Nero knew full well what the accusations would be. Since his killing of Herbert had been witnessed, it was only a matter of time before the army found out. The fact that he hadn't been immediately arrested was a testament to how much they needed manpower. Of course, by letting him know that the accusation had been made, it was like informing him that he was under supervision.
It was either to make him do something like trying to escape, which would solidify his guilt, or to make him behave during his mission.
Either way, they were able to serve some purpose.
"Accusations?" Nero asked, pretending like he didn't know what she was talking about.
"Certain soldiers have reported that they saw you killing and looting a friendly soldier," she said slowly, staring at him. "Until an investigation, you will not be judged guilty but the accusation does put you under supervision. You should know that an accusation like this, under normal circumstances, would see you in a prison cell until the investigation was completed.
The only reason you're not is because of the special circumstances of the current situation."
Nero pondered if he should defend himself right now. But even if he made the claim that there was an assassination attempt on him, for the time being, he would be admitted to killing Herbet one way or another. Considering that he was being sent on another mission, it might not be the best idea to make any such claims.
More importantly, the more this matter was delayed, the better he could prepare. He needed to get word out to his parents, as well as the folk from Whisper Guard.
"I have nothing to hide," Nero said without breaking eye contact. "I am ready to cooperate fully when the investigation is launched."
Nero also had to mentally prepare for the fact that words of him entering the Vault might spread out. If that were the case, whoever targeted his brother might target him as well. Friendly fire was a very good excuse to have Nero sent away to a cursed zone like Patrick. Away from the view of society, in those zones with a very high fatality rate, who's to say what might happen to him?
Fortunately, Nero was no longer just dependent on his parents. He had a few contacts of his own now.
The Ascendant only nodded, as if this were a mundane concern, and then lifted her finger and tapped Nero's forehead.
"As I understand it, you had already been given this mission even before you arrived in Lumina," she said. "It's just that circumstances have changed drastically, so I need to trigger the mission myself."
Nero recalled that major Liam had given him a few missions, with the last one being sealed within his memories. The mission details would have revealed themselves to him under the right circumstances. It seems like the army could no longer wait for the right circumstances.
A stream of information softly entered Nero's mind, filling him in on the details of the mission. To his immense surprise, it was a rescue mission.
Without reservation, Nero pulled the various drips attached to his hand and jumped onto his feet.
"If I can get my gear back, this will go a lot faster."
"All your personal equipment will be returned to you, and you will be provided new armour as well. You may even use the dagger you brought out from the Vault, although you will be expected to return it once the mission is over. You will not however get any of the unranked cards, or liquid aether. You will have to make do without them."
Nero didn't argue. Getting even the dagger back, temporarily though it may be, was a great boon already.
Nero walked quickly behind the Ascendant who led the way.
"You will be going alone," she said. "We have no one else who can accompany you, and even Gabriel and the rest have not recovered yet from the effects of their treatment."
"It's not a problem," Nero said calmly as he controlled his aether and checked it. It was back to perfect, without the slightest hint of sluggishness. In fact, it actually felt like the total amount of aether he had had increased.
They walked into an armoury where a soldier stepped forward and presented Nero with his own card case as well as his own dagger, alongside the one he brought from the Vault.
Nero quickly went through all his cards and was relieved to find all his Radix Augmentation cards in place, as well as Snowflake and all the others.
He kept the case back and went to put on his armour, slipping in his cards in all their set positions. As much as he wished to grab a new spear, it was a simple fact that no spear he could wield would be as sharp or deadly as the dagger from the Vault, so he chose to go without it.
In exactly a minute, Nero was fully back in gear and ready to go.
"Do you have a map of the library?" he asked.
"Not of the lower levels," the Ascendant replied, giving him pretty much the answer he expected. "Hold on tight."
Nero felt an invisible force wrap itself around him, which was immediately followed by the familiar sensation of being dragged behind while the Ascendant ran around at unbelievable speeds. He saw the world blur past him, but because of how quickly everything was moving, Nero didn't notice anything odd.
It was when they finally stopped in front of a large, rectangular building that Nero felt something strange. He looked at his hands and saw that a silverish light was shining down on him. Nero looked up and was stunned when he saw a silver full moon hanging in the sky.