22:51

And inside it, a woman is standing up, reading one of the books from the huge bookcase that she has in front of her. But if this woman is who he truly searches for, it does not seem to be that old. For someone who has passed the age of 190, her body seems as if she is in her 30s or 40s, exactly like her son, LUCAS the Second. But, after all, these species of beings do not age as we do. They are different from us from many aspects. For them, aging is actually an illness, making them die even earlier. So they are, in fact, weird to us. She has the golden C colour as well, just like the current Clan Leader and her grandson, yet none of them look alike at all. I mean, that's the consequence of being born by a machine and later adopted in this world, is it not?

[LUK3]-...You know, you should be in bed and rest at your age.

Yet the woman doesn't seem surprised by the sudden voice in her room. Rather, she just continues reading from her book without looking at the voice that speaks to her.

[LUCIA]-...And you should've been a ruler long time ago. I'm not the only one who doesn't obey to the rules from what I see.

[LUK3]-I guess I took this bad habit from you after all, heheh...

[LUCIA]-Really? How come? I thought I taught you better than this.

[LUK3]-But you also gave me the freedom of being who I wanted to be, didn't you?

LUK3 just seems to be staying in the door, leaning against the wall and staring at the woman, who has finally decided to look back, but also go towards him. Yet both of them have a serious expression for the time being, staring at each other when they stand one in front of the other. The woman gives the vibe of a true ruler, one that's not afraid of anything, ready to face any problem, while the boy gives rather of a new warrior vibe, with a cold will to fight and thirst of blood.

Yet it doesn't take long before they both start laughing silently at this whole moment, knowing damn well it is only the character they play, taking each other in their arms.

[LUK3]-*giggles* Oh, it really has been a long time, hasn't it, Granny?

[LUCIA]-Too long for me to even remember, my dear! Look at you! Look at how much you've grown! Last time I saw you, you were so small that even the kids of the clan were taller than you! Now, I can barely reach for the top of your head!

[LUK3]-Well, I told you I will grow taller one day! I was right!! Now you can't make fun of me of being short!

[LUCIA]-How have you been all these years? I thought you left the clan long time ago! How come you are here? And what happened to you? I see a scar there, is it not?

[LUK3]-Well, obviously, I came to pay YOU a visit! I didn't see you since the last fight with my father in this house! That and... well... apparently for some work as well. As for the scar, it's nothing, I swear! It healed long time ago.

[LUCIA]-Work, you say?

[LUK3]-Yeaaah, the Great Leader needs some things you might be helpful with.

[LUCIA]-Really? Oh, I don't know of how much help I could be knowing how I've got lately, but--

[LUK3]- --No, no, nothing like that! I can do it as well, no need of you to stress yourself or anything!

[LUCIA]-Alright... But, how come? I didn't have a request from the Great Leader for years now. Who is in charge right now anyway? I don't even remember. Is it still the son of Great Leader LAZ4RU5 LENKOV, M4TTH3W? Or did He choose the next one already?

[LUK3]-Umm... Still Master M4TTH3W, but He is trying to find a way to give it to His son, RY4N.

[LUCIA]-So the debate about the Leader of the Southeast Base is still going? *sigh* So unfortunate... I wonder how are they doing today after the entire incident with that poor child...

[LUK3]-Ehh... They are fine so far. I mean, the Great Leader still takes some breaks and probably is about this whole problem, but I know RY4N LENKOV myself and he is pretty much alright.

[LUCIA]-From what I heard though, there are some problems regarding when the next Great Leader will come, right? I mean, M4TTH3W served the city for over 50 years now. The new Great Leader should've been chosen a decade ago. It's not the same rule as we have in our clan. They have to switch it pretty often after all. Yet I still don't know the reason why...

[LUK3]-I guess He won't let it happen until He solves the problem with our base. But as long as He can lead, why are people so stressed about it?

[LUCIA]-I'm not sure...

As it seems, LUK3 is lying to his own grandmother just for the sake of keeping a promise and a contract. After all, not even the most important people of the Underground City know about what truly happened with the previous Great Leader, and all the Southeast Base members are obligated to keep it a secret at CHE5TER's command.

[LUCIA]-Anyway, what's this business you told me about? What's the Great Leader's order?

