At the entrance of the university, Noah arrived to find Luo Yan and Livia waiting for him in silence. He noticed Luo Yan was giving him a strange look—one that seemed to pierce through his soul—while Livia kept her gaze down, as if avoiding eye contact with Luo Yan.
"What happened?" Noah thought to himself with concern, but decided to ignore it for now. Surely, it wasn't his business.
"I didn't find anything," Noah said about the video recording he had watched, but it seemed like Livia missed the context.
"Huh? What do you mea—?" Livia asked in confusion, clearly lost in thought—not thinking about the current situation but something else entirely.
"The recording I asked him to bring, Miss Recht," Luo Yan interrupted, bringing Livia back to the present.
"Ah, t-the recording. Right... i-if you didn't find anything then… let's just wait until night to carry out your plan," Livia stuttered, still looking at the ground, lost and uneasy.
"Alright..." Noah replied, taking a step back to better read her expression, but all he could see was confusion, sadness, and a touch of guilt.
"What's wrong with her?"
———————
In Sector 11, in the room shared by Sirius, Neriah, and Enel, Sirius finally woke up, startled. He had clearly had a nightmare.
"Damn... I dreamed Noah turned into a girl," Sirius said, panicking and clutching his shirt, sweating from fear.
He took a deep breath and looked around—Enel wasn't there, but he didn't think much of it since he knew where he likely was. Neriah was still asleep—until he, too, suddenly woke up, clearly from a nightmare.
"...Ugh, I dreamed I lost another bet," Neriah said, sweating nervously. The sweat on his forehead had run down his cheeks. He turned to see Sirius already awake and giving him his usual goofy stare.
"What the fuck are you looking at?!" Neriah snapped, annoyed by Sirius' dumb look.
"How pathetic. You had a nightmare about losing a stupid gamble," Sirius replied mockingly, clearly pitying Neriah's gambling addiction.
"You have no right to talk. Your dreams are probably weird and perverted—like some gay shit," Neriah retorted irritably. Clearly, they had been friends long enough to know each other's dreams. The strange part was that they were still friends at all.
"I don't even want to keep talking to you. You're pathetic… Anyway, get ready. You promised me yesterday," Sirius said seriously. Neriah nodded, a bit hesitant.
Sirius got out of bed and Neriah followed. Sirius headed to the bathroom to wash up and take a quick shower to shake off the nightmare, while Neriah changed into more fitting clothes—a brown jacket and loose pants that matched it. Once Sirius came out, Neriah went in to wash his face, and Sirius put on clean clothes—a plain white shirt and loose black pants. When Neriah came out, Sirius was already waiting by the door.
"Let's go."
With that, the two left their room and took the elevator to the ground floor, where they saw Jarod at the reception desk, reading a newspaper, then stepped outside.
"...Looks like there's another killer out there," Jarod said, glancing at the headline: "Massacre at a Restaurant."
He raised his head and watched Sirius and Neriah walking away.
"...We've already got enough killers in this university, right, C?"
———————
Outside, Sirius and Neriah made their way to the southern train station.
"What are we even going to do? We don't have a starting point," Neriah asked, both curious and slightly relieved. If Sirius found the culprit, Neriah doubted he'd be able to stop him like he had with Kieran.
"Did you know there's not a single store in any sector that sells paint sprayers?" Sirius asked rhetorically, not waiting for a reply.
"Paint sprayers cause too many problems, so the university banned them. You wouldn't find them anywhere... unless the culprit bought one from an unofficial seller," Sirius continued, eyeing Neriah from the corner of his eye.
"I see..." Neriah whispered. Though he felt closer to solving the mystery, he was also uneasy—this person was as good as dead once Sirius found them.
"The only unofficial seller on campus... and the richest student in Nova... Andrew Batera. He's our target," Sirius declared, setting their course.
———————
Back at the university gate, Noah and Livia were sitting against the wall, while Luo Yan stood somewhere out of sight.
Noah remained silent for a while, not wanting to intervene. It was obvious there had been a falling-out between the two girls, and he wouldn't be the first to offer help.
