The next morning, Helios showered and brushed his teeth. He dressed in a black suit, pinning on his eagle badge and pulling on gloves adorned with six stars on each side. As he headed downstairs, he found Luna already in her school uniform.
"Morning, brother! You're going to work early," Luna said with a smile, watching Helios descend the stairs.
"Morning, Luna. Getting ready for school?" Helios asked.
"Yes, but I really don't want to go," Luna admitted. Her personal maid brought over her green backpack.
"It is time to go, my Lady," Karl said.
"Bye, brother!" Luna called out, waving her hand.
"Bye, Luna," Helios replied.
Helios arrived at the Blackthorns' headquarters and began writing documents. After a moment, he looked up. "Sara, what are you doing in my office? Don't you have your own?" he asked, glancing at Sara, who was sitting at a desk to his right, busy with her own paperwork.
"My office is being used by Ray," Sara explained, looking up at him. "His office is a mess because of all those research documents. I can't go to Rio's office because he says there are classified documents in there—even though I'm the Vice-Leader! And Nova doesn't even have a proper office; he just has a dungeon. No one knows what he does in there because he doesn't allow anyone except Rio inside."
"What about Riku? You never asked him," Helios suggested.
"Riku? He doesn't have an office either. We don't even know where that guy is half the time," Sara said, shaking her head. "So... can I stay here?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with an innocent expression.
"Yes," Helios muttered, looking away with a faint blush on his face.
The sound of rustling paper came from Helios's left side. "Seer, what are you doing here? I gave you a branch organization to handle," Helios said, turning his gaze toward her.
"Just because I'm not Sara, I'm getting targeted," Seer remarked, continuing to read her paperwork.
"No, it's because you actually have a place to go," Helios countered.
"I'm not going to the branch organization," Seer insisted, her golden eyes flickering beneath her veil. "What if the nobles or imperial factions attack it because we're trying to increase our influence? I don't have any attack or defensive abilities. I might die, and I'm too young for that."
"You two really make my life difficult," Helios sighed.
"I have an interesting mission here," Seer said, her voice turning curious. "It feels like the person is describing a Morpeth."
"Let's hear it," Sara and Helios said simultaneously, their interest piqued.
Seer began to read the letter: "Can you help me? I'm being stalked by someone—if you can even call that thing a person. It first appeared when I was walking home from work. It had a long smile, and its eyes were like a void; it just followed behind me without doing anything. The next day, it came back, following me on my way home, but this time it was at a different spot—closer to my house. It disappears in the morning and waits for me when I'm going home, getting closer and closer every day. I tried taking a different route, but it followed me there. This has been happening for a week, but the reason I'm calling it non-human is because last night, I woke up and saw it standing outside my window looking at me. This time it had black eyes, a smile that is humanly impossible, and deer horns growing out of its head. The scary thing is, my bedroom is on the second floor and there is nothing to support anyone trying to climb up. Help me."
"It seems the letter is from a woman in Area 3," Seer noted.
"We just started the branch organization and we're already getting Morpeth sightings," Sara observed.
"It seems the Morpeth has evolved from the first stage to the second stage. But why is it following that woman?" Helios asked thoughtfully.
Meanwhile, at Silverwood Academy—a noble school located between Area 1 and 2—Luna was talking to two of her friends.
"You guys should really do your homework," Luna said, looking at her companions.
"I would rather die than do my homework! I want to find the person who created homework," shouted a blue-haired, blue-eyed boy named Harry.
"Shut up. The person who created homework is long dead, Harry," Lillie, a girl with orange hair and green eyes, snapped.
"Leave me alone, Lillie!" Harry shouted back in frustration.
"You two have a great sibling relationship," Luna said with a giggle.
"You look happy today, Luna," Harry remarked, his blue eyes filled with curiosity.
"My brother promised that he would pick me up today so we can go to the amusement park," Luna said with a bright, radiant smile.
"Oh look, it's the commoners," a noble boy sneered, approaching Luna, Harry, and Lillie.
"Oh, it's that guy again," Harry said, watching the boy. "Doesn't he learn? Did he forget that you beat him up Luna?"
"Forget about that eyesore. We should go; my brother must be waiting for me outside the gate," Luna said.
They ran to the gate where Helios was waiting. "Where is your brother?" Harry asked.
"The one who looks like me," Luna pointed out.
"You mean that handsome man with red eyes and black hair? He does look like you," Lillie noted.
"Let's go say hi!" Harry suggested.
"Brother!" Luna cried out, running toward Helios and jumping into his arms.
"Luna, you should really stop running like that or you'll fall," Helios said, his expression softening into a gentle look.
"Hello, Sir," Harry and Lillie said, greeting him.
Helios looked at them with an indifferent expression, as if they were of no importance. "Who are you?" he asked, keeping his voice from turning cold only because Luna was present. To the children, however, Helios looked like a monster; his sheer presence made them lower their heads in fear.
"They're my friends, brother! I told you I went to their house while you were on your trip," Luna said happily.
Helios's expression shifted to one of interest. "It's a pleasure to meet you," he said warmly.
"Yes... it is," Harry replied in a trembling voice.
"Don't be afraid. We are all friends," Helios assured them.
"Greetings, Leader of the Blackthorns," a voice called out. Viscount Brian, whom Helios had met at the banquet, appeared out of nowhere with his son. "I hope you remember me."
"I do. You're that fly that kept buzzing around," Helios said, his tone turning icy.
"As long as you remember me," Brian said in a flattering tone. "This is my son. It seems your daughter and he could become friends." He pushed forward the boy who had earlier called Luna and the others commoners.
"Firstly, she is my sister. Secondly, I would never allow my sister to talk to the aristocracy unless she wants to," Helios said, his voice becoming bone-chillingly cold.
"I don't want to. He always calls me a commoner," Luna said sadly.
"What?" Helios hissed. His tyrant pressure began to activate, the air around them grew heavy.
"Leader of the Blackthorns, calm yourself!" Viscount Brian cried out, kneeling on the ground under the weight of the pressure.
"Human, you have been using the spiral energy stored in your body for things like this?" Circlet's voice echoed in Helios's mind.
"You dare insult my sister?" Helios growled, sounding like a volcano on the verge of eruption.