Chapter 78   - Suspicion

Graying hair in a tight chignon, a uniform of the same hue. The only dash of color was the green crest of a soaring hawk. From the look on her face, she wasn't any happier than him about the situation.

“I see… Well, boy, let’s take care of your registration first. Take a seat.” Kai complied, relying on Acting to make a good impression.

The enforcer turned towards the papers Captain Zerith left on her desk, the letter Elijah gave him. Her eyes quickly scanned the contents.

“I see…” With a tired sigh, she took out a form from a drawer.

“Name?” The tone made it clear she had asked this question thousands of times, probably more.

“Kai.”

She wrote it down, “No surname?”

“Sorry, Kai Tylenn. I can fill in my infos if you want.”

The faster I get out of here, the better.

Her gaze rose from the form and landed on him. “Nice try, boy, but I’m too old for this. No one gets such a high-level Acting skill at your age if they’re completely honest. Contrary to what our captain thinks, protocol exists for a reason.”

Okay… not sure what that was about.

“Did you look at my status with some skill?” Kai asked, trying to sound calmer than he felt. After the First Seal, the protection the Guide granted wasn’t as extensive, but he should have felt something if she probed him with a skill.

The hint of a smile appeared on her face. It was probably as close to laughing as she got. “I have eyes, don’t I? After sixty years of service, you learn a thing or two. There are certain tells when someone uses a skill—if you know what to look for.”

Is she looking at my mana? Or is she reading my body language?

The flow of energy could reveal a surprising amount of information. He had learned a technique to hide his race grade months ago, but never bothered to use it afterwards. At the estate, there was no point. He was rusty, but he remembered enough. Kai began to manipulate his mana veins. Its purpose wasn’t the same, but it should help shield him from superficial reading.

“Are you trying to get yourself arrested, kid? Your technique is too clumsy to hide anything from any enforcers worth their keep. It will only serve to make them think you are hiding something. Do you have something to hide, Kai?”

Kai coughed embarrassed and immediately stopped. “No, I’m sorry. I only wanted to get the opinion of a professional. My master just tells me I should do better each time.” Vague and imprecise, but essentially the truth.

Looking at the middle-aged woman, he knew she was smelling bullshit. Luckily for him, she didn’t seem to care enough to pursue the matter. She proceeded to ask a flurry of questions. He answered honestly, not like he had a choice. It was apparent she had a way to tell when he lied, but she probably needed an oral response.

He could have just filled out the form and then she could ask him if he wrote anything false at the end. He stopped himself. He had learned on Earth that pointing out the inefficiencies of bureaucracy to a clerk rarely led to a better outcome. You just had to suffer through, and not ask stupid questions like why they did things a certain way.

It was mostly innocuous information anyway. When he was born, his parents and siblings, where he lived, and so on.

After they filled three forms, he was led to a bare room and told to wait there while his papers were processed. The only objects inside were two chairs and a table. The place looked like an interrogation room.

At least they didn’t lock me inside or take my bag. I’m sure it’s just a normal waiting room.

Kai nervously tapped his fingers on the wooden board. He didn’t dare take anything out of his backpack to avoid drawing attention to it. He didn’t think he was carrying anything illegal, but it wasn’t like he read the penal code. It was almost an hour later when the door opened.

Bureaucracy, yay! Words can’t describe how little I did miss you.

“Did you wait for long?” Captain Zerith entered the room with a smile.

“I have.” He had the right to be a little cranky.

The man had a moment of hesitation. “It took a bit longer than usual given the unexpected specifications. Now everything is in order. Here you go.” He offered him two documents.

The first was his identification card. A palm-sized certificate folded in two. The crest of the Republic on the front and his personal info inside—including his grade. The material looked like paper, but it was smooth like a glass window. No matter how he handled it, there were no creases left. Using Inspect, he realized that many thin filaments of mana had been woven through its fabric.

“Don’t lose it. You’ll need to pay to get another.” Zerith warned him.

Kai nodded, still fascinated by the material, “Do you go through all this for every person on the archipelago?”

“Well, not every kid reaches orange grade.”

He looked at Zerith in confusion, “What does that mean?”

“That most people just get a normal piece of paper, instead you get a shiny piece of paper!” He said with a laugh.

“Are people divided in ranks?” His mother had told him how the Republic only cared if you were worth it, but he didn’t think there were literally first and second-class citizens.

Zerith had looked uncomfortable. “Well, on the mainland everyone gets that. But since no one ever did a census here, much less a full registry, it’s too complicated to make those for everyone. Most people get a provisional ID, but the governor offers the official version to the most outstanding citizens as a gesture of goodwill.”

Yeah, I’m flattered. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the governor is generosity.

“So, what’s the difference between the two?”

“Nothing. It serves the same functions.”

“Really? Is it the exact same thing?”

“As long as you stay in the archipelago, it’s the same. You’d need the official version to travel to the mainland, but everyone can purchase it when they need it.”

And here we go. How to turn an expense into profit.

“How much does one cost?”

“It’s pretty affordable, only five silver mesars.”

Kai gave him an incredulous look. From his tone, it seemed the captain truly believed what he was saying. Did he have no idea how outrageous that price was? Five silver mesars were enough to comfortably sustain a family for a year in Greenside.

Sylspring might be better off than Greenside, but the difference couldn’t be that big. For many people, it would take years to gather that sum.

As for it being the same as the provisional documents, he didn’t believe it for a second. What was the point of a scam that made no money? If the official ID was granted as a boon by the governor to entice people, it must have some value.

Zerith noticed his doubts, “You already have one, so you don’t need to worry about paying. And I think that price should be pretty affordable for you.”

It would probably take me a month of work, unless I manage to strike a great deal with another merman. And I'm not your average person.

