Reunion in Autumn

"This... this...!"

The members of the Winter family looked at one another, none able to find their words.

At that moment, a youth stepped out from the crowd; he wore a black suit, had a high bridge on his nose, short auburn hair, and lake-blue eyes, immediately drawing the attention of everyone present.

"Miss Lena, didn't you say you witnessed the body of our family member Victor being buried here in this garden with your own eyes?"

"Perseus, step back. This is none of your business," a member of the Winter family in black barked in a low voice.

The youth acted as if he hadn't heard, holding his black umbrella as his lake-blue eyes seemed to pierce through the human heart, reflecting the panic-stricken girl within them as he continued his questioning: "Are you certain you saw Victor's body with your own eyes?"

The surrounding reporters seized the opportunity to take photos; without a doubt, these images would be broadcast on the city's major stations later that evening, allowing civilians and the various echelons of power to witness this news.

Lena realized she had caused trouble and stammered, "I... I saw his hand... it was sticking out at the time."

Perseus's brow furrowed. "So, what you are saying is that you never actually saw Victor himself, correct?"

"I just... I just..." Sensing the indifferent gazes of everyone fixed upon her, the pale-faced Lena, her long hair drenched, looked around and finally admitted the truth, "Yes... I heard that the family would pay a substantial reward for information regarding Victor, so I..."

"Tch, a wasted trip," a family member grumbled.

Just then, the sound of sirens drifted from the distance as blue and white flickering lights became a single point in the night sky, before the frequency of the flashing increased and the point of light rapidly expanded.

Rainwater washed over the tightly sealed flight armor, flowing backward and crashing into the solidified curtain of rain as it sped through the misty downpour; the engine's roar echoed under the gray sky as a massive gray shadow whistled past from the distance.

Before long, the shadow loomed over the hospital; looking up, one could see the massive float-car beginning to decelerate, its braking deflectors popping out as the new type of hyper-vibrational crystal frequency coating shook off the surrounding rain, with a large amount of white mist and water droplets covering its surface like a steel beast exhaling hot breath.

Bright red warning lights formed a square on the ground, and amidst the glow, several tuners slid down using ropes.

They nodded to the crowd and placed the restraints on Old Quel.

During the process of being escorted, Old Quel brushed past Perseus, his gaze carry an indiscernible meaning as he tilted his head.

Perseus paid no mind to his provocation. "Don't think I don't know. You are the one who murdered Victor."

"It just so happens that on the day Victor was discharged, the hospital was performing maintenance on the surveillance equipment and deleted the backups, and then Victor went missing in the afternoon. How could such a coincidence exist in this world?"

"I will find proof of your actions and personally send you to the family's tribunal."

Old Quel nodded thoughtfully and said, "After I leave the Tuner's Office, I plan to go to the Golden Pomegranate bar for a few drinks and order the curry salmon steak with my favorite fennel powder. If you find evidence, wait for me there."

Old Quel finished and grinned.

"The Tuner's Office won't be able to hold me for long. I'll be out soon."

As he spoke, Old Quel straightened his body and gave a slight tug as if to prove a point; the two tuners escorting him were pulled off balance by the force, nearly falling to the ground.

"Did Ayin tell you to do this?" Perseus asked.

"Who knows?"

The tuners shouted as they forced Old Quel's head down; Perseus watched as Old Quel was escorted away, the man's ambiguous answer still echoing in his ears.

Since the Starry Singer descent incident, Sevia's name had become a taboo, referred to by the family as the Starry Witch.

With a family member becoming a world-class urban legend, the Winter family was naturally held accountable, bearing much social pressure and suffering a heavy blow that almost directly cost them their voice in the Star of Art.

Various major forces had united to pressure the Winter family, and the family had recently been organizing personnel to investigate the whereabouts of the Starry Singer.

However, something felt suspicious to him.

The secret family order issued to every member of the Winter family essentially meant that any trace related to the Starry Singer should be immediately reported to the Main House.

