I groggily opened my eyes and glanced at the clock nearby to see what time it was. ...it''s 3 A.M, way too early to be up and about. With a sigh, I closed my eyes and tried my best to fall back asleep. Unfortunately, despite all the tossing and turning I did, I couldn''t. Grumbling to myself, I reluctantly sat up, wondering what I should do now. I could talk with Vin but there''s a chance he''s asleep by now and left it to his familiars to scout for him. Of course, he also probably left an alarm spell to wake all of us if an intruder enters or breaks the protection spells he set up too. Leo, on the other hand, is clearly asleep because I can hear his light snoring nearby.


    That leaves Tatsuya but...is he even awake at the moment? Frowning, I checked on the necklace he gave me and tried to see if the communication spell wasn''t turned off. If he''s unavailable, the spell on it becomes inactive and is incapable of connecting to whatever he''s using to talk to me with. However, surprisingly enough, I felt energy from the silver moon when holding it in my hand. He''s still up, even now?! Worried, I pulled my hand away from the necklace and hurriedly activated it, suspecting that he was probably overworking himself.


    To my surprise, when he picked up, the prince sounded completely fine. "How surprising, aren''t you starting off your morning a little too early, Miss Detective?" Tatsuya commented. "Though, I have no right to talk but still."


    I couldn''t go back to sleep so I decided that I might as well talk to someone. I mentally replied as I repositioned myself into a more comfortable sitting position, then frowned. So, you just woke up earlier ago or something?


    "Pretty much. Besides, I have an important mission to do so getting up early and making preparations to go is kinda required," he explained with a sigh. "Since I''m the bearer of the Star Artifact, which takes on the form of a holy sword, I was tasked with investigating and looking for the Dark Artifact wielder, which is a girl named Adalina. My parents, on the other hand, will take the role of protecting the kingdom."


    I blinked my eyes in shock, taken aback by the news of him having that. Wait, hold up, you''re the wielder?! You sure managed to hide it exceptionally well from everyone, if that''s the case... I mumbled out in my head. Seriously, lots of people liked to speculate on who it could be, and the mages were no exception to that either. You were one of the possible candidates but their reasoning was sometimes a little too out there, to put it politely.


    "I''m painfully aware of that. I happened to hear some of it when I went out while incognito and it took a lot out of me to ignore them. Couldn''t even correct them without blowing my cover so I had to keep up a poker face. That proved really difficult so I eventually had to scurry away out of embarrassment though..."


    Not wanting to wake up anyone and possibly annoy one of them, I tried my best to not laugh at that. Don''t blame you, I probably would too. I commented with a light-hearted grin, then coughed when I realized I got side-tracked. ...a-anyways, back to the more serious issue at hand, since you''re looking for them, did you find a lead to their whereabouts? Or anything about what they intend to do?


    Tatsuya once more lets out a sigh. "Sadly, not really. There''s only one thing we can go on right now and that''s the Umbral Kingdom still being completely covered by intense dark magical energy," he answered, perhaps frowning because of the predicament he was in. "There was that issue of people turning into monsters here in Astrum but there was no evidence to prove it''s connected to her. Before the victims turned, according to eyewitnesses, they all seemed completely normal. Unfortunately, all attempts of gaining info on them after their transformations failed too, as if whoever is responsible for their transformations refuses to give us any leads from those victims."


    You couldn''t even detect any traces of magical energy from them to see what kind of affinity is used? I asked, which the male said yes to. ...welp, I guess we''ll have to treat that as a dead-end for now. It''s unfortunate but there''s nothing else we could really do...


    "It pains me to admit it but yeah, it can''t be helped. I can only hope our other investigations clear up what''s going on with that," Tatsuya lamented. "I''ve already mourned for the victims by attending their funerals so the only thing left for me to do is make sure more people don''t suffer the same fate as them. Unfortunately, I''m stuck waiting with no leads to go on..."


    Tatsuya... Before I could offer any words of comfort, he quickly moved on, as if he was forcing himself to do so. "Anyways, enough of the depressing thoughts. It won''t achieve anything so let''s go back onto this initial subject. From the information I have, trying to figure out the reason behind the kingdom being covered in darkness would be the best course of action to take."


    Are you going to be doing this alone or are you taking people with you? I asked, worried that this might a bit too dangerous for him. You might be an Artifact wielder but this is about the Dark affinity. That affinity is all about corruption and inflicting damage on people''s souls, you know? It''s not something to scoff at...


    "Don''t worry, I''m aware of that. I planned on meeting up with the Holy Artifact wielder, Gwenn, since she wants to resolve the issue too as someone that''s a close friend to her Dark counterpart," the male answered, catching me off-guard. "When I asked her why she felt the need to investigate, the girl told me that she suspects Adalina is responsible for the kingdom''s devastation but desperately hopes she''s wrong about that. In order to confirm whether that''s true or not, she decided to join."


    ...suspecting that Adalina herself did it, huh? I thought to myself with a frown. That certainly makes sense. If the artifact is not in the hands of the original wielder, it becomes heavily nerfed to the point that it''s just a fancy weapon, according to Vin. I assume that''s considered true regarding the soul connection too. Since the Holy Artifact Wielder is accompanying you, I assume she told you all that?


    "So Vin looked into it too, huh? Nice to know I''m not the only one that conducted their own investigation about these relics," Tatsuya remarked. "Anyways, you''re correct. That''s precisely why Gwenn''s so concerned. She doesn''t believe that the friend she knows would ever do something like that. Though, as for me..."


