Shuren's office was unusually quiet the following morning.
Shuren sat behind her desk, boredly leafing through one of her dubious magazines, smoke curled languidly toward the ceiling. Between her fingers was a cigarette, the ash of which was getting dangerously long.
Assad was sitting up straight in a chair across from her, holding a thick book that was bound in leather.
It said on the cover:
Emperor Shim Mu-Hon's "The Principles of Absolute Dominion"
As Assad glanced over the pages, his eyes narrowed a little.
"Be strong when you're weak, and weak when you're strong."
Something in him quivered but even he wasn't sure what it was. The reason was because of the very line he just quietly read in his mind. He knew it from somewhere.
He turned back a few pages slowly, almost cautiously.
"Breaking the enemy's resistance without engaging in combat is the essence of supreme excellence."
He tightened his hold on the book because he was positive it was an exact replica of the well-known book he had heard about back on Earth.
He remembered the series, The Art of War.
In order to give the impression that he was the original author, the emperor somehow remembered every single word from the book and copied it.
Shuren flipped through her magazine.
"Why do you appear to have seen a ghost?"
Assad was taken by surprise and froze. After that, he glanced at Shuren before turning back to the book.
"I borrowed this book from Ms. Vonessia. It seems to fit my style."
Assad then recalled her words from moments ago before she left on another trip to an unknown location.
"You seem like a strategic type of fighter, so this book should be fine," she said. It will be very helpful because, incidentally, the founding emperor wrote it."
The memory made him feel weirded out for a minute.
" However, I feel as though I've read these lines before for some reason.
"Is that so?"
"Damn you're cruel, anyway I haven't seen Sévon Kiichi and Tasia.Ever since we came back I had seen them once.Are you aware of their possible location?
Shuren paused her magazine flipping for a moment. She exhaled a slow stream of smoke before speaking, the cigarette still lit in her mouth, the ember glowing faintly as her gaze shifted to Assad.
"Now that you bring it up."
Assad blinked.
Shuren's eyes wandered a little as she tapped the ash from her cigarette into the tray, as though she was remembering an old note.
She whispered, "I do recall Pixia saying something about it." "Those three set out on a mission."
Assad cocked his head.
"A mission?"
Shuren nodded idly.
"Yes. In Yorna, somewhere."
Assad paused in the middle of the page. His brows knitted together as he slowly lowered the book authored by the Founding Emperor.
"Yorna?Why would they be there?"he inquired.
Shuren actually stopped reading altogether this time. That was uncommon in and of itself. After taking the cigarette out of her mouth, she crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in her chair.
"You don't actually pay attention, do you?" she said bluntly.
"That is the domain of the nobility."
Assad's eyes grew a little wider.
"The nobility... as in the empire's second part?"
"Exactly,where the rich, the powerful, and the annoyingly prideful types live.Missions in Yorna aren't your usual 'find a lost pet' or 'escort a merchant' type jobs."Shuren said
She flicked her cigarette again.
Slowly, Assad closed the book.
"So, it's risky."
Shuren shrugged a little.
"Dangerous in another sense."
Assad was even more perplexed by that response.
Shuren went on before he could ask again.
"One of three things typically occurs when Sweepers are sent to Yorna."
She held up a finger.
"Trouble in politics."
An additional finger.
"Noble disputes."
Then a third.
"...or something the aristocrats would prefer the public not to know about."
Shuren then closes her magazine and reaches out for her wrist watch. It is a better choice to just call them to see how well they are doing and what type of job they are doing as well. So she decides to contact Sévon as he is the easiest to get to and the fastest to respond and as she expected Sévon answered the call.
Cutting straight to the chase Shuren asked where they were at the moment? Sévon did not reply but instead went silent. Shuren was bewildered by the silent treatment that Sévon gave her. Therefore she asked again and this time Sévon finally answered. He started to apologize for not responding, he was in a predicament.
Shuren got slightly interested in the predicament that Sévon was talking about, so she asked about it.
Sévon did explain but not in full detail, only stating parts they were just interrogating someone that's all. Shuren was a bit disappointed but let it go and told Sévon to not lose focus and complete the job so that they could all return, as they know how jobs can be in Yorna.
Sévon agreed and they ended the calls.
Shuren relaxed her wrist position slightly as the call ended, the faint glow of the watch fading back to normal.
"…Interrogating someone, huh," she muttered to herself.
Assad looked up from his book, his curiosity ignited instantly.
"That doesn't sound like a simple mission."
Shuren returned the watch to the desk and leaned back in her chair, a curl of cigarette smoke drifting lazily towards the ceiling.
"It never is when it involves Yorna," she said matter-of-factly.
The room fell silent once more, but this time the silence was oppressive.
Meanwhile, in a distant corner of the Sweepers Agency, the noble district of Yorna was the complete opposite of the agency's dark and foreboding atmosphere.Rows of wooden houses with gracefully curved, tiled roofs stretched through the city like waves, their eaves curving up towards the sky in elegant fashion.
Stone lanterns lined the narrow streets below, their soft glow already flickering to life despite the daylight, and banners hung between the buildings, dancing softly in the breeze, their colors a rich gold and deep indigo.
In one of the less eventful districts, away from the tourist roads and ceremonial routes, the mood was anything but tranquil.
A man was bound to a chair.
His breathing was irregular, with droplets of sweat dripping from his chin as he scanned the three figures standing before him. Sévon leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, as mute as always. Tasia stood by the window, observing the street scene outside with all the interest of someone performing a mere chore.
And Kiichi?
He was squatting right in front of the prisoner, his chin propped on his fist with a surprisingly relaxed look on his face.
"So, you've been quiet for a long time now." Kiichi spoke softly, his head cocked to one side,
The man shook.
"I–I've told you everything!"
Sévons eyes gradually opened.
"That is exactly why we know you are lying." he spoke finally, his voice low and even,