I did not know how much time passed, but I eventually got up.
Standing next to what remained of the so-called "remnant" Graham had become, I looked down at him in pity.
"Just what did you get yourself into… my friend."
With those final parting words, I turned around and headed toward the door of light.
Though I had gained some information from the blue-haired man, it was far from enough. I was still very much clueless about all of this…
I have to know more.
Whatever road Graham walked, I will follow.
Until I find out the whole truth about Graham, I will not stop.
I must not stop.
'What you left me, both a curse and a blessing. I will take it with open arms.'
Stepping through the light, I entered back into the physical world.
Bram was still guarding the front door.
The blue-haired man was using a cloth to wipe his hands.
The scattered corpse of Graham still covered the room.
"Hah. Sir, what must I do to join you all?"
Taken by surprise, the blue-haired man turned to look at me, wearing a puzzled expression.
"What?"
"I said what must I do to become like you."
I stared at him, my gaze filled with determination.
"You can't. As I said, you are not spiritually—"
"Ah, let me rephrase that. What must I do to join Bram and the rest to deal with these supernatural phenomenon."
At this point, I already knew that whatever this 'spiritually inclined' was linked to him being able to use supernatural powers. But Bram and the other three clearly didn't possess any of those powers, reliant on using charms and special bullets.
Hence, they must be a separate group working for the blue-haired man. One that does not require special powers to be a part of.
'Even if I am not directly able to learn all the secrets from the blue-haired man, just joining Bram's group will be enough for me to uncover bits and pieces here and there to piece the truth together.'
Hearing my request, the blue-haired man thought for a while.
"If that is the case, then sure, I can hire you along with them. However, it is up to Bram and the rest to decide if they want you to be a part of their group."
At his words, my eyes lit up.
This was it—my chance to get further involved.
I quickly turned towards Bram, who was now standing next to us.
"Well, the kid ain't half bad. I heard from Victor that he played a big part in killing one of the wraith. But still, I will have to ask the others for their opinion before accepting."
The blue-haired man nodded in acknowledgement before speaking to me once again.
"In that case, we will settle the matter once we reach my office. Besides that, I also have something very important to discuss with Amon in private."
After that, we went out of the house, taking another horse carriage to the office.
During the trip, I constantly told them about all my skills like I was at an interview. Talking about my skills as a psychiatrist and how I used to be very athletic during my school days, I talked so much that the blue-haired man looked like he wanted to throw me out of the carriage.
Before long, we reached what looked like a small two-apartment-tall building on a random street.
Stepping out of the carriage, I looked up at the two-story-tall building that was slightly run-down but still in better condition than most of the buildings surrounding it.
"Hurry up and go inside."
I followed the blue-haired man in, while Bram used the rusty key to enter back into the mirror world to head back to the Braveheart Bar to ask about me joining them.
Upon entering the building, a female clerk at the desk stood up and greeted us.
"Welcome back Mr. Carrow and?"
"Amon Civik. My name is Amon Civik."
"Ah, I see. Good to make your acquaintance, Mr. Civik."
The clerk had a cheerful expression that seemed to brighten up the room.
'It is good to see that the people working for this snob of a man are not as arrogant as he is…'
I muttered a silent curse in my mind toward him.
"I will be heading to my office along with Amon here. Make sure that no one under any circumstance enters, got it?"
"Yes sir."
She seemed to have a slightly worried expression upon hearing his words, but quickly and politely bowed before heading to another room.
Mr. Carrow and I then headed up to the second floor, walking down a long hallway before reaching a door.
He opened it, revealing a room that had no windows, causing it to be completely dark. Walking in, he reached the desk in the middle and turned on the gas lamp, letting it shine a soft yellow glow that illuminated the room.
'Why does this look more like an interrogation room than an office?'
When he first opened the door, I almost thought I was going to get strung up on a chair and beaten to an inch of my life by him.
Who the hell wants to work in such a dark environment? Furthermore, what a waste of money—needing to power the gas lamp every time he is in here. Has he never heard of the term natural light?
I criticized his bizarre choice of lighting inside my mind, but this just proved that the organization backing him was a very powerful one.
Not just from the superpower aspect, but from the financial side alone, as this guy was able to waste so much money every day.
I took a seat on the chair in front of his desk, feeling slightly nervous as he started to tidy the files on his table.
The silence that hung in the air was thick.
'How long is this guy going to keep me waiting?'
At this point, I felt that he was doing this on purpose—making me wait when he was the one who said he wanted to speak to me.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally sat down and looked straight at me.
"You said you were a psychiatrist, right? Then can you tell me what I am thinking right now?"
'What?'
"Ahem. Yes, I am a psychiatrist, not a mind reader."
Emphasizing the end of my sentence, my displeasure at him was clearly shown.
Now I was sure he was messing with me. Who in their right mind would lump a mind reader and a freaking psychiatrist together? Maybe he is too used to his super-secret-special powers that he forgot normal people like us still exist.
"Well, I thought so."
'THIS GUY!'
I felt my blood boiling from rage as he leaned back in his chair.
"Anyways, I wanted to talk to you because I need you to make an oath."
"What do you mean?"
"Since you now know a little about my world, I need to make sure you never speak of it to anyone."
'What? How is that going to work? It's not like if I swear to him and break it, he will know.'
"One of my powers, when witnessing an oath, allows me to enforce it, informing me if the person has broken it and even bringing down punishment on the person."
"…"
'Of course he does…'
"So I need you to swear in front of me that you will speak anything about the road of enlightenment or visionaries to anyone who already does not know about it."
Hearing him say that, a question couldn't help but cross my mind.
'Why phrase it so weirdly? Wouldn't it be better if he just made me swear that I will never speak of it again? Why set a condition?'
I thought more about it and came up with some conclusions. Maybe his abilities had a limit, like he couldn't just completely make me never talk about it ever again, so he made me swear that I will never talk about it to people who do not already know about it.
This way the pressure on his ability wouldn't be as great, and it also would be the most efficient, as I don't know any other people like him.
Anyway, it wasn't like I had any intention to tell anyone else, so this oath meant nothing significant to me.
"I swear that I will never speak anything about the road of enlightenment or visionaries to anyone who already does not know about it."
At that moment, golden light swirled around me, forming an illusory chain that wrapped around my body, coming from Mr. Carrow's hand.
I felt the chain slowly melt into me, disappearing before my eyes.
"I do hope that you are not foolish enough to break the oath."
That line was both a warning and a threat, as I could feel it—the power of the chain inside me that could constrict at any moment.
'Maybe I should not have taken this so lightly…'
Feeling some final regrets, I breathed a small sigh as I leaned back into the chair I was on. But this was now proof that I had stepped into the world of the supernatural.
And I will surely find out whatever secret he is hiding.