[LUK3]-Well... I will actually start with His son's order. It's more easier than the other one, I mean... Master RY4N wants to know if you have any books about colour and symbol reading? Or anything like that? Oh, and a translator for the Crevaarian Language!

[LUCIA]-Hm? Yes, I have some, but why such a request?

[LUK3]-Let's just say he got a strange letter and he wants to understand the message behind it...

[LUCIA]-Alright... Yes, you can take them if you need them, don't worry. Just that I do not remember on which category they were. So you might have to struggle a bit to find them. I didn't use them for over a century.

[LUK3]-So... I have to search in your bookcase...?

[LUCIA]-Mhm! You can take the ladder if you think you need it.

Yet when LUK3 takes a small look at the huge bookcase, he gets a feeling of giving up just by seeing it. It has over thousands of books in all types of categories, and it will take him ages to find what he needs.

[LUK3]-Oh, you gotta be kidding me...

[LUCIA]-Hm? What is it?

[LUK3]-O-Oh, nothing, Granny! I will search for them later!

[LUCIA]-Hmph. So you're still avoiding your duty to this very day, hm? You do you, dear.

[LUK3]-Hey! They are too many books, alright?? I'm not avoiding it! I will have to search for it anyway!! But, maybe I can do it a bit later and talk about the Great Leader's order for now!

[LUCIA]-I'm just kidding, LUCAS! Take it easy! I don't remember you not having a sense of humour! You can search whenever you want!

[LUK3]-*sigh* Gods, have mercy on me...

[LUCIA]-So? What's the Great Leader's command? Is it something important that I should know?

[LUK3]-Well... He wants to ask you if you know anything about the second Great Leader... I mean the first LENKOV.

Yet Leader LUCIA doesn't seem so happy after hearing this question, as she takes a deep breath and looks at her grandson.

[LUCIA]-*sigh* LUCAS... I'm afraid I cannot help you, nor the Great Leader, regarding this information.

[LUK3]-Huh? Come on, Granny! You can't keep it a secret, right?

[LUCIA]-It's not that... I'm keeping it a secret... The problem is that I don't know the answer either.

[LUK3]-What?? But I thought you have all the answers! You lived for so long, and saw so many stories!

[LUCIA]-Yes, but not long enough to know who the first LENKOV was, my dear. To be honest, I didn't even know any of the Great Leaders before M4TTH3W decided to make His face public to the Council. He is the first LENKOV to ever show His face after all. The rest of the descendants kept their entire identity a secret, only revealing their names.

[LUK3]-Then what about the first LENKOV's name? You have all the documents registered by the LENKOV family over the years, don't you? Maybe at least you can help me with that?

[LUCIA]-No, not really... If I could, believe me, I would've helped you. But all the documents regarding the LENKOV family start from the third descendant of the first ancestor, the forth LENKOV. The rest of the three LENKOV that weren't registered were only stories heard around the city at my time. I didn't even live the moment when they were ruling over the city, LUCAS. Maybe I only got to live the moment when the third LENKOV was the Great Leader, but I wasn't even the ruler of the clan back then. All the documents regarding that family started being registered the moment I was titled the Leader of the XANTH3 Clan.

[LUK3]-So there is nothing at all!? There has to be something, right?? It can't be nothing about that guy!

[LUCIA]-It can be, but I'm not aware of it so far. The problem is simply that I didn't live in the times when the whole incident with the Renaissance Group happened... Come, let's take a seat. It's a lot to explain.

They go towards her bed, where they sit down, her on the right side of her grandson, even starting to drink from an Energy Killer as her medicine.

