A few days had passed since the mission at the Vermillion Mountains. Inside the meeting room of the Order of Blackthorn, an intricate floral-patterned black table sat at the centre of the chamber. Seated around it were Riku, Ray, Nova, Sara, Rio, Seer, and Helios.
"So, we are going to make our Seeker organization public?" Riku blurted out, standing up abruptly. He stared down the length of the table at Helios, his voice thick with surprise.
"Just listen to what I'm about to say before you start shouting, Riku," Helios interrupted, his voice cutting through the air like ice. He didn't look up, maintaining a calm, commanding presence. "We need money that doesn't just come from the nobles, or they will eventually control us. We need to start our own business—an organization that helps ordinary people without revealing the true nature of the Seekers."
Seer leaned forward, her golden eye shimmering with a spark of genuine interest. "And how do you plan to implement this?"
"The business side is simple," Helios explained, finally meeting Riku's gaze. "We will sell off the remaining jewellery and antiques we have collected. The nobles and the wealthy in Area 2 will jump at the chance to buy them. As for the public-facing side of the organization, we'll establish a public branch. Seer, you can handle that. It will offer services like private investigations, finding missing persons, or even specialized 'problem solving' as long as it brings in revenue."
Sara nodded thoughtfully, though a shadow of doubt crossed her face. "It's a solid plan, but the noble and royal factions... they won't allow us to operate so freely."
"Why should we care what they think?" Helios countered with a dismissive shrug. "The worst they can do is raise an army of ordinary people, and that would be easy enough to handle with the Alliance."
"True," Ray chimed in from behind a literal mountain of research papers. His voice sounded muffled by the parchment. "They won't do anything rash. They're far too afraid of the Alliance to make a direct move."
Nova tilted his head, trying to catch a glimpse of Ray's face behind the stack. "Why did you even bring your research papers here, Ray?"
Ray let out a long, exhausted sigh that ruffled the edges of the top page. "I'm not as free as you. Ever since that mission, my paperwork has been increasing exponentially."
"At least yours are important," Helios hissed, his eyes darting toward Sara with visible frustration. "I have piles of random, useless documents because someone keeps dumping their work on me."
Sara looked away, her expression hardening into an angry pout. "I have to ensure everything in the organization is running smoothly, 'Leader.' Writing those reports is part of the job you're calling useless."
Helios ignored the jab and turned his attention to the others. "And what are you two doing?"
Rio groaned dramatically, clenching his hair in his hands as if he were about to pull it out. "I'm exhausted. I've been running the investigations you assigned, including tracking down your Seeker clan. I think I'm actually losing hair from the stress."
Every head at the table turned toward Nova, except for Rio, who was still mourning his hairline.
"So, what about you?" Riku asked, narrowing his eyes at Nova.
Nova leaned back in his chair, a smug, proud smile playing on his lips. "Something far more important than what any of you are doing."
"Like what? Sleeping?" Sara teased, rolling her eyes. "I know how lazy you are, brother."
Nova's expression shifted, his gaze turning dark and slightly menacing. "You really don't want to know." Then, as quickly as the tension appeared, it vanished. He glanced at the clock and stood up, his voice returning to its casual tone. "Oh, look at the time. Meeting adjourned."
"Yeah, I have to go," Helios said, a flicker of regret crossing his face. "I need to spend time with Luna. She's been furious with me since the mission." He had a brief, painful flashback of returning home to find Luna in tears, sobbing about how he had forgotten she even existed.
"Then who's going to finish your work?" Sara asked in a teasing lilt.
"Riku," Helios said instantly.
"Nope. I have better things to do," Riku snapped. In a blur of motion, he activated his summon and vanished into the shadows before Helios could argue.
Helios stared at the empty space where Riku had been. "Does he always have his summon active or something?"
"I don't know, why don't you ask him?" Sara said with a smirk, walking out of the room and leaving Helios alone with his thoughts.
"I should get home," Helios muttered to the quiet room, his footsteps echoing as he headed for the exit. "Luna is waiting."
When his car pulled up to the mansion, Luna was already outside. She looked radiant in a blue dress adorned with delicate flower designs, with the maid, Karl, standing dutifully by her side.
"Brother!" Luna shouted. As soon as Helios stepped out of the car, she lunged at him. He caught her easily, pulling her into a hug.
"Afternoon, Luna," he said softly.
"Are we finally going to play?" she asked, looking up at him with a beaming, hopeful smile.
Karl hurried over to them, looking frantic. "Lady Luna, you shouldn't run so quickly!"
Helios glanced at the maid, his expression turning cold and uninterested. "It's okay."
Karl immediately bowed her head, shrinking under his gaze. "Yes, Master Helios."
"Brother, can we go now?" Luna pleaded, tugging on his sleeve.
"Yes, we can," Helios replied, his icy demeanour melting into a smile for his sister. He placed her carefully in the car and climbed into the driver's seat himself, leaving the chauffeur and Karl standing at the gates.
As the car pulled away, Karl muttered under her breath, "The Master is only ever nice when the Lady is around."
"What was that?" the driver asked.
"Nothing," Karl sighed, turning back toward the mansion.
Inside the car, Luna was bouncing in her seat. "So, where are we going, Brother?"
"We're going to the amusement park, Luna."
"Amusement park?" she repeated, her head tilting in confusion.
"You'll see when we get there," Helios promised.
When they arrived, the park was a riot of colour and sound. There were mascots dressed as bears, ducks, and cats wandering through the crowds, a spinning carousel, and stalls selling all kinds of sweets.
"Brother! I want to go there!" Luna cried, pointing at the carousel horses.
"Okay," Helios said. He paid the attendant and lifted Luna onto one of the wooden horses. As the ride began to spin and the music played, Luna erupted into joyful laughter. Helios stood by the railing, watching her with a rare, genuine smile.
His peace was interrupted when two women approached him.
"Is that your sister?" one asked, leaning in close.
"Yes," Helios replied, his eyes never leaving Luna. He didn't even spare them a glance.
"She's adorable. She looks just like you," the other added, trying to catch his eye.
Helios finally turned his head, his voice dropping to a frigid tone. "What do you want?"
"Are you single?" the first woman asked boldly. "My friend here really wants to know you."
They talk too much, Helios thought. He turned his full gaze on them. His eyes began to glow a deep, predatory red as he exerted a fraction of his pressure of the Tyrant ability.
"No," he said, the word sounding like a death knell.
The women recoiled, their faces paling with sudden, primal fear. They stumbled backward and turned to run.
"He... he's not human!" one hissed, her voice shaking.
"His eyes were glowing! That can't be normal!" the other whispered as they disappeared into the crowd.
Luckily, I can use my secondary abilities without summoning the Crown, Helios thought to himself. Since they don't consume much spiral energy, it's efficient.
"Brother, let's go to the next one!" Luna called out, waving from the slowing carousel.
They spent the rest of the day hopping from ride to ride and indulging in street food. By the time they returned home, the sun had long set.
"Today was a fun day," Helios murmured to himself. He felt a sense of rare contentment as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.