The Children Of Thalia

Among The High Grass

Ansel's PoV

"Information has been sent, directly to Squirrel" said Kuro, speaking with Ansel over a telephone connection on a special server unit Wild Dogs. Ansel's answer was quite short: just thank you, but it was enough. He didn't need to know how Ansel would follow up on that information, nor did Ansel need to know how Kuro got it. As long as their goals are aligned, then all is in order.

The connection is then turned off. The green flickering of the small radio in Kuro's ears died, a long sigh rang out, making Gianni who was sitting in front curious.

"What did Ansel say?"

Kuro, despite his doubts about the answer, is an outspoken person.

"The dream, the laughter, then "I've finally found it!" End thank you and close the connection."

"Of course he would." Sahut Noe commented. "You must have reacted like that, too, right?"

Gianni looked away, but did not dodge. "At least I'm calmer."

Sure oes. It was not strange, it would be surprising that their reaction was less than that.

About a year and a half ago, in the middle of the semester, there was an incident that shook Helder and the entire news media in Thalia. A talented young teacher is found lifeless in a restaurant trash can near the school. The situation is sad, his face is no longer visible, until the police once said that it would be difficult to recognize who he was if not from fingerprints.

The first person to find him was a young man. He was sixteen, second-rate of the eminent Helder Academy. At that time, it was said that some of his hair turned white due to strong emotional outbursts when he saw the body of his own teacher in a terrible condition.

Gianni Messina, 2nd class of Helder Academy, was not admitted two weeks after the incident. He was in shock and depression. He was the student closest to Natalie Hirtzel, the teacher who was killed.

He's not the only one. At that time, there was another one with him. A student who was also looking directly at with turbulent emotions. An arrogant student who once expressed his feelings for Natalie Hirtzel and was instantly rejected with a lesson he will never forget.

At the time, Ansel Elias Clive was the only student, and probably the first to realize who was behind the death of his teacher's mother. He conducted his own investigation, under the shadow of the city. He followed the perpetrator's trail until he found their headquarters in the next town.

Ansel Elias Clive, along with his two friends, were the first to attack because of their arrogance to the power they had as the strongest of the ranks. As a result, two students were killed, only Ansel managed to survive by killing all enemies as well as their headquarters with an attack capable of splitting mountains, creating the largest earthquake since the last decade in Thalia. If Squirrel hadn't come, Thalia might have split in two.

The end result of the incident is the further away the trail of the perpetrators. That was because it turned out that the headquarters that Ansel had found was only the executioner's headquarters, not the original mastermind. It made Ansel realize that the danger hidden in Thalia's land was more deadly than he had previously thought. That was the main reason why he formed Wild Dogs, so that he could directly beat up those who threatened his peace.

That was also why, when he got a short message from Kuro, Ansel immediately took a breath. He had not expected to get any more leads on the case after almost a year without any leads.

"Ansel, here....."

"Mother Nat." Ansel instantly cut off the surprised Sean after seeing the same message on his phone. "What the fuck?"

"After a year, is it?" eli said, also got the same message from Gianni. "This case is too deep for us to dig" he continued. He realizes that the case they are investigating may be more dangerous than he thought.

"One hook pulled, eight fish hit."

"Aren't they throwing stones?" Ask Sean.

"No, hook" said Eli, replying in Ansel's place. "You're happy, right? Finally their tracks were seen again. You can't even hold back that smile of yours."

"Heh.. heheheh." Ansel gave a quick reply, sent to Kuro. Turn off the phone and then get up from his seat. "Come, this is our job now."

"You and me?" ask Eli to make sure.

"Third." Ansel replied firmly. "Sean, only you can get close to the administration room."

"Joking, huh?" Sean. "Open OSIS also has limits, you know?"

"Then take care of the hall. Coordination with Eli. I'll take Squirrel to the administration room."

"Who are you looking for?" ask Eli.

"You haven't got a guess?" Ansel looked at Eli, somewhat disappointed, but both Eli and Sean immediately let out a long sigh.

"I don't want to guess." Eli replied.

"Don't want to believe it anyway." kept Sean, looking away.

"Credible-not-believe." Ansel took a slow breath. Not wanting to believe it either, but the logic in his head just kept ushering him to head there. "People who know about the Tetha Squad's secret operation, people who were able to kidnap Nat's mother last year without provoking suspicion, people who can infiltrate the enemy into the exam to target Estrellita Lorena DiMichelle, who is the one who can take the enemy to the test, we also have time to watch our movements. I think it's just Mr. Jamie, the Security Division's builder."

"Indeed, only he can be made a suspect." Eli continued, with great disbelief.

"That means the Security Division isn't clean, right?" Sean continued, looking intently at Ansel and Eli.

"It's hard to say no, to be honest." Eli replied with a bitter smile.

"Isn't that likely to just make almost the entire teacher a suspect?"

"You're right, that's an exaggeration."

