"What is it?" Brando asked.
"A Cruzian who said he wanted to find us. When we encountered him, he was being pursued, so we rescued him from the Cultists." As Charles spoke, he waved toward the rear. The bushes rustled loudly, and a ragged young man emerged from them. His face was pale, and he looked badly shaken. A trace of wariness showed in his gray-blue eyes as they shifted around before finally settling on Brando.
Brando found the young man vaguely familiar at first glance. Then he remembered seeing him near the Cat and Whiskers Inn, where he had seemed quite close to the young waitress there. The two of them were probably lovers.
He remembered that the two had gone out together, but only the young man had returned now. Something must have happened.
Still, the city was in chaos at the moment, and nothing that happened was particularly surprising. But Sethi was a kind and easygoing girl. Brando frowned, subconsciously hoping that nothing had truly happened to her. If something had gone wrong at a time like this, even he might not be able to help her.
He thought for a moment before asking, "What happened? Is something wrong?"
Although the young man named Alka looked miserable, his thoughts were still clear. He immediately said, "Sir, please help us. Those Secret Society Cultists want to use Sethi against you."
Brando instantly became alert. "What do you mean? What happened?"
Alka then repeated, in his own language, the conversation he had overheard among the Secret Society Cultists. Brando discovered that the young man was remarkably skilled with languages. In just a few sentences, he had conveyed the general outline of the entire incident. But Brando was immediately enraged as well. He had not provoked them, yet those damned