Volume 1 – 39. The Partial Truth
In the living room, Seren and Ava occupied the sofa while Lucien and Edric sat across from them in the mismatched armchairs. The atmosphere was relaxed, carrying the lingering warmth of a finished breakfast, but as Seren continued studying the result of her Corruption test, a faint furrow gradually formed between her brows.
“The percentage is much lower than I expected.”
Ava immediately leaned forward, curiosity flashing across her face as she peered at the pale yellow liquid resting in the ceramic dish on the table.
“How much is it?”
“Judging by the color, I'm around five percent now.” Seren kept her eyes on the liquid as she spoke, turning the dish slightly beneath the morning light. “Yesterday morning, after a one-hour session, it dropped from the twenties to around ten percent. The very first time we purified it, it was just under ten percent. I originally thought one hour was roughly equal to a ten-percent reduction, and even though I passed out for a while last night with the two of you, I woke up afterward and continued until the total time added up to about another hour.”
Her frown deepened slightly.
“Despite being much more intense last night, the reduction was smaller than during the previous two sessions, even though those were a lot less intense.”
Edric let out a thoughtful hum and leaned back in his chair.
“Perhaps it's calculated as a percentage rather than a flat amount,” he suggested. “Something like a certain percent reduction each time.”
“That would make sense.” Seren nodded slowly. “But figuring out the exact formula would still be difficult.”
Lucien listened to the conversation with a faint frown of his own.
Should I just tell them?
Knowledge regarding Systems was usually treated as something immensely valuable in fiction he’d consumed. Under normal circumstances, revealing anything about one was the sort of mistake readers frowned upon. A System represented power, potential, and often secrets that could completely alter a person's future. The more people who knew about it, the greater the chance that knowledge could be exploited, stolen, manipulated, or turned against its owner. Keeping such things hidden was practically common sense.
With Ava and Seren, however, the situation was different.
Once he had marked them, neither of them would be capable of revealing information about the System to anyone else.
But what exactly am I supposed to say?
That was the problem.
Seren and Ava both knew he was cautious by nature. He wouldn’t share important information without a reason, and he certainly wouldn’t volunteer secrets that could potentially place him at a disadvantage. If he suddenly decided to explain something as significant as the System, the first question either of them would ask wouldn't be about the System itself.
It would be why.
Why now?
Why tell them?
And once that question came up, things would become complicated very quickly.
If he admitted that he had effectively done something that prevented them from speaking about the information to others, that would inevitably raise even more questions. How had he done it? When had he done it? What exactly had he done to them?
Lucien felt a faint headache beginning to form.
I can't rely on the System's information-control feature for something this important...
Not yet.
So far, every feature the System had shown him appeared to be genuine, and more than once it had proven beneficial. Even so, accepting something like that blindly would still be reckless. Before entrusting a secret of this magnitude to it, he needed proof—something he could verify himself through carefully controlled information rather than simple faith.
Lucien listened to the discussion for a few moments longer before deciding to speak.
“Do you remember Edric's theory yesterday about me being blessed by Syndésmos?”
Seren looked up from the ceramic dish in her hands, one eyebrow lifting slightly.
“Of course.” Her expression turned puzzled. “Why?”
Lucien let out a quiet sigh. His gaze flicked briefly toward Ava before returning to the others.
“There might actually be some truth to it.” Lucien continued before they could react. “Two days ago, on the night I took a bath here after returning from the Southern Ruins, I gained what I believe was Seren's basic knowledge of alchemy.”
Edric's brows pulled together in surprise.
“Why didn't you tell us then?” he asked before his expression shifted immediately, and he gave a small shake of his head. “Actually, never mind. You don't need to answer that.”
Ava, meanwhile, leaned back slightly and fell into thought. A few seconds later, a grin slowly spread across her face as if a missing piece had suddenly clicked into place.
“So that's why you told me about your purification method.”
Lucien gave her a dry smile.
“Pretty much.”
“Did you get anything from me then?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
Ava clicked her tongue in mock disappointment and sank back against the sofa.
“What a shame.”
Unlike the others, Seren showed little outward reaction. Instead, she lowered her gaze slightly and appeared to be considering the implications.
“I see…”
Her fingers tapped lightly against the edge of the dish.
“At higher levels, the Uniters can bridge thoughts between people without either side speaking,” she said slowly. “But from what I know, that's normally temporary. It works by conveying what someone is currently thinking, not by transferring an entire collection of knowledge.”
A faint frown formed on her face as she looked at Lucien.
“Am I correct in assuming you received an actual collection of knowledge?”
“Yeah.”
Lucien nodded.
“But it's hard to deny that whatever's happening is strongly connected to Syndésmos. And if that's true, then the Corruption reduction might be tied to changes in our relationship levels as well.”
Resting an elbow on the armrest of his chair, he gestured lightly as he continued.
“Considering how the Uniters’ abilities work in ranks—and the fact that I didn't receive that knowledge immediately—it would make sense. You and I have known each other for a long time, so it was easier for me to acquire something from you. The same can't be said for Ava and me. We've only known each other for a few days, so I haven't gotten anything from her yet.”
Seren fell silent.
Her eyes drifted downward as she thought it over.
It wasn't an unreasonable explanation.
She had known Lucien for nearly a decade. Even before everything that had happened recently, she had always held a positive opinion of him. He had helped her gather materials more than once over the years, and despite his playboy habits, she trusted him more than most people.
Everything had changed two days ago.
The events since their first purification had shifted their relationship more dramatically than any point she could remember. Looking back now, it wasn't difficult to imagine that whatever mechanism governed the purification process might have changed alongside that shift.
If Edric's theory about Syndésmos was correct, it would even explain why the results had been so inconsistent from one session to the next.
The thought lingered in her mind for several seconds before she finally looked up again.
“I suppose that's possible,” she admitted quietly, the faint crease between her brows softened. “It would explain the irregularities better than anything we've come up with so far.”
Lucien smiled, a hint of satisfaction creeping into his expression.
“Right?”
A small smile appeared on Seren's face as well.
“Well, I still have to test whether you actually know what you're talking about.” She set the ceramic dish down on the table and looked at him steadily. “You said before that you wanted to learn the basics of alchemy. Make time for the practice, then.”
Lucien let out a quiet chuckle and raised both hands in mock surrender.
“Sure. I'll make time.”
The exchange drew a faintly amused look from Edric, while Ava simply rolled her eyes.
Suddenly, a knock echoed through the house.
Edric lifted his head toward the front door and frowned slightly, as though checking the time in his head.
“Ah.” He pushed himself out of his chair. “They're probably here.”
Ava stretched herself on the sofa, groaning a little.
“The group you mentioned?”
Edric sighed.
“Yes.”