Adya eyed Daz's diamond needles as she watched him and his companions find a place to sit down. "Are those necessary?"

"No," Daz replied instantly. "But they serve to remind you to take me seriously. I know that you are capable of causing me harm but it is highly unlikely that you could kill me. Until that feeling disperses, the needles stay."

"Understandable," Adya answered as she put her glossy lips around the end of her bamboo pipe and inhaled deeply. "Care for a chillum?"

"A what?" Daz asked, unsure of her meaning.

She nodded down at her pipe. "A chillum."

"Ah. A pipe? No, thank you. I have my own and I'm not really in the mood to smoke it," Daz replied.

Crusher, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. "If you're offering, I'll take one."

Adya nodded and reached into the mass of pillows she was sat upon. She pulled out a dark brown bamboo chillum and tossed it towards Crusher. "it's already lit," she said with a warm smile.

"Great." Crusher took a large drag and then blinked rapidly. "Strong stuff."

"It helps clear up the mind," Adya said before she took another puff for herself. She then looked to Daz and asked, "Ruling Taiwan, yes? Could I hear more details on this subject?"

"I'm more than willing to answer whatever questions you have if you don't mind doing the same," Daz replied.

Adya closed her eyes as she smiled. "Naturally."

'She isn't lying. Good,' Daz thought before saying, "My intent is to become Earth's sole ruler. We, as a collective people, need to unite for what is to come after the system's tests end. You'd be a fool to not know by now that we are very much so not alone. We're less than a pebble when it comes to the system's reach."

Adya nodded. "I have thought about this before, as has my king. However, what makes you confident that you are the best person to lead us all?"

"I am likely the strongest person on Earth and I have no selfish tendencies. As an Archreaper, my lifespan is long. Very long. Perhaps I won't be a perfect sovereign, but I will be a fair and just one. Justice is ingrained in my being. A byproduct of once being a Justice Reaper, you see," Daz explained.

"A justice Reaper? Interesting... What can such a being do?" Adya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A lot of things, but, most notably, perhaps, is that I can see a list of every single crime a person has committed should I so desire. Also, for every crime a person has committed, they grow weaker against me. There is a limit, of course, but it's negligible. I wouldn't mind fighting you and showing you just how easily I could overpower you," Daz offered with no ill-will.

"No, that won't be necessary, however, I would be interested to see if I have committed any crimes in this life of mine. Would you mind?" Adya requested charmingly.

"Not at all," Daz answered as he was completely stoic and unphased by the Indian woman's incredible beauty.

Meanwhile, Dorian was struggling to look anywhere but at Adya's exposed midriff.

Adya's Crime List No listed crimes.

'What? None? She's never hit anyone without justification? Stolen anything? Murdered anyone? How is that possible? How could such a... clean person be the leader of a branch of India's most mysterious king's army?' Daz was a lot more worried than he was curious.

'Has she somehow tricked my racial ability? Is that possible? Is that something I now have to worry about?' Daz really didn't like that he had found something which could potentially reignite his paranoia.

It had taken Mu many weeks of effort to reduce that certain trait of Daz's by even a fraction and now it seemed all of his work would be undone in a single moment.

'Wait. The crimes are based on my own personal views. That makes this less cut and dry.' Daz calmed his mind. 'She may just be a very good person, which would be ideal. That doesn't explain why her men attacked us on sight though.'

"See anything interesting?" Adya asked.

"Very," Daz answered. "You may or may not know this depending on your information network, but I can tell truths from lies. Would you mind answering some questions for me with that in mind?"

"Not at all, but could I say a few random statements first to confirm what you claim? It's a very bold claim, after all," she said with a short giggle. "If only we could all tell when we are being lied to, hmm?"

"Sure. I'm in no hurry. Go ahead," Daz prompted with a casual wave of his wrist.

"I'm female," Adya stated.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

'Starting simple, are we?' Daz though before answering, "True."

"I believe myself to be far stronger than that one," Adya said, pointing at Dorian.

"True," Daz replied though he saw some indignation flash across Dorian expression while Crusher struggled not to laugh.

"I can escape you even if you attack me with the intent to kill," Adya said with a coy smile spread across her glimmering lips.

"... True," Daz answered a bit hesitantly. 'That's mildly concerning. How? An item? A skill? Some sort of teleportation?... I don't really have an escape method of my own, do I? Well, nothing bar my Ridomochi but that's hardly instantaneous... Something to look into.'

"I'm under 40-years-old." Crusher almost choked on her bamboo pipe when she heard that.

"False." This time, Crusher did start choking on her pipe after hearing Daz answer.

"Fuckin' crazy. System's a helluva makeover tool, huh?" Crusher muttered.

Adya looked at her and smiled. "I have looked this young well before the system came to Earth." She laughed then said to Daz, "I trust that you aren't just getting lucky with your answers."

"False," Daz answered not outside of his expectations.

An amused smirk wormed its way onto Adya's face. "Hahah... I trust that you aren't just getting lucky with your answers," she repeated.

"... True," Daz said incredulously. 'Did she just manipulate my ability to detect lies? No. She changed her mindset in an instant. What a frightening ability...'

Adya clapped then took another hit from her chillum. "That's fine. Ask whatever you want, King Daz of New Earth."

'She knows about New Earth? At least that confirms her king has some sort of information network set-up, even if only one that asks questions to the system methodically,' Daz thought.

