In a haze, Dante rushed through the darkness, the only source of light being the distant crimson dots. And they called out to him with an irresistible temptation, like to lost child heading homewards. As he sprinted into the distance, Dante felt them leap out of the nothingness all around him and join him in the pursuit. They were not human, instead, they appeared to be serpents, hogs, tigers and other animals, all of them chanting in unison. Although Dante did not understand the language they spoke, they clearly repeated a single phrase, over and over again. After running for an unknown period of time, the distant crimson did not appear to be even a single step closer as suddenly, the endless darkness was pierced by a dazzling light.

Dante opened his eyes and stared at the grey ceiling above him, realising it had just been a dream. The same dream he had every night ever since Arianne had picked him up at the hospital. At that point it was hardly a coincidence, considering that two weeks had passed, but Dante still kept it to himself, well aware that he should’ve long reported it to Arianne but still strangely hesitant to do so. Before he could start struggling over whether he should tell her, a muffled grunt from right below interrupted Dante’s thoughts.

“I really miss my old bed,” the dark-haired Andrew said as he woke up.

“Sorry about that,” Dante apologised from the top of the bunk bed.

“Hardly your fault,” Andrew shook his head without any animosity for his neighbour unlike when they had first met. Although Andrew had first tried to avoid Dante, it was not something that could be sustained in a group of 4 youngsters that met every day, especially since the other two had actively tried to mend the group. Ironically, their relationship had also become much better after Dante’s return once, under Katerin’s pressure, Dante had recounted most of what had happened on the night he had gone missing. Perhaps Andrew had a similar story that made him feel a certain amount of kinship towards Dante.

“Does anyone remember what our morning lesson is gonna be about?” Julian’s voice sounded from not far away. He had also slept on a bunk bed, though there was no second person on it since Katerin, Arianne and Shin slept in different rooms.

“Welcome back among us,” Andrew smiled at Julian as soon as he noticed the other boy had returned to his normal personality.

“Yes, I have to take a break from all the acting,” Julian sighed and shook his head, “Shin warned me that if I overdo it, I might end up developing a personality disorder.”

“That does make sense,” Dante nodded, “Who knows how long Damien had trained and how scarred he was in the process,” he also mentioned the notorious mastermind who had inspired Julian’s acting, “As for the lessons, I think that Shin had mentioned something about the economics of banking.”

“Sounds boring,” Julian nodded.

“Actually, it’s pretty interesting,” Andrew countered, “Getting into banking can be incredibly profitable. I had studied it before but Shin's insights are no doubt going to be as innovative as ever,” as he finished speaking a knock sounded on the door of the storage room they had turned into a sleeping chamber. Without waiting for an answer, Shin entered, wearing his usual deadpan expression and an ebony tuxedo as well as a paper bag.

“Be in the classroom in 20 minutes,” Shin said as he reached into the bag and threw a piece of fresh pastry at each of the teenagers. Another inconvenience of the new hideout was that it did not have a proper canteen nor kitchen, “Except you Dante, Arianne said she has something else for you to do in the morning. I will lend you my notes on today’s lesson once you get back,” Shin finished his speech and quickly left the room with the half-full bag. Dante only managed to nod after the man was already out of sight, slightly surprised at the sudden summons by Arianne. After all, she would rarely get them to skip the morning lessons.

“I will see you in the afternoon then,” Dante quickly finished his breakfast and changed before bidding his two roommates goodbye. He didn’t even need to search for Arianne, encountering her right behind the corner, wearing her regalia-like dress despite the lack of any makeup. She did not immediately explain where exactly they were going, meaning it was probably pointless to ask. Instead she lead way, quickly arriving outside. Then they walked to the other side of the street, where Arianne’s sports car was.

“I have arranged a meeting with the Old fox for you,” she eventually stated as they set off. A nickname Dante immediately connected with Karl.

“Do you know each other?” he couldn’t help but ask after casting a surprised gaze. Dante had always assumed that Arianne and Shin had only known the nickname Pete used because of their relationship with Dante but at that moment he realised that he might’ve been mistaken. Although Karl seemed to be just an ordinary person he was still a close friend of Pete who was working for Damien. It was not a stretch to think that Karl might’ve or still was somehow involved. It was, in fact, such a normal assumption that Dante couldn’t understand how he had not even thought of it before.

“It’s probably best if you leave that question to him,” she answered noncommittally. For the rest of the rather short ride, they remained silent. Dante kept considering the implications of Karl’s connections to the organisation, such as how deep his involvement was and also whether Lucy played any part in it or if she was kept in the dark.

“Go in,” Arianne stopped right in front of the Dancing fox and gave such instruction despite the clear sign saying ‘closed’ on the front door, “Go through the kitchen and into an adjacent room. Tsk, I am curious how you had managed to get invited into his sanctuary despite only knowing the old fox for such a short period of time,” she said, earning a strange glance from Dante. Seeing that Arianne did not intend to continue, Dante stepped out and followed those instructions. The front door was indeed open and Dante quickly reached the room he had caught a glimpse of two weeks prior, not meeting anyone along the way.

“Come on in,” Karl’s voice sounded and Dante did not object, opening the unlocked door. First of all, he saw the shelves he had caught a glimpse of before: They were laden with countless wristwatches, many more than Dante had previously imagined now that he saw that multiple shelves reached almost all around the walls of the room. Without a doubt, there had to be at least a hundred of them. After a moment of surprised, Dante looked over to the left, where Karl sat in front of a proper clock working station surrounded by tools. He was tinkering with something Dante couldn’t clearly see, though it was not difficult to figure out what the item was. To Karl’s left Dante also noticed another shelf, though that one was much smaller and clearly separated from the rest. On top of it lied 3 items: An exquisite wristwatch that Dante though would put masters to shame, a single burning candle and a framed photograph.

