“A-alright...” Iris shook her head in some understanding. “You don't have to let go of your frustration on my magic table, but I will let it go. I made it myself, so it's cheap to repair, but the efforts are sometimes more expensive than money so let's not do it again, alright?” She argued, but Murai was having none of it.

He glared at her as if he was telling her, “Ask something else, or I will butcher this table to make scraps”

“2nd question then. Are you angry at my uncle and Falconers? They did make you go through hell, didn't they?” she asked.

This time, Murai nodded so fast, and not only once.

“Yeah. I can see that but don't be angry at my uncle. He was forced to do this by the circumstances of the Centralis Kingdom and their ideologies. I swear he wasn't like this in the past and this issue is just how people cope with survival. I am not like him though, but he helped me a lot because we are family.” Iris said, pleading for the sake of her uncle.

Hmph...Does she think of me as some kind of shameless bastard? Well, I did consider it before, but I don't care either way about her stupid uncle. Murai thought, aware of a tinge of anger aimed at Lazar which was undoubtedly in his heart.

He was the one who kept him for the falconers, and the falconers were the ones who finished the job.

That man Razmund.

He was the one that did the most damage, and Murai won't ever forget him, nor forgive him for that. He was already dead in his eyes for butchering his feathers and turning his body to scraps.

Seeing him answer nothing because she didn't ask a question, Iris continued. “Do you want to hear what I found out about you? I don't mean to mock your fate. I respect all Blessed regardless of their beliefs, past, or current time. They are the extension of the Will of the Battleworld and gods cater to them since time immemorial. They are a special part of the Battleworld and many people think of them as an extension of this world.” Iris revealed and almost a small smile appeared on her face. But only almost.

Tsch... Why does she ask this? I don't care about it, but fine... It may reveal what she knows about me through that extension of that god. Fine. Murai nods with an apprehensive look, interested in what she found out from the previous thing of that Divinity that wasn't hers.

“You are a Blessed. A citizen of the Battleworld of less than level 10 and little time behind yourself. That means you are new to this world, which I found kind of pitiful. Second, your species... duck? Anatidae something? I never heard of a species like that, and it looks like some kind of duck species, obviously. I will look through the library if I will have time to do so tomorrow. Vermillion Church has a lot of information about these things. Years of research worth of countless species. There has been also this... feeling in your soul. A powerful awareness that I found shocking in you. It's the thing that made me change my apprehension of you, sir Duck.” Iris said the things she found worth telling, while she ignored the rest.

This Appraisal wasn't a normal one thanks to the addition of Lady Vermillion's gift and her Divinity that allowed her to seek many things or beings.

Though, was Iris aware of that Divinity and the help her Lady provided? She was, but not through what she was looking at.

It made the initial course of the Appraisal smoother until Murai put forth his defenses and after that, Iris saw or felt nothing. The divinity of Vermillion did continue, Appraising him by itself, and was able to strike Murai's soul to seek out information. Iris wanted to know more, so Vermillion sent her some things afterward.

Iris found what she wanted and she wasn't interested in how it went. Although, that ended in a rather poorly done state, thanks to the Robust Defense that pushed against her but not against that Divinity. It made the Appraisal half-finished, so Iris found only a few things that she wanted.

Then, there was a thing that Iris found most strange. The fact that everything happened as it did, shocked her. A Blessed before here didn't even enter the range of Level 10s and had such a powerful soul inside of such a tiny package.

She too, had some level herself, but that involved the priesthood and it wasn't something fancy as being Blessed of the Battleworld. In a sense, it was more compatible to call her a Gifted person whose purpose was twisted with a connection to a certain God. It would enable one to reach power not one bit lesser than a Blessed had.

Although, the degree of power depends on the talent and amount of care a God would give to their Gifted.

Iris had power and magical capabilities around the threshold of level 15, while her healing powers could work across all sorts of levels. Healing physical wounds didn't pose a problem to her, because they were physical wounds that anyone can inflict on anyone. Healing them was a simple process, but any magical wounds were different and would require some context of magic.

Thankfully, Murai had no sort of curses or any kind of mana-inflicted wounds that could give her some problems.

That was, of course, depending on the Blessings that she got from Lady Vermillion. Each and every one of them can cause drastic changes. Any God's Blessings and gifts were like that, and she knew it very well as a Priestess and follower of her Lady.

