Griffin wasn’t allowed to study Shen-Ya’s emotions for much longer, as the same shadow veils that had covered their mouths earlier returned.

This time, whatever serious discussion they were engaging in lasted much, much longer.

‘Senior Sister Jun, the Knifeshadow family—-.’

‘The Empire’s Assassins. I know.’

‘Jun, even the Yushan Sect would not consider challenging the Empire in a frontal clash. This— I know that you resent the magistrate for—’

‘Silence.’

‘Forgive me, Senior Sister Jun. But please, listen to me. This is not worth the risk.’

‘Firstly, his claims are not yet verified. The Knifeshadow is famous, or rather, infamous enough for nobodys’ like us to know of their presence. It would not be surprising if this Griffin Thorne used their name to throw us of, intentionally or unintentionally. ‘

‘But even the risk alone….’

‘How much do you know of the Oath-Paladins of the Theocracy of Delphaire?’

‘Not much, Senior Sister Jun. I know that they are not to be insulted or challenged in a duel unless you out rank them in strength.’

‘Indeed. But it is not their faith that makes them strong, it is their oath. They do not worship their ruler, even if they respect him tremendously. They worship the oaths they make to themselves and the greater achievements and sacrifices they make in pursuance of that oath, the stronger the classes are that they are offered. But that is not the reason why we avoid engaging in combat against the Oath-Paladins.’

‘What is the truth then, Senior Sister?’

‘When an Oath-Paladin breaks their oath, their calling changes from Virtuous to a Blank Slate. During that period of transition, they can exhibit a power that is equal to the peak potential of the Oath they had originally made. There are consequences to this change, of course. Some lose their arms. Others, their eyes. For the more powerful oaths, I would not be surprised if it was to lose all your levels, classes, skills and even calling, but to take even a person’s memory—- it is no different from dying, in a sense.’

‘You think this Griffin Thorne is an Oath-Paladin from the Theocracy? Should we not kill him, if that is the case?’

‘In any other circumstance, you would not be wrong. The Theocracy and the Yushan Sect have allied before, but we are far from friends. But, if he is in that state after killing a knifeshadow, do you think we can kill him?’

‘I…. don’t know.’

‘High rankers have more contingencies than we have weapons. But the fact that this Griffin Thorne is here instead of back in the theocracy, clearly enough went wrong. Perhaps we could kill him. Or perhaps an invisible artifact guards him and it will incinerate us the moment we try to deal a fatal blow. But why would I kill him if there is a possibility of befriending him? As long as his memories don’t come back, he should be a different person.’

‘What if he’s lying though, Senior Sister?’

‘Foolish child, a high-ranked Oath Paladin, however weakened, does not have to negotiate with the likes of us. But indeed, we should do our due diligence and first test that dagger of his.’

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“Daoist Thorne, if it is possible, may I study that dagger of yours?”

“Ah…,” Griffin trailed off. So it was about the dagger. He hadn’t expected to hold onto it, but it was still a bit annoying to give away something that he had already claimed for himself. Of course, preserving his life was a few tiers above that in importance. “Sure.”

He offered it hilt first and it was Shen-Ya that grabbed it, albeit far more respectfully for some reason.

“You should stand back, Daoist Thorne,” Jun-Ra warned, before unsheathing her blade.

Griffin didn’t need to be warned twice as he backpedaled as fast as he could without breaking out into an explicit run. He had no idea what was going on, but that sword was too long, thin and sharp-looking for him to be comfortable near it.

Shen-Ya held out his dagger, nodding to Jun-Ra who had already closed her eyes.

Griffin marveled as the silver blade Jun-Ra was holding began to glow a smoldering red-hot, immediately letting him notice the rise in temperature.

She swung her magic-empowered blade and a loud crack echoed out. Griffin had already reflexively closed his eyes, as years of anxiously expecting a gunshot on his grocery trip kicked in.

Thirty seconds later, he finally opened them to discover things almost as they were previously. The dagger was still clenched in Shen-Ya’s left hand. Jun-Ra was still standing where she was. But the sword in her hand was no longer glowing red.

Nor was it intact.

Sheathing her broken blade with a grim expression, she took the dagger from Shen-Ya’s hands.

‘Oh fuck, this is the part where she angrily stabs me,’ Griffin thought, a bit resigned to his fate. He couldn’t fight a woman that could melt steel with her hands.

Instead of going down the bad end route, Jun-Ra chose to nick her thumb with the dagger’s edge. Griffin watched in surprise as the droplet of blood pooling on her thumb was absorbed by the dagger, followed by the next one that pooled.

She dropped it, letting it clatter to the ground and took a step back. She didn’t seem surprised, but Griffin was sure that he wasn’t mistaking the hint of fear on her visage.

“Daoist Thorne, do you wish to keep this dagger? It’s a Sin-Alignment weapon.”

“Uh…,” Griffin hurriedly muttered. “I don’t want it if it's illegal. You can have it,” He answered, hoping that would save him from being stabbed by an immolating sword.

Jun-Ra shook her head.

“Daoist Thorne, I would be beheaded if a Sin-Alignment Blade was found in my possession. However, if you want it, you can store it in your inventory—- on the condition that you never take it out in Yushan Sect territory.”

‘This feels like a trap the DEA would lay out. ‘Hey. you can have the drugs if you want.’ ‘Oh you want them? You’re under arrest for fifteen counts of drug smuggling, sucker.’ But then again, the DEA wasn’t stupid. These women don’t seem stupid either. They know that the dagger is valuable, even if it is cursed. And this feels too straightforward to be a trap.’

“Why would you want to help me? Isn’t abetment to a crime a crime?” Griffin asked, not sure on International Wizard Magic use treaties.

Shen-Ya seemed to want to hit him with another one of those biting remarks, only to hold her tongue.

“I would not want to seize the only weapon you have on yourself. Besides, it is not the weapon that is evil, it is the person. The Yushan Sect does not assume that its laws apply to the entirety of this land,” Jun-Ra politely explained.

‘Bullshit,’ Griffin thought almost immediately. ‘But…. she does have a point. I’m not a pacifist. If I could sell the cursed dagger for ten acres of farmland and a small army of wizards for my protection, I would. Seems like a waste to toss it in the canal when it could be useful down the line.’

“I’ll take it then,” Griffin said.

“Go ahead.”

Storing the dagger in his spatial ‘inventory’ ended up going without a hitch. Though it allowed him to reach a conclusion—- the inventory wasn’t magic, at least not by his interpretation. He wasn’t actually doing anything. The ‘System’ was facilitating it all, not some magical energy that he was emanating.

Boring.

“Well then, Daoist Thorne. Shall we depart?”

“Uh… where to, again?”

“To register you with the Martial Law Sect, of course.”