Hidden

Kieran deserved to be hit because of what he's done, that was what Ian believed, but he didn't think smashing a rock to his head was a good idea. The boy was too young to die yet, and without accomplishing anything, at that, dying for a stupid reason, by receiving brain damage. 

That was why he rushed to stop the enraged woman who was chasing after them with a massive rock in her hand. He succeded in the end, after getting hit a few times in the process. 

"Miss Eleen, where do you plan on going now?"

The woman was still huffing and puffing while avoiding eye contact with Kieran. 

"We were supposed to go to one of our access points to receive new missions."

"Ah, I see. So should we accompany you to that place first?"

"Accompany? You? I think you'd better go back to your master. Anyway, why are you here? I heard you went missing last night?"

"Ahem!"

Already prepared, Ian gave the woman some messed up stories about how he saw something through the window and chased it until he got lost and found himself here and was later found and saved by Raven. Eleen didn't seem to care much as long as she managed to hit the swordsman just once. Ian allowed her to do that much. 

In the end, she agreed to tag along with the due, curious to see where the servant wanted to take them. Two horses and three people took the road shown by the blue-haired servant, heading for a faraway destination. 

. . . . . . . .

"No news from Ian yet?"

The old man, helping his master take off his clothes, shook his head.

"No, nothing."

The banquet was finally over and the guests were sent back to their rooms. This didn't mean that they were allowed to leave yet, as various events were scheduled for the next few days. Alaric didn't have any intentions of leaving without finding his friend either way. 

"Do you think something might've happened to him?"

"...I'm not sure." Ranger neatly arranged the clothes before putting them aside and bringing his master's comfortable pajamas out of the closet. 

"If it was in the past, I'd be sure that he is in big trouble... But now it doesn't seem likely."

"What do you mean?"

Alaric sat on his bed, inquiring for answers from the person who knew the most about this missing attendant of his. 

"Don't you remember, young master, how he was before? I sometimes feel like he's changed overnight. You too, seem to have changed at the same time. It makes me wonder if such a thing is natural."

"Ahem!" The golden-haired boy covered his mouth with his palm, coughing a few times as he avoided eye contact with the old man.

"I-I don't think I've undergone any changes? I'm the same as before, except that I try to be more like myself in everyday life, you know. The me of the past thought of being cold and hard-working as a strength, but now, I think it might be the opposite. Anyway, I haven't changed at all."

Brushing a hand against his silver hair, Old Ranger's lips curled to a faint smile and his deep eyes lingered on the young boy sitting on the bed. 

"That might be true... It feels like Young Master is returning to how he used to be rather than undergoing a change in the character, however, it's completely different for Ian..."

The old man's voice trailed off, his thoughts wandering in his memories. Alaric wanted to ask what he meant by 'returning to how he used to be', but after Ranger brought up Ian, he shifted his question to something else. 

"It's completely different for Ian?" The master gestured at a sofa, telling the old man to sit down while talking. Ranger did as he was told, resting on the soft sofa and explaining himself further for his master to understand. 

"Doesn't young master remember how Ian was before? Since the day he was brought to the count's mansion, he was a timid and shy little boy. He never got close to anyone, never talked, never laughed. He grew up like that, too. You might've not noticed his character traits much as you were always busy with work, but the two of you were close friends when younger, don't you remember?"

They were close friends? That was new information for Alaric, though, he couldn't show the surprise on his face. 

"Y-y-yeah, I do remember some stuff."

He wasn't a good liar, not a proper actor. Alaric had to completely lower his head to prevent his expression from being seen. 

"So you must've noticed it too. He isn't a single bit like how he was before. His whole personality shifted overnight. At first, I was too worried about Young Master to pay him any attention, but gradually I noticed the differences." The old man heaved a deep sigh, "He's neither timid nor shy, not as close as how obedient he was. He acts arrogantly, does strange things, disappears all of a sudden, and keeps a lot of secrets. He even has holy power... I sometimes feel scared of interacting with him, feeling like I don't know that boy anymore, as if he's replaced by a whole new person..."

The old man spoke without a pause as if he was long prepared to talk about this subject that had been bothering him greatly, weighing on his mind all the time. His complaints sounded like a tired parent to Alaric, who was disappointed at their son and taken aback by his actions. The young man smiled at the confused Ranger. 

"You care a lot for Ian."

"...."

Ranger paused for a second before his face turned melancholic.

"Of course I do. We are no relatives, but I saw his growth with my two eyes, he was like the son I didn't have all these years. You too, young master, though I never dared say such a thing you my master."

"...."

The boy's sunset-colored eyes shadowed over and his face darkened, guilt striking his whole being. It took him some time to barely mutter something. 

"...I-I see. Thanks."

Ranger got up upon those words and strolled towards the door. 

"...Also, don't be too worried about him. I'm sure Ian will be safe."

"...Yeah."