Thinking of her words and memories further, Iris had no recollection of another explanation from the connection to that Divinity.

“That is about what I think about yourself. Your life in the Battleworld has been brief, but you are a Blessed, so I wonder what kind of being were you before becoming this thing called Anatidae. Were you perhaps a human? Elf? Have you even come from another plane of existence or experienced life outside of the ordinary in some sort of Divine Kingdom? It sounds so strange to be suddenly stuck in the body of a duck. I bet I wouldn't fathom such a difference and how it could feel!” Iris talked without stopping, saying things with deep interest that showed in her pristine blue eyes. They were glittering in excitement, and her body language was obviously like that too.

Murai felt it right. Iris's whole person radiated none one bit of hidden intentions, and he felt it through the Soul Read the most. An emotional honesty, along with reverence and lowered fear. How was possible such a rapid change? He was still a demonic beast, but it seemed that his status as a Blessed was more than good enough to calm her down.

Her words were a bit unhinged, but they were also truthfully honest. Whether Murai felt like smacking the table and ruining those runes or whatnot underneath his feet, he heard her truth that was painfully hurtful.

He was a duck now, and he had to accept it like that bothersome divinity of that God. That wasn't a good thing, and Murai felt a distinct feeling that this may be a disaster because of his inability to move or do a thing. He was literary at the mercy of his fate, and he didn't like it.

So, out of respect for this deal to talk, he nodded, telling her the truth in his way.

Iris stopped talking as if she didn't think Murai would answer in a positive manner. She asked for the sake of talking and her curiosity.

“Really?!” She exclaimed out loud. “You were really a human before, or... something else? Does this mean you got another life? You are one of these Blessed who accomplished something great and got another chance in life at some point? How? What in the world?!” Iris leaned forward, talking very close to his face without being aware of what Murai even nodded for.

She was surprised, and a lot. After all, having memories and awareness of the past was like having another life. Considering the briefness of his living, she was sure of this. It was how it went through her knowledge of the Battleworld as a priestess and living in this world for the past 17 years.

This time, Murai didn't nod or shake his head since it was obviously not an answerable question and she was getting obnoxious with her talking.

“A Blessed... Old Soul? I heard about such things but only in that book. Are you aware of your last life? Your memories of the Battleworld or some other world?” Iris asked openly and without hiding any of her curiosity.

And as the truth was true, Murai nodded with his beak, since it wasn't wrong, albeit, he had many such memories instead.

“Wait... what kind of nod was that for? Which question you are nodding for?” she asked again, unaware of her quick charge of talking.

Murai nodded twice.

She is right. More or less, but she asks everything with unintentional openness. I am not from the Battleworld though, but not like it matters.

“All of them?” Iris nodded, figuring it was the case of everything. “That is... so impressive. You must have experienced quite a strange thing, and another start in a living must have been strange and even as a duck? Are you upset by this?” Iris asked as if understanding what was Murai thinking.

This f.... girl. Is she... No. She is an honest type. I can tell that and she feels like a literal disaster. So a Vermillion? Have I heard that name before? If she already has the priesthood under herself, I bet she is not a weak god. Which Rank? Degree of Path? Is she? No... She still has this religion, of course, she wouldn't touch the Greater Sky. Murai deducted from this conversation, as well from the feeling of being seen through by that Divinity. But what he can get from this were different things than he wanted.

Iris was the one asking questions, and not him.

Murai still chose to be honest, even though his strange fate against Iris and Timmy, was kind of unique. After all, this was his first interaction with another being, ignoring the fact of a Rain, of course. That one was more of a battle, while their conversation wasn't brief, but not exactly casual either. It was a simple trade.

He gave her a nod while realizing that this conversation was quite pathetic to him. Having no ability to talk was terrible, but forcing his Will onto Iris was out of the question.

“I see... So you are upset... I can see why, so let me ask another question.” Iris kept leaning closer, observing his face. “Do you want my help?” she asked a question, that wasn't sounding any different from the others, but it included her help... The help of a priestess under a God who was so lofty to force her upon him? Murai paused and didn't answer.

“You hesitate... I can see that in your eyes, sir Duck. I think it should be possible for me to give you some kind of help. Have you heard... Wait. You were listening? Are you aware of everything that happened to you since you appeared from that well?” she suddenly recalled Murai's past, and what even happened before she found his secrets.