"It's none of my business... but if this interferes with the investigation, it'll be a problem, right?" Noah thought uneasily. If this fight became a real issue, it would only complicate things.
"So... what happened between you and Luo Yan? If you want, I can help," he asked, worried. It caught Livia's attention; she finally lifted her eyes from the ground and looked at him.
She stayed silent for a while, staring directly into Noah's eyes like she was staring into emptiness. In that moment, Noah saw so much in her gaze—crippling guilt, regret, sorrow, confusion, and fear of losing something precious.
"Look at this... what a beautiful painting," Noah thought, strangely thrilled by the conflicting emotions in her eyes. Her lips parted, and she seemed ready to speak.
"... it's non of your god damn business..." Livia snapped, then turned and walked away.
"E-Excuse me?" Noah said, shocked. The last thing he expected was to be rejected like that.
"Her guilt toward Luo Yan turned into annoyance toward me... which means I am part of why she feels guilty... D-Did I do something?" he wondered, now worried that he might be involved.
"Whatever... I don't care."
———————
Some time later, Sirius and Neriah arrived in Sector 3, at the central market, and made their way into the "open district," a maze of hidden turns and obscure places that didn't show up on maps. They arrived at a garage with no sign—just an ordinary garage like any other outside the university, tucked away where the authorities wouldn't think to look.
Sirius knocked on the door, causing a loud, unpleasant noise.
"It's a garage. Take it easy," Neriah said sarcastically, watching him.
After a while, the door finally opened to reveal a man with dark skin and thick black hair tied in locks. He wore rugged goggles, a black shirt stained in car oil, making it even darker, and blue jeans that had blackened from dried motor oil. The man raised his goggles and looked at Sirius.
"...Oh, Sirius, Neriah! How are you, amigos? Why haven't you visited earlier, you bastards!" Andrew greeted them warmly, arms wide open.
"Hey Andrew, it's been a while," Neriah said, waving back.
"Andrew, we came to—" Sirius started, wanting to get to the point.
"Ugh, come on man, save the talk for later. Come in, come in, tell me everything inside," Andrew interrupted, motioning them in with his hands.
Sirius and Neriah exchanged awkward, uncomfortable glances, but nodded at each other and stepped into the garage with Andrew.
Inside, it looked like a typical workshop—but impressively organized. One section of the wall had neatly hung tools: hammers of all sizes, saws, screwdrivers, and more. Another section, even more meticulous, held collections of butterflies behind glass—yellow, black, blue, white, and more. It seemed Andrew balanced his work life with his hobbies.
"Please, have a seat," Andrew said, smiling warmly.
Neriah and Sirius sat side by side at one of the many tables. Andrew dragged his chair over, sat in front of them, and looked at them with eager eyes.
"Alright, tell me everything. How have you two been? What's been going on out there? And why isn't Enel with you this time? I have so many questions. You know I haven't left this hole in weeks," Andrew said, leaning back in his chair, his voice full of energy and curiosity
"Andrew!" Sirius called out, catching Andrew's attention and startling him.
"What is it, Sirius?" Andrew asked, confused, scratching his cheek in puzzlement.
"Andrew, we enjoy your company, but we've… come to ask if you sold a paint sprayer to anyone over the past week," Neriah interjected, taking over the conversation and positioning himself as the one leading it instead of Sirius.
"Ah… well then… a paint sprayer, you say… There were a few people who bought one from me. But why do you want to know this?" Andrew asked, adopting a professional and slightly defensive tone. "Telling you would break the agreement I have with my clients not to reveal their identities to anyone."
"We… want this for personal reasons… but it's kind of a critical matter. Please, help us," Neriah said nervously, pleading with Andrew. He glanced sideways at Sirius, worried he might explode, but Sirius was holding himself together—for now.
"Help you, huh?... Alright then, I'll help you. But I have one condition," Andrew said in a half-serious tone.
"What's your condition?" Neriah asked, tense—Andrew had succeeded in grabbing his full attention.
"The condition is simple… I want you to tell me everything that happened while I was gone!"