"Damn it, where the hell is that kid?" Paula groaned, her mind racing through every possible outcome. In her office, Joseph, Otoru, and Kori sat, all of them trying to find an answer.
Last night, Pablo just… disappeared. Without telling anyone anything.
"We searched every corner, but he was nowhere to be found." Joseph avoided eye contact, feeling disappointed in himself for failing once more. "You think he was kidnapped?" Otoru raised an eyebrow.
"That's… possible." Thoughts began emerging in her head, getting her lost in her own thoughts. "How?" Paula raised her head.
"When Otoru was fighting Kim, I infiltrated the Casino's upper floor and gained intel. I've been meaning to tell you this, Paula, whoever is running the Casino is not on your side. They are working as an agent for the Caedis."
Paula gasped in response, her eyes widening. "How?" she repeated.
"Letters from the Caedis, by Don himself. I couldn't find any letters belonging to the owner, possibly because they were all delivered, but every letter from Don called him 'friend of the Caedis'."
Paula sighed and covered her face with her hands, not knowing what to do. "That's not good. How did that slip by your radar, Joseph?"
"I trusted Boris too much, apparently." He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. "May I?" he asked.
"Go ahead." She waved her hands in dismissal, too betrayed to even care.
Joseph shrugged and pulled out a pair of cigarettes and offered one to Otoru. "Thanks." Otoru accepted it.
Joseph offered a lighter as well, but Otoru clicked his tongue. "Nah, I got one." He reached for his own Zippo lighter and lit it, lighting Joseph's as well. "Nice piece." Joseph took a drag.
"Thanks, I actually-" Before Otoru could finish his sentence, Paula's frustration reached its peak. "Can we focus on the matter, please?!"
"Right, sorry." Both said.
"I don't think we need to, Paula." Kori smiled. "Why don't you leave this matter to us?"
"Hm?" Her eyebrows knitted together. "We're in this together."
"Are we, though?" Kori tilted her head. "Are you sure there is no bad blood between Tsuyoi and you?"
Paula blinked twice.
"I don't know what you want from Pablo, but…" Kori giggled. "...Leave him be."
In response, Paula exhaled sharply and glared. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
The tension in the room was too heavy; you could almost see it. Both Otoru and Joseph stared at each other, nervous.
"I'm not your ally, that's for sure." She shook her head, laughing. "Stay away from Pablo, okay?"
She gave her a flat look, her expression souring. "Joseph, could you escort her out of here?"
"Uh, sure?" Joseph got up.
"Otoru, why don't you accompany me?" Kori didn't break eye contact with her.
"I guess?" Otoru got up as well.
She stood up and headed for the door with the two and looked back to say one last thing. "I see you." She smiled innocently, which was anything but reassuring.
Joseph led them to the outside of the cafe, and Kori walked away. Before Otoru walked away, he looked at Joseph. "Uh… take care, man."
"Yep." Joseph nodded and watched the two leave.
"Why the hell did you just do that?" He caught up to her, dropping his cigarette and snuffing it with his feet. "Don't you trust me, Otoru?"
"No?" He raised an eyebrow. "Explain yourself."
She squatted down and grabbed a handful of the chocolate rocks. "How could I find the traitor in minutes, and they couldn't for… well, God knows how long." She rolled her eyes. "She is either up to something, or she's just an incompetent leader. Both possibilities share a common point; she wouldn't be a great ally."
"It's better to have an incompetent ally than to have no allies. St. James is powerful. You didn't even see the rest of the district leaders." He looked at the castle of the Caedis, towering over the entire island. "I disagree." She got up and started eating the candy, then continued to walk.
"So you made a decision like that just because of a personal opinion?" He placed his hands in his pockets, growing more suspicious of her every passing second. "Would a wolf hunt with a bear, knowing the bear could steal his food?"
"I'm sure they could share. The two would hunt more than they would if they were alone anyway." He was amused by her analogy.
"That's optimistic. But what if they don't hunt anything and return empty-handed?"
"..." He stopped walking and pondered. "The bear would eat the wolf." His eyebrows shot up. "Huh." He let out a cackle.
