CHAPTER 372: PROBABLE CAUSE

"So you gave her your address," Ava stated, rather than asked, once Nyla finally left and they were left alone.

"Uh, yeah?" Lane shrugged his shoulders, plopping back on his seat. "Why? You think it’s a mistake?"

"No, quite the opposite."

Lane lifted his brows, but didn’t say anything. Not that there was any need for him to, as Ava continued on her own accord,

"You know, I think that you could just be honest with her. Even if she knew everything, she would probably take your side..."

"You don’t know that," Lane interrupted.

"I don’t, but there’s a high possibility. And she would be a great ally, don’t you think?"

That was... true. Putting aside that she was a powerful Esper, and generally a competent woman, Nyla was officially the heiress of the Allen family. Although the succession wouldn’t be happening anytime soon, that position surely came with some benefits and power. Once the time came to destroy the Allens, she could help him by attacking from inside.

It’s not like she wanted to be the heiress anyway, so it shouldn’t be a problem. They could destroy the Allens together, and then both move on with their lives, doing whatever they felt like.

However...

"They still have something over her, so it’s too risky," he said. "What if I tell her too much, and she uses it to free herself from the Allens?"

"I doubt it would happen."

"But what if?"

Ava paused, giving Lane a long look. It was a valid concern, of course, at least to some degree. Although Lane was powerful and had his identity as the Boss of the secret organization to fall on to, if he decided to share some of his secrets, such as his true ability, for example, with Nyla, only for his sister to betray him... He would likely have to flee to the Forbidden Zone, and change all of his plans. It might have been fine a while ago, but...

Now, with his boyfriend, whom Lane clearly cared about more than he was willing to admit, there was far more at stake for him. It seemed that sharing his secrets with more people didn’t get easier with time, but rather the opposite.

As for what was a good solution to all of that... Ava didn’t know either. She was a scientist, not an interpersonal relationship expert. It wasn’t her area of expertise. So, after thinking about it for a while, she let out a quiet sigh, and changed the topic.

"About the dungeon reactivation... What were you trying to say about Fertilizer?"

"Ah, that." Seeing that Ava dropped Nyla’s topic, Lane almost instantly relaxed. Although the issue regarding the dungeon reactivation was far more serious than his own personal dilemmas, discussing them somehow felt far easier in comparison, at least with Ava, who knew everything about his secret identity and activities. "It was about the Mana plant fertilizer. I was wondering whether it would be possible to..." He briefly explained all of his theories regarding the experiments that the Allen Guild could potentially be doing in the inactive dungeon.

Ava listened to everything he had to say, slowly sipping her coffee, but her face seemed blank. And the moment Lane finished speaking, she put her mug down and said bluntly, "I don’t think that’s the case."

"Oh... And why is that?"

"Well, it’s not entirely impossible... But the amount of the Mana plant fertilizer required to even have a chance to achieve a dungeon reactivation is too large to make it feasible," Ava explained. "Now, we don’t have enough data to form a reliable thesis yet, but our observations so far suggest that the dungeon expansion happens as a result of high Mana fluctuations stimulating the Wall. The Fertilizer can cause it, as it releases highly concentrated Mana, and another option we are considering is prolonged dungeon overpopulation... However, the latter hasn’t been confirmed yet due to the lack of sufficient evidence. It’s also possible that the expansion is related to the difference between the Mana levels on both sides of the Wall, in which case..."

"Wait, wait, hold on," Lane interrupted. All those theories were things he was barely familiar with, and with Ava talking so fast, he struggled to keep up. He just wanted a simple answer, not a whole lecture! "So basically, you’re saying that it can’t be the Mana plant fertilizer?"

Ava paused, staring at Lane for a moment, before letting out a sigh. "That’s unlikely, yes."

"Then the reason behind the dungeon’s reactivation..."

"I can’t give you a definite answer, but it’s most likely the capsule Fertilizer from CT’s lab."

Lane drummed his fingers on the table. Although Ava insisted that it’s not a definite answer, if she said that it’s the most likely possibility, he was quite confident in her words. But if the reason behind the reactivation was the Fertilizer...

Then that would almost certainly mean that Blanc was involved. Even if not planting the Fertilizer itself, then at least with its unrecorded distribution. Involved or aware and ignoring the issue... The latter seemed less likely, considering his character. There was no way it could have escaped his attention, though, not with his meticulousness and his mind-reading ability.

There was also a possibility of smuggling from abroad. No other organization in the country could develop anything like the Fertilizer (except for ManaTech, but they weren’t currently working on any such projects due to the legal regulations), Lane was certain of it, but it was a different case with the foreign countries. Lane himself had a chance to see a similar substance (in action!) in the country K.

Still, Blanc’s involvement seemed almost certain to Lane. Especially since he had already been suspecting the man of acting on his own behind the scenes.

"Alright," he finally said, ending the topic. "What about my hypnosis resistance?"

"What about it? I’ve already told you how it works... Or, doesn’t work. To be honest, it would be best for you to just shut your mouth and hope nobody asks you about it."

"But if they do?"

Ava shrugged her shoulders. "Then just say that you don’t know why you could resist it so well either. What can they even do to you? It’s not like resisting an ability far more powerful than you is a crime. At most, they might ask their science department to investigate it... But they would never be able to find anything," she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

She clearly didn’t hold the Association’s scientists in high regard. Rather, she even displayed a hint of animosity. It’s not that she had anything against the scientists working for the Association, not anything personal, but... It was known that they weren’t the most competent. And yet, the Association handed them the rights to investigate the most interesting phenomena, such as the Gate reactivation, barring anyone else, including ManaTech, from conducting their own research for a long time. As someone who was deeply passionate about science, it was natural that Ava would find it frustrating. Transferring to the Association would have been pointless, though, since while they had the right to be the first to conduct research, they lacked resources... And eventually, they often passed the rights to ManaTech.

It could also happen with his own case, if he ended up being investigated, but Lane wasn’t worried. ManaTech was where Ava was, and with his bestie around, nothing would happen to him. If his case were to be handed over, Ava would surely take over it to ensure that nothing was leaked.

In the end, he left the lab just as confused and uneasy as he came, if not more. While in some aspects, he felt reassured, in others, his suspicions only grew... And now, he also had Ethan’s odd behavior to worry about.