After leaving Rein back in Miriko's Cafe Inn, Ciel wandered the streets of the 2nd quadrant, looking for a potential way to gain Spirit or knowledge.
He walked in the shadows of the streets where no one could easily notice him, but would get an occasional glance directed at him once in a while.
Not that there were many people roaming the streets after the warning that came on the Broadcaster about the criminal from the Star Kingdom.
Even so, it didn't really matter if he was seen, as wearing a mask in public didn't necessarily mean that Ciel was a criminal. He would just be seen as weird and someone preferably not to be interacted with.
Though, the biggest problem with Ciel's current appearance was actually the material of the mask he was wearing, being Eternal Stone.
If someone noticed this unknown material, Ciel would have to reveal where he found or got the mask at the very least.
Still, this was a situation in which he could make his way out through deception and lies.
As long as he did nothing undesirable, he could walk around without any issues.
'The streets are mostly empty after the warning that was given on the Broadcaster.'
'There's nothing really around here that we can do to easily gain Spirit…' Ciel thought while strolling in the shadows
He continued to walk around Merchants District of the 2nd quadrant, as he didn't want to be too far away from Rein.
While aimlessly walking around, Ciel came across a popular general store, the Floren Mart.
Right outside the Floren Mart was a large wooden advertisement board with a bunch of advertisement posters stuck to it.
Most of them were advertising miscellaneous products, but one of the posters slightly caught Ciel's attention.
'An orchestra concert available for anyone to see, featuring an up and coming band… there'll probably be nobles attending this, since it's being held in the 2nd quadrant.'
'It's in three days, with the regular ticket costing 5 Silver…'
'I shouldn't do anything crazy yet… the entry fee is too high anyways. Niko Rampancy should be a neutral and respected identity, not a criminal. For now…' He thought
Ciel continued forward, walking past the Floren Mart.
[ Hello. ] He mentally said to Rein, feeling slightly bored
[ Hi... Did you find anything interesting? ] Rein asked from back in Miriko's Cafe Inn
[ Not really. Anything you think I should check out? Somewhere that you think we could find something useful. ]
[ In that case, how about going to a church? A church is somewhere where you can always learn new information. ] Rein suggested
As someone who read a bunch of fantasy media on earth, she knew that a church always held a ton of deep secrets. At least in fantasy fiction.
It could be different on Lumos, but there was no reason not to check out a local church.
At the bare minimum, they could learn about the common religions of Lumos.
She hadn't previously gone herself because she was under watch by a Royal Guard, and didn't want to seem like a false believer.
[ Sure. Do you want me to share my vision with you? ] Ciel asked
[ Yeah. ] Rein confirmed
They could share their vision with each other by constantly showing mental images to each other's mind.
It would be slightly nauseating at first, but was something the duo could get used to over time.
It was like having four eyes at once, but two of those eyes could independently move away from you.
As for hearing, the duo could add a voice to the mental images they would send, which could be done subconsciously.
The same could be done with other senses, but there was no real need for that.
It would also just be a feeling of sense, and not a real sense, since Rein herself would not be smelling the air or touching a wall.
She would just know the smell of the air and feeling of the wall from Ciel's personal senses.
He then went towards a nearby parish.
The Holy Church of Floren, located in Saints Borough was also located in the 2nd quadrant, but since it was the main cathedral of the Floren Kingdom, Ciel didn't want to enter such a place.
Instead, he would go to a less noticeable local church near him that was also in the 2nd quadrant.
He slowly made his way towards the Church of the Purified Bell.
After a short while, Ciel had reached the church which was now directly in front of him. He observed the exterior for a few seconds before heading to the church doors.
The Church of the Purified Bell fit the theme of being grand like everything else in the 2nd quadrant, though to a moderate degree.
Ciel walked inside the church with no problems and took a glance around the church.
Since it was quite late and due to the Broadcasters warning, there were only a handful of people sitting in the pews listening to the priest's preachings.
Ciel sat on the backmost pews and quietly listened to the priest.
After listening to the preachings, Ciel left the church in thought.
He did indeed learn something interesting from the church.
'A God that whispers to the king…'
The priest had spoken about a God that only whispered to the king.
A God that ensured the safety of the Floren Kingdom by informing the king of future mishaps and guiding the Floren Kingdom to survive against the Forsakened.
