Shades of the New World

"Although everything seems like a convenient coincidence, it's way too coincidental to be orchestrated by someone," said Dzuko and pulled out a small envelope from inside his armor, "I was also curious about the newcomer's potential connection to the trio so I asked Headquarters to check up whether the Old Relics met with Evin at any point in the past. They happily obliged since they wanted dirt on director, but as you know, even if they show some bias in their report conclusions, they never lie on the facts. You can read their reply here."

He opened up the envelope in front of everyone and had them read it.

'What the hell, I was investigated privately?' Evin thought curiously and read the short summary.

[Clean. No connection to be found between Eviendra of Smallwall town and the Old Relics. Headquarters still warn team Eleven to act carefully around Eleven Six.]

By this time Ertu also received a reply from headquarters, which forwarded the reports of the inspector that frequented the town of Saar

[The town residents came up with another unbelievable story yet again. Small pillars of light coming out of the ground itself. I can see it happening if there were gaps all over the ground to let the light go through, but as one might guess, no gaps in the ground. Unless there are some tiny little bugs that emitted light in such a specific way, there's no way for pillars of light to appear from the ground.]

The report then listed some of the previous 'stories' that the residents cooked up. The inspector didn't try to hide his suspicions regarding these incidents, saying that the residents just wanted the attention of higher-ups for whatever reason. First they started with earthquakes, then came kidnappings. The government officials took these two incidents pretty seriously, but since they weren't able to unearth anything substantial, the case was dropped soon after. 

But since similar reports from Saar kept coming again and again with no evidence to back anything up, very quickly, everyone just thought they were messing with them.

"It's an unlucky turn of events, which lead to the citizens here to live under an invisible reign of terror," Sannah said solemnly, "But although unfortunate, aside from writing a report on this incident to reveal the laxness of our mid-level officials, there's nothing else we can do for now."

'I guess unlucky is one way to describe things…' 

"But aside from that, this should prove Evin's innocence to a certain degree. If we want to, we can double check its legitimacy by asking about the disappearances from the older residents here tomorrow.  Of course, there's still a certain amount of risk to things, but being overly paranoid when the facts are laid in front of us is a stupid thing," Sannah said, smiling at Evin.

"Instead of trying to find blame in him, we should thank him for making our job much easier," Sannah said and the team started working on a plan.

In the end, they decided to map the general area using Dzuko's skill, while the rest of the team were tasked to protect him. Evin's job shifted from searching for information or the other teams to tailing his team from a distance, acting as a scout of some sorts. And after they found the secret base, Evin would join the group again and hide inside the group's shadow.

With the next day's plan ready, the team disbanded to their respective rooms. Evin was also about to go sleep, but Sannah stopped him.

"Yes?" Evin asked.

"Just wanted to thank you for the good work."

"Oh, don't mind that. The faster we finish, the better for everyone. And besides, I just got lucky," Evin shrugged.

"I've heard from the director that you've already been paid?" Sannah asked.

"That's right. But now that I think about it, the payment was just enough to get me qualified to join this team. So from here on out, I'm going to be working under him until the Horn Ceremony starts." Evin answered.

"Oh right, you still don't have a horn yet. Well, I hope you become a twin horn like our director. Even if you don't get one, don't be discouraged as it's nothing too serious. Just a small drawback," Sannah was saying, before she suddenly apologized, "Sorry about talking to you like I'm talking to a child. It just happened when I was autopiloting."

"Ha-ha, don't worry. At this point, I'm already used to it. But, why did you mention payments?"

"As you know, most Tribes work with a contribution system in the North. So for a team after a mission, we unanimously decide which member contributed the most, so that mage get a hefty bonus at the end of it. I'm thinking I'll nominate you for it this time, despite the protests that might come from the traditionalists."

"Well, as long as I completely don't flop everything during the exploration phase, then I guess I deserve of a small bonus at the end of it all," Evin replied smilingly. It was true that he contributed to the search a lot up to this point, so much so that 

"In any case, the team members usually request what they could get if they become the top contributor at the beginning of a mission. Headquarters then decide whether that's plausible or not. And of course, since you weren't there at that time, you don't have that. So if you have something specific you want, give me a small letter for it. I feel that if you request it at the end of a mission, someone might find it as an excuse to refuse it."

"Alright, but what can I request for a prize, anyway?" Evin asked.

"Anything, really – Magical materials, Core Shards, assimilation techniques, spell-casting techniques, specific studies of magical subjects etc. You can start requesting for World Cores later on, but I can't really see that being accepted in your current state," Sannah added, "Other than that, you can request information on areas or specific individuals; request protection for your family members; and even ask for a potentially suitable fiancé, or fiancées if you're into that, provided you take a small personality test."

"Huh, they weren't lying when they said that you could get anything you want if you join the Paradra, huh?" Evin murmured.

"Ha-ha, well, great power usually comes with great advantages. In any case, you can give it some thought and get back to me later. Goodnight for now," Sannah said and walked off to her room.

Evin thought about the prize, before deciding on one thing.