After giving Kyle the beating he deserved, Varian announced he'd return to his new or actually, old home.
Since Varian only gave him light wounds, Kyle was already healed and even looked more energetic.
"How come I want to beat you again?" Varian rubbed his fist and glanced at the cheerful Kyle.
Kyle shuddered and hid behind Maya. "Time out! Time out!"
Maya rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and turned to Varian. "I want to visit your home. You lived there for most of your life, right?"
Varian nodded slowly. "If you don't mind the fact it's small, join me."
"I don't mind it at all," Kyle said. "I'm coming too."
Varian gladly obliged.
So the trio took off and after a few minutes, they reached a small neighborhood.
It was in a remote location, far away from the bustling neon lights of the city.
There were no dazzling floating buildings here nor any hover train lines.
But as he looked at the small front yard filled with carefully cultivated flowers, his breathing stopped.
The mix of those flowers formed a unique fragrance he would recognize even in his dreams. As that sweet scent him, Varian slowly stepped in.
Kyle and Maya followed from behind. This was the major reason they wanted to join. Varian usually avoided everything about his past.
Since he finally decided to face it…he might need help. They were ready to be his support.
Varian looked at the familiar home and took a deep breath.
With sleek white walls and shiny black roof, it was a modest house barely 70 square meters wide.
There was a small garden on the roof while the white walls were filled with paintings he and…Sia did when they were young.
Unlike the modern buildings, it was made of normal materials. It didn't have the advanced defenses a luxurious home had and was thus vulnerable to the attacks from magic beasts.
According to his mother, they could've lived in a better place with the war widow's pension.
But apparently, his father offended someone and the pension was blocked.
Shaking his head, Varian pushed the brown door and stepped in.
"I am home." He said naturally, as if he was waiting for someone to welcome him. Like they welcomed him for as long as he could remember.
All that greeted him was silence.
'Right, there is no one to welcome me any—'
"Welcome home." Kyle and Maya rushed in front of him as they gestured him in.
"Y-Yeah!" Varian didn't react for a moment before a smile broke out on his face. Even though he lost some, he gained some.
As he scanned the home, nostalgia washed over him.
A small but lovely kitchen where Sia worked hard for his favorite food even though she always insisted that it was not for him.
The living room with two couches where he and Sia used to crash on after being tired, chatting or watching a show or simply just spending time together in silence.
Then there were two bedrooms.
Varian slowly opened it to find the news articles pasted on the wall. But soon, his smile died down.
There were two beds in this room in his memory. Now, it had only one.
The walls of the room also used to have pictures of stars collected by Sia—she loved stars since she was a child.
She said that in the future, they could travel across the stars and visit different civilizations.
But as he scanned room after room, he found no traces of her existence.
The house was rebuilt from the encrypted information in the insurance company's database.
No one could change the information.
So, technically, this was how the house looked before destruction.
Without anything related to Sia.
She only existed in his memories.
"Varian, are you alright?" Maya patted him on the back, looking at him with concern.
Taking a deep breath, Varian nodded and forced a smile. "I'm fine. The memories…I was just being nostalgic."
Even though he knew they would believe him, he didn't tell them about Sia.
First, it seemed much more complicated than it seemed.
Second, they had enough on their plates to worry about. They just patched up and he didn't wish to destroy their peace.
After looking at each room for some time, Varian finally returned to the living room.
Kyle and Maya ordered some snacks.
Varian sat down to grab a slice of the fruit as Kyle asked. "What are your plans for the break?"
Feeling the sweetness of the fruit in his mouth, Varian replied. "I have one thing…a very important thing I will need to do."
Kyle was not expecting the solemnity in his voice, but he still nodded. "Just don't die. Know what? I'm developing an awesome weapon. Once it's done, all you need to do is sit back and watch it kill the Abyssals."
"Oh?" Varian raised an eyebrow and asked. "How close is it to completion?"
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Kyle choked on the fruit slice before answering. "W-Well, a few decades…, no, a few years, eh, maybe a few months?"
Maya, who was browsing her comm, glared at him. "If you take my help, we can speed it up by at least four times."
"No. No. This is a matter of principle. I always do research alone." Kyle shook his head.
The solemnity in his tone matched Varian's causing him to drop the idea of persuading Kyle.
"Do whatever you want. As long as you don't kill yourself." Varian imitated Kyle's tone from earlier.
"Hey! Check this out!" Maya hopped off her seat and projected a hologram.
