A Small Discussion

"We are glad that you've told us about what was going on with that place. That kid must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed to go on a mission that big alone. And speaking of which, do you have more information about it?" asked Z.

I took in a deep breath as I closed my eyes to find the conversation I had with Bryan about Vernice's letter. For some reason, Vania was faster in her processing speed when I needed to get information. Not that she was slow before, but now it was much smoother.

"From what Bryan had told me, the Duchess had called for Bryan's help as part of the Five Kings organization. I feel that she doesn't know Bryan had already joined the Arks. Duchess Midford stated that she couldn't call the Arks because she can't confirm a Mage is part of it."

"But it's something she can't overlook anymore. She was worried that activating personnel based on a hunch would be troublesome and cause unwanted distress. In the letter, the Duchess described two incidents occurring at the same time."

"One was about the missing children's incident. From the time she was a young child, Briton always had a problem with young kids being orphaned by their parents. The place has the lowest income and living conditions out of the 27 districts in Briton."

"Thus, the place had been overrun with orphans, and the local folk was quite pissed with them. I do not have a clear reason why but I have my opinions," I explained as the three of us sat on the picnic mat to discuss the unknown mission.

"Don't worry, and your opinion isn't too far from the truth. However, it is unfortunate that we can't do anything about the current condition. Ysabeau has tried to help out, but it's too much to handle. Especially when the people there saw children as an extra mouth to feed," noted Z.

"That's horrifying to hear. I have seen a few pictures of the conditions in the area, and all I can say is that it's horrendous. The houses look like they're falling over any moment, and so many pests were running around that I thought that place was a set on a film."

"All of the missing kids' reports were by the Duchess herself when she was making rounds in that area after fighting in the Umbra incident. The folks there don't seem too fazed about the kids going missing. Hell, in the letters, the adults were more than delighted that they were gone."

"One more thing about the kids going missing, the Duchess went around to gather more information, and it would seem that the kids weren't taken in a lump sum or all together. It was like the orphans were being snuffed out slowly by someone."

"With Vania's help, I could dive deeper into the area's history and incidents. And a recorded conversation within the old archives had surfaced in my vision, but I can't decipher it. So I would require your help, Z," I asked, looking at the Galaxian Mage.

"Oh? Is it a code or something? Because I can't decipher other languages, you'd need to ask the Mage of the Word Element. The Headmaster knows each language of the Universe. But I'll try my best to help you," offered Z, giving a thumbs up.

"It's not the language of the conversation being held, and it's the file itself. It's corrupted, and some parts of the audio have been redacted, or it pauses at specific timings and goes on after skipping some words. I think if we can fix the audio, then we could find out what were they talking about."

"Because it's a conversation with someone and the Duchess Midford. Ah! Another thing that Bryan had explained to me was the appearance of a guy called 'Fabian Brookes.' From what I've understood, this guy is a philanthropist, which is a person who cares for other people's welfare."

"Most of the time, these philanthropists are packed with money to fund these whimsical dreams of theirs. And I'm guessing that Mr. Brookes has an interest in the forgotten kids in the lowest district of Briton. I'd say he's got quite a bit of money since that guy bought a huge plot of land."

"Uhm, might it be a plot of land on top of the hill at the far end of Briton?" asked Z, suddenly chiming into my explanation.

"It might be since that seemed to fit what Bryan had told me. So this Mr. Brookes guy must not only be rich to buy the largest plot of land within the Briton Domain, but enough so that he could get a large team to help with the construction of the building."