn't care in the slightest whether the one touching it is a prince or an ordinary person."

He continued,

"I could only see the joy and the pure determination in your pursuit of truth when I was Dan Burn. Because this form is what let me learn the concept of evolution, what let me witness humans willing to devote their entire lives to knowledge... it's what let me meet you. This is something Fury could never give me."

Your abilities are something I do not have, and never will be able to match.

I'm not asking you to pretend everything is the same as before. I know there's no way you'll ever see me as the same Dan Burn again.

"But I ask one thing of you."

He held up a single finger.

"Don't let the word 'Prince' become a wall that cages your curiosity. You, me, and the professor share the same goal. We're searching for LUCA."

Dig as deeply as you need to. Uncover every last piece of history buried beneath these waters. That is my order, not as Fury, but as someone whose soul has been touched by nature, just like all of you.

Thomasin let out a long, releasing breath, her once-tense shoulders relaxing.

Her expression slowly began to shift.

She was still afraid, but one thing was undeniable: the Prince's involvement had genuinely improved the lives of herself, the professors, and the entire paleontology team, far beyond what they had scraped by on from meager government funding before.

Though she still held some measure of deference toward him, her fear of "laws and dark prison cells" had vanished entirely.

"Yes, sir."

She smiled with genuine, heartfelt respect.

Dan was no longer just "the Demon Prince" to her. Now she saw him as an "intellectual comrade," someone ready to seek the truth of this world alongside her.

"Thank you very much, Senior Thomasin."

Dan gave her shoulder a light pat.

"Sir... is it really okay for you to keep calling me senior...?"

"Habit's stuck now. Can't help it."

"Um..."