The man replied, "I am simply an old friend of your headmaster. The name is Ezra Holmes."

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Holmes," Leon replied back to him. He paused, met his gaze, and added with a smile on his face, "I keep seeing your name on every newspaper daily."

A normal friend?

'Sure, as if the name Ezra Holmes was not known.' Leon thought about him.

In the game's storyline, he worked as a chief detective for the Authority branch in Shinra. Having solved cases in the four digits, he was given the title, 'The Casebreaker Bastard'.

Of course, it was the lowborn thieves and criminals who gave him the name, and ever since it spread, that name became his identity.

It was funny though, because Leon recalled that it was one of his employees who came up with this ridiculous name while he was drunk and developing.

Well, no one objected to it, so the company allowed it to be pushed into the main code base.

Anyways, Ezra Holmes was just a normal side character who would not have appeared in the first few arcs of the game. It was only at the end of the first-year Academy arc that his involvement was noticed for the first time.

His name topped the forum ranking after his major involvement in taking down the Twilight Order and cornering Eula in the smartest way possible was revealed.

That arc was what promoted him from a side character to a major character.

Raizen spoke to Leon, seeing his eyes examining Ezra, "you don't have to worry, we are not here for you."

"Hm?" Leon blinked, tilting his head. "Let me guess… this is about the Dungeon 006 barrier collapse last night?"

"Oh so you already heard the news," Ezra said looking at him, "yes, because of the involvement of demons, this case has been assigned Authority."

"Did you find anything yet? What caused it?" Leon asked, making himself appear curious in front of them.

Leon already kn0ws that it was the king's doing to distract his father. Though the Authority, and his father had no way of knowing it.

Raizen shook his head. "No. It is still under investigation. We have placed this case at the top of our priority list."

Duke Orion, who was listening to them, raised a question, "you still believe this and the Tiara incident yesterday are connected?"

Ezra nodded once.

"Both the events occurred one after another, it's only natural to consider it connected." His eyes shifted to Leon as he added, "the demon god had tried to descend yesterday. The whole world has been in uproar ever since. What would happen if this dungeon incident was also caused by the demon God?"

Orion fell into deep thought after hearing him. Ezra and Raizen's words held some truth. It sounded possible in every aspect.

Leon glanced at his father from the corner of his eyes. 'He does not know the real reason. Should I drop some hints?'

He thought about it, then discarded the idea. 'No. I am still lacking proper proof. And questioning the king right now would not be great either.'

His eyes shifted to his sister, who sat quietly on the couch beside Orion. She had not even looked at Leon when he walked in.

'Is she angry with me?'

Surely he did not follow exactly what she told him to, but even so, everything went perfectly.

As the duke and Ezra chatted for a few more minutes, the topic shifted to Leon.

"It is still hard to believe such a thing happened. BAHAHAHAHA." Raizen laughed as Leon narrated what happened last night. "Oh, I always knew Princess Eula was bold, but this is next level."

Leon sneered lightly here and there, just to maintain the tempo. He glanced at his father and saw the troublesome expression on his face.

Surely he understood the weight of the situation now.

Leon and Princess Eula's declaration had dragged House Valentine into the royal spotlight. Whether they admitted it or not, they had indirectly chosen a side in the Lunovar throne dispute. And now, to the world, it would appear as if House Valentine supported Princess Eula as the successor.

It was not that Duke Orion disliked the princess. It was simply that he never wanted House Valentine to become entangled in the internal conflicts of the Lunovars.

Raizen turned back to Leon with a curious look. "So, tell me, how did you manage to make the princess choose your side so openly?"

Leon did not answer. He simply glanced at Veronica.

Raizen followed his gaze and paused. "Oh."

He finally understood who was behind all of this.

Leon had already told them about the king accusing him yesterday. And seeing Veronica sit silently with that cold expression, both Raizen and Ezra looked unsurprised, as if they knew the king would try to pull something like that eventually.

'I guess they already knew the king was a scumbag,' Leon thought inwardly.

Raizen leaned forward again. "Anyways, kid, you should prepare yourself. Life at Eclipse is going to get tough now. Princess Eula ranks first in her year, and by now almost every noble house must have heard the news about you. They might come challenge you. And losing a duel in my Institute will result in losing credits."

