To Live Again, For the First Time!

"How's the progress on Xander's assistant?"

"He's a dead end too, Master Elijah. Levi Stanley doesn't seem too ordinary himself. He started following Dr. Xander before he made a big name for himself. Mr. Stanley used to be Dr. Xander's supervisor and right after the appearance of M, he volunteered himself as Dr. Xander's assistant." ​​

"That was a very risky move at the time due to the lack of information on M. That, and Dr. Xander was only at the young age of 16, with no real achievements. Now, people can only say that the early bird caught the worm."

"Now Mr. Stanley is the assistant of the youngest department head in the International Medical Association."

"It can be said that from the people we know of, Mr. Stanley was the closest spectator during the rise of both Dr. Xander and M with the exception of the two people themselves."

"If it weren't for the fact that he seems to be most loyal to Dr. Xander, he would have been the perfect target."

"But the one scary thing is that he seems to have undying trust in Dr. Xander. Mr. Stanley's already loyally served him as his right-hand man for 9 years."

"There are also various suspicious points about him."

"His loyalty being the most suspicious one."

"What are you insinuating Liam?" Elijah asked.

"Don't you find it strange that this man, who was in a relatively high position for his age, was willing to give up his job and be demoted to a mere assistant for a teenager who had no real achievements? At that time, even we wouldn't be able to tell if M was the real deal or not."

"Continue."

"Yes. I suspect that Mr. Stanley may be one of M's people who he planted next to Xander, to both watch and assist him."

Elijah pondered for a bit.

"Tell me the results you have from the tails."

"Throughout the week he is always following around Dr. Xander, and when he isn't, he's running errands. On his one day off, he spent the whole day walking around idly. He went to multiple comics and novel's stores but spent most of his time on his phone. It's as if he was trying to throw us off. Not that he can't read novels, but his other actions are rather suspicious." Assistant Liam was already nearing the end of his report, so he was giving his personal opinion on the matter right now.

"It is suspicious. Perhaps he already knew he was being followed. Or perhaps that is simply his own hobby," Elijah turned his chair around to look outside the window of his office in the secret headquarters.

The outside was a piece of a vast forest and from afar, you could see the continuation of the mountain range that his secret headquarters was neighboring.

Most of this structure was underground, but his office was one with an outside view. The whole building was impossible to find as it was embedded within the mountain. The entrance was also hidden within the vast spans of the surrounding trees.

"Contact Master Giovanni and ask for his help. His apprentices are really helping him lose face." Elijah decisively decided that he was going to use this Grand Master, or else he would be wasting resources.

"Sloth said that he didn't seem like he was going to come out of seclusion any time soon."

Elijah handed Assistant Liam a file that had been placed on his desk.

"Put the plan in motion. He'll have to come out of seclusion. Or he'll have no more face left to salvage."

***

Mom <3: [How long are you going to be staying in Malalaka?]

Me: [Mm… I think I'll stay for around two more days, but I'm not sure where I'm headed yet.]

Emilin had been thinking of going to Continent A, where she was born, but that was yet another big city.

Emilin wasn't ready for that right now.

Big Brother Nathen: [You might want to try out the Hemafuji Mountain Range in E Continent. The air over there is really fresh.]

In the end, Nathen still understood Emilin's intentions best. He would pick up the hints she dropped.

Big Brother Nathen: [It's open to the public, but there aren't many people going there due to the long track, if you walk for a couple of days, you'll be able to get some time for yourself.]

Me: [I might just do that.]

Mom <3: [So are you going camping?]

Me: [Yeah, it sounds fun.]

Big Brother Theo: [Dad, you don't have to keep typing, we have memorized your speech, I'm sure Emi will be able to take care of herself.]

Dad <3: […]

Dad <3: [I was just going to tell her to have fun.]

Big Brother Theo: [Sure… I believe you dad. I really do.]

Dad <3 left the chat

Mom <3: [Your dad is over here pouting. Haha.]

Big Brother Theo: […]

Big Brother Theo: [Don't look at me.]

Big Brother Nathen: [We weren't. Really.]

Mom <3: [♡＾▽＾♡]

Why does Karma always seem to hit Theo the hardest?

Me: [Okay, okay. We can talk later. Sleep early!]

Ah… Emilin also needed to give her Big Brother Theo a hand every once in a while. This was an apology for last time.

Emilin left the chat and glanced at the time. It was 6 PM and she hadn't eaten anything all day. She called for room service to get her sheets swapped and to order some food.

The cleaning lady who came in was already used to the rooms being a mess. She just assumed that there had been someone else here previously.

She did her job very efficiently and left.

Emilin took this time to write some ideas down in her journal as she ate. She scarfed the food down like someone who hadn't eaten all day, which is exactly what she was.

She stood up to look back outside. The clear sky was already getting dark and the streetlights made their presence know.

Chin up.

Shoulders back.

Tomorrow will be a new day.