Charles had been living quite comfortably lately. His right eye and left arm had both been fitted with the best artificial prosthetics, and his vision and mobility were completely unaffected. He was almost as good as he had been before becoming disabled, and no longer had to languish on the brink of death as he had before.
Then again, perhaps his luck had finally turned?
Just yesterday, Dragonbone Village had finished building a shielding tower for them and driven away the voracious beasts. This had completely resolved the crisis facing their Lighthouse and introduced them for the first time to the miraculous technology that could shield against and repel the beasts, making it possible for their Lighthouse to return to the surface for the first time.
That was a tremendous achievement, one that none of the city lords before him had ever managed!
So he had been in a very good mood these past few days. He practically had a spring in his step, and had even visited the Dawn Hall twice more than usual.
But...
Not everything had gone smoothly!
For instance, according to the report from the person he had planted among the Vanguards, 4068—the Vanguards' Captain Suiying—had been acting strangely these past few days, especially since returning from Dragonbone Village. It seemed as though he was secretly up to something behind his back.
Charles didn't dare take this lightly and immediately sent people to investigate.
However, three days had passed, and they still hadn't uncovered much. Dissatisfied, he arranged a banquet for that evening and secretly had someone invite the Dustfolk boy, 8925.
And so...
"..."
Once they were seated, Charles took his time cutting the steak in front of him. His knife and fork occasionally clinked, and every so often he looked up at 8925, seated