Chapter 372 Volume VI - Chapter 5: A Nostalgic Apartment
I was only halfway to Sue's apartment when my watch started to ring. I quickly opened it without looking to see who it was.
On the screen in front of me was Ronald Potenbea. He was about to open his mouth and speak when someone else joined the call, and then someone else.
The trio I had spoken to only a few minutes ago were now back in front of me.
Ronald coughed a little, then continued his interrupted words.
"Paul Demens left your sister's apartment and headed straight for his home. But... he doesn't appear on any CCTV footage after getting on a bus when he should have arrived by now. He's not on the bus either. Just like you said, he vanished into thin air."
I clicked my tongue.
Why did he run away when he didn't know anything, when he didn't even realize I was looking for him? I was never hostile towards him.
He couldn't have realized so quickly that someone was after him, that he was being investigated... could he?
I hesitated for a moment, realized my mistake, and narrowed my eyes.
No, I underestimate him. And more than him, I underestimate the organization he is a member of. They could have realized something was wrong and warned him. It could also have been something else.
"Keep looking for a while longer. He's to be tracked down and arrested on the first sighting. For now... I think he's out of our hands."
I closed the call without saying anything, took a deep breath to calm myself down, and looked outside.
The people of the city were on their own, oblivious to everything.
And Paul was among them, still in this city, most likely.
Although... what was his purpose in the first place? Why did he try to get close to Clara? He could have simply made her his puppet... but he didn't.
Did he want to approach me in a natural way, maybe?
Did he want me to trust him, to get to a point where I could let my guard down around him?
A lot of different theories were running through my mind. But none of them were good ones.
And that's when the driver, who had been completely silent until now, opened his mouth.
"We've arrived, sir."
I snapped out of my thoughts, turned my eyes out the window, and looked at the building we were standing in front of.
I had never actually been here before. I only... knew it because I had researched where Sue lived in the past.
But the first thing I felt when I looked at the apartment building was somehow... nostalgia.
It reminded me of the shabby old building where Clara lived when I first came to this world. It was clearly not a very expensive place. Probably not even 'ordinary'.
"Wait here until I come back."
The driver didn't say anything, didn't even nod. But I knew he could hear me, so I didn't think much about it, grabbed my cane, and went outside.
When I reached the front of the house, I paused and called out to the spirit sitting on my shoulder.
'Sith, are there any puppets around?'
My answer came quickly.
'Not at the moment.'
I took a deep breath and exhaled, then took slow steps toward the building.
'Keep looking around, scan for anyone who might be a puppet.'
And with that, I reached the outer door of the building. There was no lock or combination door. It was just... a door made to keep the cold out.
I gently pushed the door, but as I did so, an echoing creaking sound escaped. I closed the door slowly, passing through the gap I had opened quickly so as not to make too much noise, and then looked at the interior design of the building.
The first thing I noticed was that there was no elevator in the building. Just like Clara's old house.
I walked to the stairs, heading up to the second floor, I would have to go up a bit as Sue's apartment was on the third floor.
But that's when I paused, my eyes suddenly darting to Sith who had been hovering beside me until now. He was narrowing his eyes. When ? looked at him, suddenly turned his head toward one of the apartments.
'Did you find something?'
Sith nodded.
'Yes, whoever is in that flat is a puppet.'
His eyebrows raised for a moment, he slowly turned his head in the opposite direction and looked at another door on the floor.
'That one there too.'
And then to another door.
'And that one over there.'
But then he paused, his eyes widening slightly.
'No, I didn't realize it on the first floor, but... almost everyone in this building is a puppet, Aiden. They all have unnatural mana imprints on them.'
I frowned, narrowed my eyes a little, and went up to the third floor without saying anything. When I got to apartment number eight, I paused.
'And this apartment?
Sith shook his head from side to side for the first time.
'No, she is not a puppet.'
So... Paul didn't turn his sister into a puppet, huh...
I breathed a sigh of relief as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
It was really good to know that what I was afraid of wasn't a reality.
'Aren't you going to go in?'
I turned my eyes toward the closed door, staring at it for a while. Then... I turned away with a sigh.
'No.'
The only reason I came here was to check something. And... I did.
I don't want my reunion with Sue to be like this, in the middle of the day, randomly. I want it to be more... nice... than out of nowhere.
And, well... Sue never gave me her address. So... if she asks me how I found her house, I may end up in an awkward situation.
'I've waited months, I can wait a few more days. And... it's probably better if we don't run into each other right now.'
Especially with big things going on with his brother.
And so, I went down the stairs, got into the car where it was waiting for me, and called out to the driver.
"There are people who have been turned into puppets in all the apartments except the eighth one. They will have tattoos on their left shoulders in the form of a moving, round chain. Just disfigure the tattoos with mana and do it to the whole building one by one. They won't remember anything, you don't have to worry."
The driver simply tapped a few things on the watch on his wrist. After connecting to a call, he said a few words, a more simplified version of what I had said, and then turned off the watch.
And just like that... my work here was done.
But nothing was over yet.
'What's next?
'The Paul thing... I think I've sorted it out for now.'
I don't think we'll find him easily, I don't think he'll try anything either. Especially when everyone is looking for him. He'll wait for things to relax a bit, to be forgotten even if a little if he's really aware of the things going on.
'I don't think I'll have to worry about that for a while, the only problem will be his sister...'
Paul probably won't show up anywhere for a long time. As a result... he won't be in contact with his sister, Sue.
So what happens in this situation?
I don't think they're going to tell Sue anything because it's connected to something as important as Saligia. So... they're probably going to say he's missing or something like that. Maybe they'll even try to fool her for a while with artificial intelligences, who knows...
But one thing I do know is that Sue will be affected.
I paused for a moment, my eyes narrowing. It was... unpleasant to think about it.
Because Sue was someone who trusted her brother, who had no idea of his true nature. She really cared about Paul. Just like I cared for Clara.
What I'm trying to say is... it's not going to be easy. It's not going to be something that she's just simply going to get over. No, it's gonna be something that's gonna cause a lot of problems in her life.
And... there's nothing I can do about it.
"Heh..."
How ironic... the first thing I do as soon as I come back is to cause something to upset, almost break a person I care about.
But it's better this way. It's better that their life is separated in this way than that she continues to interact with him.
I will lie to her, deceive her, if necessary.
But it's for her sake and everyone else's.
I paused. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, waited a short while, and then slowly let it out when I started to struggle.
I have to... stop for a while.
I shouldn't be thinking about this now, when nothing has happened yet. No matter how much I care about Sue, I need to know certain things about Paul first. Whether he's going to be caught or not, why he's getting close to Clara, and a few other things...
Only then can I think about Sue, see her.
So... while Melany and Ronald are trying to solve the Paul problem for me, I'd better get on with some of my own things and get them out of the way.
Like... going to the academy and talking to Ulka and Alexander, finally making the move to open the company that we should have opened months ago.
And yet... before I left, I couldn't help but look behind me, right in the direction of the apartment.
"I'm... really sorry, Sue."
And that was the last thing I said.
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