Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 429: Intuition

Chapter 429: Intuition

/Victoria’s Mountain Castle/

A self-deprecating chuckle echoed in the sitting room as Alex kept aside the book he was reading for a moment.

Amongst the Branches that were currently known and named in the book, one in particular stood out to him.

The Midnight Pearl.

The fact that he’d had a conversation about it and even possessed the means to locate it left him increasingly amused at his forgetfulness though he didn’t beat himself up too much.

If anything, it would have been surprising for him to recall the minor mention after everything that had happened so far.

Letting out a sigh, he picked up the book again and opened up the page he was on.

Out of the three books Albus had handed to him, this was the third and final one with all three saying the same thing though from different perspectives.

What stood out the most was the fact that six Branches had been recognized and 3 more under probation with two from the recognized list already in his possession.

This meant he had four more to grab before he’d have to worry about where the others were.

Alex assumed that there would at least be 10 Branches based on everything he’d learned so far concerning the Branches and Sephiroth.

If there were 10 Locks and the Locks were meant to be a cheap imitation of the Sephiroth of the Absolute One, it only made sense that there would be at least 10 of the divine items.

Letting out a sigh, he began to ponder his next course of action as out of the six listed in the scholarly texts, two had their general location tagged as being in Henos.

The location of the other two was listed as unknown with one last seen in Argent and the other not having a set location due to its nature.

He considered his next course of action considering the information he’d just come across only to pause as he heard a pair of footsteps approach.

Soon, the source of it arrived with Ana taking heavy steps into the sitting room, her appearance an absolute mess.

"Well, hello there." Alex greeted amicably only for Ana to groan in response as she collapsed on a couch.

"Feeling okay?" Alex inquired in slight amusement.

Yet another groan followed.

"Perhaps you might want to take a break."

That elicited a more human response.

"No!!!"

"And here I thought I was talking to a mule."

"Hmmph." Ana pouted as she sat up in her chair.

"How is it?"

"Terrible," Ana remarked. "They no longer wait until I arrive, basically running away the moment they sense my presence."

"Can’t you hide it?"

"I did. But I can’t hide from the Spirit World as well."

"Ah, their Spiritomancers are quite the headache."

Ana let out yet another groan. "It’s just... I hate it. No matter what I do... no matter how many I save, it doesn’t make a difference."

"You are trying your best and that matters a lot."

"... Thanks," Ana muttered softly though her expression remained strained.

Letting out a sigh, she patted her cheeks before managing a better expression that didn’t scream stressed and barely keeping it together.

"Any luck with figuring out the locations of the other Branches?"

Alex nodded while pointing at the book he held. "I may have gotten the general location for a Branch or two."

"That’s great but... would you be leaving immediately?"

"If possible, yes. Is there an issue?"

"Perhaps you’ve forgotten... But I cannot leave Ra’as."

Alex frowned for a moment before he quickly realized what she meant.

He facepalmed in embarrassment. "I apologize. A lot has been happening, I’ve hardly had the time to keep all that in my head."

"It’s fine. But then again, would you really leave with the Empire as is?"

Alex managed a weak smile. "I am but one man. If the Great Families cannot handle it, what makes you think I can?"

Then, he rose to his feet before adding. "We’ll make preparations to deal with the vow you made."

Though it was a hassle, Alex thought it necessary to pave the way for his current strongest subordinate to be able to continue together with him on his quest.

***

Donning a brown suit along with a thick coat and carrying a cane made from oak, Albus stepped out of the bedroom in a bid to leave the house only to find Rose seated on a rocking chair at the fireplace, draped in a thick sweater as she busied herself knitting a scarf.

Noticing his gaze, she glanced up at him and flashed a mischievous smile. "Oh, and who is this dashing man in my home?"

"Your husband," Albus replied. "And I am forced to inquire why you are knitting instead of resting."

"And as I have replied several times, I do not wish to do so. Staying in bed like a vegetable won’t help in any way, Albus. I’ve been in bed for years, let me move around a little."

"Still..."

"I’ll be fine. Now stop with your nagging. If one were to hear us, they’d think you were the wife." Rose joked, earning a chuckle from Albus.

"Fine then, just don’t overdo it."

"I won’t," Rose remarked smilingly. "So... Where are you headed?"

"I plan to head to the library, to pick up a few books. I’ve left my studies untouched for too long, I cannot remain idle lest my mind falls prey to the whims of time." Albus intoned casually earning a sneer from Rose.

"I see. You are willing to go under heavy snow and eerie crimson light to retrieve a few books, yet I can’t knit a scarf. How is that fair?"

"Oh come on, you know that’s hardly the same thing."

"Hmmph, well, you may not go, come over here and sit with me. If you wish to exercise your brain, I’d be more than happy to teach you how to knit."

"That..."

"Do you wish to say something?" Rose inquired, causing Albus to pause, his instinct warning to tread carefully at this juncture.

"... Fine. Give me a moment to change."

"Alright then."

With that, Albus went back inside to change, leaving Rose alone, the latter of which placed her palm on her chest and took a deep breath a second later.

However, the nagging feeling that something was wrong intensified and for a moment, Rose couldn’t help but wonder why that was.

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