District 42-Chapter 206: Bad news
Adam was flabbergasted by what the old man just had told to him. His body seemed to freeze, his eyes were looking at him in disbelief.
"H-he went to the frontline!?" Adam asked, his tone higher than usual.
It left Casper surprised. There was no way that Adam would raise his voice for nothing. It was a serious situation. Also, the soldier was now confused. He heard about frontline in several conversations, particularly when talking about Ridires and Aesirs. Even the Princess had said it at some point, and about war as well.
’What does that mean? A lot of people are saying the same thing over and over, and now I am completely confused. Are they talking about a war outside District 42 or the war they are constantly involved with the Frelsi? What really is happening here?’
While Casper was reasoning about that matter, he also paid attention to what Adam and the old man were talking about.
The genius was very close to the table, leaning on it and looking at the eyes of that man. Adam was waiting for an answer to his question, but he was hesitant, even traumatized, as though he himself didn’t want to believe the words leaving his mouth.
"No, Adam... He was badly hurt in a battle inside the Castle. He was trying to capture some criminals and... You know, strange things are happening nowadays..." Canute’s father was on the verge of tears while saying so.
Adam, perplexed, walked some steps behind, his look was distant, and Casper could even see fury inside them.
"Inside the Castle, huh? So it is happening already... I thought they would hold on for more time, but..."
"What do you wanted to talk about with my son?"
Adam gave a glance to Casper as if he was worried to say much with the soldier’s presence there. After thinking for some while, he started to tell:
"We wanted to talk more about the Teleporting pads since the White warrior would like to know more about it." He pointed to Casper. "We were worried about... What would happen if they stopped working... Oh, sorry, worry isn’t the right word; wondering would be better."
Once he finished stating that, he gave a meaningful look to the old man, who stared at his eyes with an even more serious expression. Those signals passed unnoticed by Casper, who was still trying to take a good grasp on what they were saying.
"Oh, I see... So, that’s the White warrior... We heard a thing or two about you, but since we have a lot of work to accomplish, you are not as famous here as out there." He gave a sympathetic look towards Casper, stretching his arm for a handshake which Casper accepted quickly. He was the type of person who smiled with the eyes as well, so it was easy for the soldier to take his actions as completely friendly.
"My son was absorbed in know more about you. He didn’t like you very much, to be honest, mainly because of some of your... feats... You know, it’s normal for someone like him to be suspicious about the intentions of a strange foreigner..."
Casper grasped the multiple sense behind his words. He supposed that, despite his friendly look, Canute’s father didn’t like him that much.
"My name is Reynar. I am the actual president of the enterprise charged of the Teleporting pads, and the overall scientific field regarding teleportation of organic things, such as living beings like humans and plants or even food."
Casper wanted to talk for a bit longer about that enterprise and how they made all the systems of Teleporting pads work like that. It would help him a lot on his main objective, after all, which was to find a way to go back home or, at least, discover how he ended up in District 42 all of a sudden.
However, there were more things concerning Casper than teleportation and science, and it was regarding Canute’s issue.
"I would adore talking about your enterprise, but I am worried about what happened to that Aesir. I mean, how could he be attacked by people inside the Castle?" The soldier took a chair and sat in there.
Adam, who was sure that Casper would still insist on that matter, made the same. After that bad news, he wanted to sit a bit as well since his legs weren’t too steady.
Reynar seemed to be uncomfortable when faced with that question; he was even sweating a bit. It was no surprise for the White warrior and he was willing to be as patient and nasty as he could to get the information he needed. He was expecting that a father would be in shock and traumatized upon seeing his son being hospitalized, after all.
The old man moved his eyes slowly towards Casper, looking at him with a cautious look.
"You already made that mess in Halden, got involved in the Midwest Battle, and now are looking for more troubles inside the Castle? I can see in your eyes that you are asking me this question not just out of curiosity. The real doubt here is: what mess will you do after getting the information I have?" He clasped his hands in front of his chin. Casper would adore seeing how his expression was behind the mask now.
’He is smart; a very perceptive and insightful guy. No wonder he’s got an enterprise for himself...’ The soldier thought, settling into his chair and adjusting his posture.
"Well, we can only suppose by now. But don’t worry, Mr. Reynar, that’s just an innocent question." He gave the same friendly smile as the old man gave to him before. He squinted his eyes and shrugged.
Reynar thought for a moment. Casper was surely someone suspicious, but he was getting along with Adam, who was an old friend of his family, so it was hard to judge what he should do there, and how much he was putting at stake saying that information.
In the end, he just sighed, massaging his temples. At this moment, Casper knew he won.
"Ok, I will say it to you. You seem to be a quite reliable person for Princess Vick, and whatever you are planning to do, even if it’s something with dubious intentions, I doubt that it is something worst than what these people are doing inside the Castle."
He put his laptop aside, avoiding his eyes from those two and just waiting for a while until he started to tell what happened days ago when Canute was trying to stop a case of robbery and ended up being caught by the Rat.
...
"That’s... That’s something I wasn’t expecting to happen inside here at all..." Casper commented.
Adam remained silent and serious beside him, he didn’t say anything at all. The soldier noticed that he exchanged glances with Reynar at some point in the conversation, and there was something strange in the atmosphere around them, but he didn’t know the approach he needed to take to discover what kind of thing was going on between them.
"Yes, White warrior. In all these generations that lived inside the Castle, violence never was something we were scared of since it didn’t happen once. Even after the Frelsi appeared in our society, claiming their ideals about freedom and everything else, they couldn’t invade the Castle no matter how much they tried.
"That’s why all this situation is so confusing, and the hypothesis that Jarls can be involved in this mess is something that a lot of people are believing. We doubt that the Frelsi could go so further inside the Castle without anyone noticing..."
The soldier was connecting that information with what Vick and Leonel had told to him. Apparently, Reynar didn’t know much more than those two about what was happening, but he had an interesting opinion about it.
While Vick was totally supporting the idea that the Frelsi were infiltrated there, and Leonel was more neutral; Reynar, on the other hand, couldn’t think that the rebel group entered so easily into there, which made him believe that the Jarls were behind that action.
Casper had formed his own opinion about what was going on, and the more he heard about others’ opinions about it, the more sure he was. He needed to investigate more about it to be sure, but he wasn’t intending to let his intentions appear much there.
Casper couldn’t let them know that he was a Sgail. He wasn’t sure if Adam and Reynar knew about that secret organization; and, even if they knew, the White warrior still couldn’t let them notice it, since his life could be put at risk.
The lesser people that knew about his identity as a Sgail, the better; it was something they taught him while in his preparation inside the Sgail’s Headquarters.
"Thank you very much for the information," Casper smirked at the old man, but the last just narrowed his eyes towards him.
The soldier liked the fact that he had now more information, but he just discovered someone else that didn’t like him. Just as his influence was raising, the count of potential enemies was as well.
