Itsuki's gaze lingered on the door long after it closed. Only when the hallway fell completely silent did he tilt his chin up toward the system's HUD floating faintly in the air.
[ System Notice — Foreign Hex Detected with hostile intent. ]
[ System Notice — The True Light's Blessing has intervened and the Attempted Hex has been nullified. ]
His fingers tightened slightly.
It triggered the moment I shook his hand…
He let out a slow breath and shifted himself to the edge of the bed.
They must've tried something while they were here..
The man called Victor must be some sort of mage then...
He shook the thought away and glanced toward the stand. The tightly wrapped band of money sat there like a silent message. He grabbed it and tucked it deep into his pockets before bending to carefully slip on his shoes.
"I still need to pee..."
Right as he muttered that to himself, the door creaked open again.
His friend stepped in—relief clear in his eyes before a tired smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. He crossed the room in a few steps and dropped onto the small bed where Itsuki sat, then fell backward with a dramatic sigh.
"How much longer are you going to keep knocking on death's door with your irresponsible decisions, you idiot…?"
Itsuki let out a low chuckle. "As long as death keeps the door locked, I guess."
"That's not even funny," his friend muttered, sitting back up with a small frown.
"I know. I'm sorry."
Even sitting, he was still slightly taller than Itsuki. With that familiar, effortless gentleness, he raised a hand and ruffled Itsuki's hair—soft, slow and grounding.
"I know," he murmured, a faint smile settling on his face again.
For the first time since Victor and Captain Léon left, Itsuki felt his shoulders finally loosen—even if just a little.
He does this pretty often whenever he gets the chance, even with Dupont back in the warehouse.
Perhaps it's a thing for him…?
With how Adrien looks, I'd honestly be surprised if he didn't try to swat his hand away sometimes.
After a few moments, Adrien's friend lowered his hand and glanced toward the door with a curious look.
"Say… I saw some men walking out while I climbed the stairs. They came from here?"
"Yes," Itsuki nodded. "They said they were from the Obsidian Tongue."
He tried his best to pronounce the name correctly. Victor had spoken with so much confidence that Itsuki assumed most people already knew what the Obsidian Tongue was—if not everyone.
"I see." His friend shifted, he's interest clearly sharpening slightly. "I'm guessing they offered you something?"
Itsuki's eyes widened a little.
He wasn't expecting the realisation and question to come from him that quickly.
"Yes, they did… They also gave me documents to sign and told me to keep what I saw in the rift to myself. They didn't say this part out loud, but the documents made it clear that if I talked to anyone, I could be tried in court."
Adrien's friend frowned, his brows subtly furrowing as if Itsuki had said something strange.
"…You can read?"
Crap.
"Uh— not really," Itsuki replied quickly. "But I managed to pick an obvious word or two from it."
The slightly awkward smile tugging at his lips almost sold him out—but only almost.
"I see…" His friend exhaled through his nose and leaned back down onto the bed. "Well, just do as they say. Best to not get yourself involved with guild quarrels."
So it's a guild...
Judging by how calm and confident they looked—and maybe because of the system—I could feel the weight and presence the power they both carried.
But why try to place an hex on me?...
I really can't afford to step on any toes tied to them then..
At least not yet.
"Where's Dupont?"
"She went to find some other site to work at. She wanted to stay with you, but once I reminded her about how her sister's waiting for upkeep back home, she snapped right back to work mode."
Just her sister?
"Right…"
Silence settled between them again, soft but srangely comfortable. Now that Itsuki understood Adrien's friend a little better, silence with him didn't feel heavy anymore. Maybe it was the memory fragment—or maybe he was just getting used to him.
I still really need to pee...
"Say, Adrien… When do you plan on getting your limit checked again?"
"Maybe sometime next week, I suppose."
"I see." His friend nodded slowly. "Guess that means you'll be going through the T3 right around when the riot starts."
T3?
The riot?
Is that something Adrien is already supposed to know…?
"Remind me again what riot you're talking about," Itsuki asked, doing his best to sound casual.
He wasn't sure if this was something Adrien had already heard before, but he had gradually came to realise there was nothing wrong with asking questions about particular things he had no idea about—since the odds of his friend suddenly assuming something was off was rather low.
Worst-case scenario, he could blame the confusion on getting smashed around by an Abyssal or falling from nearly 30 feet.
"Oh—right." Adrien's friend let out a low sigh. "I don't think I mentioned it to you two yet. It's still early, but me and a few others are planning a city-wide riot around the time the T3 is being held."
He pause for a moment before continuing,
"It just so happens that's also when the Twelve High Seats will be holding their meeting. So if there's anytime to make our voices heard, it'll be then."
Twelve… High Seats?
"I see. That really is quite the coincidence," Itsuki replied, masking his confusion as best he could.
Adrien's friend sat up, hands clasped loosely between his knees, eyes lowered toward the floor.
"It really hurts, you know?" he muttered. "We're treated like scrap by people who get more chances than we ever will. Our air is always poisoned because they build their factories around our homes. Our younger ones can't learn anything 'cause no one tries to give them a chance. Our districts get exposed to countless rifts because they won't give us the same protection they give themselves."
Each sentence grew softer, heavier—carrying less anger and more exhaustion.
Itsuki could see it even more clearly now.
This man—despite his rough exterior, despite the quietness he often liked to instigate—was someone who cared deeply. Someone who loved in a way that wasn't loud, but steady. And now he was planning a riot, not for himself, but for people he'd never even met. Just so life might be a little less cruel for them.
"I know you probably think I shouldn't go forward with the riot—you've always been a stickler for rules after all, but this is something I feel like I have to do."
Is he really worried about Adrien's opinion right now?..
Itsuki let out a soft sigh and gently placed his palm on top of the friend's hair.
"Yes... We're going through all of that and more. So make sure you do your best."
If this world is anything like mine, then starting a riot of any kind won't be accepted by a lot of people—especially not by the ones sitting way up at the top of the food chain.
He must know that.
He definitely knows that.
And yet… he's still willing to push forward.
What a guy.
Itsuki let his hand fall back to his own lap.
To him, there was something ridiculously admirable about someone who could look at a world stacked so unfairly against them and still decide to try pushing back. Someone who knew the consequences, knew the risks, knew exactly who he was challenging—and still didn't back down.
Most people would break long before that.
Most people would just accept it, live with it, keep their heads low and survive. From what the friend had said, it was clear that was how Adrien lived.
But him?
He was planning to shake the whole system...
Itsuki let out a low sigh,
I really need to pee...