Arthur once again laid down on the not so comfortable bed, closing his eyes. He wasn't tired, at all, but he wanted some time to himself, to organize his thoughts.

  He spread his arms out, taking in a deep breath and relaxing. Even if the earlier attempt at Dipping almost ended with him being suffocated, it brought positive results. He could feel the chilly energy flowing through his body, like a secondary blood flow.

  He didn't know whether he could enter the Dipping state fully, but he could feel his own Ark flowing through his body. That much was enough for a start.

  The short discussion he had with Eida, the Tribefolk woman, was still echoing in his ears. She only really told him a few words before leaving, but they were sound advice. He wouldn't have to trust Sol, only use what he provided, and let himself be used.

  If it meant he could learn about the Dipping state, and how to manipulate his Ark and use magic, then he was more than willing to follow that man. He lampooned, he used to despise non genuine people, but now he was doing the same.

  The smile which grew on his face quickly grew into a bitter one, he reminded himself of his life back on Malkuth. He was still unclear on his feelings about his past life. He didn't know whether, in the future, he would want to try and go back to it.

  It wasn't a bad life. He had many blessings that other people would kill for, from his intelligence to a loving family. Not to mention, cigarettes. However, he didn't always enjoy that life, as the Lead Director of Werners.

  He sighed as his arm plopped down onto his face, covering his eyes. By now, ‘no use worrying about it now’ had basically become his motto. Even if he wanted to go back, it's not like he had the knowledge on how to do it.

  Instead of looking at the faraway future, he should focus on the present. And regarding the present, his resolve to make a choice had been steeled. He cleared his mind of unnecessary thoughts, and shifted his mind to the opportunity Sol would offer him.

  The next time he would meet the man, he would accept his terms.

  That night, Arthur slept soundly, and in a much more comfortable manner than the previous days. He was woken up by the sound of light knocking on the wooden door, followed by creaking sounds as it pushed open.

  Arthur blinked a few times after opening his eyes, and sat upright. He yawned, covering his mouth with a hand, before moving his attention to the figure stepping into the door frame. He half expected it to be Irene, and was right.

  She skittered into the room, and after blinking once more, she was already next to the edge of the bed. Arthur looked at her with tired eyes, unable to express any feelings on his face that early in the morning.

  “Arthur!! Well, er, good morning! Something incredible happened! Well, not incredible, but… Ah, wait, I should tell you about that first…”

  He rubbed his eyes and chuckled lightly, at the loss of her speaking track.

  “Take your time.”

  She nodded, embarrassed, and moved towards one of the walls to lean on it while organizing her words. Meanwhile, Arthur yawned some more, before starting his stretching routine. Even if it wasn't exactly a peaceful morning, it would have to do.

  He interlocked his fingers and pushed his arms outwards, letting out some groans as he felt the pull on his muscles and nerves. His senses felt like they were getting sharper, the cold sensation of Ark focusing on each nerve ending.

  It was a comfortable sensation, it helped him wake his body up in a quicker manner. More than that, it gave him more awareness on his own body, and on his Ley Lines.

  He moved his arms behind his back, that frost now spreading to his shoulders and running down his spine. The sensation from the Dipping of the day before was different from when he initially entered that state, and it was long lasting.

  After fully understanding what could have happened if Eida didn't rescue him the day before, Arthur quickly assumed that the different sensation was the Phantom Shark scale essence's fault.

  He didn't know how exactly the toxin acted, since it wasn't written in either Archives, apart from the superstition that it ‘melted’ its victims. However, while being submerged by those ethereal, frozen waters, he felt…

  “…Sharkey…”

  “What? Shark?” Irene tilted her head, thinking he was speaking with her.

  “Oh, uh, nothing, sorry. I was talking to myself.”

  He laughed it off, and went back to stretching. To add onto that, Eida had said something about him becoming a shark, if he overdosed on that medicine. Truly, the wonders of magical medicine were something his mind couldn't comprehend.

  Lastly, he stretched his legs and back, touching his toes while sitting down. His joints, appearing like a wooden doll's limbs, creaked as he pushed his muscles. The cold had spread throughout his whole body, making him more aware.

  Letting out a satisfied sigh, he looked over at Irene. It was taking her a lot of time to pick her words. She was staring at him with an awkward gaze, while fiddling with her fingers. Seeing Arthur look at her, her face lit up.

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  “Oh! Are ya finished? Can I start talking now?”

  ‘You could've talked anytime…’ Arthur thought to himself, shaking his head. He felt slightly disappointed in the girl. Though she was still a child, it at least meant she had been given a good education.

  He nodded at her, her face once again lighting up. She took in a deep breath, before clearing her throat with a cough.

  “Alright, alright! So, there's a few things I wanted to tell you! First off…”

  She raised one finger of her right hand. Arthur shuddered slightly, seeing the golden hued scales. He might have met people with antlers and animal ears, but those scaly, reptilian hands still upset him somewhat.

  “Mr Sol’s offer! Did ya think about it? Oh, before you answer, he told me two things: I can finally tell you what it's about! Well, he actually didn't tell me what it was either, I only learnt earlier…”

  She sheepishly lowered her gaze, clearly embarrassed at having talked like she knew what it entailed various times. Arthur nodded, finally interested.

  “And the other thing, he said to get your answer by today.”