The order didn't mention the Association, yet it seemed to mention it at every turn; as family members, they knew very well that this secret order had a dual meaning, the second of which was a strict prohibition on mentioning this matter to any force related to the Association.

It wasn't explicitly stated in the order to avoid giving the Association any leverage.

What exactly was the family's goal in doing this...?

While Perseus was lost in thought, someone tapped his shoulder.

Turning around, he found a quirky young girl who seemed to have been observing him for quite a while, her lively eyes blinking. "Captain, I've already made the appointment with those guys from the Heterogeneous Front. The map is the same as usual—Provence Coastline, 5v5 attack and defense."

"Understood. I'll be online as soon as possible, but before that, there are still some things I need to handle."

"Alright, Captain. We'll wait for you at the guild building in the City of Sin."

Perseus looked at the surrounding Winter family members. "Try to keep a low profile these days. The outside world is still watching us."

"It's not your place as a member of a branch family to tell us what to do. Crawl back to your Probability Corridor; that's the pond where you belong," one of the Winter family members cursed under his breath.

Those words reached the youth's ears clearly; Perseus sighed, knowing that the Main House members had never given them a good face because of what happened decades ago. He didn't want to argue and pulled back the aggressive girl beside him.

"Stop filming, stop filming!"

Ince carried his camera over to Jim's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him under the long corridor as they watched the group of people in black depart.

"That's quite the grand display."

"I thought those family lapdogs would stay quiet after their master had their teeth pulled."

Jim spread his hands.

"Before we find the lady's whereabouts, try to handle those things well. Don't let anyone catch your tail."

"Hey, you don't need to tell me that."

"Do you think the lady is still alive?" Ince asked casually.

"Hmm? Where are you going? Wait for me."

"Thinking of a way to get Old Quel out early."

....

The bell for the end of afternoon classes rang; the teacher on the podium packed up their textbooks, and students filtered out of the classroom one after another. Before long, the only people left were the student on duty wiping the blackboard and a red-haired girl sitting in the corner.

"Meijiu, aren't you leaving?"

"Why did you quit the kyudo club, Meijiu? Didn't you like the club activities before?"

The warm autumn sun softened the girl's face; Akabane Tsubaki lay slumped on her desk, giving a listless response before picking up her backpack. A desolate autumn wind blew through the wide-open window, carrying a few golden leaves.

She glanced out the window, slung her single-strap bag over her shoulder, and turned to leave through the back door of the classroom. She walked alone through the corridor, alone down the stairs, and alone toward the snack shop; her solitary figure seemed out of place in the bustling crowd.

She didn't know what was wrong with her.

It was as if she had suddenly lost interest in many things she used to enjoy.

She no longer wanted to watch anime, play games, or chat with people. She was no longer late, and she stopped going to karaoke or the green leaf shops. Those who knew her from before even thought the quirky little witch had been possessed by something foul.

Akabane Tsubaki arrived at the vending machine and gave a lethargic greeting: "Hello, good afternoon, Mr. Benjamin. I'm going to insert some coins to take a drink from you."

Benjamin was the name she had given to this vending machine before; the corners of the girl's mouth quirked up, as if she were amused by her own boredom, but the expression quickly flattened. Akabane Tsubaki dropped two coins into the machine, and realizing she had put in an extra dollar, she didn't kick Mr. Benjamin in a rage like she would have in the past, but instead silently selected a bottle of rock sugar pomelo.

Likely nothing would be able to pique her interest anymore,

Akabane Tsubaki thought as she pulled the ring tab, her fingertip accidentally getting cut by the sharp edge. Just as she sat on the stone planter to search for a band-aid, a strand of golden hair fluttered before her eyes, and someone handed her a little bear band-aid.

"Thank you..."

Akabane Tsubaki looked up instinctively and saw the figure standing before her. It was a golden-haired girl bathed in the warm, brilliant sun; as the autumn wind blew past, every strand of the girl's hair seemed to flow with gold, looking so warm and dazzling.

"You're welcome," Xu Xiaoyou smiled.