“L-Lune?” Meil made sure he heard me right.

“I said call Shawn over this instant!”

Right as I said that, I could hear the doors to the infirmary opening before quickly closing shortly after. From the sounds of it, it looks like Meil was quick to realize something was amiss, so he wasted no more time in questioning me and instead went to do as I said. Cecily and Nelly could still be heard sitting down next to me, but their voices clearly indicated they weren’t content with what’s going on in the Palace.

“Lune, there’s something you’re hiding from us.” Cecily spoke out, “What does the Practical Match have anything to do with your wariness just now? How does Shawn play into the entire situation?”

Before I could give her my answer though, a knock on the door could be heard, and the lanky yet somehow calm and collected man could be heard making his entrance. He quickly suggested, no, ordered the girls to leave the room, and from the sounds of it he didn’t even allow Meil to stay in the room as well. Looks like my suspicions were right on the money this time. Shawn’s definitely an enemy.

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Grimheart?” He asked, “As you know, I’m a busy man. I understand you’re discontent with the way the other participants treated you, but as I told you during my last visit, they’ve been dealt with accordingly.”

“Shawn, I heard about your little dungeon escape room. Mind explaining me why exactly it’s so similar to Shaid’s Lair?”

“Pfft!” Shawn burst into a fit of laughter, “Damn, took you long enough to figure it out! Man alive is this a riot! Oh, but no, seriously, looks like you’re not called the genius Famed Inventor for nothing.”

He’s not giving me a straight answer, but from the way he’s phrasing it, it’s just like he confessed to my suspicions? This guy’s bad news, I need to heal up quick and get the hell out of here with my family as soon as possible. Sorry, Meil, I’ll pay for your tuition out of my own pockets if I really have to, but my family’s safety takes priority!

“Yeah, you’re right.” Shawn said, “I based the entire Event on Shaid’s Lair. And it’s all thanks to you.”

“Wait, me?” I shivered as I heard the words.

“Yeah, don’t you know? The Quartzes were the ones that commissioned your party to explore Shaid’s Lair.”

He’s… not serious, is he? He can’t be! But wait, does that mean, no…! He’s saying that the reason everyone in our party safe from me died, the reason I was separated from my family, the reason Marina died?! He’s the reason behind it all!? The reason behind my trauma, my pain, three whole years of sleepless nights! He’s the one at fault?!

“Why…?” I asked through my gritted teeth.

“Why? Simple!” He all but broke into a song, “The Quartzes need to come up with all sorts of fun and whacky Events every ten years, right? I just thought I’d use the ITA’s vast adventurer network to take inspiration from the history around us. Of course, I never expected all of you to live through that, but if you think of it like this, wouldn’t you say that the suffering and deaths of your measly party basically paved the way for future geniuses that are gonna attend their first choice of University?”

“You’re sick in the head!” I screamed out, “You’re so sick, if you were a horse I’d shoot you dead! I’ll fucking kill you for what you’ve done!”

“Hey now! Calm down there! If you really need more convincing, then why don’t you look back at your own love life? Think about it, if I never commissioned you and Marina together, then you’d never meet the love of your life, no? Shame she had to die as well though, I was really rooting for you two~!”

He was clearly yanking my chains, probably trying to get me to lose my cool. He’s the head of the Mobius Awards, so in my eyes he’s untouchable. I can’t harm or kill him, as the damage will be easily seen and I’ll be reported, leading to me effectively putting my family in danger. Then again, if I just don’t do anything, he’s gonna be free to toy with me endlessly. But then again, if it’s a reaction he wants, then a reaction he’ll get.

“Do you even know about the lives of the people you commissioned?” I asked, “Do you know about all the experiences they’ve gone through before having their story end prematurely because of you?”

“Of course I do! I do background checks on everyone I commission!” He defended himself, “Sullivan Streits, Marina Dola, Genevra Lionheart, Linus Tenford and of course you, Lune Grimheart. All adventurers who’ve signed a contract with the ITA stating you will accept any and all commissions. If you really felt bad for being the ones who had to go through all this, then you should’ve been more careful reading the fine print.”

“So that’s what’s going on, huh?! Was all we went through also your doing? The Book of Fortune as well, are you ‘L’?!”

“Eh, Book of Fortune? L? It seems we’ve missed some key details in your notes. That or you weren’t entirely honest in it, Grimheart…”

“The Book of Fortune!” I slammed my fists together, “A Book that foretold the reader’s Future! If you could recreate the Jigsaw Rooms, then surely you have the ability to recreate that as well!”

“Oh? So now you’re asking for my help all of a sudden? And why, pray tell, would you want me to create such a wondrous Book? To satiate your own curiosity? To allow you to never falter when facing a difficult decision? To ensure the safety of your dear daughter?”

“Leave Nelly out of this!” I shouted, “She has nothing to do with this damned place! The only reason she’s here is to fill a spot so that Cecily could become eligible for being an attendee.”

