SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant Chapter 623: Questions and Answers

Before Selara could answer Caelum's question, another one formed on her tongue first.

She studied him across the table, or rather studied the man wearing Orven von Halbrecht's face, with the expression of someone trying very hard not to start shouting in a public café.

"I imagine you are Trafalgar's servant, for lack of a better word," she said at last. "The same one from the train."

Caelum turned his attention to Trafalgar, silent permission requested without making a show of it. Selara had already seen him act at Trafalgar's side, and at this point pretending otherwise would have only insulted everyone at the table.

Trafalgar gave the faintest nod.

Caelum inclined his head toward her. "The same, Director Selara. You may call me Caelum. I work for House Morgain, though my current duty is especially tied to the young master."

Selara absorbed that with a small, humorless sound. "Well, that explains several things. I have another question, and it is nothing dramatic. Halbrecht, as much as I dislike him, and as eccentric, despotic, and convinced of his own superiority as he is… is he all right?"

Caelum's borrowed face carried Halbrecht's severe lines, which made the answer feel far stranger than it should have.

"You know him well, Lady Selara," he said. "Yes, I can confirm that Master von Halbrecht is currently taking a well-earned rest. He is sleeping comfortably. You do not need to worry. He will wake without problems once this is over."

Selara stared at him for a breath, unable to decide whether to be relieved, offended, or impressed against her will.

"I see," she said slowly. "Thank you for telling me. And yes, the bastard probably deserved the rest. Now you may begin with what you came to report. Forgive the interruption, but if something had happened to that man, no matter how pleasant the surface of it might appear, people would start asking questions very quickly."

Caelum folded Halbrecht's gloved hands over the table. "Understood. I will go directly to the important part, since our time is limited. Yesterday, I managed to descend into the lower side of the Atrium with the help of an assistant. The place itself is simpler than expected. There are preparation rooms where participants refine their creations for the main event in four days."

Selara's fingers tightened around her cup. "That makes sense. Those places are usually protected because participants do not want rivals stealing designs before the judging."

"That is how it appears on the surface," Caelum said. "Most of the rooms are exactly that. Alchemists working on reagents. Mana engineers adjusting devices. Assistants transporting sealed cases. Wards for temperature, pressure, and security. Nothing impossible to explain."

Trafalgar listened without interrupting.

Caelum continued, voice calm, every word placed with careful weight. "However, I heard something more useful. According to people below, Aurevane's judges may already know who this year's winner will be."

Selara's face altered at once.

"Is that so?" she asked. "Normally there is a vote, and many factors are considered. This event has always mattered precisely because creations can serve different purposes. A defensive device, a healing compound, a mana tool, an alchemical breakthrough… they are not judged by a single measure." She paused, irritation crossing her features. "I still remember winning with a potion people kept underestimating because it did not explode on command. But that is beside the point. The main event is held in the castle venue, not underneath the Atrium."

"Correct," Caelum said. "Technically, this is connected to a restricted preparation room. Very few people are allowed near it. I asked about it carefully, but I was told access could not be granted. Still, Lady Selara, your situation may be different. A multiple-time winner of the same event, and someone of your standing, might be able to secure permission where an invited engineer cannot."

Selara's attention sharpened. "What room?"

"It is the only room I saw with two guards stationed directly at the door. Plain exterior. No public display label. Separate clearance. I did not force the issue because causing a disturbance there would have been unwise. I decided informing you and the young master before acting was the better course."

Trafalgar finally spoke. "You did well, Caelum. If Selara can get inside, we may confirm whether her master has anything to do with that room. From outside, most of the lower area sounds ordinary enough. Participants hiding plans and prototypes before a competition makes sense. No one wants their work copied and modified before the judging."

Caelum inclined his head. "There is one important detail I have not yet mentioned."

Selara's posture stiffened.

"What detail?"

"Whatever is inside that room is alive."

The words changed the air around the table.

Selara's expression grew colder, more focused. "A beast?"

"I do not have that information, Lady Selara, so I cannot answer honestly. I only know that the rumor below describes it as alive, cultivated, or reactive in a way ordinary devices are not. The source was unreliable, but the assistant's reaction suggested he had heard the same thing before." Caelum paused briefly. "Your change in expression tells me you dislike that possibility, though experiments involving monsters are not uncommon at events like this."

"They are not," Selara admitted, voice lower now. "But experiments involving people of different races are also common when the wrong mind receives enough funding and privacy. That is part of why my master was caught. I already told Trafalgar what happened that time. He had a passion for testing his ideas on living subjects. If he is involved, this fits him far better than I would like." Trafalgar's cup remained untouched in front of him.

"Then your next move is clear, Director Selara," he said. "You should try to enter that room officially. If what is below is a person, and if your master is connected to it, we may finally learn why he helped with the Void Creatures and what he was trying to achieve."

Selara leaned back, her breakfast forgotten. "I suppose that is what we need to do now. I will ask around."

"You need to approach the people who run Aurevane directly," Caelum said.

"I know," Selara replied. "Do not worry. I have history with them." She pushed her chair back and stood, composure sliding over her like a formal coat. "The sooner I do this, the better."

She left without wasting another word, moving through the café terrace with the kind of purposeful stride that made waiters step aside before understanding why.

Trafalgar watched her go.

Caelum remained seated across from him, still wearing Halbrecht's face, still holding Halbrecht's posture, still carrying another man's authority so well that even the empty chair between them felt like part of the lie.

For the first time since Caelum arrived, they were alone.

And somewhere beneath the Glass Atrium, behind a guarded door, something alive was waiting.