"Good job, Morpho! That was a well-executed attack," Rhamn praised the butterfly.
Morpho, sitting on Cyril's shoulder, twitched her antennae in a proud manner.
Cyril wordlessly nodded to show his support as well, which slightly confused Myra nearby.
The two students were sitting on a couch in the mansion.
The knocked-out hooligans were carried away to a different room to free up some space.
Cyril was already holding the documents Alvin needed; they were on Joey's body.
Out of curiosity, Cyril took a quick peek inside.
It was a research paper on something called illusion magic—spells capable of creating things that weren't truly there.
While it was impressive enough, Cyril and Myra were confused; why would a healer near the slum keep such things? And why were they important?
Currently they were waiting for Joey to wake up. Myra wanted to clear up the misunderstanding between them.
While waiting, Cyril was talking with Rhamn and playing with Tigris in a relaxed manner.
Myra managed to find a pen and a piece of paper. Right now she was writing down anything she could remember about that pill she wanted.
They had some time to waste anyways.
Some moment later a groan could be heard from the ground at their feet. Joey was slowly waking up.
For safety's sake, Cyril has broken both of his arms.
Joey can recover at a healer later easily enough, and this way he won't be able to cast any spells. "A perfect solution!"
"Shit..." Joey said with resignation when he opened his eyes.
"Please listen to us. It's all a misunderstanding." Myra said, half-apologetic.
She put aside the paper and moved closer to Cyril.
Joey looked at her with contempt and sneered.
"You broke into my home, beat most of my friends half to death, deceived me like cowards, and now I am lying here with both of my arms broken. You call this a misunderstanding?" he said with ridicule.
"We are just here to take back what you stole back to Alvin. That's all." Cyril put Tigris on the ground and turned towards Joey.
"But if you belong in Lapis, then we would be interested in knowing what you know," he said.
Joey sneered, without replying to his question, and turned to face Myra.
"How do you know Charles?" His voice became more solemn.
Myra awkwardly scratched her cheek. "I've saved a person from a bandit gang once. He told me about him."
Joey's eyes trembled a few times, after which he lay back down in relaxation. "You are that vigilante. I've heard about you..." He looked tired.
"Then you are really here because Alvin asked you?" Joey said after a pause.
Myra nodded in response.
"Unlucky... How did he even convince some Ailanthus prodigies to help him with errands?" Joey said with helplessness.
One of them was still wearing his Academy training uniform.
At this moment Cyril grabbed Joey by the collar and raised him from the ground.
"Don't get too relaxed yet. We want you to tell us more about Lapis." He said in a threatening manner.
"And why do you want to know so much about them? Want to join?" Joey answered without any fear and paused.
"Actually, that is a good idea. Do you guys want to join a righteous cause? Do something for the betterment of the whole world?" He continued excitedly.
"He sure changed his tune..."
"Joey. Do you know if Lapis is taking part in human experimentation?" Myra asked, ignoring his proposal.
The mage looked taken aback before shaking his head. "Don't listen to the Empire's propaganda; we are not some demons in human skin. You should be smarter than that as students of Ailanthus," he said with dissatisfaction.
"I see..." Myra replied with a thoughtful expression.
"Is there anything else you want to ask?" Cyril asked while still holding Joey's collar.
"No, he doesn't know where the other cells are. He's probably just here to recruit new blood. Let's take the paper and go." Myra replied.
Cyril was about to knock the mage out, but Joey tried to hold his arms up and yelled, "Wait, wait, wait! We can help each other still!"
"What do you have in mind?" Cyril replied while his hand was only a centimeter away from the mage's head.
"You are both vigilantes, right? Defenders of justice and the downtrodden! It's a noble thing to do; I support you!" Suddenly Joey said in passion.
"Is there something wrong with his head?"
"You don't have to join Lapis; I understand you work alone. Two sweethearts bound together with a common duty—it's very romantic!" He continued with excitement.
Cyril let go of his hands in a startle, and Joey fell on the ground, but that didn't stop him.
"We can exchange information about some things. I realize that even though Lapis pursues a noble cause, some join us for selfish reasons. If I discover such individuals plotting something unsightly, I'll find you, and you can administer justice! How is that?" Joey got up from the ground without using his hands.
Myra and Cyril were speechless from his actions. The man was a lot more passionate than they first expected. "He really is Alvin's friend."
"I-I guess that works?" Myra said, unsure, while looking at Cyril.
He gave a cautious nod. There was seemingly no downside to such an arrangement. "There is. You have to interact with this lunatic."
Other than that, this was a good opportunity to find out more about Lapis's actions.
For Cyril it meant more chances for training. So he was in favor of this proposal.
"Great! Together we will rid the world of evil!" Joey said and moved somewhere to the cupboard.
"Take the papers. They were meant to serve as a tool in our war against tyranny, but Alvin was against spreading this knowledge, hmph!" He complained while opening the drawer with his broken arm.
"And how does he have this research?" Myra asked with curiosity.
Joey managed to open a vial located inside the drawer, then he lowered his head and grabbed the open potion with his mouth.
With one motion he raised his head and drank the liquid inside.
"You don't know that yet? The principal of Ailanthus is proficient in illusion magic." Joey said after spitting out the bottle.
"People say she is one of the most powerful mages in the world, second only to the Emperor himself." He said with reverence.
"I didn't know our principal was so impressive..."Yeah...
"She taught in my and Alvin's class, and they still talk occasionally. He must have asked the principal for her magic for whatever reason. Doesn't matter." Joey said in reminiscence,
"It is a chance to learn the magic of someone so powerful! When I found out, I knew I must use it for the greater good, but Alvin didn't see my way..." His hands were recovering at a visible rate.
"So you stole it?" Cyril said with ridicule.
"Some sacrifices must be made for the greater good... In the same vein, if by giving this up I'll gain the support of two heroes like yourselves, then it is worth it." Joey sat on a couch near them and nodded in satisfaction.
"Thanks... We will go now then," said Cyril.
He grabbed Tigris and started moving. Wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.
"Yes. We've got no time to waste. Don't worry, I'll deal with the situation here. Good luck in whatever you want to do next. When I have something, I'll come to Ailanthus." Joey waved his hand in goodbye.
After these words, Cyril and Myra escaped from the mansion outside.
"It ended rather well, all things considered..." said Myra.
Cyril nodded in agreement. "At least it wasn't boring."
With the papers acquired, they hurried back to the 'Happy Patient' clinic, hoping to commission the pills on the same day.
...
"So, how is Joey?" asked Alvin while looking through the returned research.
"He is... passionate," Myra replied after a delay.
Alvin smiled wryly and shook his head at the same time.
Putting the paper in the drawer of his table, he turned to look at Cyril and Myra.
"You did what I asked. Thank you." He bowed his head slightly and continued.
"I'll do my best to make that pill. What is in it? What's the effect?" Alvin pulled out a notebook and asked.
Long expecting this moment, Myra brought out her writings and put them on the table.
"Everything is in there. When can we receive them?" Myra said in anticipation.
Alvin grabbed her notes and looked through them with curiosity for some time.
After he was done, Alvin sat with his eyes closed, nodding from time to time.
"Not bad. Impressive, actually. Whoever came up with this recipe is a genius. I would love to meet them one day," he said in awe.
"I-it won't be possible, unfortunately," Myra said with an awkward face.
"This is a recipe from the future, right? What are the chances it was Alvin who developed it in the first place?" Rhamn with interest observed the perplexed Myra.
Quite high, I think.