Chương 95: Clear Mind

Graham took a long, final look at the patch of flowers where Blake's body had once been. It had already been a while since the magician and his ally left. His gaze lowered to his hands. Almost fully healed already. The potion's effects were truly incredible. It could probably save the life of someone close to death. Graham took a sharp breath and pushed himself up. His feet moved mechanically, tracing the path he'd been replaying in his head over and over the past hour.

When he looked up, he was already facing the sturdy wooden door of Laura's restaurant. The events after that were a blur. There was some yelling, and a lot of tears, but the specific details were drowned out by a thick cloud he didn't want to poke. After that, he walked around the city square. It was warm out, but the constant cool breeze travelling through the streets was a firm reminder of the impending Resting Season.

He didn't actually mind the cold, not when he was always able to be prepared for any kind of weather. A few kids were swarming about, playing war by the trees. Ultor's side dominated the battles, pushing all the kids from Tempor's side to the ground. All until, a hero arrived. The kid had a scrappy pen and paper stuck to his shirt with a simple message: Unyielding fist. Graham's gaze fell off the kids, and he continued his walk.

Without a goal in mind, he traced the paths he was most familiar with and arrived ahead of the bars. Taking a deep breath, he walked in, and the bells jingled softly as he pushed through the door. It was mostly empty, with fewer than half a dozen people scattered about. Redigo would frequent this place late at night, hosting parties that went till the morning, but it was still too soon for that. He walked straight to the edge of the bar, where he'd usually frequent.

"How's it going, Graham?" The bartender, Jerrik, poked"Fine. Just the usual, please."

"Of course." A few minutes later, he set down two mugs of beer.

"Oh, he's not with you?"

"No," Graham grabbed his mug and took his first sip. It didn't really have any taste.

"Not today." The bartender must have felt some discomfort, so he quickly changed the subject as he wiped down the counters.

"Did you get a chance to see the Ichoris Legerdemain?"

"Yes, the performances were quite impressive."

"Apparently, yesterday's performance was a little lacking. There's a rumour that they replaced the Oracle Hand with someone else altogether."

"Oh?"

"Personally, I think it's a clever little trick by the circus to excuse how unprepared they were." Jerrik leaned in, this time speaking with a soft whisper.

"Some guy came in yesterday, and apparently, the Mayor left halfway through in disappointment." He leaned back.

"You didn't hear that from me, though." Graham set down his mug before pushing himself off the stool.

"Give everyone here a few rounds." He paused.

"Put 'em all on Redigo's tab."

"You sure?"

"In fact, give em' as many rounds as they want." Jerrik held his gaze for a while before making the announcement, "Drinks on Redigo for the rest of the night!" He was met with a chorus of cheers as he turned to the door. The bells jingled once more as he stepped back out into the streets. Taking a deep breath, he began walking again. This time, with a destination. He made his way through the streets, ignoring the guards at the bridge as he kept going further south.

When he reached the other side, he immediately turned left. It wasn't long before he arrived at Redigo headquarters. Upon arrival, Yara gave him a strange look.

"Gr-graham, you're here?"

"Am I not supposed to be?"

"N-no it's not… Blake… Just wait here." Based on her reaction, the magician must already have sold the information. Graham ignored her and walked straight to the stairs. Whispers surrounded him as he climbed. A few even tried approaching him. He brushed them all off and walked straight to his room. He was never really close to any of the other members of Redigo other than Blake. The only two he looked at as more than fellow soldiers were Corinne and Vito.

Less than ten minutes later, one of those very people barged into his room.

"Graham, you're okay!" The head of the Ichoris branch, Vito. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"News travels fast," Graham replied, jotting away at a paper on his desk.

"He…," Vito exhaled, slumping down on the couch.

"He didn't deserve to die." Graham kept jotting.

"You managed to live, at the very least. That certainly calls for a celebration at least. Don't worry, we won't let something like that happen again. What type of task was it?"

"So you knew it was a task that would lead to our deaths?" He replied, not turning from the papers.

"Of course not!" Vito sat up straight.

"But specific requests from that man couldn't have been a good sign."

"I see."

"We had no choice." Vito paused.

"We… we'll assign you another partner soon… if you have someone in mind, just let us know."

"No need," Graham replied, pushing off the table. Grabbing onto a few items from the desk, he turned to Vito, really getting a good look at him. His wavy black hair was unkempt, and his usually sharp features were nowhere to be seen, replaced by deep, heavy eye bags. An awkward, jittery smile was on his face. For the first time in Graham's life, Vito actually looked a little pathetic. Walking up to the man, he handed over an envelope, a damp piece of paper, and an icewood emblem.

He tucked a second envelope in his pocket.

"What is…"

"My resignation. It was originally meant for Blake's dropping to book, but I repurposed it a little. I hope you don't mind the parts where I crossed his name out, or the scribbles on the titles." Vito's brows narrowed as his eyes scanned the paper.

"This… Don't be rash, Graham." Vito's voice deepened.

"Your mind isn't in a state to make such big decisions."

"My mind is the clearest it's ever been," Graham replied evenly.

"All your hard work, every single friend you've made — everything will amount to nothing if you go through with this."

"Every friend I've made?" Graham took a sharp breath.

