Danger

Isaac traversed Laplace, a frown present on his face as he reflected on what had happened this morning.

'What was the purpose of that questioning?'

He was no fool — he knew that what had happened was by no means as simple as it seems. Merely taking things like that in the Foundation at face value would surely be a rookie mistake.

But as it stands, he currently doesn't have any other information in his person right now.

'Did they do that to assess me so I can finally be placed somewhere...?' He mumbled, his gaze afar.

As he walked, however, he suddenly noticed someone not far away. 'Oh? That's...'

Seeing that familiar figure, Isaac lingered for a bit before approaching, an amicable expression present on his face.

"Nice meeting you here today, Regulus."

Hearing his voice, Regulus, who was talking with Mr. APPLe just a moment ago, quickly turned to him. "Ah? Isaac, it's you! What are you doing here?"

"Just some matters involving some... to be honest, I don't know either." Isaac tried to explain himself but even he didn't know what the heck just happened. "I got called over, got asked questions, then was asked to leave. Weird, huh?"

"What? What are you... Nevermind, I actually know the feeling." Similar to him, Regulus also attempted to figure out what he meant, but ultimately resigned at the thought. "During my stay here, this place has shown me some of the weirdest people."

"We have indeed met some very precarious individuals." Mr. APPLe commented, seemingly also affected by the supposed weirdness.

Isaac quietly nodded before continuing on. "Well, weirdos aside, what about you? Are you up to something today?"

"Ugh, I do." She grimaced. "I've been assigned with this bizarre task which would take me an awfully long time to complete."

"Hm? What is it?" Curious, Isaac inquired further, interested in the matter. "Maybe I can be of some help in some way?"

He wasn't saying he'd contribute in the research itself, but rather be a helper at the sides.

Isaac might have some time on his hands, but lending his hand on an extensive research paper was not on his to-do list.

But since it was Regulus, he was willing to bend that personal rule a bit.

Regulus thought for a moment while humming before replying to his question. "I appreciate it, but I think I have this covered. Still, if I do need your help, can you still lend some hand?"

"Of course, of course." He replied with a candid smile. "Just come find me if you need some assistance in your endeavor. I can be a rather useful consultant too, you know?"

"Alright, I'll remember that. Thanks, mate!" Regulus gave a half-smile. Then, silencing her voice, she continued. "By the way... Do you have some time tonight? I got this meat steak from someone I recently met that's smuggling goods into the Foundation."

"A smuggler? That's brave." Isaac gave a smirk. "Sure. Just come to the suitcase later and I'll cook up something for you — perhaps a beef wellington?"

"Haha, that's fantastic! Tonight's dinner just got better." Hearing him accept, Regulus let out a subdued cheer. "Seriously, you've gotta tell me the secret of your cooking. Everything you whip up turns out so gosh darn well!"

"It just comes with the package." He shrugged off her words. Then, curious, he shifted the topic. "But your dealer... How does one even smuggle things into the Foundation?"

It was weird for something like the Foundation — a highly secured location — could allow such a thing.

"Right? That's what I thought too." Regulus nodded as she nudged her sunglasses. "But then I found out that they have a connection to the top."

"Ah... Connections." Hearing this word, Isaac soon connected the dots and realized how the smuggler did it. "I shouldn't have been surprised."

In the world of politics and men in power, connections were everything. If you stay alone, you'd get chewed up by those who can — and only by relying on others can you save yourself from the trouble of dealing with matters beyond you.

Isaac particularly didn't like this system because he had already seen it too much for one life. He had already grown sick of it, and it might also have been the one that influenced him to stay off politics, now that he thought about it.

"You wanna know something else, though?" Regulus stepped closer to him and whispered in a low voice. "They don't even use arcanum to sneak them in."

"Hm? Why's that?" He raised a brow.

"Apparently, the Foundation had these equipments given by Laplace that traces even the slightest bit of arcanum fluctuation in an area — thereby immediately sending out an alarm." She explained.

Upon hearing this piece of information, Isaac froze. He then looked at her dead in the eye and asked a question. "The tiniest... fluctuation?"

"That's right." Regulus nodded. With a crestfallen expression, she continued. "It's so sophisticated that when I tried to hide something using my arcanum, it immediately got detected and I had to expose my lunch I sneaked into the lab."

As Isaac continued to listen to her story, his brows continued to furrow. "That... I see..."

His mind, however, was preoccupied with another matter involving this. 'Arcanum is detected? But... that's not right.'

