Strings [1]

As Isaac and Lilya walked through the halls of SPDM, they inevitably garnered some attention not only from the students but also the faculty members.

Not soon after, a faculty staff approached them, wearing the same gray and white outfit as any other member of the SPDM.

"Lilya? What are you doing here... And who is this?" The man asked, his accent rather prominent, as he looked at the unusual pair.

"Liability." Lilya answered.

"Her assistant." Isaac corrected.

The two of them paused and glanced at each other for a moment. Then, she let out a deep sigh before shifting her gaze back to the faculty staff.

"...he's a partner."

The man grunted. "A partner in what, exactly? I must remind you that you're within SPDM — not Zeno. Whatever kind of activity you're doing should always be notified to the faculty."

"That is true." She nodded calmly. A smirk then quickly followed after. "But you're forgetting one thing... I don't report directly to SPDM. I work for the Foundation."

"Whatever I do, it's under the Foundation's jurisdiction."

Chiming in from the sides, Isaac also added in with an innocent smile plastered on his face. "If you don't believe us, you can ask Madam Z."

Although he said that, in truth, he was just sparingly using her name for this one motive.

Well, he was sure she'd understand.

The man grumbled a few words under his breath for a bit before shaking his head. "...very well. But even so, you two better behave while you're here."

"Will do, sir." Isaac answered in her spread with a humble bow of his head. "We can assure you that this will be quick. Don't worry."

The faculty staff nodded briefly, eyed them for a bit, then left with scrutiny still present in his eyes.

Isaac and Lilya, meanwhile, watched him leave in silence for a bit before the silence was broken by the latter's soft scoff.

"Using Madam Z's name for authorization... does she know?"

He shrugged with a sly smile. "She'll understand."

At his answer, she smirked. "False attribution. That's another law you've broken. Keep that up and you just might collect them all."

"I'm trying... not to?" He chuckled.

That short conversation soon fizzled, and the two of them returned to their investigation.

Lilya led the way with confident strides, her jacket swaying behind her like a cape. Isaac, meanwhile, trailed slightly behind, hands in his coat pockets, keeping a low profile as her supposed "assistant" — a role he didn't mind playing, especially since she clearly relished the act of taking charge.

Their first stop was the west courtyard, where a group of students had gathered under the fading glow of the lamplights. Since it was already late noon, the skies were already getting dark, prompting them to glow faintly.

The group of students were either chatting, scribbling on notebooks, or trading things students trade with each other — cheat sheets, perhaps? Isaac guessed.

Lilya approached them with her arms crossed and a sharp look in her eyes. "You kids seen anyone suspicious lurking around campus lately? Anyone who doesn't belong here?"

The students blinked, suddenly stiff. One of them — a younger boy with oversized glasses — raised a hesitant hand. "Um… there was this guy with really long sleeves yesterday. He was feeding birds."

"Birds." She repeated flatly.

The boy nodded. "Like... a lot of birds."

Lilya exchanged a look with Isaac, who offered a shrug. He then gave his thought. "Could be suspicious."

"Could also be a janitor on break." She sighed. "Next?"

A girl with braids raised her hand next. "There was this one lady near the greenhouse who kept muttering to herself. I think she was casting an arcane spell!"

"Did she look like she worked here?" Isaac asked gently.

"She had gardening gloves." The girl answered after a moment.

Lilya rolled her eyes. "That's the botany professor, you genius."

"But she had weird eyes!" The student insisted.

"She always has those eyes, I think." Isaac whispered helpfully, recounting his garnered info. "They glow when she's watering her plants, from what I know — it's a part of her arcanum"

Hearing this, the student felt enlightened. "Oh."

"Thank you anyway." Lilya said through gritted teeth. "Next."

And so it went.

One student claimed to have seen a shadowy figure climbing a tree, which turned out to be a cat with a scarf — why did a cat even have a scarf? Isaac took note of it regardless.

Another said they saw a man with silver hair walking through the halls at night — Isaac pointed out it was likely one of the professors doing late-night inspections.

Another claimed they overheard a conversation about "plans being set into motion" only to reveal it was two upperclassmen discussing a prank involving enchanted glue.

By the time they reached the eastern wing, Lilya was rubbing her temples, her patience thinning.

"This is going nowhere." She muttered under her breath in Russian. "I swear these kids are either too imaginative or dramatic."

"Both." Isaac offered helpfully. "At least they're consistent."

Lilya huffed, then looked around. They were standing near the open corridor beside the main library, the setting sun's rays casting patterns across the floor through the tall glass windows.

"I hate legwork." She muttered.

"You like flying." He raised a brow.

"That's different. Flying is my job. This..." She gestured broadly at the school. "...this is chasing ghosts in a circus."

Isaac chuckled, slipping his hands into his pockets again. "Even so, we've accounted for every random lead these students could cough up. That's progress."

Lilya gave him a sidelong glance. "You really are trying to be helpful, aren't you?"

"I'm a great assistant. I even nod supportively." He nodded supportively.

She snorted and looked away, hiding the amusement behind a dry scoff. "Let's check the dorm hallway next. Just a few more stops, then I'm going to bed."

"You mean 'we' are going to bed? Your poor assistant needs to rest too, you know?" He sighed.

She glanced at him for a moment. "Why did you word it like that? You're going back to whatever corner you're squatting at in your suitcase. I'm going to my bed."

He shrugged. "Touché."

As the two continued down the quiet corridor, the arriving nightfall air outside began to chill.

Isaac had a brief thought — they hadn't found anything solid yet. But something still felt off. Whether it was just the tension in the air or the way the faculty staff kept glancing at the shadows longer than they should have… he couldn't tell.

As they walked, that feeling only grew more as time passed.

"Hey, so..." Intending to ease the somewhat stiff atmosphere, Isaac tried to lighten up the mood but was stopped by Lilya who suddenly halted. "...?"

Lilya didn't turn to him and only raised her hand to stop him in place, as if wanting him to also stay silent.

It was then that Isaac caught on — something was here.

He didn't utter a word and instead activated his arcanum. Soon, a faint grayish-white mist began to spread outwards from his body.

Lilya, meanwhile, held her keychain — ready to call forth her trusted broom, Su-01ве.

The silence permeated for a good while before being broken by a rhythmic sound of footsteps.

- Thud, thud...

The both of them focused their eyes at the end of the hallway and saw a figure turning a corner.

From the way he presented himself, Isaac immediately recognized him as a professor.

The professor who appeared, a man in his late middle age, stopped and glared at them before speaking solemnly.

"You two... What are you doing here at this hour?"

Isaac didn't drop his mist — it continued seeping across the floor like a sentient thing, snaking around walls and curling up staircases. He offered a practiced, calm smile.

"Professor." He greeted, dipping his head politely. "Apologies. My friend and I were just conducting an inquiry. A few reports came up, so we—"

"This area's off-limits after dusk." The professor interrupted sharply. His tone held no room for compromise. "You're not sanctioned to be here. Leave."

Isaac glanced briefly at Lilya, who stood firmly at his side, her fingers ready to tap her keychain.

"We're operating under a pass granted by Madam Z." She added coolly. "Temporary clearance."

The professor's gaze darkened. "Z... She has been too lenient. People like you think you can do whatever you want."

Isaac raised a brow. "'People like us'?"

Lilya's stance subtly shifted, expression narrowing. "You're awfully tense for someone just enforcing a curfew."

"Because this is the part where warnings end." The professor muttered under his breath.

Then, without a second's pause, he reached inside his coat.

Seeing this, Isaac sighed, already predicting what's about to happen.

"Another fight..."