Gu Luo thought he had misheard for a moment, but judging by the silence that filled the room, he came to the conclusion that he had heard correctly.
A multitude of questions collided simultaneously in his mind. Were the stories about ghosts and spirits real? Were they not just made up to scare children or reassure people who were afraid of death?
This organization wasn't the police, but secretly acted to contain all supernatural incidents. Gu Luo felt as though he had found himself inside the plot of a manga.
Deep down, he wondered if they weren't playing some kind of prank on him, but he couldn't imagine who could possibly care enough about him to want to play a prank on him in the first place, let alone a prank of this scale with so many actors...
Eventually, he awkwardly put his thoughts into words.
"Me, an absurdity? Without meaning to contradict you, I'm completely normal as a boy. I think I would have noticed if something was wrong."
Leolia's expression became calm.
"Do you know how magic and supernatural powers work?"
Gu Luo shook his head.
"Most supernatural phenomena are caused by the interaction between conscious life forms and an invisible energy called 'ether.' With practice, certain people with special abilities can sense and use this energy. That's how we perform magic. Of course, all this information is confidential, and only members of the VEIL know about the existence of this energy."
Gu Luo couldn't help but react to the terms that strangely resembled the video game he had been playing every night for the past year. The similarities were disturbing.
"Are you sure only the VEIL knows about the existence of this energy?"
Leolia and Wáng Jùnjié looked at him with surprised expressions, and Leolia gave him an approving gesture, silently indicating that she wanted to know more.
"Since last year, I've been playing an online game, and the way the powers work and the elements of the story are strangely similar to what you just described."
A look of relief appeared on the young woman's face.
"Ohhhh! You must be talking about 'Demonic Monarch,' right?"
Gu Luo was surprised that the name of a game as obscure as 'Demonic Monarch,' which barely had a hundred daily players, could come out of the mouth of a young woman he had just met.
"Don't worry. Actually, that's even the reason we came here. Ever since the higher-ups decided to modernize, we've been using this game as a system to detect potential VEIL recruits. I won't go into the details, but it allows us to find people who are sensitive to ether. That's why we're here."
"You're here to recruit me?"
"That's pretty much it. Our headquarters contains a school of sorcery where students are taught to properly control their abilities. I'm a teacher there, actually. And Wáng Jùnjié is a final-year student. So we came here to discuss your transfer to our school."
"A transfer? I don't know if my father will agree to let me change schools. Besides, he's not exactly the most open-minded person, so your stories about ghosts and all..."
"..."
Gu Luo realized that he might have spoken a little too bluntly and immediately tried to clarify his thoughts.
"I didn't mean that to upset you. It's just that I don't think he'll agree..."
"That works out, because we're not here to ask for his permission."
Gu Luo was surprised by Leolia's response. It was the first time an adult had spoken about his father like that, and it made him uncomfortable.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we're simply here to take you with us. You're leaving tonight."
Gu Luo was slowly beginning to understand where this woman was going with this, and it frightened him more and more. Or rather than fear, he was increasingly anticipating what was about to follow.
"You mean I have to come with you."
"That's right. Even though presenting it as a school transfer sounds warmer. Once you were confirmed as a potential mage, you instantly lost all rights as a human being."
The young woman, realizing that her tone sounded frightening, adopted a more reassuring one.
"You understand, if we let an absurdity roam freely, it could go wrong and then reveal the entire supernatural world to the public. No one can know about our existence."
No one could know about the existence of absurdities.
Gu Luo wondered if that included his father as well, but after a few seconds of thought, he came to the conclusion that it probably did. After all, his father had nothing supernatural about him. He seemed more like someone who was very normally normal.
Gu Luo, on the other hand, had always felt that something was wrong with him. All things considered, this revelation had finally provided an answer to his existence.
If he had always thought something was wrong with him, it was because there really was something abnormal.
From these thoughts, Gu Luo felt a deep sense of relief.
"Am I allowed to tell someone?"
Leolia shook her head.
"It will be as if you disappeared. The VEIL will take care of erasing every trace of your existence. It will be as if you never existed."
Seeing doubt form on the young man's face, Leolia quickly added,
"If I came personally, it's because I want to take you as a student in my class, Gu Luo. Usually, we send final-year students for recruitment, but I always insist on meeting my students personally. You could say I do things differently from everyone else at the VEIL."
"That's an understatement."
Wáng Jùnjié quickly added under his breath.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Leolia's face displayed a large, satisfied smile.
"That's what I thought."
Gu Luo, worried about the things he had left in his classroom, quickly added,
"Do I have to leave right now?"
Leolia immediately replied. "No, no. Finish your day normally. We'll come pick you up at the end of classes."