Walter had skin as pale as the moon, sharply contrasted by his large, dark eyes. His shirt was untucked, the collar buttons left open, and one of his suspenders had slipped off his shoulder. He sat calmly with his gaze lowered, looking like a child who believed he could deceive the adults around him with an innocent expression after committing a crime.
In fact, this image closely matched the figure Mes had described and that Arsh had formed in his mind. Even though he had learned that Walter was older than himself, Walter still gave off the impression of a mischievous child. The only differences from the image in Arsh's mind were his messy, wavy red hair and a relatively handsome face—but these only served to strengthen that naughty child look.
"Where have you been for days?" Professor Reiner asked. Arsh could feel the faint anger in his voice.
"Uh… I had some things to take care of," Walter muttered, absentmindedly scraping at a nonexistent stain on the sofa with his fingernail.
"What kind of things? Like drinking all night and sleeping on the streets until morning?"
Walter didn't answer.
"Walter…"
The professor's voice this time hovered somewhere between exhaustion and irritation. But Walter once again ignored him, turning his attention instead to Arsh, who was leaning against the doorframe, watching.
Suddenly, a wide grin spread across Walter's face.
"Oh, a new face. Hi… I'm Walter."
Faced with such a sudden change in expression, Arsh didn't know how to react at first. He straightened up from the doorframe and introduced himself.
"Arsh."
"Arsh… you're not from around here, are you? You look different... Maybe you're from Kurshan. You also look mixed. How old are you?"
He was asking too many questions at once. He seemed to realize his mistake and let out a chuckle.
"My only friends are Mes and Bera, and as you can imagine, they're pretty boring. One only talks about history, science, and that sort of thing, while the other doesn't talk at all."
When Walter stood up and approached Arsh, he noticed the strong scent of alcohol.
"Give him a break, you're talking too much," Bera said, trying to pull Walter back by the arm.
"Okay, okay… Now let's do the proper introductions. He will be on our team," said the Professor.
"Ahh, so you're like us too. Of course, you must be. Otherwise, why would you be here? If we're going to work as a team, we should know each other's siunis. My siuni allows me to become invisible. Look."
With that, he suddenly vanished into thin air, disappearing from view.
'Similar to Juan, but less dramatic. There's no smoke or anything like that,' Arsh thought.
He wasn't surprised, but he found it interesting. Then someone tapped his shoulder from behind. It was Walter.
"Pretty cool, right? And, and look at this."
Once again, he vanished into thin air. This time, Arsh heard a knock on the window. Walter was outside the house, waving his hands with a beaming grin.
"He really is drunk," Arsh said with a smile. He had already grown to like this man a little.
"Stop playing, Walter. Come inside," the Professor said.
"I just hope he doesn't do this outside when he is drunk, too," Herman muttered.
Seconds later, Walter appeared in front of Arsh again.
"You got it right. I can pass through walls and objects. Pretty cool, isn't it?"
Although he wasn't sure how to react to the drunken Walter he had only just met, Arsh was aware that his thoughts were written all over his face. He nodded. It was actually pretty cool. Now he understood why his siuni was called Phantom.
Watching them, the Professor let out a deep breath and began rubbing his temples.
"Mes, ask Madam Hilda to prepare something for his hangover," he said. "Walter, you're going on a mission tomorrow morning. You'll be accompanying Mes and Arsh, along with Bera and Herman. You're not allowed to go anywhere tonight. If there's nothing else to discuss, I have work to attend to," he added in a stern voice.
After Professor Reiner left the room, Herman followed him. Mes headed toward the kitchen.
"At least stop by the house from time to time. He worries about you," Bera said to Walter after everyone else had left.
"I know… I know. I'm sorry," Walter replied, though he didn't look particularly remorseful.
As he drank the soup Mes had brought to help him sober up, Bera explained the plan for the next day. Walter was warned several times by Mes not to sneak out of the house during the night. Eventually, the room fell silent, leaving only the faint clink of the metal spoon against the porcelain bowl.
"By the way, I haven't heard about your siuni," Walter said, turning to Arsh.
"Guide…" Arsh didn't feel like explaining anything.
"Guide. Hmm... I'll see it tomorrow. Do you know Bera's? It's actually pretty cool."
Arsh didn't know Bera's siuni. Following Juan's advice, he hadn't asked anyone about their siuni. They had all told him on their own, except for Bera.
"Panther. I can shift into a panther."
Walter looked at Bera and smiled slyly.
"Yeah, yeah. It's also pretty cool, Arsh. You should see him. He normally looks like ice, but when he turns, you'll find a cute kitty."
"What? Really?" Arsh found it fascinating. He already had an idea about siunis, even though there were still a lot of things he didn't know. But being able to transform into an animal was amazing, he thought. He wanted to see it with his own eyes.
He leaned forward in his chair with excitement, about to ask Bera to show him how he turned into a panther—until he noticed the deadly glare Bera shot in Walter's direction. He stopped himself at once. He also noticed Mes tensing up after hearing Walter's last sentence.
'This guy is terrifying. Now I can see the resemblance to a panther.'
He leaned back again, choosing to remain silent until the tension in the air faded.
"Walter. Eat and go to sleep," Bera said. With his glowing gray eyes, he looked as if he were ready to tear Walter's throat out, while Walter smiled brightly in return.
…
Bera returned to his room and lay down. Even though he wanted to sleep, the trying to be sly presence in the room wouldn't let him. Walter, despite being invisible, moved so noisily that he managed to give himself away, completely at odds with an ability meant for stealth.
"What do you want, Walter? Go to sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day."
"Ah, please, just relax for two minutes. I have a few questions," Walter said, abandoning his attempt to stay invisible as he flopped onto Bera's bed.
"You're not a very honest man, are you? You didn't tell the new team member your main power. Don't you trust him? Hmm… or did you catch him in a lie?"
Bera didn't give an answer directly. He wasn't sure either.
"He didn't lie. But he wasn't completely open about everything either. I need to confirm."
"Are you afraid if he knows that you can see the lies and emotions he will be even more careful what he does and says."
"Yeah. Something like that. He's generally sincere and honest. But there's a small detail that bothers me."
"What detail?"
"I'll tell you later… once I understand it myself."
"Got it," Walter said. Knowing that pushing further wouldn't make Bera talk, he dropped the subject. Just as he had come to Bera's room, he passed through the wall and slipped into the room next door.
...
Arsh sat on his bed, looking through the photographs and documents Herman had given him. According to the Professor, the mission was simple: he only needed to locate the missing people. Still, it was his first assignment, and he felt a sense of unease about it. He was certain that Mes, in the room across from him, was also having trouble sleeping.
His first attempt to find the missing individuals had been interrupted when Walter showed up, and afterward, even he had forgotten about it.
To calm his nerves before going to sleep, he wanted to make sure he could actually find these people. After shuffling the documents in his hands for a moment, he focused again on the photo at the top. He closed his eyes and murmured to himself.
"The librarian, Bill Heather. Where is he?"
When he opened his eyes, he saw a golden thread wrapped in darkness. There was only one thread.
'Dangerous… but still alive. Should I tell this to others now? … But why is there only a single thread?' he wondered. Normally, even if they were faint, there were always several threads.
After thinking for a moment, he checked the time. It was already past midnight, and he would have to wake up in just a few hours anyway. Without dwelling on it any further, he lay back down on his bed and drifted off to sleep.