Meanwhile, completely unaware of the events taking place around him, Kyoji was deep in peaceful sleep, unbothered and calm.
It wasn't until the morning alarm rang that he finally woke up, ready to tackle the day's activities.
It was still early. Kyoji had made it a habit to sleep early whenever he had free time so he could also wake up early and refreshed.
His whole body felt full of energy and ready to move. All his injuries were either fully healed or close to it, as he couldn't feel even the slightest discomfort anymore.
Getting out of bed, he walked toward the window and opened it.
The cold breeze of early morning swept across his face, ruffling his white hair as it carried with it the fresh scent of flowers.
Kyoji closed his eyes and took a deep breath, savoring that short moment of comfort. When he opened his eyes, he looked out the window, but his thoughts weren't focused on the view. His mind was already busy, thinking and arranging his plans for the day.
It was part of his usual morning routine.
Wake up early. Use the quiet time to organize and plan. Then go about the day.
After a short moment, Kyoji sighed and walked to the bathroom to take a shower.
By the time he was done, his breakfast was already waiting for him in his room.
It was a simple meal: a sandwich, a few vegetables, and a hot cup of coffee.
Of course, the vegetables weren't the ordinary kind. They were magical plants, specially chosen to help him recover faster.
During the height of humanity's war against the mutants, the world had been devastated. Many plants died due to the constant clashes of energy. But at the same time, some of them began to evolve to survive, giving birth to magical plants.
These magical plants had various useful properties. Some could be used in alchemy, others could be eaten or consumed in different ways to produce special effects.
But such plants were rare and expensive, making this meal quite a luxury. And the sandwich meat? It was made from mutant flesh, which made it even more valuable.
Mutant meat couldn't be eaten right away. Even after death, mutants still carried traces of chaos energy that could be harmful to humans. So the meat had to go through heavy purification—a costly process. But the result was worth it. Not only was the meat tasty, but it could also strengthen the body and boost energy.
Kyoji relaxed and slowly savored his meal.
Once he finished eating, he left his room to go look for Butler James.
There were still a few days left before he had to leave for the academy. That gave him a short window of time to experiment with his newly awakened ability, so he needed to make some preparations.
It wasn't hard to find the butler after asking a few maids around.
Kyoji gave him a few instructions, then returned to his room.
It was time to examine the strange energy swirling inside him.
But just as he sat down...
Ping!
His wristband vibrated. A soft light pulsed across the interface.
INCOMING CALL – UNKNOWN ID
Kyoji stared at the screen, unmoving. He didn't recognize the ID, but he had a guess. He tapped to accept.
A short breath. Then a voice followed.
"…Kyoji?"
"Frederick," he muttered, recognizing the voice—just as he'd guessed.
"I heard you got released from the hospital. I called to check in, see how you're doing," Frederick said.
But from the tone of his voice, Kyoji could already tell that wasn't the only reason for the call. Still, he chose not to push it... at least not yet.
"Yes, my butler managed to pull some strings to get me out early," Kyoji replied in an emotionless tone. "Though now I have to deal with being watched closely by Human Alliance agents."
"Same over here, it's like they think we're hiding something about the beast horde. Can you believe that?" Frederick's voice grew sharp with anger. "Ungrateful bastards. After all we went through, risking our lives—and now they suspect us of foul play?"
Kyoji remained silent, his face blank, not reacting to Frederick's frustration.
"Oh, I see," he muttered. "So, did you tell them anything?" Kyoji asked.
"Not really. They've been trying to question me for a while now, but we've been pushing them off. Still, they seem quite persistent—even tried to get one of the maids to spy on me," Frederick muttered, his voice sounding drained.
"Oh, I see. Makes sense," Kyoji replied.
He could still remember how things had changed in his past life after the beast horde.
Many people died that day, and a lot of heartbroken families demanded answers from the Human Alliance. He clearly remembered the chaos it caused back then.
Although the death count this time was lower thanks to their efforts, there were still quite a number of casualties.
So it made sense that the Human Alliance was under pressure. People wanted answers, and the Alliance was desperate to provide them—not that Kyoji cared much about their problems.
"So, say why you actually called me," Kyoji said after a brief pause.
There was a short silence—just long enough to feel intentional.
"…Switch to visual?"
Kyoji gave a small hum of agreement. With a flick of his fingers, he tapped the side of his wristband. The interface blinked softly.
A shimmer appeared as a life-sized hologram of Frederick projected from the device, showing him from the shoulders up.
He still looked the same—dark hair, silver eyes, and a handsome face—but Kyoji noticed something off. There was a hint of guilt in his expression.
"So?" Kyoji asked, seeing that Frederick wasn't speaking.
Frederick hesitated.
"So… I wanted to apologize for not coming to see you in the hospital. You know, the Giles family told the Human Alliance that I was still recovering, so I couldn't really leave the family grounds," Frederick explained.
"You don't have to worry. Besides, even if you had come, it wouldn't have made a difference. I only woke up yesterday and returned home that same day," Kyoji said calmly.
"Oh, I see," Frederick replied. He paused again before asking, "So, about the mutant—have you heard?"
Kyoji stopped for a moment when he heard that question.
Back in the hospital, after James left to prepare his discharge, he had searched the net to find out what had happened. So he already knew what Frederick was referring to.
"Yeah, I heard about it. I heard you killed it," Kyoji said, his eyes fixed on the hologram.
"Oh…" Frederick muttered. It was just one word, but his face dropped noticeably, and Kyoji could see it clearly—guilt, deep guilt—but he didn't know why.
The media and eyewitnesses had claimed that Frederick killed the Dominator Mutant, alongside Kyoji. Kyoji had accepted that explanation at the time. It made sense to him.
He had assumed that after he lost consciousness, Frederick came back and finished the mutant off.
But seeing Frederick's face now… it didn't look like that was the case.
Before Kyoji could ask, Frederick finally looked up, the guilt still written all over his face.
"Look, Kyoji… it's not what you think. I didn't mean to take credit for your kill. It all just happened so fast…" Frederick said in an apologetic voice.
Kyoji's expression didn't change, but inside, his mind began turning, trying to piece together what Frederick meant.
"I ran, just like we planned," Frederick continued. "But when you didn't follow, I decided to turn back and check. I found you lying unconscious. The mutant was already dead—its body right next to you. Then others arrived and assumed I was the one who killed it."
"Oh," Kyoji muttered, finally understanding what Frederick was trying to say.
But something still didn't add up. From what Kyoji remembered, the mutant, though heavily injured, still had enough vitality left to kill him. Mutants were known for their strong life force.
He had assumed someone else came and killed it while he was out cold. But if Frederick was telling the truth, then that wasn't the case.
Did he really deal enough damage to kill it before losing consciousness?
Thinking back, most of the mutant's injuries had been internal—caused by the chaotic energy that went wild after Kyoji disrupted its breakthrough. So on the outside, it may have looked alive, but inside, it was already dying.
It made sense now.