On the photograph were 3 people posing in a forest. A middle-aged man in a tuxedo with a proper goatee, a young child with brown hair and an unfamiliar middle-aged woman with the same chestnut mare. Immediately, Dante connected the man’s features to Karl and the young child to Lucy. His heart tightened as he realised what that candle represented as well as why he had never met Lucy’s mother.

“Done,” Karl announced while Dante was lost in thought. He turned around in his chair and revealed another wristwatch in his hand. It was another exquisite masterpiece, surpassing all the well-made pieces on the shelves with the single exception of the one placed on the shrine, “Take it. It is a way to thank you for saving my life.”

“I haven’t done anything,” Dante shook his head. In fact, what he had done that night could’ve made things significantly worse he came to understand from Arianne’s lessons of attempting magic above one’s capabilities.

“The doctor said that it was a miracle,” Karl smiled, “To survive such a cardiac arrest and fully recover. Now, I do not know much about miracles, however, I know plenty about magic and what it can do for a dying man,” Dante froze as he heard those words. Whether he had actually helped or not, he realised that Karl had made up his mind about it. However, Dante was too young to be a proper novice, much less someone capable of something as advanced as healing. When put together, those two things would definitely arouse suspicion, perhaps even mistrust.

“No need to worry, I will not reveal your secret. Not even to Pete,” Karl assured Dante as soon as the youth started panicking, “I of all people understand that some secrets must be kept even from those closest to you. In exchange, I hope that you will keep my connection to Arianne and any other such relationships you learn of in the future a secret from Lucy,” he added, basically confirming that Lucy was kept in the dark about whatever Pete and Karl were or had been doing.

“Alright, I promise,” Dante solemnly nodded before changing the direction, “I was wondering though, how do you know Arianne?”

“I had done many things I regret in the past,” Karl sighed and shook his head, “I was fortunate enough to escape that world without a stop in the morgue, though severing all the strings is not possible. I had first met Arianne a bit over 16 years ago when she came to Giltport, though I am not sure what she had been doing before that, nor did I ever pry. I will respect her privacy but I can say that I was not too surprised that it was her who had helped me arrange this meeting.”

“Not surprised?” Dante raised an eyebrow. Undoubtedly there had to be many places a pickpocket like him could end up inside such a large organisation.

“The slang for people like you would be ‘Arianne’s Proteges’,” Karl chuckled, clearly amused by the name, ”Considering her expertise, she could hold a much better position than one of the de facto managers of Giltport. Instead, she had dedicated a lot of her time and resources to finding and training talented youth such as you. If nothing had changed, there should have been two groups of 6 before you, each trained for 7 years. After that, they had become her hands and ears throughout the organisation. It was inevitable that a teenager who somehow picked Damien’s pocket would end up beneath her wings. That being said, she is a good person to follow. Despite her rough demeanour, she has a kind side hidden deep inside her. As an analogy, I would say that Arianne would not sacrifice a pawn to take a rook.”

“Was Shin part of the previous groups?” Dante asked and Karl’s expression turned a bit confused.

“I assume that he is still wearing those tuxedos,” Karl realised why Dante would assume they knew each other and chuckled, “Yes, he had been in the first group. Back then I had spent many afternoons teaching him. Though, as far as I know, he ended up choosing a different path in the spite of his talents. I assume that he is staying by Arianne’s side now since you would mention him.”

“Yes,” Dante nodded, confirming where Shin’s habits came from, “He teaches us in the mornings various pieces of general knowledge.”

“He might seem cold but deep down there is a warm heart in him,” Karl sighed, his tone turning strangely melancholic or perhaps sad, “I guess the same could be said about Arianne. But enough about these things, my hand is already aching from holding the watch.”

“I am not sure whether I can accept it,” Dante resisted again. Whatever Karl believed, he still felt guilty about his reckless attempt at magic that could have endangered Karl.

“I might not look it but my great grandfather came from the far east,” instead of directly addressing Dante’s worries, Karl launched into a seemingly unrelated topic, “He came along the first wave of war refugees who settled here in Newland, bringing along their culture and myths. Among them, one is my favourite: Of the tailed vixen. It speaks of a legendary beast, a fox-like creature with many tails who wanders around the lands. The legend claims that even if two people were to look at her at the same time, they would see a different number of tails swaying in the wind up to nine. And the number of tails they see will determine the person’s fortune or misfortune. Even spells disaster while odd foretells fortune. If a wealthy merchant saw 8 tails, he would lose all his wealth and die of disease and if an orphaned child saw 9 tails they would catch the fancy of an important figure and be adopted into a loving and wealthy family.”

As the description reached that far, Karl reached for the watch on his palm with his other hand and simultaneously pressed a few of the buttons. Right away, the dial flung open, revealing the true beauty hidden beneath. Onto the intricate turning clockwork an image was carved. With the spinning of the wheels, it would wave and distort, yet it was still perfectly clear what they represented. A nine-tailed fox, seemingly animated by the spinning cogs among still plates. It was a level of artisanry Dante never would’ve thought possible without the use of magic.

“My parents had passed early so I had ever only made 4 watches with nine tails,” Karl spoke with a smile as Dante stared in a daze, “This is the fifth and I will not let you decline, Dante. If you cannot accept it, just take it for now,” Karl closed the lid again and gestured with his hand, “Sooner or later you will understand my intentions. Until then you can just keep it in your room as a good luck charm.”