A hoarse-machine sound that sounded like an old speaker rang out from behind, making the three of them turn their heads in unison. Leaning against the wall there is a man covered in shadows. He was wearing a full suit in this hot weather. He sat in a seiza position on the hard floor, with thick socks and gloves attached. His body was slender, field-looking, also tall. He looked like an ordinary elegant, until the glare of the eyes rose again looking at the huge squirrel mask on his head that removed any firm impression that felt when looking at his suit.

"Hey, An-se-l." Sahut Squirrel replied to his student's friendly greeting. "Hello Sean, Eli, you all right?"

"It doesn't feel so bad" Eli said. He's bowing his body. "For a long time, Squirrel."

"Thankful for good fortune" Sean said, as polite as ever. "What about you, Squirrel?"

The man did not answer directly. His gaze dropped for a moment before he looked up and replied with a soft voice.

"Not too good, unfortunately." Out of his pocket in his suit, he took out a photograph. He put the photo on the table, making the three young men there look wide at once.

"Impossible.." muttered Sean.

"...... This I didn't even expect." Ansel muttered while patting the eel and rubbing his face firmly.

"Where did this get?" eli asked with frowning eyes.

"I took it myself, three weeks ago in the present time." Squirrel replied with his words that were indeed convoluted. "Is this enough evidence?"

The three of them were silent. The photo shattered all their expectations, all the conjectures and analysis they had concocted from the start were torn apart by a piece of the photo, it contained a woman sitting down drinking coffee with a thick bearded old man. No one doesn't know who they are.

"Is it possible that his death was also a fake?" sean said, staring at the woman in the photo. Avery Grant, wife of poet Ellis Grant, was found dead two weeks earlier.

Someone who was discussing with him, someone who was known to be good among the worst in the underworld. The brain of Project Deus' rejection movement, Gilles Hayward.

"No, direct inspection by Helder, illegal by the Security Division. All the bodies found in Grant's residence match his identity with Grant's family. This photo was taken before the incident happened" Eli said, answering Sean's question.

"He committed murder and then committed suicide?"

"There's no evidence."

"Then what did the culprit not belong to the rejecting group Project Deus?"

"Lack of evidence too."

Eli answered every question Sean had given him, while Ansel was silent with sharp eyes staring at every milli of the photo on the table. Everything's getting fuzzy. Each time a new fact is discovered, he is increasingly aware that the darkness in the puzzle is growing.

Even so, from the doll's sharp eyes locking on Ansel, it could be seen that Squirrel believed her.

"Hayward is not a criminal" Ansel said suddenly, making a commotion from Eli and Sean stop instantly. "He rejected Project Deus, that's all. His movement did lead many people, but he himself was not a criminal. He's not being extreme, there's no record of lawlessness anyway. The meeting between Avery Grant and Hayward does not necessarily refer to a secret conspiracy, but perhaps something more public, such as asking for advice on anti-movement, or........"

"..... Secret relationship?" sean continued, but was immediately answered firmly.

"No! Wait, it's possible, but I'm thinking of something else." Ansel looked at the photo more closely. The caught expression, body gesture, Ivory's thin smile, Hayward's cold gaze. He looked at everything, until he came to one guess. "Don't you guys feel weird? Hayward is a receiver, no wonder he's fighting the sustainability of Project Deus, but Ivory Grant is an ordinary human being. Why would he have to fight a project that benefits him and his people?"

In the end, Sean and Eli also came to the same conjecture.

"It wasn't Ivory who came to Hayward, it was Hayward who came to Ivory?" sean said his guess.

"Hayward wants Ivory to persuade her husband to stop supporting Project Deus?"

Ansel did not shake his head, but also did not nod. "No evidence" he said. He gave up his views, thinking harder for more reasonable guesses. However, Squirrel clapped his hands breaking the atmosphere.

"All right, that's all from me right now." Squirrel grabbed his photo sheet again, hidden it again into a pocket in a thick black suit. "The big theme is later, I'd like to hear first about your plans for DiMichelle. I may be intel, but my job as a teacher hasn't changed."

Ansel, who had just put on a stiff sour face due to an allegation that was suddenly broken by a photograph, suddenly returned to grinning.

"Well, what else is best to do?" The young man took a deep breath, calming down for a moment his mind. "Eli, I need you to go to the exam administration room with Squirrel. Look for participant data that has a mismatch in its identity, no matter how small. Make a list, no matter whether it is short or long. If it's Squirrel, I'm sure I can get permission. Sean and I will take care of the hall. Sean, take command of the Security Division other than the Wild Dogs. Gabriel's authority is still under you, the Security Division should be subject to it, too, but Wild Dogs is quite another. Our main task is to make this exam run safely. No word failed."

"One question," Squirrel interrupted, raising his left hand. "What about the exam itself? We are not in the same world as the participants."

"Oh, right, I haven't told you about the kid."

"Who?"

"Theodore Radley."

Suddenly, Squirrel fell silent. There was no word, not the slightest reaction, but Ansel somehow thought that his gnarly teacher was grinning widely behind his mask.

"Do you believe in that kid?" Tanya Squirrel firmly.

"I believe."

"I believe it too."

...* * * * *...