Old Gundam was a city where mafia groups had existed for decades. And these mafia groups had embraced this city and their own way of life so much that they had established a set of rules.

These were unwritten rules that everyone obeyed and that had emerged naturally.

For example, if a member of one family was personally invited to another family's mansion or base of operations, no harm could come to the invited family member. If harm did come to them, the family to which the person belonged could present proof of the invitation and demand appropriate punishment from the highest ranks of the mafia hierarchy, and even compensation from that family.

For this reason, Tom Bluelet was quite at ease. He had little concern for his safety, even though he was on the territory of another family, especially one he did not trust. Inferesse wasn't a family that would throw away their entire future just to bring him down.

However, there was still a possibility that we might be eavesdropped on, as there was no tradition or rule preventing it.

Therefore, before I recounted what had happened, he used a device to prevent any sound from escaping. Then, one by one, he listened to what had happened.

My lies, that is.

My lies, to be precise.

The lies I had mixed with the truth and carefully crafted.

In the end…

"Tch."

Tom Bluelet clicked his tongue, ignoring my presence as he sank into thought.

It was clear he was not pleased with the situation. His dissatisfaction was evident on his face.

Still, he did the logical thing and thought.

He continued to think silently.

After a few seconds...

"Alright…"

When he finally broke his silence, his eyes turned back to me.

"This might be better."

"H- huh?"

"This situation, James. I don't like the Inferesses, but as Philip said, this could work out for both sides."

"A- ah…"

Tom Bluelet narrowed his eyes, his expression growing more disappointed with each reaction I gave, then slowly stood up.

"There's no need for you to do anything. Just keep doing what you've been doing so far; nothing."

He didn't look at me again, turning his back and walking straight out of the room.

Just…

"Ah, right…"

He paused just as he was about to leave through the door.

His final words were a… warning.

"Be careful of Franz— Hmm, no. Be careful of everyone in the Inferesse Family. No one is as 'good' as they seem, especially in our world."

Then, he left James and me alone in the room.

A few seconds later, the servants entered.

They escorted me to the room where I would be staying and left me alone again.

I collapsed onto the bed as if I were tired and closed my eyes.

'Sith.'

'I'm here, but we have a small problem.'

'Problem?'

'The people here... are more concerned about the existence of spirits and their ability to leak information than we think. There are spirits everywhere that have been contracted, or runes and devices have been placed to detect our presence. It's difficult to move around even for me.'

Oh.

It's not a huge problem, of course... but it will make things a little bit more challenging.

I won't be able to freely find out what people are secretly talking about or hiding anymore.

At this point, it's not such a big deal, since I just have to wait. But being deprived of extra information is also disappointing.

I opened my eyes and fixed them on the white ceiling.

Philip Inferesse and Tom Bluelet will handle everything between themselves.

I'll… just watch.

Until the time comes.

*******

The mansion remained silent for the next few hours.

At least, from my perspective.

I had no idea what was going on outside, but I continued to wait calmly.

There was nothİng else I could do.

Then...

~knock!

The door was knocked once, then opened wide without waiting for a response from me.

A familiar face appeared.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, an angelic face, smiling lips.

"Hello, James."

Franz Martin Inferesse.

"H- hi."

His smile widened slightly after my timid response.

He walked inside, toward where I was standing. As the door closed behind us, he sat down in the chair opposite me.

He folded his hands on his lap and sat up tall.

His eyes never left me.

"It seems our fathers have come to a decision, and I'm here to inform you."

I remained silent, my eyes fixed on the floor.

"What… decision have they made?"

"To eliminate the Reross Family, form an alliance between our families, and rise together in the hierarchy."

Great.

"O- oh… That's a good thing, I suppose. Isn't it…?"

Even though I couldn't see his face, I couldn't help but imagine him smiling even more.

"Yes, it is. It's quite a good thing."

I remained silent. I tried to express this tension as much as possible, as if every second we spent together was making me more and more nervous.

"Oh, also. Aside from this 'good' news… there's something I've noticed lately, so I wanted to ask you about it."

I slowly raised my eyes from the floor and made eye contact.