[ Do you think that this God is real? ] Ciel asked Rein, who also listened to the preachings
[ Who knows. If this God is indeed real, it's in our best interest to not cause any commotion. We cannot accidentally anger any high level existence. ]
[ Especially because we already need to deal with the entity behind the Door of Void. ] Rein added
[ To me, if this "God" is real, it feels more like 'He' is just the shadow ruler of the Floren Kingdom. It seems quite obvious. ]
[ Maybe it was also 'Him' that made the king send the Royal Guards after us after the unknown anomaly occurred. ] Ciel stated his opinion
[ That sounds reasonable. But that also means that 'He' already has his eyes on us. Or just you. ]
[ There are only a few reasons such an existence would care about us two. ]
[ The first would be, our Attributes. This is the most unlikely reason, since we hadn't used any of our Abilities prior to coming to Lumos. ]
[ The second reason is straightforward. We come from a different planet than Lumos, and are thus anomalies that have entered this world. ]
[ The third reason is… the entity behind the Door of Void… who knows how this God would have found out about such an existence being sealed behind my Attribute, but it wouldn't surprise me. ]
[ As for any other reason, we need to be extra careful about what we do, secret or not. ]
[ Still, it's only a possibility that this God was the reason the king sent the Royal Guards after us. ] Rein said
[ So, something we really need to do is to figure out the anomaly that happened the day we came to Lumos. ]
[ Figuring out the cause of that anomaly will definitely give us at least a hint to our major questions. ] Ciel said, taking a breath of fresh air
Subsequent to leaving the church, he found himself sitting alone on a bench in a park.
Of course, he wasn't truly alone, as he was still sharing his vision with Rein.
He watched the empty park playground in the dead of the night.
[ It's about time I go back. There's nothing we really want to check out right now. ] Ciel said
Just as he said that, however, someone placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, you have a cool mask. How about you take this ticket? I accidentally bought an extra one." An unknown voice said as Ciel remained calm
He hadn't noticed anyone sneaking up on him, so Ciel was sure that the hand belonged to someone who was at least Soul Tier 2.
He looked at the extended hand that held a ticket. It was for an orchestra concert. In fact, it was the same orchestra concert Ciel had seen being advertised near the general store.
The orchestra concert was also heavily advertised, so this coincidence didn't really mean much.
Ciel was also the only one that was in the park, so he was the only person around that could really receive this ticket.
"Thanks. I'll see if I have the time to go." Ciel said before turning around to see who was giving him the ticket
He was ready to summon the Starlight Lantern at any second if something happened.
The person he saw, though, gave Ciel a hint of familiarity.
'Young man, black hair with purple flecks, dark purple eyes…'
[ It's the guy described in the Broadcaster. The major criminal from the Star Kingdom. ] Rein said, still being shared Ciel's vision
Without making any strange actions or showing unwanted emotions, Ciel took the orchestra concert ticket.
If this criminal truly wanted to kill Ciel, giving him a ticket to the orchestra concert was completely unnecessary. He had already sneaked up to him.
Ciel then marked the ticket with Soul Transfer, so if it was a bomb, he could instantly send it to his Soul World and mitigate any damage.
The criminal from the Star Kingdom didn't show any reaction.
He then said:
"No worries if you can't make it. Just give it to a friend if you want."
"My name is Yurastian Erastus. Just don't tell anyone where you got this ticket from." Yurastian said with a faint smile
"No problem. I'm Niko Rampancy." Ciel said
The man named Yurastian Erastus then walked away as if nothing had happened.
After he left his vision, Ciel immediately summoned the Starlight Lantern.
"This is important. Is there anything wrong with this ticket?" Ciel said with slight concern
Who knew what could be on the ticket of such a criminal, especially with the criminal being a Soul Sorcerer of an unknown Soul Tier.
"I can't answer such a question as you already know." The Starlight Lantern said
"Then just keep an eye on this ticket in the Soul World." Ciel said before sending the ticket and the Starlight Lantern into his Soul World
'I guess fate really wants me to go to this orchestra.'
[ Are you going to go? ] Rein asked with a hint of confusion in her voice
[ Maybe. Probably. That guy was also a noble… unless he is a fake noble like me. ]
[ I wonder how a noble from the Star Kingdom is treated as a major criminal. Maybe that's the real reason why his name wasn't revealed. ] Ciel replied