Mystery on Calve Road

"…Huh?" Cairo silently spoke out, as he noticed something strange on Calve Road, that was usually quiet around this time of day.

After he had decided to head home, he was surprised to see a group of professionals, wearing the all-black uniform of a security force, surrounding the apartment in which he lived.

They wore white shirts, trenchcoats and fedoras, quite similar to the uniform of the Silverstar Watchdogs and other security forces, but they also had the insignia of a whirlwind pinned on. They also seemed to be currently deep in conversation with the landlord in front of the apartment, alongside a few of the other tenants.

"Wait… did something happen while I was gone?" Cairo asked himself, momentarily forgetting what had occurred when he first left through the apartment door.

He eventually remembered what happened a few moments later, and could tell that the landlord seemed frightened, petrified even.

Cairo suddenly felt a chill down his back, as he realised that the officers could potentially link him to this, and he could find himself in a mess he would certainly not like to involve himself in.

"Damn… at that moment, I was too worried about the fact that I would be spotted with the unconscious landlord and taken to jail or something…now, it seems things have spiralled out of control..."

Hesitantly, Cairo inconspicuously moved towards them and heard some of their conversation.

"…So, what we've gathered, is that you fainted outside the corridor of the apartment which you own, correct? And then, when one of the tenants spotted you, he noticed traces of an Evil Spirit?"

The landlord nodded, and the officer who questioned him wrote this down in a notebook.

"…Alright. For now, the investigation is over. We'll send a priest over here to cleanse the surroundings, so, just stick tight and wait for a bit."

The landlord and the tenants nodded, and the officers gestured towards them, saying,

"May the Sentimental Tide give all Their blessings."

"Praise be to the Holiest!" Some of the tenants responded, which was uttered to honour the name of the Deity.

The small sentence that was said by the officers could be recognised anywhere in the nation. It was a small segment of the national prayer of the Patron God, the Deity of Emotions and Ego, also named, the Sentimental Tide.

The Nation of Spiritsoul's roots could be derived from that Deity, as the Sentimental Tide was once also called the Deity of the Soul, and was said to have been the first Deity to watch over humans. Alongside the two Guardian Gods, the Sentimental Tide was held in the highest of regards by the entire country.

Alongside the Guardian God, the Deity of War, They were also the benefactors of the first emperor of the Lóng Empire, beginning a dynasty that had endured for three hundred years.

Cairo, shuffling himself away from suspicion, watched the officers walk past by, and noticed something odd about them, more specifically, their moods. However, he dismissed it and moved towards the apartment. Meanwhile…

"…Senior officer, don't you think it's odd? There have been an increasing number of Evil Spirits within this region of the country, and things have gotten dire, to the point where all of the security forces are regularly being assigned obscure missions…" An officer muttered, walking with the two others.

"I agree," The other officer walking replied, "Soon enough, there'll be enough Evil Spirits for a Sinful to appear. That's when things will get bad since it is widely known that, in this nation, the appearance of any evil comparable to a Sinful in the Five Regions is the sign of disaster incoming…"

"…I know. Even the high constable's worried. We'll have to do something about it, soon enough. But, the problem is, how are we going to get rid of them all, if we cannot find the source?" The senior officer asked, before sighing.

But, besides that, the senior officer also noticed that there was quite a huge concern with the apartment because the traces that could be seen within the corridors suggested that the Evil Spirit was somehow vanquished.

However, something like that was impossible, unless a Runebearer, or someone comparable to one, or, perhaps even someone with a White-Gold Weapon, appeared out of nowhere, and just so happened to know where one was going to appear…

"…Ha… then, I'll assign an officer alongside the priest to the area because we need to keep an eye on this place. For now, at least."

***

Now, it was almost a quarter to midnight, and Cairo, who was finally allowed to rest on his mattress, found himself utterly perplexed by how this day went.

"…It seems today was the most fortunate I am ever going to get. Ever. Not only did I manage to become a Runebearer, even though I don't understand my Runes at all, I even managed to fight off an Evil Spirit."

"Haha! If someone told me yesterday that was going to happen to me today, I might've even laughed in their face!" He said, cackling, and he even pinched himself to see if he was dreaming or not, before stopping abruptly and turning his attention to the book.

"…But, I'm not truly sure, but, I think all of that was caused by this book right here. "Primordial Secret". I thought it was just an old storybook, and I even picked it up on the steps of the library."

"But, if not for me finding this book, this opportunity may not have even come from me in the first place. I even managed to hear the voices of the Deities!" Cairo said, lifting his hand in triumph, "Though, I'm not even sure if they were the voices of the Deities in the first place. But, anyway, I won't waste this chance. As soon as I earn enough money to travel to the next closest cathedral or church, I will become an officially recognised Runebearer, and everything will change!"

"And, I must thank Evelyn too. Without her, and the many times she has helped me out, even when I was the most hopeless, I'm sure that book would've been found by somebody else, or even discarded!" Cairo spoke.

"…I wonder, is this Their way of answering my prayers? And, if so, why me? I've also cursed them an equal amount of times, though I said sorry right afterwards."

"…I guess I'll just find out with time," Cairo said, finally settling his thoughts just before he went to sleep, "It feels like, from now on, I won't have a single moment of peace. Well, I guess the only thing I can do to prepare to to just resolve myself to make as much money as possible."

{Indeed, he is quite a candidate. An intriguing one… Then, I shall visit his dreams, and inform him of his circumstances. This is the last time We will visit the human realm for a long time, after all.}

{…Okay. The Authority we carry erases all others who dare to be "disobedient," so let's see if this mortal can appease you.}