"Yes?"

"Your father, Tom Bluelet."

The moment his name was mentioned, my eyes widened, and I froze in place.

Franz continued.

"He doesn't seem to like you very much, huh?"

The only thing I could do as James was to swallow hard.

"In fact… he seemed to prefer you dead, to be honest."

His tone of voice was quite normal, as if what he was saying was unimportant to the person he was talking to.

He was doing it on purpose.

"…"

"It seems you can't answer that."

I was planning to stay silent throughout the entire thing, but suddenly he stood up, keeping his smile intact, and clasped his hands behind his back.

"I respect that. I won't interfere in your family matters."

Haven't you already interfered, technically…?

"I won't bother you anymore."

Those were his final words before leaving the room.

*******

Night had fallen, and the mansion was lit only by artificial lights.

During the hours I spent in the room, there was not a single sound from anywhere, except for the servants who occasionally asked if I wanted anything.

I had no idea what Tom Bluelet and Philip Inferesse were discussing or what decisions they needed to make.

I actually wanted to sleep, but I couldn't. Even though, according to the mafia's rules, nothing would happen to me… sleeping was the last thing I wanted to do.

So I continued to wait, pretending to sleep.

The hours kept passing.

From twelve to one, from one to two, from two to three…

This night was unfolding exactly as I had planned.

Without incident.

So I spent my time thinking.

How long had it been since I left Cevilian?

A twenty-eight-hour journey, a few hours of preparation…

Only two days.

The time had passed quite quickly, but already my thoughts were beginning to turn to what I had left behind.

Celine, for example.

Our relationship had become quite... established and deepened in recent months. That aside, it couldn't be said that her therapy was completely over. She still had trouble looking people in the eye.

What was she doing now?

What about Clara?

She should be continuing her training as a seer properly. I didn't think she'd be loafing around or causing trouble, but… I couldn't help but wonder about her.

And then there was Adrian, who had said he was going somewhere, just like me.

The number of places he could go at this stage of the game was limited, but I had strayed quite far from the game's script. He could be anywhere right now.

And the others?

Julian, Lucia, Alysia...

'Aiden.'

But the voice coming from the depths of my mind caused my focus to scatter instantly.

I didn't open my eyes, but I paused.

'Yes?'

'Something's happening.'

I couldn't help but furrow my brows at what I heard.

Something? What does 'something' mean?

This night was supposed to pass quietly, without incident.

I know what kind of people Tom Bluelet and Philip Inferesse are.

No matter what happens, they are both the kind of people who will accept being allies and rising together.

Or… is something else happening?

'Give me a little more detail.'

'The winds outside are calm. Too calm, in fact. The air in the corridor is also moving abnormally. I'm not entirely sure what's happening, but as I said… something is happening.'

…

What?

I stopped pretending to sleep and slowly sat up from where I was lying.

I began scanning the room with my eyes.

Did I place too much trust in the mafia's 'rules'?

'No, it doesn't seem like you're the target. More like… there's an abnormality spreading throughout the entire mansion.'

Throughout the entire mansion…

So the Inferesses aren't ignoring the rules. I don't think they'd do something on such a large scale that would affect the entire mansion just to kill me and Tom Bluelet.

Though… they might be trying to make it look like an accident.

Instead of continuing to search the room for an abnormality, I narrowed my eyes.

Or is Tom Bluelet the one trying something?

Could it be that I misjudged his personality, who he really is?

But he shouldn't have the power to pull something like this off here. We're in the Inferesses' territory; control is in their hands.

'Oh…'

'Hm? What happened?'

Sith came out of my body, raised his arm in his tiny form, and pointed his finger toward my right front side.

I turned my eyes to the direction he was pointing, and used a small amount of caora to sharpen my sense of mana.

Then...

'Oh...'

The silence of the night suddenly disappeared the moment I sensed what was happening.

Under the artificial light illuminating the mansion, a new source of light suddenly descended, clearly visible through the windows of my room.

Although the mansion was already quiet, a sound powerful enough to drown out all other sounds spread throughout the area.

~BOOOOM!

The entire mansion shook.