  “I see. So, I have to choose now…”

  Arthur muttered to himself. Most likely, he was imposing a time limit on him to pressure him into making a choice. It was as Eida said, that man really was an asshole. He let out an annoyed sigh, his answer was ready anyways.

  “Yup. Ah, no stress, though! First, let me tell you what we'll be doing, and all that stuff!”

  He sighed, a slight smile appearing on his face. Even if he most likely wasn't going to enjoy working alongside Sol, Irene's childish innocence and positivity at least brightened his days. Maybe he didn't hate children, he just often met rude kids.

  He crossed his arms and nodded to himself, whoever raised her was doing a great job.

  “Um, first things first… Right. After accepting, you'll– well, we'll be promoted from honorary cadets to official cadets. That means… You can move into the military academy dorms, too! I've been staying there for a while, and trust me, they're not too bad!!

  “About the work itself, it's a bit complex, I guess. Um… I actually don't know all the tasks that are gonna be entrusted to us, sorry. What Mr Sol told me, is that he's putting together a sort of rehabilitation squad for prisoners. He wants to find diamonds in the rough who could really shine if given another chance, and make them work as apprentices in various fields. That's the gist of it! As for us– we'll be in the same squad, by the way! He told me he's been in contact with the Sigel Police Department, to form a special task force with the three of us! That's cool, right?”

  She stopped speaking for a moment, placing a finger on her lip, as if she had said something wrong. Arthur leaned slightly backwards, that was a lot of information to take in.

  He expected somewhat for Irene to have been imprisoned there in the past, but he thought she was already a full fledged academy student.

  More than that, he didn't know how to feel, knowing he would have to work directly alongside Sol. He was expecting to be scouted as something like a professional Moonstone evaluator, a special police task force was really unexpected.

  What could two kids even do, as a task force? He moved a hand towards his chin, stroking it while thinking. He didn't know what Irene's Gift was, but she told him it affected Ark flow. As for himself, his Gift of the Archivist could be good for investigations, but Sol couldn't have known about it.

  He was lacking some critical pieces of information, he needed to figure out why exactly Sol scouted him for a job like that. Something wasn't adding up.

  “Um, I guess there's four of us, maybe. I'm not sure.”

  Arthur tilted his head in confusion, once Irene once again spoke.

  “You're not sure?”

  “Ah, well, I'll explain later. That's the second thing I wanted to talk to you about, actually! Let's, er, I'll try not to lose myself, so let's keep this on track, ok?”

  She waved her hands, dismissing the argument of the fourth unknown person. Arthur smiled, at least she was making an effort to keep her thoughts organized.

  “So, um, about the special task force! Mr Sol told me to ask you, you're probably wondering why you got scouted for something like this, right?”

  ‘Just read my damn mind, asshole…’ He clicked his tongue, that man was too perceptive.

  “Well… Actually, yes. I mean, I'm an amnesiac, I can't use my Ark, I can't cast spells, and my Gift isn't any help in combat. Wouldn't I just be dead weight?”

  Irene leaned towards him, insistently shaking her head.

  “That's what he said you would say!! No, not at all!”

  After a moment, she moved back to her original spot, letting out an embarrassed cough.

  “Er, he said that he sees great potential in you. You have good eyes, and your Gift is something… Well, you're smart, right? That's a really good quality for a policeman!”

  “Wait, what about my Gift, what did he say about it?” He tried to get her to finish that sentence, to no avail. Just what did that man say about his Gift, for her to change topics like that? Did he figure out it wasn't combat oriented?

  “And, he saw great potential…?” He added, before sighing.

  “Yes! That's Mr Sol's Gift!” Irene immediately stopped talking, moving her hands on top of her mouth.

  “Ah, now that I said it, I might as well explain…”

  She breathed out an exasperated sigh, with an expression of mild disappointment on her face. Most likely, she was disappointed in herself.

  ‘Is his Gift a secret or something?’

  “Ya see… I don't know much about it either, but Mr Sol can literally see the potential in people. I, er, don't know how it works… But he says it's his greatest asset! That's why I'm not supposed to talk about it…” She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

  “That's… Good to know. So he thinks I can get stronger? Something like that?” Arthur asked, to clear his doubts. Irene nodded.

  “Again, I don't really know how it works. But I think it's something like that, yeah!”

  She nodded happily. Arthur let out a thinking hum, and leaned backwards in his bed. So, if Irene was telling the truth, Sol could see his potential. Potential that not even Arthur knew about, considering he thought his Gift to be useless in most situations.

  Well, save for when he wanted to give himself a huge headache, or needed to summarize lengthy and boring descriptions. Though, he started to understand Sol's reasons for scouting him, if his Gift was something of that kind.

  “And what about the fourth guy?” He suddenly remembered. Irene tapped her palm with her closed fist, as if she had forgotten about it too, before nodding towards Arthur.

  “Right, right! That guy! Um, well basically, the original plan, Mr Sol told me, was for us two and him to be the founding members of the special task force. I think he mentioned something about brains and brawn… Oh, and he'd be there for insurance, basically. Just in case anything goes wrong, on our first cases.”

  ‘So he's actually planning to chuck us at criminals? Geez.’ Arthur sighed.

  “But, this morning, he came to me with a huuuge grin on his face. That's rare, even for him! I mean, it was really huge! He was really happy! He told me that something happened during the prisoners' free hours, and now we have another guy to join us!”

  Arthur quietly clicked his tongue. If there was something Irene was good at, it was not getting to the point quickly.

  “So? What happened?”