If that were true, then...

How was he able to infiltrate Laplace using his fog then?

Even if it was subtle and barely indistinguishable from a normal fog, it still carried with a bit of his arcanum when he used it to travel.

Sensing something wrong, Isaac immediately cut off his conversation with Regulus. "I'm sorry, I just remembered something important. I'll take my leave now."

"Huh? What the— what's with the sudden rush?" Although she asked that, she didn't stop him. Stepping aside, she felt him go. "Well, fine then. Just make sure to stick by our agreement, alright?"

"Will do!" Isaac waved his hand as he briskly walked, aiming to leave Laplace as soon as possible.

As he swiftly walked, he couldn't help but reflect on the conversation between him and Regulus.

A cold sweat ran down his spine. 'I might be in danger... I need to get in contact with Z.'

He trusted his instincts and immediately left Laplace, fearing what he was being watched as he left.

---

Inside Madam Z's office, she was just about to finish reviewing a thick dossier when a sudden fog rippled through the room.

She didn't look up at first — not until she heard the soft but hurried patter of boots against the polished floor and the sharp exhale of someone who had clearly rushed here without rest.

"Miss Z." Isaac called out, voice unusually grave.

She glanced up immediately, her sharp eyes behind her glasses narrowing as she caught the tension in his movements — the way his hand instinctively hovered near his coat, the barely-visible sheen of sweat above his brow, and the tightness in his smile that screamed anything but calm.

"...Something's wrong." She said before he even spoke.

Isaac gave a quick nod, then locked the door behind him. "I need to lay low. Like, really low."

She folded her hands and waited, saying nothing.

Isaac paced the room, speaking fast but trying to mask the unease in his voice. "Regulus mentioned that the Foundation has some sort of... sensor — an equipment that tracks even the faintest trace of arcanum."

"And that made you panic?" Z asked, her gaze sharpening. "Enough to flee here like a cat whose tail just got stepped on?"

"Well, yeah. I mean — I use my fog to get in and out of there. It's subtle, I keep it discreet, I even bind it to mundane currents of mist in the atmosphere, but..." He glanced at her, now visibly distressed beneath his usual nervous façade. "It does carry traces of my arcanum. I've always tuned it to be undetectable, but if what she said is true…"

"They should've noticed you the moment you stepped in." Z finished for him, now standing from her chair.

"Exactly." Isaac froze in place, giving a stiff nod. "But they didn't. No alarms. No pursuit. Nothing."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Which means either the equipment isn't as good as Regulus thinks, someone tampered with the readings, or... I was expected."

He stopped pacing.

"And I don't like what the last one implies."

Z turned away, moving toward a shelf and grabbing a sealed folder — one with no markings. "Then the question isn't how you got in — it's why they let you."

She flipped the folder open, briefly scanned its contents, then shut it again. "Someone from Laplace or even the Foundation itself might be watching you — studying you. And if they've remained quiet, it's because they want to see what you'll do next."

Isaac's lips pressed into a thin line.

She walked over and handed him a paper-wrapped packet. "Don't go back to Laplace for now. Lie low in the peripheral zones. Let your trail cool."

He took the packet, looking at her. "You really think I'm being targeted?"

She nodded. "I think that you were part of a test without realizing it. And someone inside Laplace didn't just detect you — they were watching. All this time."

Isaac exhaled sharply, the humor finally draining from his tone entirely. "…And I was dancing around like a damn court jester."

Z smirked, just barely. "Well, court jesters tend to survive longer than knights in games like this."

"True." He muttered, tucking the packet away inside his coat. Then, forcing a smirk onto his face, he added faux cheer. "Alright then! Lying low, disappearing, acting suspiciously mysterious — my favorite pastimes."

Z rolled her eyes. "Try not to attract more attention while doing it."

"I'll try. No promises." He conjured a wry smile.

And with that, he bid here farewell, vanished into a wisp of fog, and was gone — though this time, Z noticed the fog left behind no trace at all.

Left alone once more, she lingered for a bit before murmuring to herself.

"Is it perhaps... her?"

Only silence answered her question.

* * *

A/N:

I apologize for not uploading yesterday.

I've now come to a conclusion that I can't write a chapter without coffee. This is now the third time I've fallen asleep while writing since I didn't drink one.

Also, I might be an undiagnosed ADHD since drinking coffee makes me calm and helps me write these in contrast to no coffee. Don't know tho.