Isaac bid farewell to Madam Z who was still inside the office and walked out at late noon.
With his promise to Regulus still in mind, he made his way to Laplace where she was at.
He still didn't like how there was supposedly someone in Laplace monitoring him — but seeing how they haven't done anything to him yet, he guessed that they still wanted to continue to observe him.
Still, that didn't mean he'd just go around doing whatever he wanted — he still watches out for what he does in case it would also be monitored.
Luckily enough for him, though, Regulus was waiting right outside of the entrance, seated on a bench along the pathway.
He approached her, and, with that same half smile of his, spoke.
"Did you wait long?"
Regulus looked up from the notepad she was pretending to read, her eyes flickering toward Isaac as he approached. "Long enough to question if you were bailing on me."
He chuckled, hands in his coat pockets. "If I wanted to bail, I'd leave a cryptic letter and disappear mysteriously. Much more on-brand."
She rolled her eyes, though her lips twitched at the corners.
"Come on." He said, tilting his head down the path. "Let's find somewhere quiet."
The two of them left the Laplace courtyard and soon found a lounge buried in one of the quieter research wings — an unused reading room, most likely meant for researchers who needed isolation. It was dimly lit, calm, and most importantly, empty.
Isaac took one glance around before setting the file down on a round wooden table at the center.
He cracked open the file and leaned forward with a focus uncharacteristic of him.
"Alright... let's see what this noble left behind."
Regulus remained standing for a moment, arms crossed as she watched him slip into his analytical mode. She had always found it strange — how he could be so unserious one moment and then intensely calculating the next. It was like flipping a switch.
The two of them pored over the documents, flipping through page after page of detailed analysis, photographs, test scans, and handwriting samples.
For the next hour, the only sounds were papers rustling and Isaac muttering under his breath.
He used several different techniques to attempt decrypting it. He tried cyphers, semantic layering, tracing, and even mnemonic scrying — but nothing worked.
In the end, it proved impossible to decipher anything with just pictures and footnotes left by other researchers.
Eventually, Isaac let out a long sigh and pushed himself back in the chair, arms limping at his sides.
"This is absurd. Whoever made this either wanted it to never be read, or they're laughing at us right now from the afterlife."
Regulus looked down at the primary picture once more. "It's still just a wooden toy horse. Everything we've seen points to something being hidden... but we're not seeing anything."
Isaac thought for a moment before a figure appeared in his mind. A moment later, he spoke. "It would have been better if Adler was here. As a Senior Advisor of the Information Security Division as well as a cryptographer, I'm willing to bet that he'd get this done in no time."
Regulus looked up. "Adler? As in Adler Hofmann? That bizarre fellow who likes to refer to himself as Enigma and not his real name?"
"Yup. That's him." Isaac sighed. "I've helped him once for a favor, and boy was he a person to work with. If he wasn't such an aloof guy, I'm sure I could convince him to help with this, but alas..."
As Isaac spoke, he couldn't help but remember the instances of him receiving that man's end of sarcasm and his little regards to anyone within the Foundation that are not of a higher position or those he respects.
Regulus saw the look of fleeting indignation in Isaac's eyes and thought for a moment.
Then, after a beat of hesitation, she said, "...what if we looked at the toy directly ourselves then?"
Isaac blinked, as if genuinely confused by the suggestion. "Regulus, I'd love to, but that's not a jigsaw puzzle we can just pick up and play with. The Foundation doesn't let artifacts out of vaults on a whim."
"But we're investigating it." She replied, shrugging. "And you're you. You have enough pull to get a clearance request through. You're literally an acting advisor to the Committee. If we frame it as a continued investigation into arcane anomalies tied to post-Storm echoes, then maybe…"
Isaac raised a brow with an amused look. "That... That actually sounded clever. Looks like your time in Laplace has been worthwhile, huh?"
She smirked. "Of course. Anything can be done by this pirate if she sets her mind to it."
He narrowed his eyes at her smugness before leaning forward again and looking down at the photo of the toy horse — this unassuming, innocuous piece of wood with wheels.
Then he stood up.
"Well, alright then. Let's give it a shot and see the real thing."
Regulus straightened up. "You're serious?"
He gave her a cheeky grin, grabbing the file. "I wouldn't miss a trip to Vienna with you for the world. Plus, I'm seeing it as a paid vacation."
"Why do I have the feeling that the latter part is what really made you decide..." Regulus muttered. She then smirked. "But whatever! Since I'm also part of it, I've got no complaints!"
He approved of her enthusiasm. "Good. Now go pack your stuff, notify Mr. APPLe, and be ready when our request gets through."
"It'll probably take a week or so for it to be processed, so until then..."
They better prepare.
---
Two days later.
"It's been approved."
"Say what."
Inside Madam Z's office, Isaac, who was writing a report, suddenly halted his pen as he looked up at her in disbelief.
Madam Z, meanwhile, presented the stamped copy of the approved travel authorization form on his desk. With it came an itinerary, per diem details, and a note from the Foundation's HR reminding him to report to the Vienna branch no later than his arrival.
She nudged her glasses. "Congrats. You might have been the very first person within the Foundation whose request got approved this fast. With all things considered, of course."
Isaac picked up the copy and stared at it in pure disbelief. He even held it against the light, checking for forgery. Then, looking up at Madam Z, his eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"...You had something to do with this, didn't you?"
Z, ever composed, raised an unimpressed brow. "Don't flatter yourself."
"Then how?" Isaac leaned back, tossing the form back onto his desk like it offended him. "You and I both know how slow the Foundation's approval systems are. I've waited two weeks just for a set of uniform request once. And now this gets cleared in two days?"
Madam Z gave a faint smile and folded her arms. "Coincidence or efficiency — you decide. But if you must know, there's a field assignment happening in Vienna at the same time. A reconnaissance sweep. They needed extra assets embedded."
Isaac blinked. "...And I just happened to qualify as an extra asset?"
"You're not just an 'extra' asset, Isaac. You're useful. When you want to be, at least."
He frowned slightly. That wasn't as reassuring as she might've intended it to be.
Still, the more he thought about it, the more all of it started to bother him.
It was all... too reasonable of a development.
The timing, the location, the involvement of other agents, and the swift approval. There were too many clean pieces aligning in ways that rarely — if ever — occurred within the mess of bureaucratic Foundation processes.
And yet… what could he do? Say no?
He gave an exasperated sigh and leaned over the desk again, picking the form back up and scanning it. "Guess I can't complain. I did say I wanted a paid vacation."
Z rolled her eyes, though the faint smile remained on her lips. "Have fun, and try not to die, Isaac."
He gave a mock salute, lopsided grin intact. "Sure thing, Ms. Z. I'll even bring you back a souvenir — something charmingly overpriced."
But as his eyes dropped to the document again, the grin faded slightly.
Still gripping the sheet, his gaze lingered on the word Vienna typed in bold at the top — stark and unmistakable.
There was something about it that made his mind uneasy, ever so subtly. That itch at the back of his mind hadn't gone away. If anything, it had only grown sharper.
'...Am I walking into someone's plan?'
And if he was?
Then whoever set the stage better be ready — because he wasn't about to play the fool.
He heaved a breath.
"Off to Vienna we go then."