The Extra of The Lunerra

"Oh... so... you broke up with your boyfriend while I was away, is that it?"

Clara's eyes twitched.

"Is that really what we are talking about...?"

"And the reason your eyes are red is because of that little rat, you say..."

"Brother..."

"What's his name? I think it would be nice to meet him and talk to him."

"Brother!"

I raised my eyebrows and looked at Clara, who was squinting and frowning furiously.

"Hmm? What happened?"

"After everything I've told you, that's all you're stuck on?"

I shook my head from side to side in the most serious way possible.

"No. I'll think about... you being a seer. And I have no idea what Xaevirea and aera are. So I'm focusing primarily on what I can deal with immediately."

"You... you don't think I'm... lying to you or anything, right?"

I paused for a moment, unable to stop the momentary harshness in my expression, so much so that even Clara noticed it. But I still tried to recover quickly, curling my lips back up.

"No. I believe every word you said, I just... need to think about it, that's all."

Quickly picking up my cane, I stood up, putting the most sincere smile I could on my face.

"But... for now, I'm just going to go somewhere, you know, I'm quite busy and I have a lot of places to go. But don't worry, if I'm anywhere near Wiathen, I'll come here to sleep, so my bed better be ready! Okay?"

Clara sighed deeply.

"Okay..."

I looked at her face one last time as I nodded my head slightly up and down. I didn't really want to go, but... like I said, I was busy and I had other places to be.

So I had to keep our meeting short.

Still...

"Ah, why don't you tell me the name of that boy? I'm not gonna beat or bully him. I'm just... really curious."

"Ugh..."

Her fingers went to her hair, her eyes seemed to lose focus for a moment.

"Hmm...? Are you embarrassed, or is it just me?"

"No! It's not even a relationship anymore... Although, ah fuck it! Anyway... Paul, the guy I broke up with is called Paul."

Paul, huh...

Ah, wait... Paul?

"Wait a second..."

My eyes narrowed, I looked at her with such an expression that I almost scared her. But I didn't care.

"What are the chances that this guy's last name is... Demens?"

Clara's eyebrows shot up.

"Wait, you know him?"

There was a moment of silence between us. My eyes twitched more and more with each passing second, and I gripped my cane even harder.

"Clara, be honest with me... how long were you dating him?"

"S- six months? We started dating shortly after you left. But what's going on, why are you getting so serious? You're a little... scary."

I didn't care what she said. I walked over quickly, sat down next to her, and kept my eyes on hers.

"Why did you break up with him? Did you ask him out first or did he?"

"He did... but the reason we broke up was because of Clairvoyance and that other skill I told you about. Clairvoyance seemed to be trying to tell me that there was something wrong with him. And when I tried Memory Travel on him, I realized that he didn't really trust me, so I told him that if there was no trust between us, we couldn't have a relationship, and we broke up. In fact, it happened a few minutes before you arrived."

I didn't let my emotions get in the way of my logic. I stayed calm and called out to my mind.

'Sith, do you sense any magical powers on Clara, like the spies we once captured, a control seal or something like that?'

The green-haired spirit that suddenly appeared in front of me shook his head from side to side.

'No, completely clean.'

I couldn't help frowning.

The Paul I know doesn't hesitate to make someone his puppet if his plans go wrong. Why hadn't he?

Not that I was complaining, of course... But why?

"Ah, you said that he left a few minutes before I arrived... right?"

Is that why? Did he realize I was approaching here and hesitate?

I didn't feel the need to ask anything more. Grabbing my cane again, I quickly jumped to my feet and headed outside.

"For your first question... Yes, I know Paul. And trust me, he's dangerous, Clara. He's really dangerous. So... try not to leave the house for a while until I let you know."

She paused for a moment, as if she couldn't believe what I was saying. But he didn't keep his mouth shut.

"O- okay...?"

When I looked at the twitch of her expression, her reaction to my words... I understood.

However Paul had tricked her, he had really made her fall in love with him. But, even then... she still trusts me more than him.

I couldn't help the slight upward curl of my lips.

"Thank you for trusting me, I'll tell you everything when we have a little more time. Now... I have to be quick. See you soon."

"See you..."

I opened the door, stepped out, put on my shoes, and closed the door back.

The smile on my face faded instantly. My eyes squinted involuntarily, I couldn't help clenching my fist.

I really didn't expect Clara to be a seer. I was so confused, so unsure of what to do, that I didn't want to scare her, so I brushed it off.

But that doesn't mean I don't take it seriously. No, on the contrary... I do take it extremely seriously. It's a development that threatens everything I have planned for the future. A major development that could prevent Clara from being much more involved in everything that's going to happen and prevent me from keeping her safe.

So I have to gradually, carefully, plan everything all over again and act accordingly.

But Paul?

I'm not going to brush it off, I'm not going to leave it for later to think about. Just the thought of that maniac having a 'relationship' with my sister is enough to make me sick to my stomach, but to think that if I had arrived a little later, if I had lingered a few more minutes before coming here, he could have made a puppet of her...?

I couldn't stop my eyes twitching and my fingernails digging into my palms.

Just imagining, just thinking about what Paul could have done to Clara makes me want to tear him to pieces.

The worst part is... it's my fault. I should never have trusted him in the first place. I should never have let him act freely, knowing who he actually was.

The whole bullshit that it could have all happened because of his sister's, Sue's, death ends there.

The only reason I didn't push him too hard since I found out about his existence, the only reason I left him alone for a while, was because I wasn't sure if he was really a bad person or not. And now... I don't even care anymore.

I started walking slowly, approached one of the cars waiting in front of the house, and got in without saying anything.

On the holographic screen in front of me, I called three people at the same time, and all three answered almost simultaneously.

One was Melany Quie, another was Ronald Potenbea, and the last one was Professor Ulka.

Apart from Ulka, the other two already knew that I had woken up from the coma. Their position was sufficient to find out such a thing. Nevertheless, when they answered the call, they had a much more surprised expression than Ulka.

"I'm sorry for calling so suddenly, and I apologize for speaking about something serious immediately. I would have preferred to meet in a more proper way, but... I need your help with something important."

The expression on all three of their faces turned serious with my last sentence. It was as if... all their surprise had vanished and they were completely focused on what I was about to say.

"I'm looking for a boy named Paul Demens who is sixteen or seventeen. He is Olivia Sue Gemma's brother and a student at James William College. He is also a dangerous member of an organization called Saligia. I want to find out where he was last seen, what his destination was, everything. I'm sure he'll disappear as soon as he realizes he's being searched, so we need to be as fast as possible."

Professor Ulka nodded without question and left the call by himself.

Ronald and Melany remained on the call for a short while longer. Then, Melany finally broke the silence between us.

"Aiden... I'm just curious about one thing, are you calling this boy for personal reasons?"

"Sort of, but it would be a mistake to say it's only personal."

They both sighed at the same time.

"I get it."

"Leave it to us."

And they left the call.

After a deep breath, I turned to the driver, a man in a suit and sunglasses.

"Start driving, I'll give you directions."

First of all... I'm going to Sue's apartment.

Paul has probably gone back to his own apartment, so there's a good chance I'll find him there.

I'm not gonna let him get away.

I'm going to make sure everyone knows the truth about him.

And even if he somehow manages to escape... I will make sure that he can't go out on the streets, that he can't use the identity 'Paul Demens' again, that he will spend his whole life in fear of being caught.

There is no more room for mistakes with Paul Demens, I will not take any more risks.