He didn’t know the criteria for the governor’s goodwill, but he would bet those who met them were already well-off.

The people who could afford it get it for free while the poor have to pay.

“Anyway, there’s another document if you find any trouble.” Zerith moved his attention to the second paper in his hand. “I think your master will be satisfied.”

This one looked like a normal sheet of high-quality paper. It was covered in rows of tight writing, with a golden seal and an illegible signature at the bottom.

“Show it to any officer, and they should be able to provide help in a reasonable manner.”

Kai gave it a quick reading. It essentially confirmed his identity and said he was under the protection of the governor. A kid carrying around a large number of valuables could easily run into all kinds of trouble. The document attested he had a powerful backing and that, in case someone messed with him, there were going to be consequences.

It would be very useful to complete Elijah’s errands. Still, it left a sour taste in his mouth. He felt the sudden impulse to tear it apart.

“The governor doesn’t show this kind of favor to everybody. Tell your master the governor would like to meet them at their convenience.” Zerith’s words lacked his usual merry attitude. The empty professional tone of an officer doing his work.

“I certainly will.”

Elijah will have to answer a few questions when I get back.

“Well, let me accompany you outside. I would ask if you were here for tomorrow’s selection, but I doubt someone like you would be interested in that.”

“What selection?”

“You don’t know? You must have been away from any town for a while. The governor sent envoys to every town to shout the announcement till their throats were raw. It was quite a nuisance even if it was for a good cause.”

What is that asshole cooking up this time?

“It’s a new initiative by the governor and the council in Higharbor,” Zerith explained. “There were rumors of this for years, a month ago they finally finalized the deal. Been the talk of the town ever since. The Republic wants to offer a scholarship of sorts to the most promising children native to the archipelago.”

“That sounds interesting,” Kai said.

I don’t trust it for a second. Did the governor just wake up one day and decide to do something out of the goodness of his heart?

“How is the selection process?”

There must be some catch.

“Any kid below fourteen years of age is eligible.”

“How many people are they going to take?”

“Oh, I think about a twenty or so in Sylspring. I don’t know how they calculated it, but each town has been assigned a number of spots.”

“Each town?”

“Yes.” Zerith gave him a knowing smile. “If you’re worried about Greenside, I think I read its name on the list. Do you have someone back home that you hope will get in?”

With his mind dominated by suspicion, he had yet to consider that possibility. A few faces flashed in his mind.

Kea is in the age bracket…

“Maybe.”

It seemed like a great opportunity. Too good to be true. The governor didn’t do anything unless he got something out of the deal.

“When did you say the selection took place?” He needed to gather more information. He was sure there was a catch somewhere, he only needed time to figure it out.

“Tomorrow morning, in the main square. There will be a small ceremony. A delegation from Higharbor will come to officiate. Are you interested in participating? The resources the governor promised are considerable, but they will probably pale compared to what your master can provide.”

“I’m just curious.” Kai thanked Zerith for the help. He didn’t know what to make out of the man, but he had answered all his questions without getting annoyed. That gave a lot of points in his book. He left the stark stone building behind thinking.

He would only be staying in town for a couple days. Initially, he planned to find a place to stay and explore Sylspring, but that would have to wait. Getting an official ID took more time than he expected. If he wanted to witness the selection, he would need to handle his errands today. Rummaging through his backpack, he took out the list.

Virya got most of her supplies delivered to the estate by boat. With the tides and storms, vessels were often unreliable. Alana occasionally made commissions in Greenside, but their town offered a limited selection of goods. Instead of hiring someone to go to Sylspring, Elijah volunteered him.

Maybe the butler wanted him to visit more places, get some Life Experience—most likely he was eager to be rid of him for a few days.

Elijah didn’t give him any instructions apart from the list of errands. Kai could have easily decided to ignore the matter or not learned of it in time.

If I went ahead with my plan of exploring the town, I would have probably found out.

Eavesdropping on conversations on the streets, it didn’t take him long to overhear something. A couple was promising their child to buy him all the sweets he wanted if he did well the next day.

It can’t be a coincidence I arrived at the exact time when the selection takes place. But I don’t get what I’m expected to gain out of this.

If Elijah wanted him to do something, he usually told him directly. Kai’s ego could testify the butler was never afraid to be blunt.

It could also be my high Favor… damn, this is a mess!

It might truly be a coincidence and he was only overthinking. Did it matter in the end? He would not discover the truth until he confronted the butler. And he wasn’t going to change what he planned to do in any case.

Checking the long list of names, Kai sighed. They were all merchants and shops he had to visit. All the goods but two had been paid for in advance. He only had to prove his identity and pick up the supplies.

Going through all that paperwork wasn’t a complete waste of time.

It was around noon. He had around half a day to find every place in a new city. Without knowing the layout of the town, he could not map an ideal route. He would need to wing it, or…

Kai scanned the streets. This area was too well off. Moving in the direction with fewer tourists, he soon found himself in an area that resembled old town district in Greenside.

He walked towards a boy with a mop of dark brown hair and clever green eyes that scanned the people passing through the streets.

“Hi, there. I’m Kai.” He offered his hand with a warm smile.

The kid was around eleven, maybe twelve, at the peak of Red. Kai’s actions took him aback, but he quickly responded with a charming smile.

If he’s not going to try to scam me before the day is over, I will be surprised.

It wasn’t ideal, but he needed someone smart that wouldn’t hesitate to take the offer of a stranger. And, more importantly, he had to be weaker than him. With his training, he would not lose to anyone under fourteen, but if he let it get to that point it was already his loss. He was short on time.

“My friends call me Flynn.” The boy said, taking his hand. Kai could feel his eyes sneakily evaluate everything he was wearing.