It was a forum whose name Varian never heard. The top post was a title in red.
'Enigma slaughtered the Abyss Princes! Rumors say it was done at the same time as Demon King attacked planetoid Rena for unknown reasons.'
The forum was on fire and the comments were flooded with mixed opinions.
Some were very supportive.
"Yes! Kill each and every one of those dogs!"
"Let them feel the pain of losing their close ones."
"Make them tremble in fear!"
"Enigma! The leader of Shadow Guardian! The true patriot!"
The others…hated her.
"This bitch has no idea what her actions will lead to!"
"Yes! She's provoking the Abyssals! They'll retaliate fiercely! Did you all forget the bloodbath by the Archduke?"
"Yes! Whether she's a member of Shadow Order or whatever Shadow Guardian, her actions are only raising our causalities."
"She's an out and out terrorist! She's not even registered in even adventure guild."
"If she's really a guardian, why does she hide? She must be brought to justice!"
The battle of opinions was heating up. Maya dropped a bomb.
"You pacifying rats! Do you think Abyssals will not come for us if we stay silent? Provoking my ass!
Causalities are increasing because of her? If those Abyss princes and princesses grow up, should I remind you what will happen? Learn to use some brain, you moron!
Terrorist? When exactly did she kill people by her own hands like the ones from Shadow Order? Any adult can tell that she's being framed by the government.
Why does she hide? Because there are people like you in the ruling! You only obstruct progress!"
Maya clicked "enter" and glared at the hologram. Her chest heaved up and down as she slowly slumped back onto the couch.
Varian was surprised by her behavior. He wasn't expecting the gentle Maya to get so angry.
Well, scrap that! She enjoyed Kyle getting beaten up. She was not as gentle as he thought her to be.
'Good luck, Kyle! In the future, you might be a victim of domestic violence. Don't worry, I will accompany you to drink as you vent your sorrows. Tsk.' Varian couldn't help but look forward to the future.
"Maya, you should stop sending those posts. Even if it's on deep net, you could land in trouble." Kyle, unaware of his friend's evil thoughts, rubbed his forehead and said.
"Hmph! Do you think killing the most Abyss Princes and Princesses doesn't deserve to be praised? Even if they can't acknowledge her contributions, they are slandering her! These incorrigible bastar—" Maya glared daggers at Kyle as she said in a harsh tone.
"I don't know her nor do I care. I just don't want you to land in trouble." Kyle cut her off and raised his hands.
"Are you not worried about the future of humanity?" Maya gritted her teeth, angered by Kyle's nonchalant attitude.
"Of course I am. If this weapon succeeds, we'll gain a huge boost in raw power." Kyle leaned forward and said with a serious expression.
Varian, on the other hand, re-read the news and frowned.
Enigma…was her attack a retaliation for Demon King's snipe at them? Given the timings, it was hard to believe otherwise.
But why did she do it?
Who was Enigma anyway?
With a strength at level 8, did she belong to Anna's generation? Or was she a genius who hid their power for decades and faked their death before turning into Enigma?
Varian had a lot of questions about her, but they were not as important to him as Sia.
Sia…he had two leads.
One was merit points. He only needed a few thousand more and he'd be able to check the Academy's database.
Considering his track record, he needed one more mission. Or since merit points were awarded for any meritorious deed, he could simply do something useful to the military.
However, this method did not guarantee Sia's whereabouts. Perhaps the uniform she was wearing was of some other academy's which he did not know or he simply remembered the specific details wrong.
After all, memory was fluid and it was possible to create artificial memories subconsciously.
The second lead was more solid. Roxana Xander. He searched her up and found that she was the sister of Julius Xander, a graduate of the Academy of Sciences and more importantly, a leading researcher.
If he could find out why she ordered the Astor Clan to intervene with his mother's death, he would find all the answers including Sia!
At the same time, the conversation between Kyle and Maya was coming to a close.
"Don't worry, Kyle. I'm being anonymous enough. Even if I am found out, my father can take care of it. I'm just a supporter, not an activist. If he can't even take care of this as a leading researcher, I bet no one would want to be done." Maya crossed her legs and replied.
"Sigh, fine.."
Varian's eyes lit up and he hurriedly turned to Maya. "Maya, can you do me a favor?"
Maya was taken aback by the eagerness in his voice but still nodded. "As long as I can do it."
"Ask your father to find information about Roxana Xander? If possible, a contact information. By the way, add that I am the disciple of Evander, high general of Earth."
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