"Do you have any intentions to rule this land?" he asked.

Adya shook her head. "No. My king only wants one thing."

"What?" Daz inquired.

"I can't say, but it doesn't interfere with what you want, so no harm, no foul, correct?" Adya smiled coyly.

"Who are the men outside and why did they attack us immediately?" Daz pressed on, not lingering on the former topic for long.

"They are my harem. They live to protect me. It's unusual for anyone to have good or neutral intentions when approaching my little temple here, so I've ordered them to deal with any threats preemptively. They weren't a threat to you but I'll apologise if they caused any offence. Dashing as they are, they aren't very forthcoming with their words, haha," Adya joked.

'Yeah, sure, the men were fine. It's you and the shikhara I'm worried about,' Daz quipped internally.

Crusher whistled. "Woah. A harem of buff Indian dudes? Can't say I'm not jealous."

"Haha, I like you," Adya said as she winked seductively. "Y'know, I don't mind sharing..."

"Nah, thanks, but nah. I'm a true love kinda girl. Despite my looks, I'm pure of heart," Crusher rejected.

Dorian frowned. 'Why the hell am I relieved?'

Daz didn't care for this interaction and neither did Master Merit by the looks of things. "Were I to leave you and yours to do as you were, would you be opposed to asking your king to allow this land to technically belong to me? I have no issues signing system contracts to enforce my promises of which I'd include to not harm you and your people so long as you aren't doing anything reprehensible or anything that violates my laws."

Master Merit coughed lightly. "We'd go into this in far more depth if an agreement can be reached, His Majesty is simplifying things before receiving clarification."

"Thank you, but I was aware of that," Adya replied to the short moustached man.

She tapped the end of her chillum with her slender index finger thoughtfully for a few moments. "I can agree to this. We have no interest in ruling pointless spaces of land. All I and my king wish for is absolute control over this specific spot."

"Why?" Daz asked. "Why here? Is there something special here?"

"Perhaps," Adya answered with an amused smile. "If there were, what would you do? Try your best to steal it from me as the foolish Chinese have been trying to do?"

'Well that's interesting,' Daz thought as he slowly shook his head. "No. I am no thief. Ironic considering how much I stole before the apocalypse, but impoverished children must make ends meet somehow."

He chuckled faintly. "No. I have no interest in whatever it is you are hiding here, be it a powerful weapon or even a mythical city. I have enough worries and assets of my own. I doubt whatever it is you are protecting could be of enough value to me that I would risk my life for it. I truly do only wish for world peace. For now, at least."

Adya licked her lips. "I must say, honesty is such an... alluring trait to find in a man. I wonder if your body is even half as honest as your words are?"

Daz smirked. "It is, which is why I am not attracted to you even slightly. I would appreciate it though if you could stop trying to influence my thoughts with your skills or racial abilities. Whatever you're using to do it, it will not work."

"You don't find me easy on the eyes?" Adya asked as she cocked her head to the side and winked subtly.

"The last thing I care about in a woman is how she looks. Now, business, or do you need to contact your king first?" Daz asked coldly.

Dropping her flirty act, Adya nodded seriously. "Very well. I do not need to contact my king for this since as I said, Taiwan is of no value to us. Let's just get right into it, shall we?"

"Excellent." Daz gestured to Master Merit then said, "He's got knowledge when it comes to laws and business. He'll help with the contract and, if you're interested, in setting up a trade agreement between your king and my kingdom."

"Oh, you had my interest, little man," Adya said to Master Merit, "but now you have my attention."

Master Merit plastered that oily smile of his on his lips as he replied, "I have that effect on women."

While the three of them began discussing politics and business, Crusher got up, went to one of the room's walls, then laid her back flat on the marbled floor as she took another drag on her chillum. "Skills, huh? Makes sense why I wanted to get into her pants. I have no mental defences except my new toy but that's hella weak. I thought somethin' was off, just couldn't tell what."

Dorian shrugged as he sat down next to her. "I couldn't feel a thing."

"Got ED, do you?" Crusher teased.

"Wha- No!" Dorian protested. "I just have passives to counter that kinda shit. I have to put up with your lunacy most of the time so those skills help keep me sane. They just so happen to counter mind control or persuasion attempts."

Crusher closed her eyes and whispered, "Like the seed you found?"

"... Yeah, like Daz's thought seed," Dorain replied softly and in a somewhat bitter tone.

"You need to let that shit go." Crusher sighed as she sat up and stared into Dorian's eyes. "The guy's got the paranoia cranked up to 11. You can't blame him for using a skill to maintain order back when he still didn't have a fuckin' clue what he was doin'. He doesn't even look at statuses anymore without asking first. At least to his own people."

"That's only a little part of it and you know that. Anyway, I'm not in the mood to discuss this while an important meeting is happening only 20-feet away from us. For all we know Daz could have a hearing skill and now he knows how I feel," Dorian grumbled before he unscrewed his mechanical arm and began tinkering with it.

Crusher flopped back down onto the marble. "So what? It really doesn't matter. If it bothers you so much go ask him about it, you fuckin' dunce."

"It's not that easy..." Dorian was done with this conversation so he gave no further input.

Crusher just closed her eyes again and chose to take a semi-nap while still being able to jump into action at the drop of a hat if necessary.