Question Phase

With Cruz and the other bandits being locked away, it was time for Louis to begin his mission at the mansion.

The carriage carried on, up the road, until they entered through a secure gate, where a team of knights identified the passengers. As the ride came to a stop, Louis made his way to the door, where he was greeted by the owner of the mansion himself. Master Antares.

"Good Evening. You must be the newest addition to me security sent from the capitol."

"Yeah, yeah. That's me. I'm Louis."

Master Antares looked at him with the face of concern, "Are..you alright? It would seem your attire is torn from head to toe."

Looking down, Louis realized he never changed clothes. He still had on the ruined suit, beaten up by every encounter yesterday.

"Um. Yeah, I'm just fine. You see, I had a couple rough encounters along the way."

"Oh? Do you perhaps mean those bandits, ruining your carriages?" Antares asked.

Yep. Those were the main reasons for the issues yesterday, but how did the mansion's owner know this. None of the other knights had delivered the reason for being late, yet. It was somewhat questionable, but not an entirely huge thing to pick at.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Louis asked, puzzled.

"Oh, Just had a bit of a hunch." Said Antares.

There it was. The Same excuse Louis always used. It felt weird to him, seeing someone else say it. But, Louis could tell that the excuse was truthful.

"Here. Let us go inside." said Antares, opening the door, invitingly.

Once inside, Louis was greeted by a team of familiar faces. Standing before him were old friends from his time as a knight. Though they weren't Royal Knights, they were each talented in combat.

"Huh?! What are you guys doing here." Louis shouted.

"I could ask you the same thing. Don't tell me you're the special help the king sent." said his old friend, Leo. He was a man with long red hair hanging over one of his yellow eyes.

{Name: Leo Cargiman. Class-S Melee-type. Occupation: Slandian Special Forces.}

"Well, sorry to disappoint you...but yeah, I am." Louis replied.

A girl with green, short hair stepped forward. She was another old friend.

{Name: Diane. Class-S Mage/Assassin-type. Occupation: Slandian Special Forces.}

"Please forgive Leo's rudeness. I'm confident he's happy to see you after your disappearance."

"It's alright. I'll find it in my heart just this once. Of course, if he does it again I'll just have to show him who the better fighter really is." Louis replied, sluggishly.

Leo did not enjoy hearing that, stomping down in frestuation.

"You haven't changed at ALL! You still love to egg people on!"

Louis sighed with a smirk and went on to tease, "Yeah, yeah.. I understand how bad you've missed me. Want me to hold you? While you cry in joy, happy to see my presence once again."

"Hell no! Why the hell would I do that!? But... it's just a little good to see that you're doing fine."

"Hah, I knew ittt. You really did miss me."

"Ugh, Just shut up, MAN!"

Master Antares slid into the group talk as well.

"Now, now. Let's all calm ourselves. He only just got here. Be Polite."

Diane advanced her foot forward, bowing to the new arrival.

"Louis, it is good to see that you're in good health. "

Leo hid his gaze, not making eye contact as he felt forced to welcome the new arrival.

"Louis, I guess your presence here is at least 1% good. For the Master's shield, that is."

"I'm..not sure if that necessarily made me feel welcomed, but I'll take it." said Louis. He looked at another familiar fac.It was a girl with long, pink hair who was trying to stay unnoticed behind a pillar. The third and final old friend here.

{Name: Indigo. Class-S Marksman/Assassin-type. Occupation: Slandian Special Forces.}

"I see you. Don't you want to come say hi? I know for a fact, you miss me." said Louis.

Indigo took a second to stare before she jumped off hiding, tackling Louis to the floor.

Tmp! Thump!

"Woah! I didn't... expect you to be that excited" he mumbled. BUt his rambling was covered by Indigo's tone as she cuddled him.

"I MISSED You!!!!! Where did you go when you left? When you left me alone."

"You make it sound like I abandoned you. Diane and Leo were there to watch over you."

But, when Loui last saw her, she didn't even have a job. But now, here she was, wearing the blue uniform of Slandian Special forces.

"But..you promised to always protect me."

"I know…" Louis, hid his dark expression by looking down.

It was a promise he made after he failed to protect another friend.

Pat! Pat!!

Master Antares stepped over, patting them both on the shoulders.

"Let's have this be the end of the welcomings. I do need to show Louis where he will be staying."

_________

"This here, is your room. I do hope you enjoy the way I put it together for your arrival." said Anatres, shoving Louis through the doorway, into a room.

