"My mother was from Yulos. My father was a soldier from Symran. I heard he died after bringing her here. I grew up on the streets. When my mother died, our neighbors took care of me for a while. Then one day, some men came to our neighborhood. They were well dressed. They told the families they would give their children simple jobs and provide them with an education. They paid the parents a little money and took the children away. Most of the families were poor and they had so many children. They probably believed they were giving one of them a chance at a better life... Of course, they took orphans like me as well."
"They took us to a place in the north of Tirsit, far from any settlement. There were other children there besides us, but no work waiting for us. We were scared, of course. Then they bathed us and gave us plenty to eat. For the first time in a long while, we were warm and well fed. In the following days, they started taking two or three of us away in turns every day. None of them ever came back. But when my turn came, I quietly followed them, just like the others. After several days of having a full stomach and a warm place to sleep, I had started to trust them. After passing through tunnels, they brought us to a place that smelled like a hospital and strapped us to beds."
He continued speaking, gripping his own shoulder like it is hurt.
"Then, they carved the siuni into our skin. I was terrified. They did the same thing to all of us, one by one... I remember one of them vomiting blood and dying. Some time passed, and when I woke up, I was in a different room... Children were playing games, laughing, and eating sweets. They told them those treats were a reward because their bodies had accepted the siuni. They promised them even more if they learned to use their powers. Then... they took them away as well."
"Of course, I was curious too. One day, when I finally figured out how to use my siuni, I was happy. I wanted a reward, too. But by then, everyone had already stopped paying attention to me. It was as if they had forgotten I even existed. When I asked them for my reward, they acted as though they couldn't hear me. So, I followed them to the place where they had taken the other children..."
"That day, they passed through another tunnel into a different building. I remember there was quite a distance between them. It was a place I had never seen before. Everything was glittering, grand—it was a luxurious building. I was mesmerized and excited for my reward. Then, while wandering through the building, I came across one of the rooms where the other children had been taken. They were all unconscious. Some of them were already dead... The rest is just like what Mes explained. They were feeding their blood to the people in the rooms right next to them. Wealthy, influential people... most of them are people you all know."
He paused again. This time, he lifted his head and looked at the people around the table.
"I assumed you already knew this much. I thought you knew what those people were really being used for. The laborers brought from the colonies, the kidnapped men and women, the children, the homeless, the orphans... one way or another, this was where they all ended up. But you have quite a few informants who either escaped from the experiments or are involved in this things themselves. I thought you knew..."
"As far as I know, the blood allows them to use their siuni more effectively. Even if there is an incompatibility with body, the power carried in the blood temporarily stabilizes the connection. After that, the surviving children are put through training. They are brainwashed every single day. They are raised to be soldiers or assassins. I am sure their numbers are greater than you estimate... That's everything I know."
"…I never imagined people could go that far. No… I had no idea," Professor Reiner muttered to himself.
"Do you remember where that place is? Maybe we can find some evidence," Juan said. Even though he might not have known the exact details, because he had gone through similar experiences, he looked colder about this matter than the others.
"I was just a child when I escaped. I only remember that it was somewhere in the north... I was lucky. Back then, they didn't fully understand what these powers were. So my power pretty useful. When I escaped, I stuffed a few papers I found into my pocket. I thought I might take them to the police someday. They were lists of names."
This time, he looked directly at Herman.
"Afterward, I carefully chose the houses I broke into from that list. Of course, there were many people with a siuni around them... But I have the ability to distinguish those who have a siuni. Even if I can't know their exact powers, I can see how strong they are and keep my distance from them. I didn't just steal money from these people... I don't know if it will be of any help with your cases, but I have some evidence that I gathered myself as well. If nothing else, it can provide an insight into what they are doing. Do you want them?"
After a brief silence, Professor Reiner spoke in a low voice.
"Please. I'm sure it will be very helpful. Bera, Walter, you two go."
They nodded in agreement. Then Ezra began describing the location.
...
When they returned, they brought back far more documents than anyone had expected.
They placed three large sacks filled with papers in the middle of the sitting room.
Everyone gathered around, sorting through the documents, separating those that could serve as evidence, and compiling the names worth investigating. At the same time, they kept asking Ezra one question after another.
While sorting through the documents, Arsh took a book from the sack. its cover was decorated with gold and precious stones. When he opened it, what he saw surprised him. There were drawings of different siunis, along with explanations written in Symraniese.
"What's this?" Arsh asked, holding the book up for Ezra to see. Then he handed it to Professor Reiner, who had reached out for it.
"I stole it from the Belowich family. You won't find their name on any list. They use different names. But they're one of the main financiers behind these experiments. I think that book was prepared as a gift for them. It looks like a catalog of confirmed siunis." Ezra said.
"Are you sure it's alright to give us something like this? Most people would keep something like this for themselves," Professor Reiner said as he carefully flipped through the pages.
"I don't know. They're useless to me. What would I do with them? I'm assuming you won't use it to build an army like they would. So... I guess it's fine."
"Thanks to you, we gained a great deal of information and evidence today. If we can find an opening, the arrests and the trials will probably move forward much faster. I'll speak with Matthew Tiffany about leaking some of this to the media," Herman said.
"You don't need to worry about that. He'll be here soon," Professor Reiner replied.
"Why is he coming?"
"He said there are some things we should discuss."
By the time they finally finished organizing the documents, Matthew Tiffany's carriage had already arrived in front of the manor.
"Well, look at this. Helen is here. Bera, Herman, Mes... Juan too. Hello. Ah, and you must be Walter. We met last time." His gaze then moved to Arsh, Ezra, and Haru. "Hmm... I see a few faces I don't recognize."
He then turned to Arsh.
"If I'm not mistaken, you must be Arsh. We met in Thage, didn't we?"
"Yes. It's good to see you again, Mr. Tiffany. I'm grateful for the help you gave me back then," Arsh said, bowing his head slightly.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you. Don't worry about that," he said as he walked into the manor and headed straight for the sitting room.
"Shouldn't we go to my study?" Professor Reiner asked.
"I think it's better if we talk while everyone is here. I assume everyone in this room is someone you trust, right?" he said.
He had already taken a seat in one of the armchairs.
Professor Reiner motioned for everyone to take a seat. Ezra was about to leave the room, but Juan caught him by the arm and pulled him down into the chair beside him.
"Now, I'll get straight to the point," Matthew said. "It was decided that the names connected to the FFSD investigation would remain confidential until the legal proceedings were underway. Unfortunately, those names were leaked today."
He let the silence linger for a moment before continuing.
"That means there's a good chance every one of you is now in danger."