Mentally challenged

The second question on Fynn's list of usually asked questions was: "Does your husband have anyone who would want to harm him?"

The madam paused to blow her nose before answering, "My husband is a very open-minded person who conducts himself with dignity. But…" Her hand holding the handkerchief clenched tighter, "…just because he conducts himself properly doesn't mean others would do the same."

She sighed with deep exhaustion, "My husband is the kind of man that wouldn't start a conflict, but definitely won't run away from one started by others."

"And did he have conflicts?" Fynn gently prodded.

The woman nodded, "Yes. He often had conflicts of opinion with his peers in the industry. And many saw him as their rival or a thorn in their side."

She paused to think, before continuing, "My husband had been approached by representatives of rival pharmaceutical companies many times. They went to great lengths to make him switch sides, but he had always refused. I'm sure that made many people unhappy."

"Was there anyone he made 'unhappy' recently?"

The madam helplessly shook her head, "I don't know. Like I said, my husband rarely talks about business at home."

In the end, the name list of potential suspects they managed to extract from the lady was rather short. She only remembered the names of rival companies and several people her husband mentioned often.

Before heading off, Fynn could do nothing more than to give the lady his contact details, asking her to call when her husband woke up.

The quartet got up to leave, but the lady suddenly reached to squeeze Noah's hand. Her eyes teared up as she wheezed out a shaky, "Thank you…"

Feeling Noah's warmth seep into her, the onset of sobs quickly died down into snivels, "…they said …they said… if it had been anyone else at the scene… my husband… he… he wouldn't have… he might have not… have not made it…"

***

As soon as the quartet exited the hospital room, Levi pasted himself to Noah's side. One of his hands entangled itself in Noah's hair, and the other stroked his back up and down in a soothing motion.

Noah's watery eyes widened, and his lips that were tightly pressed together quivered.

This socially awkward brother-in-law of his wasn't an Empathizer, yet he always noticed Noah's moods first and without fail.

Astar Levi didn't speak much, but his actions spoke louder than any words could.

And they have always been whispering a sweet 'I care for you a lot' in Noah's ear.

Just like that, Noah's mood that had been affected by the tears of the lady, stabilized. A lovely smile once again returned to his beautiful face, his shining eyes curving as he looked up at the taller man, "Brother, I'm fine now."

Fynn stood to the side, next to Trey, staring at the two, his face unreadable.

Astar Levi might be a brain-damaged self-centered pervert with no morals or a sense of shame.

But he also might be the person who cared about Cordia Aris the most in this world.

To not be as caring and attentive as a socially maladjusted madman…

…the taste of defeat was really sour…

***

By the time they finished talking to the wife of the Fluxer, the sky had already darkened.

Their next stop should have been Pharmath, to inquire about who the Fluxer had been with today. However, going to the company now would be a useless endeavor. At this time of day, besides building security, there would be no one else present. They would need to wait for tomorrow morning to question the Fluxer's colleagues.

Thus, they returned to the peacekeeper station, hoping to see the results of the follow-up crime scene investigation. Fynn was the inspector in charge of the case, but he wasn't the only officer working on it. Fynn's duty, as an Intenter, was questioning of people related to the case. While other investigators each had their own respective duties.

Upon arriving at the station, they received several reports. The first came from an inspector who could sense remnants of power usage. He had detected many vague traces of powers. However, at the end of it all, it would seem none of the detected powers were relevant to the case.

The fingerprint report came out too. Initially, Fynn had been hopeful about the possibility of picking up fingerprints of the Fluxer's companion, which would then be used to identify the man. However, it would seem that the table where the Fluxer had been sitting had been mostly vaporized, leaving nothing that they could pick up fingerprints from.

Lastly, there was a report of the investigator who was in charge of tracking people down by scent. She said the scene of the crime was a scenting nightmare. The Fluxer had vaporized so many things that the smell was overpowering. She couldn't even go into the restaurant, let alone detect and follow the scent of the Fluxer's companion.

In the end, left with no useful intel, the quartet decided to call it a day and rest early so that they can resume their investigation tomorrow.

After agreeing on the time and place of their next meeting, the quartet split up. Fynn stayed in the station to do background checks of the names they've received, while the other three left towards the city lord's mansion.

Noah had wanted to escort Levi to the Maglev train station, but the other vehemently insisted on seeing Noah home instead. After what happened today, how could Levi rest easy if he didn't personally ensure his baby's safe return?

Along their way back, Levi repeatedly emphasized that Noah was not to leave the safety of the mansion until Levi picked him up tomorrow morning. Noah, feeling very tickled by his brother-in-law's care, very obediently agreed to everything that came out of the other's mouth. He kept nodding his head like a chicken pecking rice, yet Levi was still unable to put his worry down.

Through the entire tirade, not once did Noah lose his patience. On the contrary, at some point, he was forced to hide his smile behind his hand because he simply couldn't keep the corner of his mouth down. He needn't have bothered; his eyes were curving nearly as much as his mouth.

Only when Noah had sincerely promised that he would definitely, absolutely, very obediently not go anywhere without Levi, did the other feel reassured enough to give it a rest.

Levi: 'Yes! Victory!' (/≧▽≦)/ 'Baby agreed to stay by my side all the time!'

Noah: 'Gosh! This worrywart of a brother-in-law is too cute!' (／≧ω＼)

Blackie: щ（ﾟДﾟщ）'…how? …How can …I don't even…'

'Host… um… could you… at least try to… try to NOT look so happy to be stalked by a crazy pervert 24/7???'

‎(ﾉಥAಥ)ﾉ ┻━┻ 'You are throwing away all of my face!! Everyone from the department is laughing at me for having such a mentally challenged host!!!'

Noah: (ꐦ ◠‿◠) 'Wasn't it you guys who picked me for this mission in the first place? Who is more mentally challenged: a mentally challenged person or the guys who hired him for a super important job even though they knew he was mentally challenged?'

Blackie, who actually has no retort: '…' ○|￣|_

Future Noah: (︶^︶)ノ 'What mentally challenged? Pfft, they are just jealous! Does any of their hosts have a 100% mission success rate? Hmph! Didn't think so!'

Future Blackie, who still can't refute: "…" ಥ‿ಥ