It was spacious and had a gorgeous bed, a comfy desk and a small couch. Then, there was a large balcony.

'So this is luxury. It's been so long since I've seen anything like it.; Loui thought in excitement.

"Is it to your liking?" Antares asked.

"It's fine. Your the Mansion owner and yet, your treating me like I'm the owner"

"You're the one who will be working hard to keep me safe. It's only right that I show you to your room, personally. Also, I saw that something saddened you when my security team welcomed you. So, I was just curious."

Louis made his way over to the bed, sitting comfortably on it, "Nahhh. I'm fine. I was just a little tired from the trip here. Maybe if I get some rest, I'll be fine by tomorrow."

It was a lie. He just didn't feel like inviting strangers to have insight on his personal life. Especially, because he had a slight hunch he shouldn't.

"In that case, I'll let you be. It is day time, but I suppose I can let you work at night. Take care and do have nice dreams." Master Antares left the space, closing the door behind.

Louis sat quietly, until one of his abilities suddenly activated.

[Question Phase: Active]

"Huh? What could be so important that it decided to activate."

Question Phase- Once it is activated, a timer will tick down from a certain number. During the time, Louis will have the option to think of 3 questions. When he does, they will be answered by either a hint or precise sentence.

[Time Limit: 00:59/01:00]

"Okay. Hmmm. What would be a good question to ask?'

[Answer: Important Upcoming Events]

'Crap! I was just thinking, I didn't mean to use that as a question. Oh well, that slot is wasted. What up coming events will cause danger?'

[Answer: In two weeks, threats will appear to Antares]

'In two days. Okay. What will the threats be?'

[Hint: Something terrible. Don't stay.]

"So it's suggesting to run. I know what to ask. What's a suggested way to deal with the threats?"

[Answer: Relocate or Increase Security.]

[You are out of questions. 'Question Phase' has ended]

A hunch struck Louis's most sensitive gut.

'I need to investigate what the possible threats could be. I should have a sensing barrier created whenever I wake up. There are still 2 weeks left, there's still time to spare.'

This was info he needed to write down in his Journal of Insight. It is where he wrote down information learned from [Question Phase] like having a sight into the future events. Though, it's an obvious fact that acting to change some events can do more bad instead of good. It was always something Louis took caution with.

{Page of Predictions:

Threat to Master Antares- Whatever the thread may be, it's something dangerous enough to consider relocating. I need to figure out what it is.

Current Decided Actions: I will have a security barrier put around the mansion's area. I will be sure to inform the security team about my insight, they're already well familiar with my 'Question Phase' }

Knock..Knock...Knock…

Someone approached his room door.

"Come in." Said Louis.

The door steadily opened and Diane's green-haired figure stepped in and sat by Louis's side.

"I hope I'm not bothering anything important. I just wanted to come talk to you for a bit. It's been 5 long years since I got an opportunity like this."

"I was just doing some thinking. Nothing Important." Louis stated.

But, Diane wasn't a fool. Even if it had been a long time apart, she still knew the way her former teamate's mind worked.

"You know, even if you have an ability to convince others, it doesn't always work. There's situations where someone like me has Manipulation Resistance. You can tell me what you're thinking about."

Louis gave in, "It's just that I learned something vital from my Question Phase. Something really vital. It's nothing, not anything we need to worry about right now."

"If it's really vital like you say it is, then I'm sure I should know right away." Diane explained.

"Listen, I'm feeling a bit tired. I'll tell you when I wake up. Until then, do me a huge favor. Cast the best security bar possible around the mansion. I'll explain later."

"It does seem like a lot to do without knowing anything. But I've always known you to be reliable. I trust that you know what you're saying. I'll go ahead make a barrier as soon as possible."

Diane walked out of the room, wishing Louis a good night before fully leaving.

"Have a good sleep."

"Oh. I have a hunch that I will. I enjoy being lazy. See ya later."

Shut.

As the door closed, Louis yawned and laid back, staring at the ceiling.

He pondered the trail of recent events.

Traveling the way, he was first interrupted by Cruz's bandits. He learned that a guy named Faust tricked them into thinking the carriages had goods, which was a lie.

Then, into the village, he was interrupted by an Ogre. After that, Jack and his bandits were causing chaos in the village. The same Faust guy told them that there would be goods there. Which was also a lie.

'If this Faust person really was trying to prevent me arriving, then he must be tied to what's going to happen in two weeks. I have a hunch that's the case. But, I need more info if I plan to prevent it.'