Chapter 371: A Close Call
(Twin Fang Planet, Outer Housing Ring, Leo’s Apartment, Early Morning, Fredrick’s POV)
*Click*
Fredrick shut the door quietly behind him, casting a brief glance over his shoulder to ensure no eyes lingered on the corridor, before slipping on a pair of thin black gloves and walking deeper into the apartment with silent, measured steps.
Leo Skyshard had gone out for his usual morning jog, as he always did at precisely 6:30, giving Fredrick a clean ninety-minute window to scour the space without disturbance.
He began with the obvious, lifting the pillows, running a gloved hand under the mattress, and pressing lightly across the seams as he searched for hidden compartments or fabric bulges, brushing across every corner of the bed frame with the thoroughness of someone who had done this a thousand times before.
Then came the frame itself, as he crouched low and felt beneath the wood, dragging his fingers across its underside, listening for hollow knocks or the feel of embedded seals, but again found nothing out of place.
Moving toward the closet, he opened it slowly and began his inspection with the same methodical care, sliding his fingers through the folds of Leo’s robes, feeling along the lining and tugging gently on the fabric’s edge, before picking up a small spherical keychain that sat alone on the upper shelf.
He turned it in his palm, noting its weight and surface texture, then attempted to press it from all sides, waiting for it to spring open or a hidden mechanism to reveal itself, yet the object remained inert, showing no sign of deforming at all, as it just seemed to be a regular keychain with no mana signature, as far as he could tell.
He placed it back exactly where it had been, aligning the chain and letting it rest as naturally as possible, before shifting his attention to the daggers hanging in the closet.
He wrapped a hand around the hilts, lifted each blade gently, and tapped them against his knuckles, feeling for hidden compartments or mana-sealed channels, but everything about them appeared standard and unmodified.
His sweep moved next to the bathroom next, where he opened the shower cap, leaned in close, and tapped each tile one by one, applying light pressure as he verified that they were solid, unmoving, and free of illusion magic.
The drain cover was lifted, the inner lining examined, and still, there was no indication of anything hidden or out of the ordinary.
By the time he stepped back into the main room, his brow had furrowed slightly, as he took in the near-barren room once again, noting the lack of any large object that could account for the television-sized package Leo had received the day before.
There was nothing visible in the apartment that could match the dimensions of the delivery, nothing tucked behind furniture or stored against a wall, and that only left one possibility—Leo had either disposed of the package entirely, or more likely, he had stored it inside his storage ring.
And while there was nothing inherently suspicious about keeping a valuable item in one’s personal storage, it did raise a flag.
Because if Leo had received something so large that he carried on himself at all times, then the Guild needed to inspect that storage ring before granting him access to the Vault.
“I can’t give the boy a clean chit, but he’s not a threat as far as I can discern. He’s odd, but then again, all kids his age are odd–” Fredrick mused, as he moved out of Leo’s apartment with the same caution that he came in with, and locked the door using the makeshift master key he had made, leaving no trace that he was ever there.
———–
Meanwhile, Leo, who was oblivious to him being under surveillance, came back feeling accomplished after a productive morning walk, where he spotted two trails of pink and one trail of blue in the air.
He had stored the frame and letters in his storage ring versus his apartment, only because he was paranoid about leaving such stuff in the open, where anyone could discover it, but he did not take the ball with him, as it was undetectable and harmless.
Thankfully, his paranoid caution played to his advantage, as despite having his apartment ransacked, he was not flagged as a threat, allowing him to enjoy a few more days of freedom, despite being under intense scrutiny.
*Unlock*
As he stepped back into his apartment, he remained oblivious to the search operation that had been carried out here just moments ago, as Fredrick had done a great job of covering his tracks.
“Time to workout, then shower—” he mused, as he removed his robes and dropped to the floor to start hitting pushups, while Fredrick typed his report for Antonio.
————-
*PING*
A message from Fredrick blinked to life on the embedded data slate built into Antonio’s desk, as he leaned forward and read it with slow, deliberate patience.
[ > I thoroughly searched the apartment and found no illegal enchantments, artifacts, or evidence of cultist contact.
All visible belongings appear mundane—robes, weapons, personal hygiene items, and a spherical keychain object with no mana signature or mechanical triggers.
The boy lives alone, keeps his space sparse, and arranges it with the caution of someone expecting to be watched.
One thing to note: I found no large object in the apartment that matches the dimensions of the delivery he received yesterday.
Given the clean layout and absence of any storage furniture capable of housing such an item, it is likely the boy placed it into his personal storage ring.
If possible, I recommend a full ring inspection prior to granting vault access.
—Fredrick ]
Antonio sat back, rubbing the edge of his chin with two fingers as his thoughts circled back to the first time Leo had arrived at the headquarters.
He had already asked the boy to empty his ring once—right here in this very office—and Leo had complied without resistance.
Everything he’d taken out that day was personally scanned by him, so repeating the same request now would seem… excessive. Possibly even insulting.
“No, not yet,” Antonio muttered under his breath. “The last thing I want is to spook him or tip him off.”
He drummed his fingers once across the slate’s glass surface before switching off the display, his mind already moving ahead to the solution.
The Vault had its own protocols. A full-body scan. Mana signature sweep. Inventory check, these were all standard measures for high-level clearance.
If Leo planned to enter the Vault, he would have to empty his ring again anyway, this time under guild supervision, and as part of procedure, so asking him to do it at random was probably unnecessary.
*Sigh*
Antonio exhaled slowly, letting the tension ease from his frame.
“The boy seems clean enough…. I’ll ask for his inspection process to be even more rigid than usual, but other than that, I think I can let him enter.”
He stood and walked toward the wide window, eyes scanning the guild’s core towers once more as the early morning light painted them silver-blue.
“I won’t stop him,” he said softly, “but I won’t give him a single chance to fool us either.”
Because if Leo Skyshard really was after something dangerous…
Antonio would make sure the Guild saw through his schemes before he succeeded.