REALISTIC ISEKAI: I didn't read this in my novels!

Fryn jolted; with wide eyes, he spoke, "B—but sir, bringing in Veronica will incur major consequences, let alone Kurt."

Biktriv's expression remained unchanged. "If what you said is the truth, then it's our obligation to make sure we leave nothing to chance."

Biktriv's obsidian eyes bore holes in Fryn. "Or did you fabricate all of this?"

Desperately hiding his shaking hands, Fryn replied, "N–no, it isn't, but—"

"No buts. I'll be heading there myself to show our goodwill," Biktriv interrupted. "But if he still proves stubborn, then I'll have no choice but to use force on you."

Fryn didn't try to reason with him anymore.

Biktriv stood up and walked to the door, but before he left, his head turned. "I believe there were no hitches during Lady Miriam's arrival?"

Fryn nodded. "The Night Walkers didn't spot any suspicious activity during her arrival."

Biktriv nodded and left the room.

Starek let out a shaky breath and slumped into the corner.

"Tsk, weakling," Fryn scoffed, dropping into his chair and trying to hide his trembling hands. "You didn't see me nervous when he was here, did you?"

Starek's face stayed deadpan. " 'B-but sir, I'm s-such a w… weakling,' " he mimicked. "Ring a bell?"

Fryn flicked a splinter of wood from under his desk; Starek tilted his head and let it zip past.

"Go jump off a building or something," Fryn grumbled, annoyance etched across his face.

Starek chuckled and took a seat. "I'm just messing with you. Need to find a way to relieve the headache I get anytime I meet him, after all."

Fryn sighed and slouched into his chair. "I didn't tell Biktriv this, but the spy unit also reported that Lady Miriam and Clark have… some kind of relationship."

Starek jolted, snatched a document, and flung it into Fryn's tired face. "What in tarnation are you talking about?"

The papers slid off comically. Fryn rubbed his forehead. "I didn't believe it either, but the spy unit is rarely wrong."

"Well, consider this a rare case then!" Starek snapped. "You're lucky you didn't say that in front of anyone else, or you wouldn't even know how you died."

Fryn groaned, his expression aging a decade in a second. "So what do we do now?"

"We do nothing. If it's true, do you think the Rothschilds would let a word like that reach the public? And if it's false, we can kiss our heads—and this whole place—goodbye." He gestured vaguely around the office.

"…I'm not paid enough for this," Fryn muttered.

"None of us are. Training those fresh brats out of the academy makes me want to retire. Especially that Veldoras kid."

Starek's face darkened as the memory hit him. He leaned forward, deadly serious.

"Fryn."

Seeing his expression, Fryn straightened in alarm.

"What does...poop berries mean?"

"…..."

"I mean—"

"Leave my office."

"I'll go if you tell me what poop berries are!"

"I don't know what poop berries are! What gave you that idea?!"

"I don't know? You used to say the weirdest things when we were cadets!"

"That was ages ago!"

Fryn and Starek began arguing, but the atmosphere remained light, smiles never leaving their faces throughout their conversation.

Night slowly fell, and Starek and Fryn went to their homes with a lighter heart.

Miriam, on the other hand...

"I think this should be disguising enough, right?" She muttered, her hand constantly tugging at the hood of the cloak as she stared at her reflection in the mirror.

"Mm...maybe I should cast a distortion spell? But that takes a lot of mana, and I'm not with the spell book...urghh, I'll just go like this."

Steeling her nerves, Miriam stepped out the door, and a familiar face stood beyond it.

Miriam's expression flickered—first surprise, then confusion, and finally a trace of hidden apprehension.

"W-what are you doing here, Matthew?" she asked, her voice steadier than she felt.

Matthew studied her for a moment before speaking.

"I had hoped to welcome you properly, but I was… otherwise occupied earlier."

His gaze lingered on her attire. "And now it seems you're heading somewhere?"

Miriam's face remained composed. "Isn't it a bit late for a gentleman to visit a lady's chambers?"

Matthew inclined his head in a courteous bow. "Forgive me. I simply could not rest without seeing your beautiful face once more."

Noticing the sharpness in his eyes, Miriam replied evenly, "I was only planning to take a walk."

A perfect lie.

"Surely a distortion spell would've proved more effective, no?" Matthew retorted, the smile never leaving his face.

