[29.4] Enter with Confidence, Leave with a Bang

…Chief Gonza stepped through, brushing off the dust. He jumped from our screams, "What?! What what WHAT?! R-Reika?! Felix!?"

Our screams died down as soon as we realized it was a living human and not a ghost.

I let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank the Gods. It's just him. What are you doing here?"

Chief Gonza looked at the two of us, "I should be asking you two that."

Felix gulped, "Reika said I needed more courage."

Chief Gonza frowned and gave me a stern look, "You do realize you're trespassing, right?"

I looked back at him defiantly, "You are also trespassing."

"That doesn't matter."

I put my hands on my hips, "And why not?"

He let out a sigh, "Because I am a Bureau Investigator. Investigating is what I do."

Felix's eyes widened, "Oh! I didn't know the Bureau was assigned to investigating this house."

Chief Gonza paused and looked away guiltily, "A-Ah… Yeah…"

I raised an eyebrow, "You weren't assigned to investigate this place, were you?"

His voice cracked, "T-That's not it!"

"So what is it?"

He looked at us both speechlessly before hanging his head in shame, "Okay… I wasn't."

I gasped dramatically, "You lied to us?!"

His voice squeaked with urgency, "It doesn't matter! I can investigate whatever I want! You two can't!"

I pursed my lips, "Why do you want to investigate this place so much?"

He leaned in close to us and whispered, "Because it's connected."

I raised an eyebrow, "Connected?"

He threw his hands in the air like a madman, "To everything! The attacks on you! The attacks on the orphanage! My parent's death! The demon sympathizers! All of it!"

Felix whispered into my ear, "Is he okay?"

Ugh. Is he having another conspiracy moment?

I spoke calmly to Chief Gonza, "What are you talking about?"

He looked around the room, "This house is connected to all of it somehow… I just don't know how."

"Okay, ignoring all of that crazy talk-" I looked at him cautiously, "Did you see the monster while you were walking around?"

He raised an eyebrow, "Monster? No. As soon as I walked inside this place, I got lost. I heard noises and followed them, but all I found was you."

I glanced at Felix who shrugged. I looked back at Chief Gonza, "I think we need to leave this place."

He nodded, "I agree. Although…"

"Although?"

He forced on a smile, "Magic doesn't seem to work here."

I pulled out my wand and tried a spell, but sure enough, it didn't work. Instead, it was impossible to think clearly.

Chief Gonza looked at us closely, "Have you two seen anything out of the ordinary? Like something that doesn't belong? I think the interference is the work of a relic."

My eyes lit up, "Oh! It must be the treasure everyone is talking about!"

Chief Gonza spoke, "Have you seen it?"

I shook my head, "I haven't."

We both looked at Felix who also shook his head.

Chief Gonza let out a sigh, "Let's just try to find the exit for now. It's clear this basement doesn't lead anywhere."

Felix and I both rushed and grabbed onto the sleeve of Chief Gonza who turned around with his eyebrow raised.

I sheepishly smiled, "I-It's a bit scary here."

Felix nodded quickly in agreement.

Chief Gonza nodded, "Alright. You two can hold on, but don't grab me so tightly… I need to be able to grab my wand."

Felix spoke in a timid voice, "Even though it doesn't work?"

Chief Gonza paused, then cleared his throat, "I meant that I need to be able to fight off an attacker."

I held on tighter, "Sure. Whatever you say."

He let out a sigh and started moving forward. The tarps were pushed aside almost agonizingly before we could continue walking. Once we finally got to the stairs, I noticed a small plank of wood in a corner.

I pointed to it slowly, "H-Has that always been there?"

Chief Gonza turned, almost surprised, and went to it. He pulled on it, easily ripping it away from the wall. Behind the plank of wood was a dark, secret tunnel.

Chief Gonza bent down as if intending to crawl through it, but I held him back, "What are you doing?! Please tell me you don't actually intend to crawl through there!"