“I see. So your family’s trying to con me out of a fully paid scholarship!” He tried framing the girls, “Then, I’ll make sure to have them both locked up soon after this conversation’s over!”

“You can try, you damned asshole! But never mind that, I still have some business to do with you, not to mention questions I need answered. You’re not going anywhere yet.”

“And what makes you say that?” He asked confidently.

“This.” I pointed to the key to the infirmary he held in his hand, “I don’t need to see to be able to use Materialize. I wrote about that in our thesis. You should’ve read the fine print.”

“…” He sat silently for a moment before once again laughing, “Oh alright, I suppose I have some time to spare. Go on then, ask away.”

***

“First of all, what is the purpose of the Mobius Awards?”

“To help future geniuses prosper in the hopes that humanity shall flourish thanks to our efforts.” He said in a matter of fact tone.

“If that’s the case, then why base the Events off of something as dangerous as Shaid’s Lair?”

“As I said in the opening ceremony, Grimheart, the people attending the Mobius Awards are the World’s Finest. We need a clear winner, so making the curve steep makes it easier for us to differentiate between the true geniuses and the fakers.”

Yet again, he’s dodging the question. I didn’t ask for that, I asked why he even commissioned us to go to Sibirus in the first place. From what I’ve gathered though, it seems like he viewed Adventurers as a lowly bunch of idiots who had nowhere else to go, so they just signed a few contracts with the heinous ITA. To put it this way, he views Adventurer’s as Sinners, and the ITA as the Devil.

“So you’re saying I made a deal with the Devil, so now I reap what I sow?” I asked with an angered tone.

“Whoa, since when did you get into poetry?” He sat there, genuinely surprised, “Have you considered writing a book?”

“A Handbook, yes.” I thought there’d be no harm in sharing, “I actually wrote two Volumes of it, but I stopped after I was sent to Sibirus.”

“Yeah, it definitely shows! Don’t take this the wrong way, pal, but I kind of saw you and your party as “Beta Testers” for this year’s Events.”

“Beta Testers? Is that what our lives are reduced to now?” I asked, “Alright then, I won’t take it the wrong way. It’s just business, right pal?”

Upon mimicking his way of addressing me, he clapped his hands together and showed signs of genuine delight after thinking that I had finally gone over to his side.

“Right?! You get it, Grimheart! I knew you of all people would understand! Actually, this entire Awards wouldn’t exist without you, so if you want, I’ll just say you and that Meil boy are the victors this year and send you to University right away!”

A tantalizing offer, but I decline. Removing the bandages from my face, the first thing Shawn saw were my bright Green Eyes staring right at him. Actually, while I was recovering, I made sure to “Return to the past”, so to speak, in order to somehow try and convert back into a Green Iro. It was difficult, reliving everything I’ve gone through once again, but it ultimately lead to me being able to Heal quicker thanks to my Green Iro’s Ability.

“Ah, it’s good to be back!” I referred to the color of my Eyes, “No other color suits me, y’know? That being said…”

While he was still stunned, I had raised my left hand up to his face as I raised him my ring finger, casting Fireball. And just like that, Shawn was gone. Reduced to mere ashes, all it took was a slight gust of wind for me to essentially remove any and all traces of him ever being alive to begin with. Hopefully now, my party can rest in peace…

Opening the door of the infirmary, I was greeted by the sight of Cecily, Nelly and Meil all pacing about nervously. Surprised that I had not only gotten rid of my bandages, but that I was completely healed, and with a Green Iro no less, they all but flocked to my side to ask what had happened.

“Lune?!” Cecily asked, “Your face, no, your Eyes!”

“Is it cute?” I asked cheekily.

“Where’s Shawn?” Meil checked the room we were just in.

“Who?” I made it obvious he was no more.

“Daddy! Awe you gonna be okay?” Nelly jumped to give me a hug.

“Haha! Of course, sweetie! Daddy’s all fine and well now, better than ever!”

While I was cuddling her, I was confused by Nelly’s next action. She looked up at me adorably before pointing at the top of her head with her eyes. At a loss as to what that means, I checked with the now chuckling Cecily and Meil, who were nice enough to explain it to me.

“Humu, she wants you to pat her head.” Cecily explained, “Looks like she really enjoys Meil doing that to her.”

“Oi, Meil!” I yelled at him with an unserious tone whilst patting the ever living hell out of my daughter’s head, “You tryna’ steal my daughter away from me?!”

As we all laughed together, I couldn’t help but recall the dream I had the other day. The dream of everyone laughing exactly like this, but the moment I enter the room everyone falls deathly silent. Looking at it now, I can see that everyone here wants me to be with them. They’re not silent, they’re not lying. They just want me to live and be with them in the moment.

Peeking out of the window and into the clouds above, I made sure to wave to my other family as well.