The day passed quickly.
Once ten o'clock had come and gone, everyone was theoretically free to move about, but many more guards had appeared around the palace. They controlled most of the entrances and exits, leaving only a narrow stretch of necessary passageway open for people to use.
Everyone felt uncomfortable, because no matter what they did or where they went that day, they were under the watch of a group of soldiers—even around the farm.
That surveillance made every activity dull, even tiresome. The teachers did not insist on holding morning classes and instead took everyone to a nearby lawn to play soccer.
That afternoon, Lairin went to Silei to confirm their assignments for the next two days. She found Silei sitting alone in her room, the curtains drawn, with only the pale blue screen illuminating the entire room.
Seeing some buttered bread left over from breakfast beside her, Lairin looked at Silei. "You didn't eat lunch?"
"Hm?" Silei looked up at Lairin, then checked the time on the screen. "...It's already this late."
"Aren't you hungry?" Lairin walked around behind her. "What are you doing?"
Silei switched screens. "Looking up information."
"Klar?" Lairin had still caught sight of a résumé Silei had left on the desk. "You're investigating her?"
She glanced at Silei's darkened screen, then realized belatedly, "...Should I not have asked?"
Silei smiled awkwardly and reached out to put Klar's résumé back into the drawer.
"Is there something suspicious about her?" Lairin was still concerned. "You don't have to tell me the details. Just tell me whether I need to be more wary of her, or—"
"No, no." Silei hurriedly shook her head. "I was just verifying her background. She said she's twenty-four. That's too young to be an experienced veteran cop, but too old to