The Blue Eyes

The atmosphere in the car felt so gloomy. It felt like the bright Summer ended too soon. The energy and the happiness in the Summer fell like the brown leaves in the Autumn. It lost the warmness as the chilly air started to swallow the warm.

No one was talking after they got in the car. Both of them seemed to be in their own world and forgot anything around them. There was an invisible bubble that enveloped each of them. It shielded them from the world outside.

Kevin rested his temple on the car window, and his eyes blankly stared outside the window. He still remembered the conversation with the tavern lady earlier.

["Why do you think like that, Madame?" Kevin asked the lady after he regained his composure. What the lady said just now was quite unexpected to him.

The lady sighed. She lowered her head as she played with her calloused hands. "I went to the dock to pick them up that day," she then started explaining. "I waited for their arrival from Primea, but I accidentally overheard two men talking about something suspicious. They talked about clearing the evidence or something like that. At first, I didn't really think much about that, but after I got the news that the ship exploded in the middle of the sea, I couldn't help but feel suspicious of the two men in the dock."

Kevin was startled. He glanced at his lover, and it seemed like Kris was also surprised.

"Do you know who were the two men, Madame?" Kris asked the lady.

The lady looked up at him with her lackluster eyes. "I don't know them," she replied. "I wanted to make a report to the police about the accident, but the situation was chaotic back then. Moreover, I didn't have enough evidence and power. I was afraid that my action would backfire me."]

Kevin sighed after he recalled the conversation again. It seemed that the case in this district was not simple. He was still not sure if the lady's story related to the case they were investigating, but he wanted to investigate the lady's case too.

He felt bad for the old lady who had lost her family in a tragic incident. The so-called incident was probably not a real incident based on the lady's story.

"Don't think too much about it, Kev," Kris, who was driving beside him, finally broke the silence. "Let's investigate the dock first, and we can arrange a new plan after that."

Yes, they decided to go to the dock on the country border. That was the dock where the lady overheard the suspicious conversation between the two unknown men. They wanted to see how was the situation on the country border.

"I just feel bad for the lady, Kris," Kevin replied. "She lost her dear people at the same time, and she couldn't even seek justice for them. I understand that the government did not investigate the case further since the situation back then was not conducive, but it's still unfair for the lady."

Kris fell silent after he heard Kevin's weak statement. He knew that his lover had a soft heart and couldn't see other people suffered.

"We'll investigate the case and help the lady to seek justice, Kev. I promise you that we'll reveal the truth."

Kevin finally looked up at Kris. He could see Kris's solemn expression. There was a strong determination on his lover's handsome face.

Kris acted rather coldly to the lady earlier, but Kevin knew that his lover cared about the lady.

"You know that I love you the most, right, Kris?" The raven-haired man asked lovingly.

Kris, who was driving the car beside him, could only smile. He didn't say anything, but a faint rosy color gradually adorned his tan face.

The red car finally arrived at the dock, but the two men frowned as the car stop near the dock.

"Is it really a country border? Why aren't there any guards in this place?" Kris asked curiously as his eyes narrowed at the sight before him.

What he just said was not wrong. Normally, some guards were guarding the country border, but what they found in the dock was not normal. There weren't any guards at the border, and there was only a small dock that seemed to be not well managed by the people there.

"Let's just check first," Kevin stated as he unbuckled his seatbelt. Not long after, he then got out of the red vehicle.

Kris followed suit and quickly caught up with his lover. They then walked hand in hand to the dock.

It was just a simple dock that was made of wood. Some parts of the dock were no longer in a good condition. It lost to the eroded saltwater and gave up to the times. There were holes here and there, making them had to be extra cautious when they walked on the dock.

"Be careful, Kev!" Kris exclaimed as his hand held Kevin's arm. His lover's foot was about to fall to the hole if he was not in time holding his lover's arm.

"Thanks, Kris," Kevin replied as he stabilized his body.

Kris just smiled and ruffled his lover's black locks, and they continued to walk over to the dock. They stopped when they arrived at the edge of the dock and looked far ahead of the sea that was bordering the country from the neighboring country.

"So, Primea is only hundreds of meters ahead of us?" Kris asked while looking far ahead as if trying to find the island of Primea. The island was not in the sight, though.

The Earth had a rounded shape. Even if the distance between the two countries was only hundreds of meters, but they couldn't see the island from their position.

"It's not really hundreds of meters, Kris. I read on the internet that the distance is about two kilometers," Kevin explained to his lover.

Kris nodded in understanding. "It's the country's border, and it should be the gate for the economic activity between the two countries. Too bad that the sea is shallow, so big ships can't travel in the sea. If only the sea was deep enough, the government surely would build a big harbor just like the one in Shallop," Kris stated as he looked down on the blue water.

Kevin followed Kris's gesture. He silently looked down to the water, and he knew that Kris was right. The water was in light blue, indicating that the sea was only a shallow sea. Had it was a deep sea, big ships could travel in the sea, and the government would build a grand harbor just like the one in Shallop Coastal Area.

"That's not the only reason why the government didn't build a harbor to support the economy flow between Calenta and Primea, Kris," Kevin spoke again, making Kris turn to him. "The relationship between Calenta and Primea is not good, and they don't have any form of cooperation. That's why the country didn't bother to build a harbor in this district."

Kris was quite taken aback. "The two countries don't have a good relationship?" He asked to make sure.

Kevin nodded before answering, "That's right. Many years ago, before the great war between mankind and werewolves started, Calenta and Primea were often involved in a war between themselves. That was a long time ago before I was born, and I only learned about history from my teacher in high school. The tension between the two countries was only melted down in 2022 when they signed the peace convention."

"They had signed the convention, but still not in a good term?" Kris couldn't help but ask. He didn't have a formal education background, so he surely didn't know about the country's history.

"Yeah, they had signed the convention, but the two countries still hate each other," Kevin replied. "And the reason for that endless hate is this district."

Kris's eyes widened after hearing Kevin's statement.

"Both Calenta and Primea claimed this district as theirs. They both have their own version of histories related to this district, but the International Court of Justice let Calenta win this district in the end. The main reason is that this district is in Calenta's continent."

Kris seemed to be understood after his lover's explained the real situation. It looked like the matter they were investigating was getting complicated. And instead of seeing the light after did the investigation, they now felt like someone blindfolded them, and they couldn't see anything again. It was getting darker after they investigated the matter.

"If this district is really the main reason between the two countries' dispute, why don't Calenta put strong guards in this district? They even let the people here build the dock, causing many illegal immigrants can enter this country freely. I believe that there are also illegal trades between the people in the two countries here."

Kevin was quiet after hearing Kris's argument. Indeed, everything was out of place here. Everything was not normal in this district.

"You're right, Kris," the scientist whispered. "It seems like there's a conspiracy here."