Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Lucius followed Headmaster Orllan to a large building that looked suspiciously like a ball that had gone flat on one side. The roof was made entirely of glass, but the glass was darkened and unable to be seen through from the outside. The walls were made of the same stone found everywhere else.

When they made it inside, the glass roof continued to amaze everyone. Not only was it colored nearly black from the outside, but when they stepped inside, it looked as though the glass was normal. Somehow, they could see out from the inside, but not in from the outside.

"What is this?" Jade asked.

"I think the scientist who invented it called it 'two-way-glass' or 'two-way-mirror'. Or maybe it was…" Orllan began to devolve into a series of technical explanations that made no sense to any of the present company.

It was clear she was very passionate about research. Lucius looked at their resident brainiac, Jade, who looked like her head was spinning while trying to keep up with the Headmaster.

Meanwhile, they were being guided deeper and deeper into the building. Several times they were required to descend different staircases and pass locked doors with checkpoints. All of this security was making Lucius wonder two things. The first was how important was Orichalcum that research regarding it was this closely guarded?

The second was how did someone manage to get through all of this security with any copies of notes or data in any capacity?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

At the same time, Lucius was personally cataloging the different scents of all the people present. He asked Orllan to ensure that he had interaction with each shift of guards and informed her that he needed to meet with every shift to ensure that he knew all of them.

Orllan quickly agreed to his request and advised that they could stay in the lab itself for the next few days. According to her, only a handful of people left the lab during the week, and even during off days and holidays, there was at least a skeleton crew ensuring nothing went wrong with the experiments.

They were not allowed any information as to what experiments were being performed. Though, because it would be a moot point for them to become a source of a data leak while investigating one. Lucius did not care about it, but Jade had a slight look of disappointment on her face after learning that she could not gain any new knowledge here.

As the particulars of this lab's research would suggest, the group was able to catch glimpses of green metal being moved about the lowest level of the building. Much of it was in an unrefined state, still mixed with other metals or stuck inside chunks of rock. There were a few pieces of broken weaponry that looked similar to what Lady Tenia had shown them back in the palace.

"Do you have that list of involved employees somewhere down here?" Lucius asked.

"I do, it is in my personal office. We are headed there now, so please be patient." Orllan answered. "By the way, it should go without saying that anything you see down here is confidential, yes?"

Everyone quickly agreed and followed Orllan into her office. Unlike the rest of the facility and many of the offices they had seen already, the one down in Orllan's research laboratory was rather normal. By elven standards, it likely looked like a trash heap, but for humans and beastmen, it was just a normal office.

Orllan explained that she was not one for the stuffy excess her countrymen displayed, and she professed a certain admiration for the simplicity of human design standards. Desmond and Jade's lips twitched because even though she said she didn't like elf stuffiness, she simultaneously called human design simple.

Orrlan dug around in a few drawers and scattered a few important documents, which started to explain how a data leak was possible. In the end, she produced two simple sheets of paper with a list of names on them. They did not explain what these specific people did on the project, but that was likely on purpose.

Lucius quickly checked through all the names to see if any of them stood out as concerning or recognizable in any way from his knowledge base created through his work with the King's Shadow. None of them looked familiar to him. So to be safe, he also asked for the twins to review them.

If any of them were recognizable to the twins, then they had the highest chance of being the leaker because they had known connections outside of the academy. One could look at Headmaster Orllan as a threat for that reason. However, since it was her research and the level of ire she seemed to possess at her research being stolen, Lucius had extreme doubts she would be the culprit.

"I need to set up interviews with everyone on this list, starting with the ones currently present. I see that the list is broken down by the three shifts. We will start with shift one, then two, and finish with three." Lucius requested, "It goes without saying, but all projects will be put on hold while we do this."

Orllan nodded in understanding and escorted them to a large meeting room with a semi-circular table in it. Lucius sat at the head of the table in the center and was flanked on either side by the twins.

The plan was for them to interview each person one-on-one and ask them standard questions about their history, motivations, jobs, and other information that they had provided on their documentation. Before the interviews started, however, they first needed to review said documentation. A secretary of the Headmaster was more than happy to provide them with the requested materials.

Lucius quickly dove into the research, taking down all the important pieces of information and chunking that information with each person's name and face. Any discrepancies would be an immediate flag for concern.

He felt the twins' eyes on him. Jade was clearly impressed by his abilities, but Desmond's look only served to confuse him slightly.

"What is it, Desmond?"

"Well… you seem to be reading through all of these really quickly. There is no way you are able to remember all of this. Especially giving the short cursory glances you are using." He was accused.

"Not so." Lucius answered. "It's a technique taught by the King's Shadow so we can memorize orders, maps, and really any information quickly and without leaving evidence."

Desmond formed a sly smile. "Then why haven't you used that ability to learn about the monsters in Arcadios like Lady Rena requested? Or perhaps you might be more inclined to answer why you did not use it for studying at the academy?"

Lucius coughed with embarrassment. "It, uh, didn't occur to me to use it for that purpose."

Desmond broke out into laughter at his admission of guilt. Which only served to embarrass Lucius more. He expected the behavior to irritate him, but for some reason, he found himself enjoying Desmond's teasing. A moment later, Lucius joined in on the laughter, shocking both of the Adlers. Who had never heard such a sound come from Lucius.