His eyes glowed faintly red. It was a warning that things had become a little more troublesome for him.

Leon, however, did not react. He smiled calmly. "I will be fine."

Raizen raised an eyebrow. "Ohhoho, so confident."

Leon shrugged lightly. "What can I say? Your granddaughter trained me well in handling anger and annoyance."

Raizen's left eye twitched. "…I see."

"Cough." Duke Orion coughed loudly and changed the subject.

"That reminds me. Our son and your granddaughter seem to have grown close. It reminds me of how Lorance and I used to be in our time."

Lorance Nightson, Alice's father. Back when Orion was young and House Valentine was merely a marquess rank, he and Lorance were known to be rivals.

"That foolish son of mine," Raizen said with a tired face. "He did not inherit a single thing from me."

"Hmm. He has potential though," Orion noted. "If you ask me, he would make a great leader someday."

"Nah." Raizen waved his hand. "That child of mine would ruin the empire I built."

He scratched his beard and looked at Leon. "Anyway, Leon. Do not be too rough on my sweet Alice. She can be a foul-mouthed brat, that is a well-known fact. But she is the sweetest."

Leon narrowed his eyes. 'Sweet, my ass.'

Raizen continued, "Besides, I heard Duchess Ezra invited her for dinner some time ago. She never visits other noble houses."

Leon inwardly thought, 'That is because no one ever invites her.'

"And I hardly ever see her mix with kids her age," Raizen added.

Leon's mind answered again, 'That is because she has no friends.'

He could already picture Alice showing her middle finger to any noble brat approaching her.

Raizen sighed fondly. "Be a good friend to Alice. And try knocking some sense into her if possible."

Leon lifted both his hands. "No way in hell. She will knock me out first."

"Hahaha, true. True. But she is more open to you than the others."

Well, that was because Leon had been trying to get on her good side. He did not enjoy being insulted or creatively cursed either, and Alice was someone who would benefit him greatly in the future.

Leon sighed and replied, relaxed. "She does not care if people hate her. That trait is rare. It would be a waste if someone forced her to lose it."

Raizen stared at him quietly for a few seconds. "Heh."

He rubbed his beard slightly. A faint relief washed over his face. "So she told you that."

She had indeed told him. Inside the carriage that night, when they were returning from the dinner at the Blood Tower, Alice had said all of this to Leon.

Raizen let out a long breath. "At least now I do not have to worry about her being left alone."

Leon suddenly recalled how she asked him to sit near her in class, and how he ignored her.

'Her anger was valid.'

"Anyways, we should get going." Both Ezra and Raizen stood up. Duke Orion also rose, and Leon followed.

Veronica remained seated quietly.

Duke Orion escorted the guests personally to the entrance.

"…"

Only Leon and Veronica were left.

He turned toward his sister. She was still sitting on the sofa, staring straight at him.

"Nice weather today, do you not think so, sis?" Leon said, forcing a smile.

"Look, I know what I did last night. But listen—"

"Leon." Her voice was calm.

"Come here."

She sat upright, patting the seat beside her.

Leon gulped and slowly walked over.

'Oh no. She is not even listening…'

Leon walked to her with a small sigh and took a seat beside her. His leg brushed against hers. And he felt Veronica turn slightly in his direction.

Leon glanced at her cold golden eyes.

Both of her hands rose toward his face.

'Here it comes.'

He did not dodge. He just accepted his fate and let it happen.

Squeeze. Stretch–

His cheeks were pulled to the sides with practiced precision. It hurt more than last time.

"Mmmhh—" Leon groaned, his words crushed between her fingers.

After a few seconds, Veronica finally let go.

Leon grabbed his cheeks with both hands and rubbed them gently. "That hurts."

"You deserve it," she replied without mercy.

Leon pouted a little. 'Yeah, I expected that.'

Before he could complain more, Veronica's hand moved again.

This time, she simply placed it on his head.

Her fingers patted his hair slowly.

"But," she said quietly, "you did manage to get it done."

Leon turned his eyes to her. Her expression was still composed, but the corners of her lips had a softened smile.

"You deserve at least this much praise," Veronica finished.

Leon blinked once.

He scratched his cheek again and looked away. "Heh. I will take it."

Inside, though, he could not deny it. 'Yeah. That felt nice.'

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