He turned back to me, "Reika. You can stay here, but I need to figure out how this house is connected to the Demon Sympathizers. I have a good feeling about this tunnel."

My face twitched as he obsessively turned back to the dark tunnel and started crawling. As I shook my head, I watched as Felix got on his knees and started crawling too.

I cried out, "You too?!"

He looked back at me with a pale expression, "I'm not getting separated anymore! This house is too spooky!"

I let out a sigh and watched him crawl before disappearing into the darkness. Now left alone, I felt a chill creep up my spine. I shivered, "I-I think I might follow."

I got on my knees and hurried to crawl after them. I came to the end and found that the two were standing in front of a podium, in an illuminated room. I stood up, brushed off the dirt, and looked at what they were staring at.

On the podium was a small wooden horse carved by hand.

I reached out to pick it up, "It's a kid's toy?"

Felix shouted, "REIKA WAIT-"

However, I had already grabbed it. I tilted my head, "What's wrong?"

The house suddenly started to shake and rumble.

Chief Gonza shouted, "Go go go!"

He grabbed the relic from my hands and ushered us back into the tunnel. We crawled much faster than before as if our life depended on it. Once we returned to the basement, we rushed up the stairs. I was shocked to see all of the walls start to break apart.

Chief Gonza grabbed us, "This way!"

We rushed after him, following him through multiple doors until we found ourselves back in the main room where we first came in at. He tried the door, but it wouldn't turn.

I shouted, "Step back!"

I raised my wand as the two jumped behind me. In my panic, a large rush of water gushed out of the tip of my wand, completely ripping the door off its hinges and sending it flying into the distance.

Felix blinked in disbelief, "What?! You can use magic NOW?! How come before-"

"No time!"

I pulled Felix with me and ran through the door. After getting a safe enough distance away, I stood on the lawn gasping. We all watched as the house crumbled and broke apart.

Chief Gonza held the wooden horse in his palm as he stared at the house, "I don't understand… This place… This place is related to everything… But how? Is it all because of this toy?"

I let out a sigh, "Come on. Let's go home before a Monster runs out and eats us."

Chief Gonza distractedly waved his hand, "You two go on ahead. I'm going to stay here until I figure it out."

We reluctantly left him behind, but both of us were more than happy to leave. As we walked back I shook my head, "I don't understand why my Uncle is always so sure of himself. He believes all of these far-fetched conspiracies while acting like he can see the future."

Felix laughed, "Well, he is an astrology attribute."

I froze in my tracks, "...What."

Felix turned to me in confusion, "You didn't know?"

I cried out, "I thought he was an ice attribute like the Headmaster!"

Felix laughed, "How did you not know? That's why he has such a high position in the Bureau and is so well known. He's even written down his prophecies and has stored them at the Academy."

I placed my hand over my heart, "My entire life is a lie… B-But if he can see into the future, why would he send me to that orphanage?! Surely he would have known!"

"Although we call them prophets, it's not like they are actually able to see into the future. Most of the time, they are just given glimpses and have to try to put the pieces together. However, there have been many cases where it's done more harm than good. For example, once a person saw an image of a woman who had a ring in her bag. It was reported stolen, so he naturally accused her because of his vision. However, it turned out that the woman had sold the ring and the new owner had simply lost it. That's why there is a saying: A look into the future will turn you blind."

I gasped, "It will actually turn you blind!?"

He shook his head, "No. It means that what you see will only confuse you. Humans aren't supposed to see the future, that's why we can't make sense of it."

I clicked my tongue, "What a worthless ability."

Felix let out a sigh, "I wish Chief Gonza was better at seeing the future though. We could have asked him what was going to be on the test."

"OH SH*T!"

He panicked, "What is it!? A monster?!"

I cried into my hands, "I forgot about the test!"

Felix rubbed my shoulders to comfort me, "It's okay. We still have time to cram."

I sniffled, "You'll help me?"

He forced a smile, "I-I don't know if I can help you… But I know someone who can."