...

  The same smirk remained on Sangharsh's face, parallel to the diagonal mark above his eye...

  "Stop this pathetic acting now. I know you are conscious... Mr. Raghav!"

  "Well? Did I recognize you correctly?"

  "..."

  "Yes!... You recognized me correctly."

  Raghav slowly opened his eyes, and after blinking several times like a malfunctioning tube light, his vision finally coalesced into clarity.

  Black hair scattered over his forehead and chocolate-colored eyes...

  "But how did you recognize me? I don't recall introducing myself to you."

  Rubbing his eyes and resting his head against the bed's headboard, Raghav looked at him.

  For some reason, a sense of acquaintance washed over him... exactly like what Sangharsh had felt.

  "From your library card."

  Sangharsh pulled Raghav's library card out of the wallet and tossed it toward him.

  Meanwhile, he looped the wallet's chain around his finger, spinning it in circles as if it belonged to him and not Raghav.

  "Hey, give me my wallet! And why did you touch my belongings without asking me!?"

  Sangharsh raised his eyebrows in mock astonishment.

  『What a boy! For the first time, someone has had the audacity to speak to me in this tone.』

  On a face where there should have been fear and confusion, this forthrightness was truly intriguing to Sangharsh.

  He tossed the wallet back as well, and the recipient immediately began scrutinizing it to ensure this man hadn't pilfered anything else.

  Even though he kept nothing in his wallet except a library card and some loose change.

  "Hey! My twenty rupees? Man, that was a brand-new coin!"

  "Hmm? You mean this?"

  Sangharsh said, nonchalantly tossing the 20-rupee coin. A twelve-edged polygon, its outer ring made of nickel-silver and its center of nickel-brass, with a large '20' engraved on it and the 'Ashoka Stambha' of India on the reverse.

  "That's my coin. Hand it over!"

  Raghav tried to snatch it, but Sangharsh withdrew his hand.

  "Nay! This is my 'service charge.' Who do you think was tasked with keeping a vigil over you until you regained consciousness?"

  "..."

  Raghav didn't say a word, but his chocolate eyes spoke volumes. Resentment was clearly reflected in them.

  As Raghav tucked the library card back into his wallet and tried to put it in his trouser pocket, he realized something was amiss.

  Something was different...

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  『Where did my pocket go?』

  Meanwhile, with a slanted smile, Sangharsh turned his gaze toward the window.

  "Looking for something?"

  "Where are my clothes?"

  Raghav asked irritably, pulling at his collar. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Sangharsh, as if he might vent all his pent-up rage right then and there.

  The print of blue stripes on white...

  This was the uniform of the employees in Kaalminar's second tower.

  "They are new clothes, don't be so incensed. I didn't change them. Another male employee did the honors."

  Raghav looked away and exhaled a long sigh, as if he wasn't just releasing breath but blowing away his anger along with it. He composed himself and took several deep breaths.

  『Let it go, Raghav! People commit such petty idiocies all the time. Peace. Peace.』

  Raghav focused, practiced a bit of 'Anuloma Viloma' (A type of Yoga) and opened his eyes again. The first thing his chocolate eyes saw was Sangharsh standing there with his arms folded across his chest, staring at him intently.

  "So... Mr. Raghav-Surya-Chandra-Acharya Dev!"

  And Raghav's mind just snapped at hearing that...

  『No, I take back what I said. The people who commit such idiocies are absolute sinners.』

  Raghav's chocolate eyes glared at Sangharsh like a lion at a tiger. Both were unyielding; both possessed formidable spirits.

  "What is it?"

  Raghav spoke in a sharp tone, his brow furrowed once more, and it didn't seem like they were coming down anytime soon.

  "Speak with a little respect, Raghav. You are twenty-one, and I am a full seven years your senior!"

  Sangharsh said, twirling the library card in his hands again. This time, Raghav's irritation turned into confusion. It was perhaps the first time the man in the brown trench coat saw him genuinely bewildered.

  "How—how did this get back to you again?!"

  Raghav snatched the card so swiftly that even Sangharsh had to admit the boy's reflexes were exceptionally acute, his youth had only just begun.

  Regardless, this time Sangharsh pulled the blue bench closer to the bed and sat down, looking at Raghav with a solemn expression.

  "Forget how it came or how it happened. Raghav! Tell me... what exactly are you?"

  Raghav sensed the gravity in the shift of his tone. He realized that the man sitting before him was now deadly serious.

  He realized it... but whether or not Raghav was going to take Sangharsh's seriousness seriously was up to Raghav.

  And for now, he had no such intention.

  Rolling his eyes, he looked at Sangharsh intently and whispered softly:

  "A human."

  ?°?°?°?°?

  There was a frantic pace in their gait... be it Tushar's or Pranali's.

  "Ma'am? Are you certain it's wise to leave that boy with Pralaya's Guild Master Sangharsh? You know Mr. Sangharsh well—sending him to that tower is perilous!"

  Pranali walked rapidly through the corridor with Tushar struggling to match her pace behind her. Tushar's concerns were entirely valid, but Tushar didn't yet know what was brewing in Pranali's mind.

  He was seeing it from his perspective; he had yet to see it from hers.

  Pranali's fast-moving steps slowed and finally came to a halt. She turned to Tushar and spoke.

  "Look, Tushar! I couldn't sense any power from that boy, which might be due to his injured state. However, if he truly is dangerous, Sangharsh will be the first one who has to deal with him. Which is for the best. At the very least, it's for the best for Kaalminar."

  "Oh!"

  Tushar nodded as if he understood everything, though he didn't.

  Pranali resumed her pace toward the elevator. As soon as they stepped inside, the external chaos seemed to vanish.

  Pranali stared at her hand. There was a faint warmth in her eyes that she had perhaps never felt before...

  She remembered the moment when Ukti was healing the boy. He was in immense pain.

  Something had stirred in Pranali's heart, and she had grasped his hand as if to reassure him that everything would be alright.

  And when the employees were taking Raghav away, his fingers hadn't let go of Pranali's hand easily.

  In a soft mumble, a word had escaped his lips:

  "...Mā(Mother)..."

  That word still echoed in Pranali's ears like a sweet melody, but her sternness quickly pushed that sweetness away.

  『What are you doing, Pranali? Focus. He wasn't calling me mother.』

  A ding sound made the turmoil in her mind vanish like a gust of wind. Stepping out of the elevator, she resumed her persona as the Manager of Kaalminar.

  Pranali's clicking heels turned toward the area where all the soldiers were stationed, their sights set on the rolling snowballs that were now touching the boundaries of Kaalminar.

  To be continued...