Glee grew into a smile on my face as I heard her agreement.

But... what do you need me to do exactly?"

She's surprisingly calm; maybe giving in has taken something off her shoulders...

I spent some time pondering carefully.

"Um, first, I'm going to climb up the side and get as high as I can. I don't have to do anything special, I don't think. It's just that the more times I plant the idea in her head, the more she'll see it as a necessity; she'll hopefully give in and take it, thinking it'll finally give her full control over the body."

Pausing, I stroked my cheek slightly and looked to the side while pondering.

"She'll have realised I don't have a class... Yet she obviously can't use hers since it would have been done already."

I looked back to Karin and saw her calmly nodding along.

"I don't have much time, so she'll be the one to come back down, and... if you could subtly push her towards the idea of the crystal- ah, perhaps make it seem like her control is slipping because of it...

But it might not be enough."

Tch. I'm trying to express my thoughts as they come; in all honesty, I hadn't expected Karin to agree so easily, but it was worth the try.

She's pretty deep in thought... hopefully she has some ideas.

Her eyes traced the ground with indistinct movements before suddenly looking up—I could practically see them flash.

She looked at me, and her expression changed slightly.

"You're... how do I put it... well reasoned, and the way you express yourself with your eyes, it's not what Demons your age can do. Elech did say that you're a pride Demon, but I know the scale forms of that noble bloodline. I'm not sure exactly what I want to ask, but do you have memories or knowledge of your familial Demons?"

I looked at her awkwardly—a look easily interpreted as confusion.

"Demons of your same scale shape?"

She quickly added.

I looked down and to the side at my stilled tail, barely hovering above the ground.

"A desert... maybe. Yearning for something... I don't know. There's no Demons, or anything to do with scales or bloodlines."

Karin tightly furrowed her brows.

"Yearning..?"

She lightly pinched her tongue with her teeth, deep in thought.

However, after a few seconds, she shook her head.

"I guess it's not important right now; perhaps we can figure something out down the line."

Is she uncomfortable by it? Does she know something? Hah, but she's right, and I don't have any time.

"When it comes to Ana... perhaps I can use her weakness."

Her tone had changed, as had the topic.

She flashed a cheeky smirk, and I found myself copying her expression while replying.

"Weakness?"

This could change everything.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Even the common labourers are all complaining about her inability to catch the mysterious killer."

She turned her eyes towards me thoughtfully, and I suddenly straightened my back at the electrifying sensation of her evaluating gaze.

A brief moment later, however, she dropped it, and she looked up with an expression of acceptance towards the incomprehensibility of life.

I relaxed and smiled a little tightly while waiting for her to finish.

"Even they find the idea of her missing something to be ridiculous, and they don't even know just how talented she is in shadow magic. Seeing everything going on in this place is a simple task for her, especially since she's so familiar with it, and Elech should already be suspicious of her because of it. It's lkely she's already in a bit of a bind, but she's too valuable to even exile over something like this--and she knows it."

Taking in her words, I tried to understand what Karin could do with this.

Maybe.. if she can push some buttons, she might break the already brittle trust. But...

"But why is she somewhere like this?"

I voiced my confusion, and Karin smiled in reply, knowing what I meant—this place was far from special.

"I'm not sure. There's always been rumours of her committing some terrible crime, but they might be exaggerated, and I can't think of any reason why they would keep her alive... Maybe this body-snatching ability has something to do with it. It seems quite similar to contracts, yet there's no consent in it—only Angels can do something similar."

She shook her head as she spoke, indicating she could only give a shallow amount of information.

It doesn't really matter; we have enough to work with.

"Well, whatever then. Whoever you collect should bring as much of their stuff as possible down here, and don't worry about it being heavy or anything."

I waved my hand carelessly, like it was a simple task for me—after all, I'm quite proud of my hidden storage.

"Hang on... Do you have spatial magic as well?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, something like that, I guess."

"Y... you guess?"

She looked at me strangely before letting out a breath too long not to be on purpose.

I scrunched my nose in response.

Yes, yes, praise me more; I truly am extraordinary.

I won't say this out loud, of course.

"I'll talk to Johan. He trusts me, but many more trust him—he's saved a lot of lives."

"Who's Johan?"

I quickly questioned.

"He healed you before..."

"Ahh, the fruit ninja."

A strained expression crossed Karin's face; it was apparently too immature for her to laugh at, but her true feelings couldn't hide from my senses.

I'm not lying either; I'd fought all those monsters at once, yet he attacks me with a simple fruit, and I don't even sense it coming... His spatial awareness must be off the charts somehow.

[Mana: 25/83]

I frowned.

My mana isn't getting dangerously low or anything, but I don't want to drag it on. If I return soon, then that blessing should help me recover without much risk.

"Are you going?"

Reading my face accurately, Karin frowned in my direction.

"Yea... I'm going to go and climb. OH, and if she steals the crystal, she'll be ejected from my body... I'm not sure if she'll die—probably not—so you'll have to get my body and get as far away as possible."

I stepped towards the door, ready to leave.

"Wait, how ARE you going to store all of the belongings?"

"Just trust me; you'll find out."

After the final short response, I dashed away, leaving Karin to make her own moves.

----------------------------------------

The brisk current of air brushed through the waving gaps of my hair and tickled my face.

My dress hung down and waved with the unnatural ebbs and flows of the wind, but it still wasn't too difficult to climb.

It was only a slight distraction as I hooked my hand and tail into small, rigid gaps in the building's incline.

I'm nearing the highest point...

While the light is pretty intense now, it catches on the shallowly shined grooves of my horn and causes sudden flashes to blind me if I turn at an awkward angle.

I hadn't noticed the grooves before; their design is quite intricate, similar to the scale patterns.

Hm, I'm high enough, but before I leave....

Turning around, I surveyed as much of the outpost as possible.

The blindness spell is still active, but there are layers to its intensity—barrier-like thresholds almost like the symbology of the evolution ceremony, except hardly symbolic this time: there's one around the central home of the elders and important positions, one around the outer perimeter of the land used for the outpost, and I imagine one at the far wall, or else it'd flood the cave.

Although this building is clear, it's a little bland. It's also difficult to make out the details of the midsection.

It looks like a ring, with a single main path in the middle travelling the entire circumference.

I'm not sure if most of it is land for farming. Maybe it's more Botanical stuff, but the buildings are surprisingly small in comparison. There's one large cluster of more permanent-looking structures near the bridge... Damn, I can barely make it out.

I imagine they have to make rotations quite often or something. Maybe they even move their homes regularly—Karin's is much more permanent and high-class in comparison.

It's a bit different from what I expected... but what was I expecting.

[Mana: 13/83]

I should go.