Moments after Polyphemus's arrival… Erick stormed off without a word.
Mako, Ana, and Polyphemus had retreated to the grand library of the mansion.
The little imp was flitting over a stack of papers, rifling through them at breakneck speed, muttering to himself.
"How odd," the hellspawn mumbled under his breath.
"What's odd?" Mako asked, helping tidy the mess of papers scattered across the pile.
"Your ability, Mako. That's what's odd," Polyphemus sighed, almost defeated.
He hadn't found what he was looking for.
"There's no record of your system. Nowhere in all of Galandria's history is there a mention of a demon's payment for a system like yours," Polyphemus finished.
Perplexed, Mako felt strange. On one hand, special; on the other…
"Still a weird little bug, huh?" Ana teased from a corner, flipping through another stack of papers.
Neither she nor Mako had had time to change out of their training gear—Mako in his black high-collared suit, Ana in her gleaming silver armor.
In the library of House Sol's mansion, the three of them felt clueless, with no leads to follow.
Mako felt the urge to speak up about what he'd been through, that he'd come from the future… But he decided it was better to stay quiet and gather clues first.
"However," Polyphemus's sly voice took on a wiser tone for a moment, "I'll share my theory."
He floated to the center of the room, fixing his single amber eye on the heir of House Sol.
"Quid Pro Quo is a dark name. Rumor has it, users of such systems pay a steep price to wield their abilities. Or so I've heard."
Polyphemus turned to Ana and added:
"Did you see him make a bank transfer mid-fight with Erick or something?" he quipped.
Ana shook her head.
Seeing that, Polyphemus continued in his cheeky tone: "In that case… the price your parents paid wasn't anywhere close to what the rumors suggest."
With that, the imp began explaining how all noble systems required some form of payment to activate and use their powers.
But his overly detailed explanation faded into the background.
Mako, hearing about paying a steep price, instinctively touched his neck.
His mind wandered, the sensation of confinement and torture still lingering in his body.
"Anyway!" Polyphemus wrapped up, "as your humble servant, I suggest we put this investigation on hold. Your House is at stake, after all, noble Mako."
Mako snapped out of his trance.
"Y-You're right," Mako said, a hint of doubt in his voice. "That means…"
"You need to handle family business now," Ana said, shutting a book. "You have to meet with our investors."
Mako swallowed hard.
Until then, Erick had been the one handling those matters.
Thinking of his brother left a bitter taste in his mouth, so Mako tried to push the thought aside.
"Alright! What are we waiting for?" Polyphemus chirped, zipping around the room with boundless energy.
"Well…" Ana looked nervous, as if dreading her next words.
She shook her head, steeling herself.
"No, if you've really awakened your system, you need to take charge of negotiations from now on," Ana said, standing up. "We're down to our savings… Ever since your parents died, Mako… our investors have abandoned us one by one."
A lump formed in Mako's throat.
"Erick and I were so young… And even as we grew up, I'm only now awakening my system. They'd never have taken me seriously," Mako said bitterly.
Polyphemus stopped his energetic flitting and stared at the two.
"Come on, come on." The imp hopped between them. "Enough with the drama, alright? First things first—who's left investing in you?"
Ana didn't answer right away.
Mako and Polyphemus stared at her, puzzled.
"Well, I said investors," Ana began, confessing, "but the truth is, we're down to just one."
It seemed House Sol was going from bad to worse.
'One?!' Mako and Polyphemus thought in unison.
"Come on, stop looking at me like that," Ana sighed. "Erick did what he could…"
"I get it." Mako tried to hide the disgust he felt for his brother in that moment. "What noble or merchant is left as our investor?"
"Oh, Mako," Ana said weakly, "you really don't know anything, do you?"
Mako felt a pang of embarrassment. He'd always left the negotiations to Erick.
"See," Ana continued, "it's not a noble or a merchant, at least not your typical merchant. His name is… Willy Fox."
The name didn't ring any bells for Mako.
But for Polyphemus, it was a different story. Despite having only one eye and a mouth full of fangs, his face showed utter shock.
"This is trouble," Polyphemus admitted.
"Why? You know him?" Ana asked.
"Yeah, I know him… Years ago, that thief made a contract with me for a system."
"That's great news!" Ana exclaimed. "Going into an investor meeting without knowing Mako's ability would be suicide, but if you know his ability…"
Polyphemus fixed his amber eye on her.
"Let me break it down for you, Ana. He made a contract with me, but unlike noble Mako, I had no obligation to stick around him."
Mako and Ana got the picture. In other words, he had no clue what they were up against.
In their discussion, they briefly considered giving up on Fox and starting from scratch to find new investors.
But amidst everything he heard, Mako only felt more powerless.
'This is my chance,' Mako thought. 'If I came back, it's my chance to do things right.'
With that, Mako gave Polyphemus a direct order: arrange a meeting with Fox, House Sol's last remaining investor, immediately.
◇◆◇
That same night…
Mako stood in his room, staring into the mirror. Without his winter training gear, he confirmed one of his suspicions.
'Of course it wasn't a dream,' he thought, recalling his execution.
A thin scar circled his neck, running from end to end.
He traced his fingers over the mark again and again, just to confirm it was real.
It was real.
"Then why?" Mako said, looking away from his reflection. "Why did you betray me? Was it always your plan?"
He met his own gaze again, his blue eyes locked on his pupils.
"Was it my own weakness that made you betray me?" Mako asked himself, his voice heavy with sorrow.