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    The prince strangely didn''t continue what he was saying and remained silent for so long that I couldn''t help but break it, concerned. You alright, Tatsuya...? I asked, unable to shake off the bad feeling I was getting from that long silence.


    The prince let out a sigh as if he was troubled about something. "...I''ll be honest, not really. A part of me is hoping it wouldn''t be the case but there''s a chance she hid some unpleasant side about herself from Gwenn," Tatsuya replied. "From my experiences with dealing with people, some have quite an intense darkness hidden in the depths of their heart as if it was all bottled up. When it finally spills out, that darkness can be so suffocating that they lose all reason and go insane from the despair and hate, either temporarily or...permanently. Even if they managed to regain their reasoning later, they probably already did something they''ll deeply regret and it''ll probably haunt them for a long time. Sadly, I had to deal with people that broke down and went berserk before so..."


    I blinked my eyes in surprise, caught completely off-guard from that somewhat sad answer. O-oh! I''m really sorry for bringing up such unpleasant memories then! I really didn''t mean to! I apologized as I guiltily looked down at the floor. I was about to change the topic so he doesn''t have to think about it any further but he spoke up before I could.


    "It''s fine, there''s no need to worry, Miss Detective. You were only listing possibilities so we can solve the case," he said as he tried his best to reassure me. "Besides, I''m the heroic crown prince, a ''star'' that was entrusted with so much hope and despair from everyone. For those who are seen as heroes, it''s only a given that responsibility will be hurled on them. ...so, please don''t apologize. It pains me to recall those memories but to help others, I have to confront that despair."


    ...to think you''d be this kind and earnest. It''s no wonder that you''re so popular... I commented with a sigh. Well, I''ll keep that noted, then. Just don''t push yourself too hard, okay? If you ever want to talk about anything, I''m here.


    "...I''ll keep that in mind. That said, I can''t completely drop my guard around you yet so you''ll have to wait until the crisis in Ignifera is done if you want to get closer to me," he answered. "Sorry but I need proof that you''re truly a kind person. I really do want to believe in you but I have to make sure, especially since I am the heir."


    It''s fine, I understand. As I said before, I''ll gladly prove it to you, no matter how many times I have to do so. I declared as I put on my chest, smiling gently. ...though, the fact that you''re putting so much emphasis on that is worrying me. Is the situation really dire there...?


    There was some silence before he finally responded. "Hard to say. The royal family from there waved it off and said they''re capable of dealing with it," Tatsuya remarked, his voice sounding a bit frustrated. "However, I didn''t believe them one bit. As far as I know, they could be lying to save face and not look weak to the other kingdoms. It isn''t the first time some royalty from another kingdom did that. So, you''re one of my best bets in getting to see how bad it truly is."


    ...so, if they''re lying, it means... I stopped, not wanting to continue that thought. Instead, I opted to change the subject but was interrupted by an unfamiliar female voice speaking up out of nowhere.


    "I apologize for the intrusion but I am now in Astrum kingdom, Prince Tatsuya," she announced, her voice gentle and soft. "Normally, I dislike having two communication channels overlapping but I felt it would be important for you to know. I am currently on the way so I''d appreciate it if you finish your preparations by then."


    Just like how she abruptly appeared, the mental link was suddenly turned off. If I were to hazard a guess, that was Gwenn. As to why she quickly ended the spell, she probably felt it was rude of her to continue being connected. ...and I don''t blame her, really. I would feel the same.


    "...yeah, that was her. Looks like I need to hurry up and finish then. Thankfully, I''m nearly done," Tatsuya said. "I know we both decided we should travel together to ensure our own safety but I sure hope her companions are bearable. The Council refused to let her go alone so they sent some templars to accompany her."


    Makes sense. With the recent incidents, it feels like those with Artifacts are being targeted for some reason. I pointed out, frowning. I''m not entirely sure why though so I can''t give any insight regarding that. Still trying to figure that out sadly...


    "I''m sure you''ll be able to figure it out eventually. There''s no new information for me to give that could help with that so you''re on your own for now. The royal meeting that I was in earlier ago was mainly about kingdom affairs, politics, and all that. Just the usual tedious, boring stuff."


    Not surprising, to be honest. It was only yesterday when I talked to you, after all. ...though, speaking of time... I glanced at the clock nearby and noticed that it was now 4 AM. Time sure passes by fast...


    Upon mentioning that, I hear Tatsuya let out a sigh. "Yeah, a little too fast for my liking but can''t be helped. It''s always like that when you''re busy or having fun. ...anyways, I''m going to go now so good luck with whatever it is that you''re going to be doing."


    Alright then. See you later and good luck with your investigation! The prince said his goodbyes and then turned off the communication spell. ...nice to know he didn''t pull off an all-nighter or something. I thought to myself as I stretched my arms and legs. ...then again, there''s a chance he lied about that and merely pretended to be alright but there''s no way for me to know that. If there was a lie detector spell or something similar, the Academy never bothered teaching us that.


    I immediately shook my head in an attempt to shake off those thoughts. Get a grip, Stella! At the end of the day, he seemed fine so that should be enough! No point thinking about it any further than necessary! Besides, I have no right to lecture him since I technically still need to rest up some more. After all, I only had a few hours of sleep. So, I laid back down on the camping bed and covered myself with the blanket, then closed my eyes. ...unfortunately, it took a lot of rolling about but I eventually fell asleep. ...though who knows how much time has passed before I did.