"Now then... where should I start?"
Lyro scratched his chin for a moment.
"Ah, right. There's no point boring you with the history of the Syndicate or events from centuries ago. You'll find all of that in the books around here somewhere."
"He doesn't sound sure " Ronan noticed which was not a very good sign .
Lyro leaned back in his chair casually as he asked .
"So let me ask you this instead. That thing you saw in the alleyway ; what did it look like to you?"
Ronan pondered for a moment before answering.
"It looked like a person... but not at the same time. It had glowing red eyes."
Lyro shook his head .
"Not that. I mean its body. What did its body look like to you?"
"Hmm..."
Percy frowned.
"It was hazy, I guess. Like it was solid and not solid at the same time."
Lyro nodded, the answer seemed to satisfy him.
"Good. That's correct."
He pointed toward Percy. "But let me clear up one thing incase you are misunderstanding something . What you saw was definitely a person."
Percy's eyebrows rose slightly.
"The problem is that the person isn't exactly one individual anymore."
Percy remained silent, his fist resting against his mouth as he listened.
"That thing you saw is what we call a Haunted."
"Haunted?"
"Yes. A Haunted is a person who has undergone a ritual involving Lemons."
"Through the ritual, a spirit or soul is integrated into the individual. If the integration succeeds, the person becomes a Haunted. If it fails..."
"They become Possessed."
"What?"
Percy's brows knitted together harder than ever.
"Lemons? Rituals? Spirits? Souls?"
"What in the world is he talking about?"
"He definitely wasn't lying when he said he really sucks at explaining things."
As if sensing Percy's thoughts, Lyro let out a long sigh and buried his face in his hands.
"That's why I warned you. I'm terrible at this."
"Then why are you the one explaining it?" Percy asked.
Lyro opened his mouth before stopping midway.
"...Right. That needs explaining too."
He rubbed his forehead.
"Basically, all available hands have been assigned elsewhere. There's a large operation underway right now, so everyone got dragged into it."
"Everyone?"
"Pretty much. I was left behind because I've got another assignment tonight."
He gestured vaguely around the office.
"As you've probably noticed, this place is pretty empty for such a large organization."
Percy had noticed that too. Apart from the guards, the reception staff, and a handful of employees moving through the building, there was almost nobody around.
It wasn't what he had expected from an organization supposedly responsible for handling supernatural threats.
He had imagined investigators, officers, armed personnel or some sorts of hidden force.
Instead, the headquarters felt strangely quiet.
"Anyway," Lyro said, straightening in his chair. "I'll try to explain the basics. These are mostly the same words Senior Charles used when he first explained them to me."
He thought for a moment.
"Hmm... I think it went something like this."
His expression grew uncharacteristically serious.
"In this world, there are Five Planes."
"The Five Planes are divided into three categories: the Active Plane, the Passive Plane, and the Hidden Plane."
Lyro raised a finger.
"The world we currently live in is known as the Active Plane."
A second finger followed.
"Then there is the Passive Plane. It cannot be seen by ordinary eyes, nor can it be perceived unless certain conditions are met or one becomes connected to it."
"The Passive Plane contains two realms."
"The Spirit Plane, where spirits wander or reside."
"And the Fairy Plane, where living spirits dwell."
A third finger rose.
"Lastly comes the Hidden Plane."
His voice lowered slightly.
"This Plane contains the Forbidden Plane, We are not sure what resides there yet , but it is speculated to be the forbidden fates or spirits."
"And the Sacred Plane, where the deities reside."
Lyro scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"That's about all I can remember from Senior Charles' explanation."
He let out a short laugh.
"I could tell you the rest, but honestly, I doubt you'd understand it yet."
Percy silently agreed with that, nodding his head slightly.
Lyro paced around the room for a few moments, visibly frustrated by his inability to explain things properly.
After several steps, however, he suddenly stopped and turned toward Percy with a grin.
"How about this?"
Percy looked up.
"Since I clearly can't explain things very well, why don't you ask questions instead? I'll answer whatever I can."
The more Lyro thought about it, the more pleased he seemed with his own idea.
"Yes, that should work much better. That way I can focus on what you actually want to know."
Percy wasn't entirely convinced, but he reluctantly nodded.
"Alright. That sounds better than whatever we're doing now."
"Perfect."
Lyro immediately sat forward with anticipation.
"Ask away."
Percy coughed lightly.
"So... how much is your pay?"
"...Pardon?"
Lyro stared at him, completely bamboozled.
"Oh."
A trace of embarrassment appeared on his face.
"Sorry. You meant questions about the Syndicate."
"My bad."
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then Lyro burst out laughing.
"You genuinely caught me off guard there."
He shook his head with amusement.
"Seems you're pretty tight on money."
Percy did not deny it , but his cheeks were visibly redder .
"Anyway, I suppose it's my fault for not answering that earlier."
Lyro leaned back in his chair.
"Hmm... I earn twenty Silver Crowns a month."
Percy's eyes widened.
"What?!"
He nearly shot out of his seat.
"Twenty Silver Crowns?"
"That's twenty times my income!"
"I only make one Silver Crown a month as a tailor. Sometimes even less if I miss work."
He stared at Lyro with indignation and envy.
"The Syndicate is that wealthy?"
Lyro scratched his cheek.
"Something like that."
Percy coughed awkwardly and forced himself to calm down.
"I see."
A pause followed.
"So... if I joined officially, how much would I earn?"
Lyro shrugged.
"No idea exactly."
Percy's face immediately fell.
"But, if you work a normal position within the Syndicate, probably around three to four Silver Crowns."
Percy's expression brightened instantly.
Three to four times his current income was already unbelievable.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
"What if I..."
He hesitated.
Lyro immediately understood what he meant.
"If you're talking about field work like mine , which you would likely end up doing if you join then approximately ten Silver Crowns a month."
Percy leaned back in his chair.
His mind went blank.
"Ten Silver Crowns!!! ?"
"Bloody hell !"
"At that rate, four months of work could buy me a house."
"Maybe not a grand one, but still a house."
The amount was so absurd that it almost sounded like mockery towards his measly pay.
"Then again, considering the kind of things the Syndicate dealt with, perhaps the pay had to be high."
"After all, people generally expected to survive their jobs."