"Like you? Or Corinne?" Vito bolted upright from his seat, "You know we didn't have a choice, the Ma–""No," Graham sighed.

"You made your choice." Vito parted his lips to speak, but the words caught in his throat. In the end, he remained silent.

"In the envelope is a note to Colton regarding his brother's death. I don't expect much, but I hope you'll at least give me dignity by giving it to him without peeking at its contents." Graham turned to leave, but before he walked out the door, he paused.

"At one point, I really did consider this a home." Mateo's shoulders slumped.

"Not today, I guess." With him, Yuna, Toan, and Clara sat in a circle in the Ichoris Legerdemain's tent. Yuna had intended to keep everything a secret, but the three found her waiting in the tent all alone and joined in. They'd been waiting for their boss to arrive for hours, and eventually she'd decided to tell them everything she knew.

"Monday's our day off, so I guess it's to be expected." Yuna sighed. The panic in Eth's eyes as he gave her those instructions to deceive the Mayor was vivid. To tell her to lie to the most powerful man in the city… And she still did it. More than anything, she remembered how he'd promised to explain everything afterwards. At the time, keeping a secret for the man who completely changed her life seemed like an easy choice. She didn't want to go back to the mines and enjoyed working with the people at the circus.

Unfortunately, the choice wasn't really hers. The moment the Mayor asked a question, it was as if a parasite entered her brain and spilled everything she knew.

"We should try again tomorrow," Toan suggested enthusiastically.

"I'm sure he'll explain everything then." Yuna nodded.

"Clara, go take care of your dad. Mateo, you help her out with anything she needs until he's in top shape already."

"But…" The freckled girl trailed off. Yuna looked deeply into the young girl's eyes.

"You're lucky to have a good family, Clara. Don't let things worsen." Clara hesitated, then nodded.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we're imagining it way worse than it actually is!" Mateo jumped up to his feet and extended an arm to support her. It wasn't a surprise he'd say something like that, not with how optimistic he always was. Then, Toan and Yuna were the only ones left. Yuna pushed herself to her feet.

"I've got a few small chores to handle, so I'll leave as soon as I get those done." She stretched her entire body with a grunt.

"You should go, too."

"I'll wait." The baldie simply replied.

"We'll leave together."

"Isn't Monday when you send your letters?" Yuna raised her brow.

"Don't keep your sister waiting." Toan hesitated.

"Fine." He yielded.

"But don't spend time waiting after you finish up." Yuna snorted.

"You think I don't have better things to do?" Toan shrugged, then left from the front entrance. Once she was sure he'd left, Yuna sat back down, holding her knees in her arms, and waited. Although she hadn't expressed this specific concern with her friends, she had a harrowing feeling that something had happened to Eth. Something bad. She tightened her grip around her knees. If the Mayor had done something… if he'd found Eth at Slack-Stone after she gave away where he was running off to…

She bit into her lip and kept waiting. Hours passed. No signs of the young but fierce businessman anywhere. She continued glancing at the entrance, expecting him to walk through at any moment. Finally, she heard a movement from outside the circus. Her head perked up, and she quickly jumped up to her feet. Her breathing turned rapid as she ran to the curtained entrance. He's alive! Before she got there, the entrance opened from the outside. She took a sharp breath.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the man she'd been waiting for.

"Hello?" A brown-haired man with wavy hair popped his head in. He was a bit short and smelled of dried blood. His body was weighed down by a deep exhaustion, similar to that of those working in the mines. She exhaled.

"We're closed today, and we're not currently hiring."

"Is Eth here?" She lowered her gaze.

"No, we usually have Mondays off."

"Then, could you give him this?" The man took an envelope from his pocket and extended it forward.

"He'll know it's from me."

"Are you a friend of his?" She asked, snapping the envelope. Although she'd worked with him for so long, she knew practically nothing about his personal life other than a few small stories from when he used to work at a circus as a child. This was the first time she'd met someone from his life outside of business. Something flickered in the young man's eyes.

"No, we only truly got to know each other today." His face darkened.

"And I can't say I ended up liking him very much." Yuna's eyes widened, "Y-you saw him today? He's alright?" The mysterious man held her gaze for a while, his eyes unfocused. She swallowed back her spit, desperate for a specific response. Finally, he blinked. Giving her a quick, dismissive nod, he quietly turned to leave. Knock. Knock. Knock. Must be Evel. Albert turned off the heat and made his way to the door. He opened the door, "Come for din–" He stopped. Instead of Evel, a hooded girl stood in front of him.

His eyes immediately got drawn to her eyes. One was a deep amber, and the other a brilliant silver.

"Acies delivery for an 'Albert'?"

"That's me alright, but I didn't expect a person to deliver it to my door." Usually, deliveries were made en masse between cities, and a few summons or another ability would be responsible for quietly leaving it at the doorsteps or headquarters as needed. At least, for unimportant items. The girl clicked her tongue, "Thought Albert was a fake name, so I delivered it myself. Can't win em' all." Upon seeing the shift in Albert's face, she squinted.

"Quick on his feet, likes playing-cards, " She raised her chin.

"A wee-bit insecure?" Albert scratched his chin, "So you're a friend of Revel's."

"Hm? I thought it was Evel this whole time."