"You got a point, I'll give you that. But we're not wolves or bears. Every human is different from one another. I don't think they would let us die just to save their own skin. Well, I wouldn't."
"I would." She turned around and smiled once more. "Every human is different from one another, right?"
"..." He scoffed and looked away, then began walking again. "Let's just focus on finding Pablo."
"There's no need for that. Pablo wasn't kidnapped. He went himself." She searched for a restaurant nearby, feeling almost starved. "Wait, really? Why didn't you say so back then– Oh, right. You were trying to cut them off."
"You're smarter than you look. Yesterday, Pablo told me that he made his decision to go and wanted me to notify Paula."
"But you didn't."
"Because Pablo can't see the bigger picture. She was coddling him. How could he?" She giggled and turned around the corner, finally leaving St. James Street. "We can't do anything to help him right now. Let's just enjoy ourselves while we can."
As this was happening, Pablo made it all the way to the castle and could barely take another step. "Stupid… hills…" He panted. "I didn't even make it to the gate. What do I even tell them?"
The castle was pretty isolated from the rest of the island; the nearest settlement to it was several miles away. He walked on a gravel path, with the rest of his surroundings just being a normal wilderness.
To get more energy, he picked up the gravel on the floor and started to chew it. It crushed easily due to his Treasure Adaptation, but the taste was not anything even close to rock chocolate. "Eugh!" He spat it out. "These are just normal rocks!"
"Can I use mana to gain my stamina back? I never saw Nasaki get tired or even sweat before… which means he uses mana or he's just like that." He wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I'm close… come on."
After a painful, exhausting stride, Pablo eventually arrived at the outer gate. The walls surrounded the castle and were so tall Pablo could barely see the top. At the middle stood a giant wooden door, guarded by two Guards wearing Manasteel armor, just like those in Hades.
They pulled out their spears and pointed them at Pablo. Both spoke in unison. "State your name."
"I'm Pablo! Pablo Drake…!" He could barely speak. "I'm the uh… the guy… uh…" His mind raced for words.
"Pablo Drake?" The guards looked at each other, still speaking at the same time. "Never heard of him."
"Look, assholes. I'm already dying over here. The Caedis definitely knows me. Step aside, I'm really not in the mood." He took a step forward.
"Stay right where you are!" Again, in perfect synchronization, they yelled.
"It's okay, he's the guest of honor." A voice beyond the giant door spoke out. It belonged to a young woman. Without any hesitation, the guards withdrew their spears and stood completely still. The door behind them slowly opened. "We apologise, sir."
The girl behind the gate wore a deep blue velvet gown with a fitted bodice and a modest square neckline, its sleeves embroidered with tiny silver flowers. A narrow jeweled belt rested at her waist, and her blonde hair was pinned back with a small sapphire clasp, though her bangs fully covered her forehead. She looked unmistakably royal, though not dressed for a ceremony. "Come on." She smiled.
She was undeniably stunning, making it hard for Pablo to even look at her directly.
"It's your lucky day, fellas. I'd smoke you otherwise." He mocked the guards before going in and following her. "Who are you?"
"My name is Lumen. I'm the princess of the Caedis." Every step she took was elegant, almost hypnotising. "I don't know much about you. All we know is that you have the Jewelry protection. What brings you here, Mr. Pablo?"
"Jewelry protection?" The title was unknown to him. "What's that?"
"You don't know?" She giggled and covered her mouth while doing so. "You're the guest of honor, like I said. Your wish is our command."
"So you don't know why I have Jewelry protection?" He took in the sight.
The castle seemed almost too beautiful to be real. Its slender towers rose into the sky beneath pointed roofs of blue slate, each tipped with a golden ornament. Bridges connected its highest turrets, while ivy and flowering vines climbed the sunlit walls. Beyond the gates stretched gardens filled with fountains, roses, and ancient trees.
"I can't say that I do." Confused by his questions, she decided to ignore them nonetheless. "Oh." He laughed nervously. "In that case…" His stomach growled.
"...I want a feast."
It's safe to say he forgot his objective pretty fast.