Eugene walked quietly on the grass, approaching Rin, who had his back turned while training.
With every step, Eugene's heart beat faster. He swallowed hard, and when only a few steps remained, Rin turned his head, sensing Eugene's presence.
For a moment, he thought it was a thief because Eugene moved extremely quietly, unlike his usual behavior.
"A thief?!" Rin leapt back quickly, tension and fear evident in his gaze.
Eugene raised an eyebrow for a moment. "What? A thief… wait, you misunderstood!"
He furrowed his brows and curled his lips into a mischievous smile. "And why are you sneaking up behind me?"
Eugene opened his mouth, wanting to speak. "I can't exactly tell him I'm afraid it might be James… after all, he doesn't know that James could be linked to that strange emblem."
Rin waved his finger, keeping a distance between him and Eugene. Eugene snapped out of his thoughts, staying silent for a moment. Then he gestured toward Rin. "And what makes me sure that you're not a thief?"
Rin raised his eyebrows, opening his mouth in surprise. "Why would I be a thief… what makes you think that?"
"Well, it's impossible for Rin to go out alone at midnight, especially after what happened during that monster attack," Eugene said confidently, as if he and Rin were one person.
Rin felt a mix of disappointment and sadness. He whispered quietly to himself: "Do you really think I'm a coward at this level?"
Rin sighed, their eyes meeting Eugene's. Then he threw himself to the ground, sweat pouring off him.
Huh? Eugene stepped forward, not understanding why Rin had thrown himself down. He stood directly in front of Rin, watching him.
But Eugene flopped down beside Rin, unconcerned.
Rin looked at him and asked, "Weren't you the one who thought I was a thief? Why did you change your mind?"
Eugene remained silent, staring at the starry sky. Their eyes met again.
"I don't know… I just feel like you're not a thief."
He raised one eyebrow before looking back at the sky.
"You're strange, Eugene. Anyway, why are you training at midnight?" Rin asked calmly.
Eugene's tone was quiet. Rin hesitated for a few seconds, then put his hand on the back of his neck.
"Hmmm… simply, why would someone train? Especially if he's a cultivator… one reason: to become stronger."
"And why do you want to become stronger?" Rin's tone mixed curiosity and wonder, calm like a cold breeze.
"Because… I don't want to be 'Moon.'"
"Huh?"
He raised one eyebrow, his jaw slack, eyes showing surprise and mockery. "What do you mean you don't want to be Moon? You mean you don't want to be a girl…?"
Rin felt a pang in his heart from his brother's words, which he considered extremely foolish.
"As far as I know, Moon is a girl's name?"
Rin waved his hand. "Forget what I said. Your mental level is too low to understand my genius, hahaha." He clearly mocked Eugene.
Eugene immediately responded in a sarcastic tone: "Does someone with a fish-level IQ count as a genius?"
Silence fell in the cold night air, with the faint sounds of students in the background.
Eugene suddenly remembered something that occupied his thoughts for a few seconds.
Rin spoke aloud, slightly raised: "Strange… since when have you been this quiet?"
Eugene snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Rin for a few seconds.
"When the village was destroyed…"
Rin felt sadness and pain in his heart at Eugene's mention of the catastrophe.
"And in the period between our transfer to the academy and the village's destruction, I felt deep sorrow… almost depression. But after about ten days, your mood changed. Why?"
Rin delved into memories of the fifteen days between their academy transfer and the village disaster.
They lived in a large, spacious apartment with a big bed, beautiful decor, incense, wide curtains, and some books. The apartment was monitored at all times by dozens of cultivators working for the Justice Organization.
Sadness hung over the atmosphere. For ten days, heavy rain fell under mostly cloudy skies. The weather reflected their grief as they adjusted to their new life.
Eugene sometimes cried silently at midnight, often dreaming of nightmares—his face always frowning, calm as if he had no soul.
