“Are we there yet?” Hale asked as soon as he woke up. “I think I can smell the salt in the air already.”

“We’re about an hour away now,” Lilac answered without looking up from her book. “And the window’s not even open. If you’re smelling salt already, Grey should take a look at your olfactory organs as soon as we return.” 

Tuning out Hale and Lilac’s banter, Caelin stared out of the train’s window and watched the trees rush by. She thought about the situation of their mission. Lilac had given them the rundown before they left AIKA. For a day and a half already, the Combat Division 3 group had been on the train headed towards Lunaria’s largest port city, Sireine. Well-known for its ceaseless imports from foreign kingdoms and the other seven realms, Sireine’s fishing industry was also vast. Unfortunately, in recent weeks, the usual plentiful catch of cod, tuna, and yellowfish had been disrupted by unusual appearances of deep sea creatures entangled in the fishermen’s nets instead. The shipping industry had also been affected as the large creatures caused no small amount of damage when they collided with the boats. Lilac had said that no one had identified the cause yet, but Caelin had a suspicious feeling that it was once again related to Xero and the fake Imperiums.

“Are you trying to smell the salt too?” Theo suddenly spoke from beside her, snapping Caelin out of her thoughts.

“What?” Caelin turned to look at Theo.

“You looked so seriously out of the window just now,” Theo explained. “As if you were trying to confirm Hale’s claims that we’re already near the sea.”

“No, I was just thinking about our mission,” Caelin said. “I’ve never been to Sireine before. I wonder if deep sea fish tastes good.”

Theo nodded thoughtfully. “I think the first step, though, is to confirm if they’re even edible to begin with.”

“Hey, I think I see the ocean.” Killian pointed at a distant blue dot in the window.

As the train gradually approached Sireine station, the dense foliage around them gave way to a large brick building, filled with multitudes of trains headed in different directions and bustling crowds of people. Caelin hadn’t anticipated the station to be as large as Apatite City’s and was caught off-guard by a horde of travelers on the platform while disembarking. When attempting to push her way through, someone’s elbow harshly knocked into her ribs, causing her to lose her balance. Before she fell onto the tracks behind her, a hand grabbed her arm, yanking her back onto the platform and into their hold. 

“Thanks, I’m reminded again of why I hate people,” Caelin said and felt the other person lightly chuckle as she pushed herself away. Looking up, she realized it was Theo. His face was shadowed by his hood again, but Caelin was sure that she saw a hint of amusement in his eyes. 

“Don’t worry, it’ll get better once we’re outside,” Theo said as they headed towards the exit doors. “The crowds are always the worst in the station.”

“Have you been here before?” Caelin asked in interest. She hadn’t anticipated him to be so well-traveled. 

“A few times, but it’s been some years now,” Theo said. 

Leaving the station, Caelin found herself at the top of a hill, and the large port of Sireine sprawled before her. Seagulls circled the air above as the coastal winds carried them forward, and the sea breeze kissed Caelin’s cheek. Vibrant colors from the open market stalls stretched along the edges of the water, distinct from the red clay tiles of the buildings. Amongst the buildings, there were also plenty of half-constructed white stucco structures dotting the area. Numerous boats were on the crystalline turquoise water as well, entering and leaving the numerous wooden piers with their various cargo. 

“It’s so beautiful,” Caelin said softly in awe, taking in the sight.

“It’s…different from how I remembered,” Theo said, puzzled.

“That’s because half of Sireine was destroyed during the Dagann Wars,” Lilac said, walking up to the two with Hale and Killian. “It’s been difficult, but they’ve successfully rebuilt a lot of what was lost in the past few years. Although, the evidence of the destruction still remains.” She pointed to a barren cliffside behind the train station with a bronze net stretched over the rockface to stop any stray falling rocks. “That was once a complete mountain.”

“Was it Xero?” Hale asked as the group began walking down the stone steps closer to the port city below. 

“There were rumors of his appearance a few days before the attack,” Lilac said, “but nothing was confirmed. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to identify him as there’s no well-known, accurate detail of him. His identity is perhaps Astilbe’s most well-guarded secret. The name ‘Xero’ was only revealed thanks to our interception of a coded message from Astilbean troops during the Battle of Tartia. The most that even AIKA knows outside of the general public is that he should be between twenty and forty years old and wields a sword as black as a moonless night.”

