Within the chamber, Ayumi, Shinso, and Humphrey stood in silence, watching the corpse of the archbishop become engulfed in orange flames. Other Pollinators stood around the ceremonial cremation altar, humming spiritual hymns and reciting prayers under their breaths. After a few moments of silence indicating the ritual had drawn to a close, Humphrey immediately turned to Shinso.
"Tell me what you meant in the hallway."
Hearing this, Shinso gulped down his spit and sighed softly, taking a step back. He turned to the door which they had entered.
"We can discuss this in private."
At this moment, he turned to Ayumi. "See what you can gather regarding potions."
"Alright." Ayumi nodded her head, making her way through the passages of the underground cathedral.
...
Humphrey, who was now situated at his desk, clasped his hands together and looked at Shinso with an expression of examination.
After a few moments of silence was when he spoke up, his voice low. "Elaborate."
"Uhm..." Shinso suddenly entered a contemplative state, his fingers rapping the edge of Humphrey's desk.
Revealing his current status regarding judicial issues, working to drop whatever charges were proclaimed against Catherine and Carter, would surely arouse suspicion, maybe even pin some sort of bounty or interest on his back. He slowly took a deep breath, steering his focus and anxieties away for the most part.
"Of course, most of my loyalties are situated with this organization, but to a certain extent, the current criminals have spiked my interest."
"Go on." Humphrey spiked an eyebrow.
At this moment, Shinso felt the air around him subtly grow colder, as if the man across from him could change the environment to a certain extent. During one of the Blood Moons, Shinso had already seen what a Pollinator of his status was capable of, but he never anticipated more abilities corresponding to environmental manipulation.
"Catherine and Carter are actually..."
Shinso's face paled slightly as he stifled a cough. His grip on the edge of the desk habitually tightened, bracing himself to reveal the information to Humphrey.
"M-my friends."
His words hung in the air a little longer than they should have, seeping into Humphrey's ears and soaking into his brain. Humphrey remained silent, as if feeling the words on his tongue and analyzing them with near medical precision.
"Your friends?" Humphrey's voice remained low and collected as he bored into Shinso's slightly tense expression.
Shinso audibly gulped, nodding his head slowly. "I met them when I first came to Seraphis Kingdom. Back then, I was unaware of their doings."
He leaned forward in his chair, beginning to assert himself in the current situation. "Just because their past transgressions were evil doesn't mean their current behavior is too. They haven't committed a serious crime in a long time from what I've known."
"Crimes that you know of; criminals know how to exploit and manipulate the masses in their favor," Humphrey responded.
"Y-yes, but didn't they willingly turn themselves in here to receive their power-nullifying brands? If they were truly criminals at heart, they'd surely have resisted and continued their misconducts off-radar."
Shinso suddenly pointed to a photo above Humphrey's desk—the portrait of Ulysses Steiner, the man with extravagant hair and solemn clothing—the founder of the Pollinators.
"Your founder was a profound philosopher, wasn't he? Wouldn't he be proud that one sees beyond black and white?"
Shinso stood up, saying with pride in his tone, yet maintaining his usual solemn expression. "If I am to become a true Pollinator and protect this kingdom from threats, I should look beyond regular standards and pry deeper. Isn't that the essence of the Justice pathway, to tip the scales of justice and look in gradient ways?"
Hearing this reply, Humphrey's mouth parted slightly, hesitant to speak. But, he suddenly smiled, letting out a low chuckle as he dove into his desk. After a few moments, he took out a small piece of paper with ingredients listed on it.
"I believe you're ready to advance; you've clearly shown your prejudice."
"Really?" Shinso could barely contain his shock, a small smile playing with the corners of his lips as he took the paper, looking at the ingredients to make the next potion.
Humphrey nodded his head, saying with a smile. "The next Order in the Justice pathway is Altruist. With it, you'll gain new abilities, and something tells me that defending them in judicial proceedings will help you digest your potion faster."
"Wait..." Shinso suddenly had a question, and he arched an eyebrow, "Who would be opposing me?"
"Not me of course, but other Pollinators, extremists, and eyewitnesses."
"U-uhm..." Shinso fell silent for a few moments, considering the predicament.
