All pretenses of a normal conversation seemed to drop along with Ryusei's smile, but that suited Barnaby just fine. As long as the nurses kept their distance, and Barnaby made an effort to maintain a relatively neutral demeanor, then there was no reason why they couldn't discuss whatever they wanted, or even nothing at all.

Still, it wasn't so surprising when the boy focused on specific details about the institute. Anyone smart enough to realize the dangers posed by this place would naturally be looking to learn more.

"Not that I can recall offhand," Barnaby admitted. "But it wouldn't surprise me if he had. The night before last, I took a door inside of the institute that suddenly dropped me into a lake near the mountains."

If that didn't count as some kind of portal, Barnaby didn't know what else would.

"Why do you ask?" he added.