'black lines.'
He was able to see faint lines on one of the men's necks. Although his lines were golden, he was certain the black lines were similar to his.
'A Class!' As this thought hit him, he turned his head around, looking for anyone suspicious.
Seeing Leonard's sudden movements, Ariana looked at him. 'Has he realized the same thing as me?'
Looking at the men, Ariana couldn't see anything visibly wrong with them, but seeing their weird behavior, a word came to mind.
'A Class!'
She had grown up receiving a proper education and was quite informed regarding Classes. 'It's most likely caused by a spell.' Spells came mainly from Mages; this was what Ariana knew. Some other Classes could cast spells, but Mages were specialized in them.
Ariana looked around her, hoping to see someone suspicious like Leonard; however, both their searches ended in vain. Leonard was worried that if someone possessing a Class was nearby, his planning would be pointless—his Class would be noticed. Leonard didn't want this; it was too soon. His aims still hadn't been fully accomplished. Looking around, he felt like helpless prey.
He soon noticed Ariana look around as well. 'Has she also realized it's the work of someone with a Class?' Leonard could understand if Ariana came to the same conclusion as him; she was educated and knew more about such matters.
Leonard at this point was fully convinced that Ariana didn't possess a Class. If she did, she most likely would have reported him; she also didn't give off the radiance of Qi. Leonard was certain Ariana couldn't see the faint black lines.
'Why are the lines showing?'
Leonard, unless he wills it, couldn't see his Qi, but for some reason, the men had visible black Qi. 'Can someone with a Class see my Qi the way I'm seeing Qi right now?'
Leonard had experimented on his Qi, but he had never asked someone with a Class to look at him; he didn't know whether it could be seen or not. Leonard still didn't know much about Qi. Ariana once told him that Qi is taught as a subject taking about two to three years to fully learn. Leonard not knowing much about it wasn't weird, despite how he spent his days reading about Qi and Classes.
'Could this be the work of a Mage?' To Leonard, only a Mage could share their Qi. He knew Qi could be shared; an example could be how Feathers have amplifying Qi given by a Mage. Whatever Qi was on the men's bodies, Leonard didn't know.
"I think we should leave in case anything happens," Leonard said, facing Ariana. Leonard wasn't curious enough to sit back and inspect the men; if someone who could expose him was close by, he had to leave before he was noticed.
"Okay," Ariana replied. Although she didn't have to keep a secret like Leonard, she didn't know what might happen due to the spell. Her top priority was keeping herself safe; curiosity could come after.
The two soon left the crowd; the murmurs faded into the background.
'Shouldn't a Feather be told about what's happening?'
Leonard didn't see even one Feather. Although Feathers didn't often visit the park, such a scene should have made them visit it. It was either no one reported the incident or the Feathers weren't interested in the matter.
"I'll go tell a Feather about what we saw," Leonard said while looking at Ariana.
Ariana seemed to be deep in thought as she walked. She looked at Leonard once he spoke, then opened her mouth.
"I don't think a Feather will go there for the time being."
Hearing this, Leonard was shocked. He believed Ariana's words as she was more informed than him; she also didn't have any reason to lie to him.
"Why is that?" Leonard asked.
"It's not something I can say," Ariana replied.
'Not something you can say?'
Leonard didn't pester Ariana to give an answer; he knew that if she wanted to keep a secret, she would. But Leonard was curious as to why the Feathers wouldn't go to the park for the time being, as well as why such a matter was kept secret. Leonard associated Ariana's secrecy with royalty—after all, the Feathers were powered by Mages who belonged to royal families.
'Why do the Feathers even avoid the park?'
Such a question was something most wondered. The park was filled with crime all because of the lack of influence by the Feathers; if the Feathers decided to station themselves there, it would make the place a better place. Feathers were there to help the people; this act would have helped plenty of individuals.
'Do the Feathers really care about the people?'
Such a question had popped up in the minds of many. The Feathers, yes, help people, but cases of the Feathers helping people were rare. Unless a crime was committed in front of them or the criminals were brought in front of them with victims, the Feathers wouldn't do much—and this was only because of the coronation. If Leonard tried his extortions at a different time, the Feathers would have tossed his matter aside, telling him he needed more evidence.
'Feathers have amplifying Qi which amplifies their bodies.' This was a known fact to Leonard. 'Why would they need amplified bodies?' This was what Leonard couldn't understand. Feathers only needed guns to keep the people at bay, but for some reason had amplifying Qi. When a demon appears, Feathers don't do much; they call for a noble with a Class to take care of it. Feathers just manage the people.
If there were a special unit of Feathers that have amplifying Qi and deal with demons, Leonard could understand, but from his experience, all Feathers have amplifying Qi. Leonard couldn't understand this; to him, it was wasteful for a Mage to give amplifying Qi to someone who wouldn't do much with it.
There was also another point Leonard couldn't understand. 'Why is the fact that Feathers have hidden Qi kept secret?'
Leonard had never heard an official statement of Feathers having amplifying Qi. Most didn't know that Feathers had amplifying Qi; Leonard only knew this once he got a Class and could see Qi. If he didn't have a Class, he wouldn't have known the fact that Feathers had amplifying Qi. In the textbook Leonard read about amplifying Qi, it just stated that amplifying Qi could be shared; it never gave an example of the Feathers.
This didn't make sense to Leonard. If people knew the Feathers had amplifying Qi, they would be more fearful of them and act accordingly.
'Who are the Feathers, actually?'