Three heavy knocks on the door echoed through the office, making Larena flinch. She quickly composed herself, straightening her uniform before standing from her chair.

"Hide," she whispered urgently to Nova and Annelie. Her eyes darted to the large curtains framing the window.

But the children merely smiled. In an instant, Annelie had turned invisible, and Nova merged with the shadows. No sign of them ever being in the room remained.

Larena smoothed her face into a neutral expression. She took a steadying breath before calling out, "Enter."

The door swung open. A tall man stepped inside, ducking slightly under the door frame. His shoulders were broad enough to nearly brush both sides, and his presence filled the room instantly.

"Captain Larena." His voice was deep and eerily calm. "I'm Overseer Morten, sent by His Majesty."

Morten wore a formal black uniform with silver trim, clearly designed to intimidate. A scar ran from his left eye down to his jaw, and his close-cropped dark hair made his pale skin seem almost bloodless. His eyes were the color of steel, reflecting nothing.

"Overseer." Larena bowed, just low enough to show respect without seeming fearful. "Thank you for coming."

Morten's gaze swept the room slowly, lingering on the curtains for a moment before returning to Larena. "I've reviewed your records. Harvesting has stopped completely for over a week." He walked to her desk, trailing his fingers across its polished surface. "I would like to hear why."

Nova watched the man carefully from his spot in the shadows. The overseer's Soul Power was impressive—perhaps around sixty thousand. Stronger than the governor.

'But numbers can be deceiving. I'm confident this man could take on five men like the governor at once…'

"There was an incident," Larena replied carefully. She remained standing, keeping her distance from the imposing man. "I ordered a temporary halt after an assassination inside the facility."

"Yes, I've heard of this assassination. And somehow, no trace of any perpetrator was ever found?" Morten raised a single eyebrow. "Very convenient."

Larena's expression hardened. "I don't see how that could be considered convenient. And shortly after, we had another reason to expand the delay. There was an explosion."

"Ah." Morten's lips curved into what might generously be called a smile, though it never reached his eyes. "The mysterious explosion. And suddenly four children are dead, while only two left any corpses."

"We searched the waters far past losing hope…" Larena couldn't hide the emotion in her voice. She caught herself, but it was too late. "I can only conclude that one of the children completed their soul, and had more power than they could handle."

"That's your conclusion?" Morten's eyebrow arched with theatrical precision. "When an assassin had broken in just days before, you assume this happened by the miniscule chance that a child was talented enough to cause an explosion of that magnitude?" He circled to the side of her desk, leaning into her personal space.

But Larena kept her composure. "...The assassination was cold, calculated, precise, almost like a masterwork. This was sloppy, and the motivation seemed to be the complete opposite."

"Oh? And what would you say the motivation was for the assassination?" He tapped a single finger on the desk, intentionally showing his impatience.

"I can only assume someone dislikes what's happening in this place, and decided to take action." Larena's gaze flickered momentarily to a drawer in her desk—almost imperceptible, but Nova caught it. "A child had just been killed when it happened."

"Hmm, someone dislikes what's happening in this place, you say?" Morten's voice dropped to a grim whisper as he pulled out a letter from his coat. The parchment caught the light, showing the golden letters spelling out Larena's name.

Nova saw recognition flash in Larena's eyes, followed immediately by fury. 'Shit. This might turn into a fight right here.'

"You had no right!" A flush of anger spread across her cheeks as her fists clenched at her sides. "That's my letter, and this is my office!"

"I am here on behalf of the king, dear captain." Morten tapped the royal seal on his breast pocket. "I can do whatever I want. And, conveniently, you were gone this afternoon for some inexplicable reason."

Larena remained silent, caught between rage and nervousness. Her shoulders tensed visibly as sweat beaded along her hairline.

"You know as well as I do what this letter contains." Morten tapped the edge of the letter against his palm with rhythmic precision. "So, would it be strange for me to assume that your presence here is a threat to the harvesting system? Maybe your patience was running thin. Maybe the cup finally ran over once you saw that dead child? You seemed quite emotional when speaking of the drowned child earlier."

Larena took a deep breath. The sound cut through the room's tension. "Let's stop with these baseless accusations. I am ready to continue the harvesting tomorrow if that is your wish."

From the shadows, Nova noticed the subtle quiver in her voice. A mask of her past self had slid into place. One from a time before she met him, powerless and anxious.

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'Masterful acting. But how could it not be, when she's acting like the self she used to be just recently?'

"The harvesting will continue tomorrow, with or without your say-so." Morten ran a finger along the edge of her desk, casually displaying his dominance of the conversation. "I've already spoken to Governor Newark, and while he seemed weirdly hesitant, the man agreed that your request for one month with no harvesting was excessive."

"Then... Are we done here?" Larena's voice came out flat, defeated.

"Why did you call me here?" Morten folded his arms, casting a longer shadow across the room.

Larena's composure cracked. The woman's face contorted with emotion as tears fought to trickle out of her eyes. "Because I had a tiny bit of hope that someone other than me might pity these poor children. That someone might see my side of things..."

"Should I take that as an admission?"

"Oh, I wish I had the bravery of that assassin. Or the ruthlessness." Larena's gaze drifted to the window, toward the distant sound of children playing. "But instead I'm behind this desk, dreaming that I might have a chance to make a change one day."

The bitter resignation in her tone made Nova's chest tighten uncomfortably. Her words felt like a deep and genuine 'thank you' directed at him for letting her have this chance.