Rin was extremely quiet, so still that one could think he had been dead for years. He barely moved, and the dark circles under his eyes grew more prominent day by day.
They did nothing except eat, drink, sleep, and use the bathroom. The days were dull and depressing.
But Eugene, by nature, began to change.
He started learning some cooking, training, watching TV—anything to fill his time. His cheerful nature, which hated boredom, covered up his sadness for more than ten days.
After those ten days, Rin picked up a notebook to occupy his own time.
Eugene noticed that Rin had begun to change since taking the notebook. He started staying up reading and rewriting the notebook multiple times.
A smile began to appear on Rin's face. After repeating this daily, he had rewritten it about five times.
Rin gradually returned to his usual self, reading books, scolding Eugene for his messiness and laziness. Discussions arose between them from time to time.
Eugene flopped onto the bed, looking at Rin, still reading the notebook and smiling, then stared at the ceiling, feeling bored.
Rin closed the notebook and looked at Eugene. "Eugene… why did you change suddenly?"
Eugene looked at him, not understanding, and this reflected in his response:
"What do you mean I changed? I'm me—I haven't changed at all."
Rin frowned, raising an eyebrow. "I don't mean in personality… I mean you were extremely sad. What happened that made you return to your normal self?"
Eugene's reply reflected his personality and confirmed Rin's analysis:
"Because the village was destroyed. Well, what now? Should I stay depressed my whole life? Life would lose its meaning. Besides, I didn't make a mistake. I just try to occupy my time so I don't overthink things."
Rin felt relieved by Eugene's answer; finally, there was no fear of depression or deep sorrow.
Before Eugene could speak, the apartment door opened.
Eugene closed his eyes, then sighed in annoyance: "When will they realize we have nothing to do with that disaster?"
At the same moment, a man entered, wearing a detective's uniform—gray hat, gray coat, small pen on his white shirt pocket, black pants, black shoes.
He had a wrinkled face, small mouth, gray eyes, and a straight nose.
The man spoke: "I suppose you know why I came." His tone was calm, cold, heavy, with a hint of dislike.
Eugene and Rin stood and went with him.
This was always the routine—every day between 6:30 and 8:30, this detective would arrive. He would take them for individual questioning for half an hour, using various methods—gentle or harsh.
Initially, the investigations were tough, boring, and difficult, but after getting used to them and their growing sadness each day, it became trivial for them.
The purpose of the investigation was to confirm their innocence.
Before they transferred to the academy, on that day, Sir Fire came. He asked them in a gentle, calm tone to prepare to transfer to the academy.
On that day, Rin bravely went to Sir Fire and asked to take the notebook he had become addicted to, which helped him return to his normal life.
Sir Fire laughed, saying: "So that's why you overcame your depression in the last days." He patted Rin's head. "That notebook changed a lot in me when I was young. Yes, you can keep it."
As Rin's mind wandered through all these memories, Eugene tapped him lightly on the forehead—a slightly strong tap.
"Hey, are you still alive, Rin?"
Rin lifted his slouched body from the grass and sat down, looking at Eugene with slight irritation.
"Wait, why did you do that?"
Eugene sat on the grass. "You should explain why your mind wandered all this time. Also, you didn't answer my question—how did you get rid of your sadness during that period?"
"Do you remember that notebook you were addicted to?" Rin asked, a passionate smile on his face.
Eugene closed his eyes, squeezing his head, trying to remember.
Rin's expression changed to disappointment, with a hint of mockery: "Come on, it hasn't been that long… really, you don't remember?"
Eugene cracked his fingers and opened his eyes. "Yes, I remember. That notebook… the one I asked Fire to take with me. I remember that I started returning to my normal self after reading it."
Rin nodded, smiling again.
"Exactly! That book… when I read it, it brought back hope and filled the huge void in my heart during that period."
Eugene adjusted his sitting position across from Rin.
"What was in that notebook to affect you so much, to pull you out of your depression?"
He began to speak about it…
End of Chapter