"I didn't have the spellbook on me. Satisfied?"

Noticing her irritated expression, Matthew immediately left the door.

Miriam wordlessly left the room, her expression calm, but her heart was anything but.

Matthew watched her back as she steadily climbed down the stairs, but for just a moment his eyes moved to her lips that mouthed,

"Don't send your people to follow me or I'll kill them."

His expression turned solemn as the hem of her cloak fluttered out of his view.

'Where could she be going at this hour? Could it really be just a walk? And why does she have this hidden urgency? So many questions...'

Matthew walked back to his room—just a few doors down from Miriam's—his hands clasped beneath his chin in thought.

As she left the inn, Miriam scanned the environment, the well-lit roads exposing any blind spots.

'No one in sight. That's good'

Inhaling the cold air, Miriam began her journey with a huge burst of speed.

'I wonder if Clark is looking at the moon at this same moment. I'd like that. Connected by light'

A warm smile tugged at her lips as she quickened her pace, vaulting over rooftops with light leaps before breaking into a full sprint.

After a few hours, Miriam stood at the door of the modest inn, her fingers hesitantly grasping the handle of the door, and she entered inside.

A woman that looked to be in her twenties stood at the reception, her eyes razor sharp as she watched Miriam make her way to the counter.

"Welcome to Vossier Inn. What can I do for you today?"

Miriam obviously noticed the wariness in her voice, but she couldn't care less.

"I'm looking for one Clark Thompson."

Immediately those words left her mouth, the receptionist's face turned from confusion to sheer fear.

"A—are you a Nightwalker? I—i swwwear I don't know anything about him....M—my boss would know, yeah! Let me go call her!"

Without waiting for her response, the receptionist ran to the door opposite her, the droplets of sweat flying off.

'What just happened? Was that reaction towards the name of Clark? Is there someone else with that strange name?'

Miriam's expression was that of pure confusion as she stood dumbly at the reception desk.

Muffled sounds came from the office breaking Miriam out of her thoughts. She focused her attention on the voices.

"What? Vilra if you're playing games with me then don't—"

"I'm not joking Madam Rose! It's a Night Walker and he's looking for the Hollow reaper"

"Hollow reaper? Who's that?"

"Clark! He's looking for him"

Miriam's expression was unreadable, her eyes carried a quiet fury as she listened to their whispers.

'How dare they mention his name as they please? He's only mine to call by his name– wait....how come he's this feared...what really changed?'

"You aren't a Night Walker," A soft voice brought Miriam out of her thoughts. "Are you perhaps a friend of the subject?"

Miriam suppressed the strange feeling in her chest and replied, "No. I'm not a Night Walker, but we have a.... relationship."

Rose bore holes into Miriam, but Miriam didn't show any signs of nervousness.

"..... I'm afraid he's been arrested."

".....What?"

The air became incredibly heavy, but not enough to slam Rose in the ground, just enough to send a chill up her spine.

"I—it's a long story"

"I have time."

'Who is this person?' Rose shuddered. 'Is he part of that man's party? Did he even have a party to begin with?'

"Did you not hear me?" Miriam repeated, her voice lower, "I said tell me everything you know."

Rose didn't know why, it she felt if she delayed a second longer, her head would roll on the floor before she could register what happened.

And so she told her side of the story.

How cheerful he was when he first arrived, how he often came back large beasts with no scratch on his body and his constantly changing expressions and mumbles she hears from his room from time to time.

"One of my friends— who happened to be a mage also told me he got into a fight with Kurt Valyn when he fell into Soul Dissonance—"

"Wait."

Rose immediately shut her mouth, her fists clenched tightly.

"...Did you say he fell into Soul Dissonance?"

Rose nodded frantically as she sensed the erratic mana movements in the air.

"And he survived. Right?"

The air felt a thousand times heavier.

"He did. But I'm also not sure all of him survived" Rose's face turned solemn as she desperately countered the discomforting sensation in the depths of her soul.

"Stop speaking in riddles and tell me what happened!" Miriam's exasperated voice rang.

Rose momentarily lost her breath and she felt like her soul would leave her body at that moment. Not out of fear...well partly, but mostly because it literally wanted to leave.

"He....he nearly killed Matthew Virsch and was arrested."