Valerie gently caressed her hand over Percy’s, causing him to glance over his shoulder at her.

"Hey... It’s okay. I think this is all just some weird misunderstanding. Just... let us talk about it and get it sorted out, okay? No need for anyone to do anything that they would regret, Right?" She said to him softly, her voice carrying a slight maternal and worried tone as she was practically talking him down from the ledge.

She glanced towards Percival the third, meeting his eyes and staring back into that bloodthirsty gaze. He narrowed his eyes at her, his eyes darting between hers as he searched through the meaning in her gaze, before the murderous aura he was exuding finally started to melt away.

The Patriarch let out an annoyed huff through his nostrils, before brushing his son’s sword away with a wave of his hand and turning on his heels. When his father reluctantly retreated, Percy lowered his sword arm and let out a trembling breath, the hand in Valerie’s was shaking whilst the one gripping his sword had chalk white knuckles.

There was a part of him that was seriously beginning to consider that the would actually have to kill his own father. It was a decision that he still stood by, after seeing the look in his fathers eyes and barely recognising the man he knew.

But then again, he barely knew his father to begin with. They were distant and cold to each other, with a strained relationship that held many secrets and unspoken truths. Clearly many more than Percy could have ever realised.

Yet that didn’t mean it would have been easy. As fraught and miserable as their relationship was... he was still family.

The golden aura faded from the training sword as it slipped from Percy’s grasp and clattered to the floor, while he fell to the floor himself. He slumped down next to Valerie, giving her a thankful smile which she warmly returned, keeping her hand wrapped around his as if he could slip away if she let go.

Percival the Third sat at his desk once again as he leaned forwards and steepled his fingers.

"Very well. You have five minutes to explain. If I am unsatisfied with your explanation, then I will do with the pair of you what I see fit." He said lowly, as not a single trace of emotion was allowed to pollute his voice.

Explain was exactly what they did, now that no one was about to be murdered, at least for the next five minutes. After that it was still up for debate, so they made sure to get their explanation right.

Once again Valerie insisted that she did not know this McLean person that they kept referring to. That she had neither met him nor heard of him. Then, with Percy acting as backup for the validity of her story, she told him about the game.

Percival the Third’s fists clenched when she started that explanation, and his jaw clenched tight, but the longer they explained it and got into the raw details of it all, the more he loosened that grip until it was back to the calm steepling it had previously been. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

By this point the five minutes had long passed, but Percival was the only one that was actually keeping track of that and he wasn’t interested in stopping them, and instead continued listening intently to their explanation.

Leaning forwards more and more throughout the story with every added detail, as his curiosity was peaked and his attention was enraptured.

A few moments after the young pair stopped talking, and took said moments to catch their breath, was when the door to the office space opened. It was the same door that Percy had come bursting through a few minutes ago.

Through the door came a woman, dressed in long flowing robes like some kind of monk, as she held a clay bottle in her hands along with two small, shallow bowls that were slightly bigger than shot glasses.

With a nod from Percival, the woman set the bowls down and poured the contents of the bottle into them. She then passed a bowl to each of the youngsters, bowed to Percival and then promptly left the room without a single word leaving her lips.

Percy and Valerie glanced at each other in confusion, before looking down at the contents of the bowl in their hands.

It was a murky green liquid that had a disgusting smell that curled the hairs of their nose. But beneath the stench and unappealing visual, they could both feel the traces of mana filling the drink.

Looking up at Percival the Third in confusion, he explained calmly.

"You will drink this, and you will tell me if it bears any similarity to the drink you mentioned."

It was certainly a difference in the way he had been acting before, although his murderous aura was still clear in their minds, so naturally they considered that these drinks could be poisoned. After all it wasn’t the first time they had been slipped something.

Glancing at each other nervously, Valerie and Percy clinked their bowls together before downing their drinks like shots.

The liquid tasted as good as it smelled, which to say it tasted like absolute shit. It was horrible, with the type of taste that stuck to your tongue and the roof of your mouth for hours on end.

It was like brushing your teeth and then drinking a bottle of the most disgusting, cough medicine that you could find. One that was made by someone who thought, for some reason, lime flavoured was the best choice in the world and shoved an entire orchard in there.

But as that description appeared in her mind, Valerie frowned softly. She smacked her lips and tilted her head, swirling the taste around in her mouth again. Lime, with a burning of the throat on the way down.

She could feel the mana filling the drink entering her system and flowing through her body, pushing her a few steps closer to achieving an actual Source, but she ignored it for now and decided to answer Percival,

"Yes... It does. It’s not exactly the same, the drink we know tastes much better. It’s sweeter, but there has always been that after taste of lime. Just a hint." She muttered, before looking over at Percy to confirm and getting a nod from him.

Percival narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists again, but this time it wasn’t aimed at them. He slowly stood from his desk and walked towards the door the woman had left through.

"You will follow. We have more to discuss."