Page 26 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

There’s something within Flesh, and I want to find its underlying cause. There’s someone called “Old Wolf” who pulls the strings. The unknown elemny is the ringleader. Someone who works hard yet remains faceless.

“Old Wolf” can be a play on words, or the “old” part might be a metaphor for the one at the top of the food chain. So, if I’m hunting them, the elemny I pursue will have experience in the field.

But where does this woman come into it? Leaning against the wall, I overlook a home with a fire and earth elemny cooking in the kitchen. Young adults gather at the table. To the outside world—and many, including some of my knights—they’re hosting their son’s friends while he lies in bed, resting before awakening.

To me, though, I find it odd.

The information Alad sent me is like searching for a four-leaf clover in a clover field. There’s information about the water elemny with them—the Caucasian girl from a cultist family that has disowned her because she’s with an elemny of colour…

I thought we were done with this “human phase”.

The female with brown skin is as safe as all the others, considering I’ve delved into her family history, right down to the illnesses in her family. But this fucking dark-haired woman has nothing. At first, Alad’s lack of information irritated me, assuming he didn’t care for her because the others had more colourful pasts. Like the fire elemny man. His family worked with the king before leaving after the battle with the ice elemny across the sea.

Mr Clark’s visa is about to expire. We’ve given him a few years, but his involvement is lacking, and the king no longer cares for his assistance.

I scroll down to Mrs Clark and grimace. A soldier, once like Mr Clark, stopped aiding the king after the war against the Kingdom of Crystal. Why? What did they see? What didn’t they like? What made them revoke their rights as soldiers? Why are they heading to one of the free cities?

Sure, they might have their reasons. Maybe they disapproved of the killing of children. I can understand that. The killing of innocent kids isn’t for everyone, and from the info Mrs Clark provided me, Alad mentioned she usually works with the kids at Flesh’s orphanage.

My phone vibrates. Turning away from the house, I walk down the path to the nearest taxi service. “Reen,” Astin says, “Ri and Alek are back from their honeymoon. Do you need them for anything before they head off to Flesh?”

I raise my hand and wave a taxi over. Stepping inside, the driver doesn’t say a word. Already knowing where I want to go, he drives me towards the castle. As I watch elemny going about their day, high on life, I ponder Astin’s question for a moment. “Yeah,” I finally reply. A stir comes from the other end. “Tell them to head to Oceanview Harbour.”

“Why, sir?” says Astin.

“I need them to gather as much information about someone called Old Wolf.”

“Old Wolf?” Astin clears his throat. When I don’t answer, he asks, “Is there anything else?”

“Yes. I’d like them to find out about a woman called Pandora.”

“Last name?”

“Pretend she doesn’t have one,” I say.

“Sir, there are many women called Pandora. It will be a tedious search.”

“She’s not awakened yet. That’s all the information I know about her.”

“What type of elemny?”

“Pretend you don’t know. I’ll send you a picture of what was on the academy records.”

Astin clears his throat. I sense a hint of nervousness I’m not used to. Astin usually bites back at everything I say. His awkwardness and questioning of my authority irritate me, but not enough to hang up the phone.

“What?” I demand.

The taxi driver glances my way. When he sees me watching him, he quickly averts his gaze and tightens his grip on the wheel to keep himself grounded. It’s amusing and annoyingly straightforward how squeamish everyone gets around me. The way they talk behind my back, treating me like a mutt.

“Alad briefed me about you calling him for information regarding an elemny girl,” Astin says. “Don’t you think this is because you are bored and you need some entertainment?”

“There’s a chance,” I admit. After saying that, my thoughts drift back to how uncomfortable the woman became when I questioned Toma about Kaneko’s death. Also, her reaction when I bumped into her, compared to when she hugged her boyfriend, felt…fake.

Dishonest?

Some elemny put on a face to please those they fancy, but that facade is hard to maintain without early training or development.

“But I will take the chance,” I finish.