“I heard that he has three eyes and two horns and can easily swell up into the size of a mountain,” Hale remarked. “He stores his sword in the third eye.” 

“Are you describing a man or a mythical creature?” Killian looked at Hale in amusement.

“Rumors say that wherever Xero appears, calamity and bloodshed follows,” Hale continued to say. “Apparently, his power grows from consuming the hearts and brains of his victims.”

“Again, you’re getting closer to a zombie than a person,” Killian said, shaking his head. 

Hale looked confused. “What’s a zombie?”

“Lilac, where are we headed to?” Theo asked, changing the conversation. 

Avoiding the main road from the station, Lilac took them down a small street through what appeared to be a neighborhood. Rows of white stucco houses with various garden decorations and plants surrounded them on both sides. 

“We won’t be staying at an inn this time,” Lilac explained, taking out a small, gold key from her dress pocket and twirling it around her index finger. “Instead, Blue has generously lent us his family’s Sireine villa for the entire duration of this mission.” She stopped before the gate of a two-story house with a small bird bath in the front yard. 

“1-6-8, this is it,” Lilac said, reading the number welded onto the metal front gate. She unlatched the gate and pushed it open for the group to walk in. 

There was a wind chime hanging by the front blue wooden door. Bronze fish-shapes, created from various sides of bolts and gears, were strung and connected by copper twine. Caelin listened to the soft ringing of the mechanical fish as Lilac unlocked the door. Everything around them felt so strangely peaceful and relaxing that she almost couldn’t believe that they were on a mission and not a vacation.

“Is Commander Blue’s family rich or something?” Hale remarked as they entered the small villa. 

There was a staircase directly in front of the door, a parlor on the left, and a dining room and kitchen to the right. The interior was decorated with various shades of blue and green furniture and an assortment of seashells and seaglass. 

“Well his father was a Duke,” Lilac said, walking around to examine the house. “I believe this is one of the smallest villas his family owns actually. There’s only four bedrooms.”

Hale nodded dejectedly at her words, understanding his place in the group. “I will take the couch again.”

“One of the rooms up here has two beds actually,” Killian said from atop the stairs. “I don’t mind sharing a room with you, if you’d like.”

“Killian, my favorite teammate,” Hale cried, looking up at him gratefully.

After a heated game of drawing sticks, Caelin and Theo took the other two rooms on the second floor, while Lilac took the only—and largest—bedroom on the first floor behind the stairs. Once everyone set their luggage down in their respective rooms and returned to the parlor room, Lilac began distributing additional supplies for their mission. Caelin examined the new communication device she had been given, turning the iron object around in her hand. It resembled a standard pocketwatch, with the calligraphy letters ‘AIKA’ and an assortment of cogs and gears engraved into the front case—a signature design from Alan of the Mech and Design department. When she opened it, she could spin the clock hands to a number corresponding to one of the other member’s devices and initiate a call with them. Slipping the device into her pocket, Caelin received the next item from Lilac, a copper fountain pen.

“It’s a recording audio device,” Lilac explained. “If you twist the middle of it, it’ll begin recording, and you just simply twist it back to stop. All sounds within a meter radius will be recorded and stored in the cylindrical cartridge inside, so be careful not to drop it or it might break and lose everything. Fun fact, it also works as a normal pen.”

“Are we going to be like spies and secretly record the suspect while they unknowingly admit to the crime?” Hale asked, staring at his pen in excitement.

“No,” Lilac said. “We currently have no leads on the suspect, but I want more information on the three primary industries affected by these deep sea creatures. We’re specifically searching for any connection between the appearances of the creatures such as a specific time of day, weather, or boat. Since Sireine is much larger than Gorvia, use these recording devices to make sure you’re not missing anything important. I’ll go alone to handle the port’s security issue, where many foreign tourists and diplomats are failing to safely enter this kingdom due to vessel attacks when they near the port. The rest of you will split up into two groups to speak with the fishermen and merchants.”

“I want to pair with Theo!” Hale instantly volunteered.

“I thought Killian was your favorite teammate?” Caelin pointed out.

“Oh, right.” Hale looked at Killian sheepishly. “Can I pair with Killian?”

“Only if you’re okay with speaking with the merchants,” Killian said pleasantly, unoffended by not being Hale’s first choice.

“Great, that means we get the deep sea fish!” Caelin linked her arm with Theo’s, dragging him out of the house’s door arm-in-arm. “Come on, partner, let’s go eat some giant squids!”