"There's news from Helene. Her ship has arrived at Eldoran port," he said happily, then continued reading the telegram.
"Ah… it'll take about a month for them to get here. She says their ship was damaged, so they need to deal with that first."
As Mes spoke, Arsh watched him curiously. He had no idea who Helene was. He had never heard that name before.
"Who is Helene?" he asked.
"Oh... right, we never mentioned her to you. Helene is the Professor's sister. She's a bit of an adventurer. She's been out at sea for a while. It's been over a year since she left, and we haven't heard from her in a long time... I need to let the Professor know," he said, heading toward the stairs with the telegram in hand.
Arsh put down the book he was reading and followed Mes.
"Wait for me. I have something I need to talk to the Professor about, too."
Together, they walked through the forest toward the glasshouse. Mes was still excited about the news of Helene's return. He kept talking about her non-stop until suddenly, a silhouette appeared in front of them.
Startled, Arsh and Mes stumbled into each other, barely avoiding a fall.
"What did you say? Helene is finally coming back?"
"Walter… don't do that! I've told you a million times. Just don't do that," Mes snapped, trying to catch his breath.
"Tell me. Did I hear you right?"
"Yes, you heard right. She'll be here in about a month."
"I miss Helene. She's the only one who's actually fun to be around… I had high hopes for Arsh, but he's boring too, just like… ugh… well, never mind."
"She's older than you. Stop acting like she's your peer—show some respect."
Walter disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, leaving only his voice behind.
"I'm older than you, too! Show me some respect as well!"
"Ah, whatever. Let's go, Arsh."
As they continued walking, Arsh asked,
"What is the Professor's sister like?"
"Hmm… I think the best words to describe her would be eccentric and unconventional. Actually, everything that's the opposite of the Professor could be used to describe Miss Helene. This is her third time setting out to sea. Even though the Professor was against it, she didn't listen to him."
"Why does she go out to sea? Does she just love traveling?"
Mes turned to Arsh, looking hesitant, as if unsure whether he should say more.
"You'll find out the rest after you join the FFSD," he said with a mischievous smile
"Actually, I'm coming with you now to tell Professor Reiner my decision."
"Really? You're going to join?" he asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.
Arsh smiled and nodded.
"You'll find out in a moment."
...
When Professor Reiner received the news of his sister's return Arsh saw a sense of relief on his face.
"I'm glad she's safe," he said, taking the telegram from Mes's hand. After reading what was written with a serious expression, he folded the paper and put it into his pocket.
"Arsh, what brings you here? Do you have something to say?"
"Yes, there's something I wanted to tell you as well... I've thought about it, and I want to join the FFSD. But I have a request."
"Tell me."
"Would you help me find other siunis that could make me physically stronger?"
Professor Reiner looked as if he had been expecting that all along. It didn't surprise him at all. Arsh had worried that the Professor might think he was greedy for power and reject his request—but it didn't turn out that way.
"Then it's time to provide you with new siunis," Reiner said briefly.
"Isn't there any danger? Not every siuni is compatible, right?"
"You're right. But aside from Mes, most people here have certain basic siunis—those that enhance strength, speed, and endurance. They form a continuous bond with both the soul and the body without exhausting the user."
This was news to Arsh. Neither Juan nor the others had ever mentioned it. If he wanted to grow stronger, having at least the same level of durability and endurance as the others would be essential.
"Don't worry. Once the official procedures are completed, you'll have access to more information."
"When will we do it?"
"I have to head out for work shortly. I'll propably be back after dinner. Come to my study then," Professor Reiner said.
...+++
Once Arsh finished his meal, he headed to the library with Mes. When they arrived, the library was empty. But unlike usual, the door to Professor Reiner's study was open. Bera sitting inside with the Professor.
When the Professor saw them at the door, he told them to come in.
It was Arsh's first time entering this room since he arrived. The room was filled with various plants, jars containing strange liquids and objects, scattered papers, and many other things. Yet nothing was dusty or dirty.
Professor Reiner noticed Arsh looking at the clutter around him.
"Forgive the mess. I have a rather peculiar sense of order. When everything is neatly arranged in its place, I lose my motivation to work."
It was an interesting way to stay motivated Arsh thought.
When Professor Reiner opened a book, Arsh saw that there were illustrations of various siunis. After turning a few pages, Reiner stopped at a particular one.
The siuni consisted of three parallel lines. The middle line was straight, while the ones on the sides were wavy. Beside them were several small symbols. After looking at them for a moment, Arsh thought they belonged to an ancient language he didn't recognize.
"These are different from ordinary siunis. As you can see, there are inscriptions here. We don't know which civilization they belong to or where they came from. It's a dead language. However, these types of siunis are among the least dangerous. When we imprint a siuni on someone, we usually start with these. That way, it's easier to see whether their body can handle it. In the worst case, they're either ineffective or their effects are negligible."
"Then why doesn't Mes have them?"
"My soul–body connection has already been severely damaged. Because of that, it's impossible for me."
Professor Reiner nodded, confirming what Mes had said. "Organizations that experiment with siunis likely have no knowledge of these. These records were passed down through Bera's family," he added.
"My family didn't have much information about the origins of the records, either. Although they tried to pass them down through the generations, some parts were lost over time… These symbols, as the Professor said, are different from siunis. In the records, they are called siuti… I'll leave the rest to you," Bera said to Mes, leaning back in his chair.
"Most of the book is written in a language we don't know. But Bera's family seems to have partial translations of certain sections. I'm trying to decipher the text based on those," Mes explained, taking the book from Professor Reiner. He opened it to a page written in Symraniese—though it was clearly an archaic version. Even with his knowledge of the language, Arsh didn't recognize many of the terms.
"'This was something that should never have happened in the first place. An ancient mistake. But the mistake was made once. Now, is it to be corrected—or exploited to gain more power?'... What does this mean?" Arsh asked, reading the translation on the open page.
"My grandfather always used to say that... We are the inheritors of an ancient mistake," Bera said.
"Siunis are divine symbols. But these—these siutis—seem to be man-made. Do you remember? The meaning of 'siuni' is the touch of God. 'Siuti' means something like the touch of man. The 'mistake' mentioned in the text likely refers to the moment humans reached out to seize what was never meant for them... The theft of the divine. Will these be destroyed, or used to obtain even greater power? We're not sure. But that's what it seems like to me. Maybe one day, if I fully decipher the language, I'll understand more," Mes said.
"Anyway, we'll talk about this again later. Before giving you these siuti, Arsh, take a look at this," Reiner said, standing up and opening a drawer in one of the desks. The notebook he took out was familiar—it was Will's notebook, which Arsh had handed over when he first arrived.
"I examined this notebook. There are records of several siunis. Some of them are similar to the siunis you showed us before," he continued while flipping through the pages.
"Yes, here it is… This is your siuni, isn't it? If that's the case, a siuni similar to Tedor would be compatible with yours. It carries the fundamental characteristics of Earth-type siunis," he said, turning the notebook toward Arsh.
The moment Arsh saw the symbol in the notebook, he felt something was wrong.
The siuni Professor Reiner was showing was not his siuni.