With a nod, the old man left his master's room, leaving Alaric alone in the silent and gloomy room. 

. . . . . . .

"Where is this place...?"

When the first rays of twilight and the faint warmth of the early sun bore upon the world, the group of three finally saw signs of humans from far away. 

"It looks like a village? Or a small city?"

Ian signaled Kieran to slow down the horse while answering Eleen. 

"You know that there are pretty much a lot of saints in The Empire, and the number keeps increasing."

"Well, yeah."

The city structure gradually became clear in their eyes. Men and women, young and old, were gradually leaving their hoses in clean, white attires, all moving in one direction that led to a high and magnificent cathedral. 

"Where do you think they reside? All it the capital?"

Eleen and Kieran looked back between Ian and the city. 

"Don't tell me this place is where they live?"

"Yes, only a number of them."

"A number of them?"

Ian jumped off the horse and pulled up the hood of his cloak. His actions were followed by others, who hurried to hide the horses and cover their faces. 

"But how do you know about this place?"

"I overheard things."

The two mercenaries followed the blue-haired servant to the city's entrance. 

"I told you how I got lost, right? I saw something through the window, a person with Aether. Their Aether felt so strange to me that I couldn't help but feel curious, I jumped down and followed them. I don't know where the person went, but I found myself lost in the middle of the city.

"I thought of going to a church and asking for help when I heard two saints conversing about a city. They were grumbling about how far it was from the capital and how much time it took for everyone to go back and forth between the two locations. I thought maybe that person went to the said city, so I took the path mentioned by the two saints but got lost again. I sat atop the cliff hoping that someone would see me up there and come to my help. Hopefully, Raven noticed me and came by."

Raven sent Ian, who didn't even stutter while reciting a whole ass made up story, a strange look then nodded his head as if to confirm. Eleen's brows arched in astonishment. 

"I see, so this is that city... But will they let us in?"

"Let's give it a try!"

Two knights were guarding the city's entrance. Upon seeing three hooded individuals approach, they blocked the road with their weapons, asking for their identity.

"Hi, I'm a new saint assigned to this area!"

Without a slight bit of hesitation, Ian opened his palm to reveal a pale light of Aether shining within. He could sense the two people behind him flinch and a thin hand pull on his cloak but didn't pay them any mind. 

"These two are the escorts sent by the church to show me the way."

The knights glanced at each other before nodding their heads. 

"Alright, you might enter."

The three people rushed into the city as soon as the guards stepped away. 

"Hey, are you out of your mind? Why the hell would you reveal your Aether to the soldiers of the Empire??"

"But we couldn't enter without that."

"You know it's dangerous!!"

"Yeah, but nothing happened, so it's fine."

Ian brushed off Eleen's worries and leisurely strolled along the roads, following the citizens to the central cathedral. 

"Good morning."

"Morning, did you rest well?"

"Yeah, pretty refreshing as always."

"Good for you."

People, sitting in the prayer room, were conversing with each other.

"Why, haven't you rested well?"

"Nah, man, I couldn't. I couldn't stop thinking about my sister."

"Oh..." The young woman gasped at the other girl's words. "She is still missing?"

"Yeah... I'm worried it too might be related to the serial disappearance case..."

"Oh no! Don't say that!"

The anxious girl, dressed in white saintess attire, leaned a bit closer to the other person and mumbled through her trembling breath, face painted with worry. 

"But what if it is? What if she diapered like those people?"

The girl clenched the other person's clothes. 

"You know that those who disappeared never returned, right? Sis, what if my sister never comes back?"

"EVERYONE!"

Their conversation was cut short by the loud voice of a man. Everyone stood up, preparing for the prayer to start.

Ding

Ding

The ringing of the cathedral's bell hinted at the exact time as well as the conclusion of the praying session. Some of the saints stood to leave the cathedral while a number of them remained, attending to their daily tasks. A few among the saints were assigned missions, such as helping to purify monsters or visiting outlying villages to receive prayers, so they had to leave the city or prepare for them.

"Serial disappearances? What's going on in this city?"

Among the ones leaving the cathedral were three people wearing long hooded cloaks. Ian, at the center of the group, answered Eleen without turning around. 

"I heard others talking about it too. Apparently, people keep going missing from time to time and they never come back."

"T-that seems scary... Isn't this place properly guarded?"

"It must be, as it's an important city of The Empire. Let's check the board over there, I see some posters on it."

The regressor couldn't explain everything he knew to the others straight forward, so he led them to find out and investigate the situation themselves. He didn't want to gain their suspicion for nothing. It was also beneficial for himself, as he could check the details of the incident once more in case he'd forgotten anything over the years. 

[Missing person]

[Inform the cathedral if you have any information]

There wasn't just one or two of these posters, but more than ten of them hung all over the board. Picture of the missing people were plastered to papers, as well as their names, ages, and other personal information. 

