Chương 106: Different Mannerisms

Secret room, Ichoris Legerdemain.

"Damn it!" Evel's fist crashed into the wall. His breathing was ragged, and his mind was pulsing with a dull, constant pain. Useless. He'd been sitting in the secret room with the sole wooden chair, wall of buttons, and a clock in isolation for a while, but no information of note had leaked to him. Everything they talked about was useless! Now he'd be forced to go out there and perform with nothing to show for it. It was his first performance in Upper-Ichoris in four weeks.

Just two weeks ago, he'd been caught by the Mayor and brought into his cruel little test. Shockingly, he chose to show up again. Now that he knew someone was listening, of course he wouldn't reveal any information; his booth had been completely silent the whole time. Prachar's leaders hadn't shown up since the first performance, and Redigo's leaders didn't show up today. There were the people within the Banners lower down, but they never talked about the details of their work.

There were merchants, but nothing relevant had been said. Anything that could be worth anything was said in a code he didn't have the details to decipher. Only the families talked, but they just kept gossiping about the same few stupid conversations over and over to no end. It was exhausting. The small tidbits of information he could sell were worth almost nothing, and now he was stuck waiting another two weeks for an opportunity. He rubbed his temples and calmed his breathing.

Straightening his clothes, he placed his top hat and walked out of the secret room, then out of his office. The security workers spread out as he walked through the hallways, making his way to the changerooms. Upon his entrance, the workers averted their gazes and kept busy. His eyes scanned the room. Yuna was in the corner, speaking with someone whose name he'd forgotten.

"Report." Yuna's back straightened as she looked at Evel.

"Everything is good." She lowered her eyes.

"Same as usual, your cue is soon."

"Alright." He grabbed his mask, placed it on his face, and walked down the hallway onto the springboard. Just a few minutes later, he heard the Rora's reverberating scream.

"THE ORACLE HAND!" A wave of cheers spread through the audience. Click. The spring was released, and he was launched into the air, spinning through before landing on his feet. He looked over to Rora as he waited for her to introduce his next trick. If he could get through everything quickly enough, then he might even be able to catch the tail bits of key discussions right before the VIPs left. Perhaps the opportunity wouldn't be wasted.

"So?" Evel asked coldly.

"The reactions seemed a bit mixed," Yuna began.

"But overall, people still enjoyed it. More rumours are spreading that you're not actually the same Oracle Hand as the first performance... We've been pushing those rumours so they don't doubt your performance even if they feel something's off."

"Something's off?" His face darkened.

"Have they figured anything out?" He was quite confident in his skills, so he seriously doubted anyone without extremely sharp senses would be able to notice anything. If regular audience members could notice, then he needed to completely return to the drawing board. A magician's success relied on the mystique and impossibility of the skills. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"N-no, but they notice something different... um, mannerisms?" Evel snorted.

"Like what?"

"Well–""Actually, never mind; it doesn't really matter. You can continue pushing those rumours as you feel is right."

"Alright." Evel paused.

"Two weeks ago," he narrowed his eyes.

"Did Mateo's performance as me not raise any bells?"

"It did... but if nothing else, it pushed around more theories of multiple Oracle Hands. Even some wilder theories about your abilities. I… wouldn't suggest it for long-term plans yet." Long-term plans?

"Next week's performance in the slums, have Mateo be the Oracle Hand." What was the point of long-term plans if he was dead?

"Okay." Evel blinked. He expected a bit of pushback, but she'd agreed to it right away. Maybe Mateo showed even more signs of improvement, and she felt he was ready? In the past two weeks, he hadn't been keeping up with the other members, but if Yuna wasn't pushing back, then it could only be a good thing. If he can permanently be the Oracle Hand, then I could spend all my time in the listening room. He also wouldn't need to waste his time practicing his performances and could fully focus on getting even stronger.

He gave a satisfied nod and walked away. The others would handle the cleanup. Thankfully, nobody approached him on his way out. The information this week was bad, but at least things were still heading in the right direction. Today's Sunday, huh? He hadn't gotten proper sleep in ages. Tomorrow, he'd get cleansed by Albert, so he figured this night was a good night to catch up on some sleep.

It's been a while since I've been at full capacity... Hopefully this headache disappears too, even if it's just for a few days. Arriving back at his house, Evel settled down at his desk and booted up the VTR. Surprisingly, there was a notification, and even more surprising was that it was from Avid. This was their first communication since Evel had called him in a desperate plea for help two weeks ago. Beep. Avid's calm face flickered above the machine.

"I'm glad you're still alive, Evel. It's unfortunate the Mayor unearthed you, but the fact that you live and continue to work your circus seeking information is a great thing to celebrate." Evel almost snorted. It had been two full weeks since he'd been attacked, and only now did he call. Avid was just happy he didn't waste his investment, nothing more.

"This message is to provide you with some fresh information we've received on Dissent." Evel narrowed his eyes. Dissent. The original reason he'd come to this city for, yet he'd mostly given up on finding their whereabouts. He had eyes in the slums, ears listening to the people of Upper Ichors, and he even personally listened to the city's most powerful people, yet none of them talked of anything even remotely related to the actions of Dissent.

They didn't even discuss topics remotely related to any of the activities Dissent were known for. As far as Evel were concerned, Dissent didn't have a presence in Ichoris City. But if they did and I could get information on them…

"Until now, we've only seen their movements among the poor areas of a city, but suspected they'd been moving towards the more powerful as well. Recently, we got some solid proof. A few days ago, a member of Acies was outed as a member of Dissent. We're still unsure if the organization convinced him or used an ability to brainwash him, but at the very least, we have full confirmation they're also going after the powerful."

"Tch." This could hardly be called news. Evel had already been spying on the powerful, but nothing of note had ever happened. This 'news' wouldn't change anything for him.

"Another small breakthrough is that we've discovered a bit more of how their hiring process works. If you show public disdain for the government, they may be more likely to approach you with ideas that push you further against Tempor. Soon, they keep pushing you further and further until you're fully brainwashed into doing whatever they ask of you without questioning back." He paused.

"Their indoctrination is powerful. Some of these people would blow up school children if they were told it was for a greater cause. It's a possible direction to go in, but be wary of drawing the ire of the Banners or further angering the Mayor. That is all. Good luck." With a beep, his image disappeared. Lightly shaking his head, Evel leaned back in his chair. Useless. Investigate people in power and show ire for the government? Of course, a terrorist organization would do that.

The people at Agent were just incompetent if they hadn't guessed as much by now. He threw the idea of Dissent to the back of his mind. He'd consider them, but there was no point in actively seeking them out until he at least overcame Colton. Rubbing his temples, he took a sharp breath. The headache hadn't stopped getting worse, and his mind was just so groggy. He hadn't had proper rest in… His eyes slightly opened in surprise. Have I used rest pods this entire week? He couldn't even remember.

Regardless of the situation, he was nearing his limit. His thoughts dulled, and the intensity of his training worsened day by day. Sleep was a waste of many hours, but it wasn't something he could neglect forever. Dragging his body onto the bed, Evel finally relaxed. His eyelids slammed shut, and it didn't take long until he slowly drifted into a dreamless rest.