Chapter 599 A new suspect
The soft knock on the door broke the concentration that had enveloped the room. Erik looked up to see one of his employees, a young waiter, balancing a tray laden with their dinner.
"Ah, thank you," Erik said. "You can leave it here on the table."
The waiter nodded, his eyes flicking curiously between Erik and Rebecca, before he quietly withdrew from the room.
The young man turned to his partner, his eyes softening. "We should take a break. Let's eat something to replenish our energy. We have much to go through, and I don't want us to work to exhaustion."
Rebecca looked up from her papers, her eyes tired but appreciative. "You're right," she agreed, stretching her arms above her head. "A break would be good."
They moved to the small table near the window, and the city's lights twinkled outside as the night deepened. The dinner was simple but nourishing, a welcome respite from the intense focus of their work.
Of course, Erik went to change his mask to one that only hid half his face so that he could eat, and then they allowed themselves to relax a bit, the conversation turning to lighter topics. It was a necessary pause to breathe and gather their strength for the task ahead.
"I must admit," Rebecca said, taking a sip of her drink. "I didn't expect our investigation to lead us here. This is bigger than I thought."
Erik nodded, his gaze thoughtful. "Me neither," he lied.
Rebecca smiled, her eyes meeting Erik's. "Is it that much that you are doing the mercenary?" She asked the young man; of course, she knew that already from what she read about him.
"Less than a year."
"And you are already at the seeker rank? Most people usually take a minimum of two years to go up a rank," Rebecca said with a curious tone.
"I worked a lot, and since the quests were easy…"
"The quests are certainly not easy, it is just you who are too strong for your age."
"Maybe, but this only means that people should start working as mercenaries at a later age and train more."
They continued to eat, the food restoring their energy. Finally, as they finished their meal, Erik looked at Rebecca, his expression serious once again. "Ready to get back to work?"
Rebecca's reply was immediate; her voice was filled with resolve. "Ready."
They returned to their work, their minds clear, their bodies nourished, and their spirits buoyed by their shared purpose. They persisted in their search for the truth throughout the night, and neither of them gave up.
Erik and Rebecca sat hunched over the documents, the hours stretching on as they pored over the pages, searching for anything that might provide them with a clue or a connection. The room was filled with the sounds of rustling paper and the occasional frustrated sigh, as both seemed to find only dead ends and irrelevant information.
Then, a sharp intake of breath broke the silence. "Rebecca, I think I may have found something," Erik said, his voice serious. She looked up, her eyes wide with interest. "What is it?"
Erik's eyes scanned the lines again as if to confirm what he had found. "This text... it's a little bit weird. Some parts don't make much sense. But there's something that's been mentioned repeatedly. A word, Lumina."
Rebecca frowned, thinking back to what he had read. "Lumina?"
"Yeah, initially I assumed it referred to a plant used as an ingredient to produce the drug. But What if it refers to a person rather than an ingredient?"
Rebecca nodded her head, her eyes wide with realization. "My mother talked about a woman whose nickname was Lumina. No one knows who she is or where she works from, but she is said to be a genius alchemist."
Erik's eyes narrowed as he considered Rebecca's words. Could this be a coincidence? Or was there something more to this Lumina? The name seemed too specific and significant to be just a random reference.
"Are you sure about this?" Erik asked, his voice filled with a mix of skepticism and hope.
Rebecca nodded, her face serious and determined. "I'm sure. My mother wouldn't make up something like this. This text probably does refer to her if what you say is true."
They sat in silence for a moment, the implications of Rebecca's information sinking in. If what she said was true, then everything they had read until now had a different meaning.
Erik reached out for a paper he had already read. "Assuming Lumina is a person and not a plant, then this text may mean something else."
He gave the paper to Rebecca, and she read it.
"This means that Lumina is here in Testrovsc's Rest and that she is working with Catrina," Rebecca said realizing what Erik was thinking.
"Exactly," Erik replied, "but now read this," he added by giving another paper to the woman.
"This…"
"Yeah, if we take into account that Lumina is a person rather than an ingredient, the same could be said for this," Erik pointed to a word.
"The hummingbird."
"Yeah… The hummingbird," Erik replied. "It's not just a word, Rebecca, or an ingredient. It's a place, a pharmaceutical company."
Rebecca's eyes widened as she caught the connection.
"Where is it?" the woman asked.
"Here in the city."
"Should we go investigate there?"
Erik nodded, his mind already racing ahead to their next steps. But then he glanced at his watch, realizing how late it had already become.
"But let's do it tomorrow," he said. "It's late, and we both need rest. We'll be more effective with fresh minds."
Rebecca looked up and sighed, recognizing the wisdom in his words.
"You're right," she agreed, slowly closing the document. "We should head to bed."
A few more words were said between them, during which they speculated about what they would discover at the Hummingbird Pharmaceutical Company and discussed their plan for the next day. They both seemed to have a sense that they were on the edge of something significant, which contributed to the quiet intensity of their conversation.
After what seemed like an eternity, they got up from their chairs, stretched their achy limbs, and exchanged resolute looks. As they exited, the room seemed to reverberate with the significance of what they had discovered, and the door swung shut behind them.
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