“Fine. Calm down...” It seemed that every time they talked, Schubert used it as an excuse to beg to hear stories of Dijon.

The first evening he had joined Sauer and Reist, Schubert had asked about their experiences in Dijon. Reist gave a simple reply, avoiding any mention of the specifics, though Sauer explained what he saw in detail. As the evening went on, Schubert kept probing him about why he chose the name Bean until Sauer could not handle it anymore and snapped at him. Schubert began to cry so loud that Sauer and Reist left the room. When they returned an hour later, Schubert had passed out in Sauer’s bed.

He was either trying very hard to provoke him, or he was shockingly socially inept. If it was the former, he would have no problem telling Schubert to shut his mouth, or simply ignore him. If it was the latter, he felt bad for how easily he was able to frustrate him. Unfortunately for him, neither he nor Reist could decide if he was acting or not.

“Actually, I will tell you… after I go to the bathroom.”

“Ah, well, come back quickly, my boy!” Sauer expected some resistance as he left, but Schubert only watched.

Reist was sitting silently on the floor in the hall, reading through a report by the light of a lantern on the wall. “I see you’ve finally escaped him. How long was that, a minute? That has to be a new record. He didn’t even try to stop you this time.”

Sauer sat down next to her.

“What was your excuse? Was it the bathroom one again? You should start getting more creative with them or he’s going to realize you’re lying. Or just tell him how you really feel.”

“You feel the same way, you should tell him.”

“He’s not too bad if you ignore him.”

“He is not fascinated with you like he is with me.”

“Fair point. I wonder why that is.”

Sauer sighed. “I do not hate him, I just wish he would stop asking me the same questions over and over again. He is a good scholar when he actually does his work.”

“Maybe he just really wants to figure out what the Beans are and thinks you’re the key.”

“I have no idea why he would think that.”

They were silent for a moment, Sauer looking at the wall in front of him and Reist staring up at the ceiling.

Sauer broke the silence. “About what happened… in Dijon. I am here if you need to talk.”

Reist was quiet before softly replying. “Thank you, Thomas, but I don’t feel like talking about it right now.” After a few moments of silence, she picked up a report and began to read. “Something’s been bothering me. If the Beans have been in France as long as the rumors have been circulating, then why didn’t we hear anything about them earlier?”

The door to their sleeping quarters opened, Schubert laying out of the doorway, his head propped up with one hand. “It’s a conspiracy, I tell you!”

“How long have you been listening?” Reist asked.

“Long enough!” He winked.

“God, you remind me of someone I know,” Sauer said.

“I’m sure I’d get along with him great!”

“I’m sure you would.”

“Why do you think there’s a conspiracy?” Reist asked.

“Let me just lay out all the facts. Somehow Paris, the capital of the Kingdom of France, was cut off from the outside world. The Empire tells everyone that there’s a disease and to avoid France for a while. Then they mobilize troops into France. At the same time, we haven’t heard anything from the French or the Spanish for months. It’s all so suspicious, isn’t it?”

“Before the Beans attacked, Captain Bösch said that we were preparing to fight French Catholic revolutionaries, and that the disease spreading in Paris was caused by them,” Sauer said.

“And there’s no evidence the Beans are the cause of the rumors in Paris, I was just assuming that they were. They could be completely unrelated, it doesn’t mean that there’s a conspiracy,” Reist added.

“Maybe Captain Bösch was lying about the Catholics. The Empire blocked off all traffic to France, after all. They wouldn’t do that if they didn’t have anything to hide.”

Sauer replied. “If the Empire knew about the Beans, why would they let their forces be massacred? It was not only in Dijon; thousands of men died.”

“That’s why it’s a conspiracy! Also, something else I’ve been wondering about is that abnormal Bean! Why do you think there weren’t any reports of other types of abnormals? And why would something like that attack quaint little Dijon?”

“You’re right,” Reist said. “That’s very strange.”

“What are you implying?” Sauer asked.

“Nothing! Just pointing out the facts.”

“How did it even get that big?” Sauer asked.

“Maybe it’s a bunch of smaller Beans grouped together to form one big Bean,” Reist replied.

“That could be possible. Their beans were malleable, which means that it would be possible that they could group together. Maybe the other Bean types are unable to do that.”

“But then why was the abnormal Ashen Bean so far south? The drone Beans we fought were Crimson. We didn’t see any of the drone Ashen ones, so I don’t think the abnormal Ashen Bean being in Dijon was a coincidence…”

“Why are there different Bean types, anyways? And if there were other abnormal Beans, would they be the same as the abnormal Ashen Beans?”

Schubert spoke up. “There could be different types due to their environments.”

Reist replied. “I would understand that if they were brown or gray. The green ones fit that theory, but not red and white.”

“Perhaps the colors only relate to the enhanced abilities of each type,” Sauer added.

Reist groaned. “This is so frustrating. There’s so many questions we can’t answer yet. Why do they kill people? They don’t eat their victims, so are they doing it for sport? And all we have to learn more is these stupid reports.” She dropped the report she was holding onto the floor, rubbing her eyes.

Schubert began to get up. “Well, it seems like Adaline isn’t in the mood to continue. But that was fun! We should do this again sometime, really! Too bad we can’t do much more right now besides speculate. I’m going to bed now, so good night!” He returned to their sleeping quarters.

Reist sighed, gathering her reports. “We should probably go now, too. It’s cold out here. And you wouldn’t want him to take your bed again.”

Sauer got up with her, sighing and following her back into their quarters.