[LUCIA]-...As you probably know by now, I'm not that far from the age of 200. On the 23rd day of the 10th month, I will accomplish the age of 198. Unfortunately, the Renaissance incident happened way before I was born, around the year of 1406, five years after the war ended. None of the XANTH3 Leaders were present back then. My, supposed, father, XANTH3 LUCAS the First, died in the war, and if I'm remembering it right, exactly when the war started. He created the XANTH3 Clan even before his death, but he had no children at that time. All he had was a wife, my mother, which remained alone and had to take care of the clan itself after his death. The problem was that... she did not have the name XANTH3, so it was impossible for her to become the Leader of the clan. As a consequence, the XANTH3 Clan remained without a Leader for around 60 years, before my mother adopted a girl which took the name of the dead father, XANTH3... and that girl was me. After I got the legal adult age of 16 years old, I was immediately named the Leader of the XANTH3 Clan in 1460 and ruled until your father took the title years after. Because of that, none of the documents that were registered in those years are present in the clan's property. At best, they are registered somewhere in the Council, or at one of the oldest members of the Council, but I doubt you will have any luck. In the end, the whole story of M1NERV4's little descendant is a mystery to us as well. Do not get your hopes up. As I said, the first LENKOV to ever show His face was Master M4TTH3W, the ninth LENKOV.

[LUK3]-What about the members of the Renaissance? Do you know anything about what happened to them? Or maybe know someone that is a former member of the group?

[LUCIA]-I'm... afraid I'm not so sure of a proper answer, dear. All the former members probably retired after the whole incident, and low chances of any of them to be alive to this day. I know some people having white dyed hair as a symbol which represents that group, but most of them are just using it as a symbol of loyalty for that faded incident. Why do you think that the M people punish people with white dyed hair as well after all? And I believe even M4TTH3W has white dyed hair, right? But I think it's more like an obligation since the LENKOV family is related to that group from the beginning.

[LUK3]-Then maybe your mother knew about the first LENKOV since she lived even during the war?

[LUCIA]-Even so, she died years ago when I was very young because of the Vitthora Illness that aged her until she got to 86 years old and took her last breath. But I don't think that she even knew anything about that incident. Because of the clan's problems at that time, she probably didn't have any time to get informed about what's happening in both of the cities. Everything that's left on this subject are just all kinds of stories which people speculated, like the first LENKOV being M1NERV4's son. Historically speaking though, I don't believe M1NERV4 had any children. But again, I do not have a proper answer to give it to you, so do not take these words of mine as the truth. It's very hard to find the real history behind some incidents that have happened a long time ago. The only ones that know the truth might be those that lived in these times, but from our kind or from the R kind, low chances of anybody having the answer. Probably the only people who know it are the M borns since they are immortals, yet it will be told from their perspective, not ours. I'm sorry, LUCAS.

LUK3 seems a bit disappointed this time for not getting an answer, even Leader LUCIA sees that.

[LUCIA]-...I understand you had high hopes in getting an answer from me since I'm one of the most important people in the whole city, but even I have some questions to this world of ours that do not have a proper end of puzzle. Even the Great Leader Himself seems to have some too. History was always a hard enigma for us to decipher, but it is why we still love to bring it up. It has united a lot of people in the past so that we could get an answer from the world, and even without a success, is it truly so tragic to not get what we want all the time? Even without knowing what truly happened, life goes on, my dear. Present writes history as well, even if we do not see it. In the future when we won't be here anymore, most likely someone will question what exactly happened in our times and begin the search for an answer. It's a never-ending loop, but it does not have to mean that we should focus on what we couldn't succeed in doing.

[LUK3]-Heh... That's why you like puzzles so much? They remind you of the three separated times?

[LUCIA]-Past, present and future... That's probably the only enigma I couldn't solve so far... *chuckles* I guess it is true. They remind me somehow of this strange subject. Probably my only wish is all about them: know what happened in the past, live the current present and see the future of the world. But I'm afraid this wish of mine will never come true in the end... Yet it is no worry. Knowing I can at least guarantee a part from it makes me satisfied. After all, why shouldn't I appreciate the present in which my grandson has come to see me after such a long time?

In the end, her grandson gives her a gentle smile. In his heart, he is grateful that he could've talk to her and know that she is alright, giving her health problem caused by her age. Maybe rather than respect, it is true love for his grandmother which he has, not hate like for his father. It is true from his expression, Leader LUCIA is the only XANTH3 that the boy cares about so much, and it does seem like they have a beautiful past together.

[LUK3]-Oh, right! So that I won't forget about them. Can I start searching for the books while we continue talking? RY4N's gonna kill me if I don't bring them!

[LUCIA]-*giggles* Alright. Just be careful if you are going to use the ladder. It's a bit unstable.