Morten's eyes narrowed to calculating slits as he studied her face. "Hmm… I believe you. You don't have that strength. And you don't have the power to make that change." The investigator put the letter on the desk before walking toward the door. His shadow stretched and receded with each measured step. "Find yourself a different job, Captain Larena. You're not fit for this one."

Larena's jaw tightened, but she nodded. "I understand."

Nova observed how her knuckles whitened against the dark wood of her desk.

"Excellent." Morten opened the door. The hinges creaked ominously in the silence. "I'll be staying near the governor's mansion, supervising personally. If you're still here, you can hand me the new souls personally at the same time tomorrow. Good night, Captain."

Larena didn't reply, only clutching her fists under the desk and staring straight ahead. She didn't move before the door closed with a final, damning click.

From his hiding place, Nova observed the single tear that finally escaped down her cheek, glistening in the fading light.

'What extraordinary luck was it that led you to be my first ally?' Nova thought, stilling his beating heart.

The room was silent as Morten's steps disappeared down the corridor. Then, a formation appeared out of thin air, covering the room in a thin layer of shimmering essence. The protection spell cast prismatic reflections across the wooden floor, sealing them from prying ears.

Nova let himself appear from the shadows, staring at Larena with a soft expression. "That was excellent, Larena. You played that perfectly."

Larena wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, blinking rapidly. "Thanks. It wasn't very hard to imagine how I should act. I just had to pretend like you never appeared..."

"You're not that powerless woman anymore. You're fighting." Nova's voice softened as he approached the desk.

"Yeah... I know."

Annelie appeared in the setting sunlight, showing her skin shift and ripple like water before turning back to normal. "That man was a lot more fearsome than I expected. He has gotten to where he is through merit."

"Without a doubt." Nova nodded in agreement, looking at the door. "I could defeat him, but it wouldn't be as easy as I thought."

"...What now, then?" Annelie leaned against the windowsill, casting a long shadow across the room. "Do we prepare for sending the children out of here as Larena brings them in? Can we keep them all in Quinn's shop?"

"Well, he might complain if there are too many. Perhaps hiring a hotel room would be better."

'Besides, I'd like to give him and Millie some space.'

"There was an inn near his shop, right?" Larena rose from her chair, rolling tension from her shoulders.

"Yeah. But these are children who might not even know how to talk." Nova frowned, rubbing his thumb across his fingertips in thought. "We would need a caretaker as well. A good one."

"I'll do it," Annelie said simply. "Or I can find someone else to do it, depending on the situation."

"...We would need to find people for that job soon either way. We can't take care of two thousand children alone, far from it. Can I count on you to find people for the job?"

"I'll get it done. But I'll need capital."

"You can have plenty of souls, but you'll have to figure out how to get them traded for gold somewhere else."

"Oh, I'll just waltz right in and tell them I need a few unidentifiable human souls traded for gold. What's the worst that can happen?" She smiled so genuinely, Nova couldn't tell if she was messing with him.

"...Did I tell you about that?" Nova tilted his head, confused.

"Who knows? Anyways, let's get started with the formation." Annelie moved toward the center of the room, looking eager to watch a teleportation formation be made.

"Right... Under the carpet is probably the best spot to put it." Nova knelt down and rolled back the thick woven rug, making dust dance in the sunlight.

'I'll set the coordinates to Quinn's shop. Then I can set up a receiving formation as well, saving a lot of essence. But I'll include a receiving side here as well. Plus a simple signaling system, so Larena can tell us when the coast is clear.'

His fingers traced arcane patterns with practiced precision while he thought. The wooden floor was painted in intricate runes slowly drifting along with his movements. Then it locked in place, pulsing once before dimming to normal.

[You have learned the skill: Tuck's Teleportation Formation (Master - 15%) {Grade 7}]

[A formation made to teleport people standing on it when activated. Only works over shorter distances. Efficiency can be improved by replicating the formation at the destination.]

Nova couldn't help but laugh when he saw the name of the skill. 'Hah, you bastard! Using my runes to make your own formations and naming them after yourself, huh? I'm surprised you managed to figure out how to make this version, though, so I guess some credit is due after all.'

"Why are you laughing?" Annelie asked, tilting her head.

"Oh, just an acquaintance of mine being up to mischief. But this should do for now." Nova stood and brushed dust from his knees. "Do you have a soul stone I can use to transfer some souls to you, Larena?"

"Of course. Here." Larena reached into a desk drawer and withdrew a rugged rock that pulsed with subtle energy. Far from the quality the church had been using, but more than enough for their purposes.

Nova placed his hand on the stone. The transfer created brief flashes of ethereal light as he moved a few dozen suitable souls—weak, human souls with names that no one would recognize.

"There you go. That should cover a few months of harvesting, in case you get desperate." Nova drew back his hand as the last soul settled into the stone.

"Thank you, Nova. For everything." Larena's voice carried genuine warmth.

Nova smiled, holding up a hand and gesturing for her to stop. "It was a lucky encounter for us both. I couldn't have asked for a better ally, especially not so close by."

"Well, one of us met a kind Captain, and one met a reincarnated master of everything with a fierce sense of justice." Larena's eyes crinkled with amusement as she returned the soul stone to her desk. "I'd say I was the luckiest."

Nova laughed, forced to admit she had a point. The sound helped dispel some of the room's lingering tension. "Fine, fine. If neither of you has anything else on your mind, I think we're done here. I'll go have a meeting with Newark before heading back."

'I wonder what he might have to say about all this… And whether he was planning to rip our agreement apart.'

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