Even amidst it, he also felt a little hopeful. Only a very small percentage of Seraphis Kingdom were Seekers—but he was—surely he could pull required logic that regular humans couldn't fathom through supernatural means. Being a Seeker is obviously better than being a human.
"So you're also not defending them either?" Shinso tucked his hands into his pockets, looking up at Humphrey.
"Correct, I'll watch from the sides. I wasn't the one who enacted this judicial round, it was you. Therefore, I'll watch you and analyze you every step of the way."
"Alright."
Shinso watched as Humphrey opened the door from his office, looking back at Shinso. "We'll set off to gather your ingredients in the morning. You may head back to your apartment and rest."
Hearing this, Shinso looked down at this watch. The boy's eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of the current time—one in the morning!
"Goddamnit, I guess I should."
Shinso approached the door, stealing one last look in Humphrey's direction, smiling softly.
He made his way through the underground chambers, finding the spot where he had last seen Ayumi. Leaning against the nearest wall, he took another glance at his pocket watch and internally scoffed. Around him, he continued to analyze the current status of the underground cathedral.
The medical area where the Tremebrus's corpse had previously been was cleaned up and barren, say for the jars of remains lining the walls. Within the jars of semi-transparent yellowish liquid, Shinso could see the severed limbs of the Tremebrus. The demonic creature had its eyes, nose, ears, and internal organs removed for study and anatomical research.
A voice suddenly sounded behind him, causing him to jump slightly. "We're gonna develop a cure to Demon-Maggot Disease."
At this moment, a boy about Shinso's age with neatly combed silver hair, a monocle on his left eye, and clad in alchemical wear stepped into view. A silver nametag was clasped under the lapels of his high-collared shirt, stating his name as Padre Boucher
This boy looked Shinso up and down before arching an eyebrow. "I feel like I've seen you before."
Shinso remained leaning against the wall, looking at Padre with a relaxed expression. "Of course you have, I'm also a Pollinator."
"You don't look like one," Padre scoffed, looking Shinso up and down once again.
"Well, I'm sorry I'm not in proper attire, monocle-man." Shinso snorted a little as he chuckled.
He watched as the other boy with silver hair approached the jar of Tremebrus remains, opening one of them and smelling the putrid stench inside. Seeing this, Shinso felt his stomach bubble and churn.
"Y-you can just... do that and not get sick?"
The silver-haired boy turned around, nodding his head. "Im Order 7 of the Vitality pathway. It allows my body to emit herbs and pheromones that can dissipate smells and negative frequencies of energy. Our leader, Ulysses Steiner, compared it to the Saint pathway's ability to eliminate corruption within objects."
Shinso immediately thought back to the scene of the archbishop's body, shivering a little. When he looked back at Padre, he couldn't help but notice faint similarities within their appearances. Both of them had silver hair, though the archbishop's was most likely due to her old age. Shinso tried to suppress his curiosity, but he asked a question instead.
"The archbishop was murdered, were you related to her?"
Padre suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning back to Shinso with an unreadable expression. "I am, why do you ask?"
"I-I didn't see you at the cremation." Shinso also recalled the ceremony about a half-hour ago, recalling the lack of people there besides high-ranking officials and other Pollinators. Even with this minority in check, wouldn't they have had the thought to invite anyone related to the archbishop?
"I know; I didn't choose to go to that." Padre said indifferently.
"W-what?" Hearing this, Shinso was deeply taken aback, "You didn't go to your own relatives cremation ceremony?"
The silver-haired boy nodded his head, adjusting his monocle situated on his left eye as his lips twitched downwards. "I always put research first. The betterment of the Pollinators is more crucial than familial matters."
Shinso took a step back, his eyes narrowing a little. "T-that's an awfully grim philosophy."
"Not philosophy, necessity. The betterment of the Pollinators, of this entire kingdom lies in our hands. If you didn't know, we're currently in the midst of an upcoming agricultural crisis. Apparently the Katshin Empire dispatched an ambassador here to read our details and send reports back to his home."
Shinso cocked his head slightly. He watched in silence as Padre grabbed a few jars of Tremerbus remains, leaving the room without saying a word. As he watched him leave into another room, closing the door behind him, Shinso's mind began to race.