Timmy told her a lot and all of them were things of importance, but not everything was something they were aware of. After all, the villagers were fearful for their lives, hiding in their homes for safety, while most fled the village completely.

It wasn't that surprising. The involvement of Falconers was a big deal and some even hated Lazar for involving them when it wasn't needed. So what if a duck emerged from their well? At first, it didn't matter, but Lazar took the problem into his hands and created others.

It wasn't as if that strange succubus killed any one of them, and as for that duck? No one really felt a thing from it apart from Lazar. It was hardly a situation that required Falconers and that was the truth.

It was a strange situation that Iris understood. She wasn't even that aware of everything because she wasn't in the village yesterday. She realized that Murai's awareness played a big part in this, and his Blessed Status as well. It may be why it was so strange.

Perhaps, the Falconers would come one way or another, and a Blessed Razmund was the cause.

For all that she knew, this Blessed before her may be very angry towards her uncle and the whole village. It wouldn't be hard to think this way, since Iris knew that most of the Blessed were those kinds of being.

Some were... strange? Unhinged? Out of the norm? Either word would work, but one thing was sure. Most often than not, they didn't mean something good. Especially the ones with inhuman appearances.

Murai heard her reasonable question and wasn't resentful of her, or Timmy. Lazar? Maybe...

This whole mess was his own problem since he was too weak, and the circumstances of his actions played a big part in the outcome. It all started when he tried to reach the surface of the Somalis Dungeon. A flock of way too powerful beasts wanted to eat him this time around, meaning that his previous situation where the beasts and monsters ignored him, was no longer possible.

It made sense. He got stronger. He killed a high-level Acaman Golem! That was impressive.

He hated the fact that he became prey. The whole issue of his bleeding left wing obscured his speed, causing his inside to turn upside down from that injury and loss of blood. If it wouldn't happen, he was sure he would end things differently. Escaping to the forest and not dealing with any consequences would help, and he wouldn't end up meeting Razmund or Lazar. He would flee instead.

Perhaps in that sort of situation, Velga would find him instead, and whatever it was with her would become apparent. After all, Murai was unaware if she was a foe or not.

That was a possibility. A what-if kind of deal. It didn't happen, so it didn't matter. He suffered serious blood loss and pain stuffed his mind after Velga tried to apprehend him.

So Murai figured he should be much more careful in the future, so he won't have to repeat the mistakes of the past.

That was his rule as a numerous-time reincarnator and he can learn from these issues of living where any failure can mean nothing but the End. It wasn't an End for him. He can learn from them.

Murai gave Iris a long look as if he was pondering over her numerous questions and sentences. It was true that he heard a lot of things but what did they matter now? Most of what he was aware of involved Velga, and what Razmund found up from her and his forceful, and much stronger appraisal.

Though, Razmund didn't find much from him, so that was good. However, what he heard him say to Velga was much more interesting.

Murai was conscious throughout those times, regardless of the state of his physical body and his injuries. It was one of the main advantages of the Robust Spirit which was yet something Murai was fully aware of.

He gave her a nod, furthering her wonders by an exponential amount.

“Then... How can I help you? This... I don't want you to be angry at us... It's not like it's our fault for being like this... Hating demons or whatnot. It's... kind of needed, but not in some cases. It's like putting a lot of apples in the same bag. I am sure some would be filthy at some point, but others wouldn't. Right? Some demonic beast must be good, but... You are that, but also intelligent Blessed.”

Murai sighed, shaking his beak and indicating his disproval of her help.

“You... So you don't want my help? Are you not hurt so much that you can't walk? Or you don't want me and my little brother to be involved in you?” Iris asked, asking 3 different kinds of questions that may have different answers.

“How in the flying duck does she expect me to answer that normally?” Murai scowled inside, turning his beak to smack this girl who can't even form an easy-sounding question.

Alas, while he bent his neck along with his head, he noticed an open book aside from his body, as well as a quill and bottle of ink.

Iris noticed his turn of attention, also getting a small idea. “Can you use this beak of yours to write? That would be a much better form of communication than this... whatever it is.” She sighed, grabbed the book, and placed it in front of him. “Alright. Go on then. Write.”