Moments later, the two agents stood and left the hospital room. From their faces, it was clear they weren't satisfied with what they had gotten from Kyoji.
It seemed like they wanted to pry more information from him, but with Butler James now present, they didn't dare press too hard.
They asked the basic questions, and Kyoji gave them his already prepared answers. None of it, however, satisfied their curiosity in the slightest.
As the two agents exited the room and closed the door behind them, they exchanged a glance and let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
The tension in that room, with Butler James watching their every move, had been unbearable.
After taking a deep breath, the worry returned to their faces.
Even though they had managed to get through the ordeal with Butler James, they were still right where they started.
None of the information Kyoji provided had been helpful.
The two stood there in silence, each one lost in thought as they considered their next move.
"So, what do we do now?" Agent Luro finally asked, breaking the silence that had thickened between them.
Agent Rhys remained quiet for a moment before sighing deeply.
"There's nothing we can do for now. We just need to keep digging for information," he said, his face grim.
"What about that Gilles kid? We haven't asked him any questions yet. Maybe he'll be able to tell us more than this Kyoji kid did," Agent Luro suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea—only if the Gilles family hasn't been keeping us from interrogating him," Agent Rhys replied, his voice laced with frustration.
"Are they allowed to do that? We're from the Human Alliance. Can't we pressure them or something?" Agent Luro asked.
"I wish it were that simple," Agent Rhys said, shaking his head.
"Why not? The Gilles family is still under Human Alliance rule, aren't they?" Agent Luro pressed.
"Yeah, they are, but the situation is more complicated than that," Agent Rhys replied.
"How so?" Agent Luro asked, furrowing his brows.
"Well, the thing is, neither of the kids did anything wrong—at least, nothing we know of. All they did was risk their lives to save others. In fact, they're seen as heroes by everyone. Any attempt to bully them would cause a massive public uproar," Agent Rhys explained with a sigh.
"But that doesn't change anything. We still need to figure out how they managed to kill a mutant six levels above them, and how they knew it was about to attempt a breakthrough. Shouldn't we still investigate these strange circumstances? Should we just ignore it because they're seen as some kind of heroes?" Agent Luro asked, his tone firm.
Agent Rhys sighed again. His partner wasn't wrong, but he wasn't entirely right either.
Yes, everything about the situation seemed highly suspicious and warranted investigation, but pushing too hard would create more problems than they already had.
Casual questioning was fine, but a full-blown investigation would lead to chaos. The public wouldn't take kindly to the Human Alliance bullying two kids who were regarded as heroes.
The Human Alliance, as powerful as they were, weren't the ultimate authority. They still had to answer to the general public and couldn't act however they wanted. That was why Rhys hadn't even considered pressuring the Gilles family to allow them to question Frederick.
Besides, the Gilles family hadn't outright refused to let them question Frederick. They simply stated that the young man needed time to recover after everything that had happened during the beast horde. That reasoning made sense to the general public, even though Rhys knew full well that Frederick was completely fine and didn't actually need any time to recover.
But Rhys didn't push. Not only because of the mess it would create, but also because he knew it would yield no real results. The Gilles family would most likely provide answers they had already prepared for Frederick, making it a waste of time. That was why he had hoped to get something—anything—from Kyoji.
Since Kyoji didn't have any strong background or backing, they thought they could scare him into talking. But it turned out he was smart—he refused to say anything until his terrifying guardian showed up.
Now they were back where they started, having gained nothing from Kyoji, and obviously nothing from Frederick either. The whole situation was becoming more and more complicated.
Agent Rhys sighed again before responding to Agent Luro.
"You might be right, but doing all that will only make things worse. Besides, don't forget that the Human Alliance is already facing a lot of scrutiny and doubt from the public. We don't need to give them more reasons to question us," Agent Rhys said, pinching his brows in frustration.
The incident following the beast horde attack had left a bitter mark. The failure of the shelter's defense system and detection barriers during the attack had been a major blow.
Not to mention the communication systems that went haywire, making the calls for reinforcements from Miss Anna and others arrive late—or not at all—making things even harder for the reinforcement teams to mobilize.
All these failures made many people lose trust in the Human Alliance, and whispers of foul play had begun to spread. Top factions were starting to pressure them, using the situation to their advantage.
Now, if news got out that they were trying to pressure or bully the boy who had saved so many lives—while the Human Alliance was fumbling—that would only stir up even more trouble.
Agent Luro didn't argue, now seeming to understand the bigger picture.
The two sighed again in frustration before making their way to the elevator to exit the building.
---
Meanwhile, as the two agents were having their discussion, the atmosphere inside the hospital room remained heavy and tense. Both Kyoji and Butler James were silent.
Butler James, now sitting on a stool he had placed beside Kyoji's hospital bed, was watching Kyoji closely—like a scientist observing a strange new specimen.
Kyoji finally spoke, his tone flat and even. "What are you doing? You've been staring at me since they left."
Butler James didn't reply immediately. He continued to observe Kyoji before asking, "So, care to tell me why you tried offing yourself?"
His eyes were locked on Kyoji's dead blue eyes.
"I didn't try to off myself. I just took a calculated risk," Kyoji replied, his face unreadable.
"Is that so?" Butler James raised a brow. "What kind of 'calculated risk' sends someone to the hospital with shattered bones, damaged internal organs, and covered in blood?"
"The kind that involves a Dominator-class mutant, I guess," Kyoji answered flatly.
Butler James sighed, and once again, the room fell into silence.
"You've changed," he said after a while. "Your behavior, your presence… everything about you just feels different."
Kyoji's face didn't show any reaction. He was no longer the same boy Butler James once knew. This was a Kyoji with ten more years of life experience—now living inside his younger self. Of course he was different. That wasn't something he could control.
Butler James continued staring at Kyoji's emotionless face before letting out another sigh.
"I know it's hard for you to trust anyone," he said. "But just know this—it's my duty to protect you. I always will."
Kyoji's expression didn't change, but deep inside, something stirred.
It was small, faint—almost unnoticeable. But it was there.
A sliver of emotion.
Maybe it was gratitude? He wasn't sure. It was something he hadn't felt in years.
He let out a quiet sigh.
Did he trust the old man?
Logically, yes. Butler James had never given him a reason not to.
But still, he couldn't bring himself to fully trust anyone—not completely.
And he knew there was no way to explain things to the old man without revealing far too much.
So, for now, he decided to keep things to himself.
Maybe one day.
But not yet.
Not now.