The next day went quite peacefully as Marvin and LeiLei stayed back at the apartment to catch up on their sleep while Hecathe reported to Kelly and went on a solo mission that wasn't too hard.
Hecathe had also not slept enough but he was already used to skipping sleep like this so it didn't matter to him too much.
There had been a lot of times when some difficult or tricky problems arose at the company and at such times, Hecathe would need to skip sleep for work. He'd need to rush to the company immediately even if it was three in the morning so it was only natural that the man had trained his brain to adjust to such needs that came out of nowhere.
He could easily get through two days without sleep.
After completing the short solo mission, the man headed back home and caught up on his sleep, not having any worries.
However, how could the next day also be just as peaceful...?
By the time Hecathe woke up and headed to the guilt with the other two by his side, he came to hear something a bit interesting.
There was now a new rumor going on around the city and this rumor revolved around not only the mecha-suits but also Hecathe.
The news of the mecha-suit being bullied and beaten by two hunters became the talk of the city.
This was something that Hecathe had not expected nor was it something that was included in his calculations and hence when Hecathe was suddenly faced with this new situation, he couldn't help but have a foreboding feeling in his stomach.
This new unexpected rumor was going to be troublesome and it was going to deeply affect Hecathe's plans...
The mecha-suits were considered to be unbeatable and this was a bit ironic considering the fact that some of them were not skilled at all and could be easily beaten. However, since their reputation was already so famous, nobody dared to pick a fight with them and if they did, they would certainly not even dream to win.
Because of their famous reputation, it was only natural that the mecha-suits were prideful. They were people who stood at the top of society as tyrants who shouldn't be messed around with.
Hence, even though the group of three had beaten and humiliated the mecha-suit, Hecathe was sure that the man would not say anything about it since he wouldn't want to lose his pride.
But now that the rumor had surfaced like this, Hecathe was suddenly forced to accept the fact that he had not thoroughly considered the aftereffects of his actions in this mission.
Marvin also seemed to have realized the problem that this rumor had created, but unlike Hecathe, the boy wasn't the least bit worried about it, and instead, he actually found it a bit amusing.
With a smile on his face, he even dared to tease Hecathe as he commented in a whispering volume that only Hecathe would hear, "It seems that things are not going as planned for you."
Hecathe gulped as he heard this but didn't bother giving a response.
The rumor said that the mecha-suit had been attacked by two hunters who worked for one of the guilds and that in itself was a big clue to Hecathe and Marvin's identity since there weren't really that many hunters working with guilds as one of their members.
Hecathe had his thoughts completely scrabbled and he slowly came to realize that he would need to change the plan.
He closed his eyes and took a sharp breath in before he turned his head to glance at Marvin.
Marvin's smile came to a pause as he met the man's eyes and although he could not understand why Hecathe was looking at him, he still had a foreboding feeling in his stomach about it.
Hecathe's lips curled up in a thin smile as he spoke, "Raven, I might need you to do something for me."
"..."
Marvin was more than sure that the 'something' that Hecathe wanted him to do was not going to be anything good.
LeiLei snickered as she heard this and the girl also understood that Marvin was going to be in trouble pretty soon.
"Can I refuse?" Marvin asked with an awkward smile as he took an unconscious step back.
Hecathe's smile seemed to have deepened as soon as he heard this question and as a response, he shook his head.
Marvin gulped as he saw this response and he wanted to curse his luck.
The foreboding feeling that Marvin felt in his stomach was certainly on point considering the fact that Hecathe was trying to make Marvin the subject of the rumor.
Hecathe had challenged the three willows of spring as Alphius and had made it known that Alphuis was currently hiding in Zeblor. At the same time, he had also spread a rumor that the great Orgon was roaming Ocasia under the disguise of a hunter while his real killer was also in Orgon, hunting him again.
These were all nothing more than rumors that were far from the truth but of course, people would come to believe it just because of the little proof that they had been given by Hecathe.
Now that there was another rumor that had surfaced about a mecha-suit being beaten by a hunter, it was only natural that the rumor would get mixed up with the older rumors that Hecathe had created.
Since Orgon was supposed to be in Ocasia, disguised as a hunter, people would naturally start to speculate further and might mix the two stories together to create a new rumor.
After all, the thought of the great Orgon beating a mecha-suit wasn't as unbelievable as the thought of a random hunter challenging the authority of the mecha-suits.
In fact, Hecathe was sure that people would start to believe that Orgon was the one who had defeated the mecha-suit.
This was a bit troublesome for Hecathe who was supposed to be the great Orgon in disguise.
He wanted to create a war between the three willows of spring and the mecha-suits but if it was found out that he was the one who had challenged the authority of the mecha-suits, the war would shift completely and it would become Hecathe who would be targetted while at the same time, the three willows of spring would once again escape with no damage to their reputation.
"Hecathe, I sometimes have a feeling that you hate me," Marvin sighed as he commented. The boy already kinda understood what Hecathe wanted him to do.
Hecathe chuckled dryly as he heard this and shook his head as he patted the boy's back and responded, "What are you talking about? If I hated you, would I have kept you around? I clearly like you a lot."
"..."
"You're always there when I need you," Hecathe added with a smile and Marvin had the feeling that the man was only trying to sweet talk so much so that he could get Marvin to play as the scapegoat.
Marvin pursed his lips into a thin line and didn't dare say anything to that as he looked at the man with an unimpressed expression.
LeiLei chuckled softly as she nodded her head and spoke up, "Raven, you are so useful! All the best!"
The boy didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry as he heard the girl mocking him.
Marvin scoffed as a response but before he could say anything, he heard Hecathe continuing.
"This actually works out for the best," Hecathe smirked as he pointed out, "Marvin, you can actually use your connections with the three willows of spring this time. That mecha-suit had clearly heard your name and knows your identity so we can easily use that to our advantage. We can make them think that you were sent by the three willows of spring."
Marvin's eyebrows furrowed together as he heard this and he wondered if he was the only one who could not understand what was going on inside Hecathe's mind this time.
The plan that he was making was simply reckless and there were so many things that could go wrong in this plan.
"Hecathe, I'm not sick of living yet," Marvin sighed as he spoke and Hecathe chuckled dryly as he heard this.
"Nor am I," Hecathe replied with a smile and the two simply stared at each other for a minute.
"The mecha-suit would never kill you if they knew your identity but they would certainy try to murder me if they knew mine," Marvin spoke up with an expressionless face as he tried to save himself from taking part in this crazy plan.
"The three willows of spring would try to kill me if they knew my identity and your father's killer would also not be found," Hecathe pointed out as he pursed his lips into a thin smile.
"..."
LeiLei folded her arms and looked between the two as she waited for this argument to be over.
"I can catch my father's murderer."
"But you cannot be sure about it while I can certify that the man would be found."