"The oldest one goes back to two months ago... About two missing people each week?"

Eleen observed the information thoroughly while muttering what she concluded. 

"But... Isn't this a place protected by The Empire? The saints, especially, are the people who are treasured the most in this land. How can such a thing occur in a place like this? Isn't this more than suspicious?"

"I think so too," Ian nodded his head in agreement. "Look at their ranks, all of them were chosen among the saints as the ones with the best and purest Aether."

"Yet they've been disappearing for two months like it's nothing-"

"Noo no no no!"

An anguished cry cut their conversation in between, catching everyone's attention.

"She isn't missing! Sis must've just gone on a mission! You can't write her name on that list!"

A young girl in white and long saintess clothes was grabbing a knight's attire, shedding tears while screaming, doing her best to pull the man away from the notice board, yet failing to rival his strength.

"Girl, what difference will it make to you if your sister's name is written here or not? She'll come back to you if she's not missing anyway!"

The knight was holding a piece of paper in his hands with a picture of a woman on it alongside the person's information. The woman had long golden hair and blue eyes, and a young yet mature face.

"If you put that poster on, then no one will look for her anymore! They won't search for sis any longer! Please, sir, please!"

"Tsk, what bullshit? Move away!"

Ian stepped away from the struggle of the due, not He wanted to get involved in anything unnecessary. The girl's shouts and cries were still heard even when the group of three went far away; it seemed like she didn't manage to stop the knight in the end. 

"Huu... I feel so bad for her... Isn't there anything we can do about it?"

They wandered the streets which were empty of any passerbies, conversing. 

"The Emperor is ignoring them on purpose." 

The swordsman, who had been silent the whole time, made a bold statement, making Eleen flinch slightly. 

"Hey, lower your voice!" The woman pulled on her hood before glancing around. Good thing there weren't any people in the street to hear their conversation. It was strange but relieving for now. "And how can you say such a thing?"

"This place is right under his nose. If he wanted to stop the disappearance, he could allow these saints to move and live somewhere else. This Empire has enough resources to do that. Yet, he isn't doing anything."

"But... Why would he do that? No new saint would join the churches if they knew of this! It's scary even for me who am not a saint!"

"That's because the news was never spread."

Ian raised his arm at that moment, blocking the two's mouths. 

"Calm down for now and let's leave this place first."

In front of them were the guards they just passed to enter the city. Upon seeing the three of them approach, the guards made a confused expression before blocking their path. 

"Where are you going?"

The central young man scratched his cheek and chuckled gently at the guard's question.

"I was assigned a mission as soon as they enlisted me, so I have to leave. Sorry for disturbing you so much!"

"Hey, dude, don't try to fool us!"

The tip of the spear moved forward in a threatening fashion.

"I'm not!" that saint boy raised his hands high above. "There is a new case of disappearances, but it's unclear if the person is missing or has gone on a mission. The knight in charge of the investigation asked me to go back to the capital and see if there are any missions under that woman's name."

"Hmm..."

One of the guards frowned slightly and stepped closer, inspecting the boy with a suspicious glare. Right that instant, the tips of Ian's fingers shone for one second, and golden specks of light scattered around, landing on the guard's body without anybody noticing. 

"I'm not lying, I swear to my Aether!"

The two men's expressions eased as soon as they were touched by light, all suspicion leaving their minds like a drifting breeze. A warm sensation engulfed them, making the two guards smile without noticing and move aside.

"Alright, you may leave."

"Thanks!"

The saint bowed a little bit before walking forward with the other two people tagging behind. 

"Wow!" 

Eleen nudged Ian's side after they walked for a while. 

"That was amazing, almost as if you are an actor! Is that some kind of skill? I can never be so calm in such a situation! You should attend an art school and enter a theater or something!"

"Hehe, you flatter me."

Their horses were visible through the woods. The three mounted the animals and rode away from the city of the saints without looking back.

"Should we report this to Reinington Knight Order?"

"And how are we supposed to explain how we entered that city or left it?"

"Uh..."

It was like confessing their own crime instead of reporting someone else's, and Ian would get caught too, for being a saint. Eleen nodded in understanding and kept quiet, her mind still lingering on the crying girl from before. 

"But you can report it to your higher-ups."

"Our higher-ups?"

Their higher-ups would be the captains of mercenary squids or The Leader of the guild. They could make a report through the managers of contact points and wait for the replies. The managers were usually mages talented in communication or teleportation spells, so the news and missions could be transmitted quickly and efficiently, without much delay.

"Request for a pay for the mission and start searching for the missing saints. Isn't that a good idea? You guys are free, right?"

Eleen touched her chin, considering the offer while Kieran frowned slightly. Ian's words were heard differently by the two. It was a friendly suggestion for Eleen but an order for the swordsman. 

"Alright."

Raven nodded his head almost instantly, pulling the horse's bridle and changing its direction.