"Hello, Miss Ciel Winslow. I'm John Williams. I'm from the Government Organization of Users."
The man who handed me the last time we met, stepped forward.
"I'm very sorry to disturb a sick person, however, you destroyed public property and three people went missing in that place at that time. One of them happens to be an Elite family's only son. So, I am under severe pressure. I hope you can be understanding and help resolve this sooner."
He was the one who triggered my memories. And I still don't like him. He's honest, I'll give him that.
"I'm Aaron Blackclover. I am with the User's Association. We discovered an unregistered mana signature on site, and you are the only witness. So, I would like to ask a few questions after he's done."
And this man stopped John when he became too pushy.
Both of them are from Government institutions and I can't jeopardize our law-abiding image.
"...Ok." My voice cracked. Not a good start.
"Could you please tell us what happened?"
That was the one thing I did Not want to talk about.
"...I was in a… situation… of sorts. And, I don't know, I think I was able to do… magic."
My voice trailed off. God, Ciel, can you be any more pathetic?
"...Could you elaborate?"
I tried to steady my hands and voice as I dug my thumbnail into my fingertip.
"I was …cornered by three men. I knew one of them. He's someone from the …institution. We had a little disagreement so we were not on the best terms, but I didn't expect someone from a respectable family would stoop so low… So, I followed them to an alley when they said they had something important to tell me regarding the upcoming event."
I started out stuttering but when they didn't look bothered or hostile, the words started to flow out easily. I went over what I could "remember".
"...In short, they lied. He wanted to 'teach me a lesson' for getting on his bad side. What they did was …beyond atrocious. The shock resulted in me being able to gain enough power to fight back. I lost my mind. I don't really remember what happened next."
"The man you said you recognized, can you give me his name?"
"No. I just have a vague feeling about the nature of our relationship. My memories haven't returned entirely."
"How do we know how much of it is true?"
What sort of question is that??
"...Aren't you supposed to investigate and find out the truth? I thought my words were going to be taken with a grain of salt. Not as the universal truth. Am I mistaken, perhaps?"
"We need something to go on."
Ok, maybe I was too vague.
"He is around 5 foot 10. Blonde hair and brown eyes. The other two are twins with brown hair and green eyes. The last two have matching tattoos on their lower abdomen-"
As I said that, three pairs of disgusting and lustful eyes came to mind. My body froze. My head went back to that place for a second.
…I can't believe that just trying to remember insignificant details would make me feel so- so- so dirty.
"…Don't ask me how I know that."
I lowered my head and looked and my callused fingers. I felt uncomfortable under their gaze.
I wish everyone would just leave me alone.
"Miss Winslow, the place where that incident took place is completely obliterated. If it is the result of an Awakening, we need to write down the nature and intensity of the danger you experienced. If our investigation reveals your words to be true, you are not accountable for anything as it was self-defense. I'm sure you understand where I'm going with this."
"...I have to tell you everything in detail or my family will suffer because of me."
"That is the most probable outcome, yes."
"I was physically assaulted."
Maybe it's my body language, maybe it's the way I said it. It seems that they caught my drift. When I peeked and saw the uncomfortable look they were giving, I realized my expression had faltered. I quickly tried to fix it and said,
"Do I really have to elaborate it…?"
The corners of my mouth finally stopped twitching. And they regained their composure in the meantime as well.
"Well, three users vs one regular person is a life-threatening situation regardless of the nature of the assault. Just to be clear, do you know the reasoning behind their actions?"
"He said I was looking down on him and publicly humiliated him for rejecting his advances and that I needed to learn my place."
Mr. Williams looked exasperated as he sighed.
"If the person is who I think it is, I regret to say that you will most likely not get justice. In fact, you may be forced to write an apology letter to protect the honor of your family from being dragged through the mud."
"I understand." As long as I can just stop thinking about this.
"...Well, this concludes my questioning."
As soon as Mr. Williams got up from the chair, Mr. Aaron Blackclover sat down.
"I guess it's my turn."
He has this pleasant air about him that puts those around him at ease. I guess I don't feel pressured since they are awfully polite to someone who's disgustingly filthy.
"Can you describe how you felt when you could use magic?"
"I didn't really register what was happening. I went with my instincts."
"What happened after you felt safe?"
Safe? At a time like that?
"...I didn't. I fainted from hyperventilation."
He wrote down something in his notebook.
He's really handsome.
When he looked up and his eyes caught mine, I flinched and slowly looked away. I focused on my fingers again.
"What sort of magic did you perform?" He continued as if he didn't notice my uneasiness.
Thank God.
"...I don't know. I hit my head and thought I was hallucinating since I saw myself surrounded by monsters and I was inside the forest. I didn't know it was magic until I woke up and the wounds I got from the monsters were still there."
"Which forest?"
"...It's not a real place. It's a place from a recurring nightmare."
"I see", he wrote some more and asked, "Did you kill the monsters?"
"...I think I did? I hit those things on the head pretty hard with a branch."
"Alright."
He brought out an orb from his bag and gave it to me. I took it and it started to glow. The color changed from Green to Indigo and then Blue. It was a pretty color.
"...Why am I doing this?"
"It is mandatory for every Awakened to register their rank in the database to make it easier to find Chaotic users. That orb measured your rank."
"..."
What does blue mean?
"You have to visit the Association to measure your talent cap. If you want to check your information and become a user, say the word 'Status'."
Sounds like something straight out of a novel.
"Ok."
"We'll get going then. I wish you a speedy recovery, Miss Ciel."
"Safe travels."
After they left, I sat there quietly for a second.
"Status…?"