I didn’t know if he was a rabbit or a leper, something told me that, even if I wasn’t apprehensive to begin with, [Inspect]-ing someone that felt more powerful than me in this contest was a bad idea, but that being the case… I don’t even know where I was going with this thought anymore.

Once we were done being ‘welcomed’, strong emphasis on the quotation marks, by the [Inquisitor] and [Colonel] Lush moved things along, we were finally allowed entry, which included not having every weapon in sight being pointed at us.

That was good, as I had already mentioned it was getting frustrating that it kept happening.

What wasn’t good was that the bunny Kebunu decided to escort us to the command tent himself, and, if the flurry of emotions from Lush’s unflinching face was any sign, it wasn’t normal nor protocol, and if that wasn’t suspicious enough, he arbitrarily decided that he would so while keeping me next to him, by subtly maneuvering around everybody else while walking until he awkwardly retreated back to my side, forcing everybody else to shuffle behind us, since we were technically following him.

Oh, right. That’s where I was going with that: The old codger kept prodding my mental and spiritual defenses the whole way, and it was so very tempting to just throw a [Gaze of the Abyss] to show him just how outclassed he was.

Unfortunately, he was too important to irate further, and he occupied such a function that he could just decide to make our lives complicated, and it would technically be within his rights to do so.

Because, apparently, [Inquisitors] all have [True Gods] as their [Patrons].

Apparently, this was only a big deal when it happened to a not [Transferred] because it symbolized the individual's strength and potential.

Case in point: Sheeno.

She was blessed by [Conflict], and if she hadn’t been screwed over by her brother, she could have possibly won an [Elemental Throne] of her own. Almost definitely the [Ice] one, but who knows now?

I feel like that having two blessings from [True Gods] and the daughter of a [Demi-Goddess] should have afforded some lee-way of some kind, but apparently not: For the sake of security, practicality, or any other reason that could be thrown around to make us lose time, this time it didn’t apply to us.

As if anyone didn’t have enough reasons to hate bureaucracy already.

A less subtle magical jab from the old timer almost made me snap at him, but I managed to only limit myself to glaring.

In response, grandpa-bun made a surprised sound from the back of his throat and fully locked his eyes on my own.

“You’re becoming ever more curious: I simply cannot gain anything from you beyond what a cursory scan would normally give, simply by being connected to the [System].

“It’s as if you have isolated everything about yourself beyond the physical into a separated dimension located within the bounds of your corporeal form.”

His words made my eyes widen in surprise, which soon transformed into understanding.

“You know… You’re not actually that far from the truth. If anything, I have two [Traits] that are just begging to [Evolve] together into a new whole that does what you’re saying plus some more nifty stuff, hopefully.”

“By the way you speak, you make it seem like it’s not like that already.”

“Eh, it’s complicated”, I replied with an easy shrug, unwilling to reveal that I found out I could hide my [Status] like that only when I felt forced to do it with him.

Makes me wonder if I even need the hastily crafted pendant with [Obfuscation] anymore… Who am I kidding? It definitely helps, and knowing my luck-with-lowercase-l, as soon as I decide to take it off, I’ll immediately meet someone capable of taking advantage of the fact.

The old man meanwhile had gone back to frowning, probably displeased by my dismissive answer, which was fair; but, to be fair, I didn’t particularly care about being particularly nice to him, since I could still partially feel his emotion when he was this close to me, and never once did they stop displaying his suspicions of me, or otherwise start showing any positive feelings in my regards.

Well, unless you considered ‘interest’ a positive one, but since he felt like what a scientist in the lab would feel when something to take apart was put in front of them, I decided to not count it.

Because yes, I was aware that he was fishing for ways to get past my defenses, thank you very much.

“I promise you that I have a great deal of experience on the matter, so even if it ‘complicated’, I will be able to figure it out.”

The complete lack of any edge to his tone didn’t help me figure out if he was making a treat, or simply explaining that he would understand anything I explained to him, even if ‘complicated’. But, since his feelings didn’t seem to budge, I was inclined to believe the latter.

“I was in no way making light of your capabilities, mister… uh, we never got your name, actually”, I tried explaining myself but only ended up realizing mid-way through that one of the major reasons as to way I kept calling him ‘bunny-grandpa’ in my head was because he never told us his name, we never heard anyone referring to him with any personal name, and I didn’t even try to [Inspect] him because I was led to believe that it would have been rude.

For some reason, my statement got a soft smile from him, but I didn’t have much time to think about it because the words he spoke right after felt more important than his non-verbal reaction.

“Because I don’t have one: Us [Inquisitors] relinquish any sense of identity and attachment in order to act impartially, or at least as much as it’s realistically possible.

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“The fact that I cannot feel any lie in your words means that you mustn’t have even tried inspecting me, because what makes me sure of it is that one of the things us [Inquisitors] have is an unavoidable lie-detection [Skill].

“To be truthful in turn, also because I’m forced to by a [Trait] given by being to me by being an [Inquisitor], I had suspected that just like you had been able to resist my attempts at gaining any meaningful information about your [Status], you had been able to gather anything you might have needed from mine without me noticing.”

That explained much, but… what really caught my attention was that he managed to use a couple of terms from the [System] without putting them in brackets!

I got the impression that it's a pretty rare thing to do, and the fact that his case felt voluntary I think it should be a bigger deal than it is to me, if the feelings coming from those behind us is anything to go by.

Well, two can play that game.

“I personally wouldn’t put any trust in those skills that the systems calls ‘unavoidable’, I learned it the hard way when my evolved Inspection skill got fooled by the obscuring abilities used on this fortress.

“But yeah, I didn’t lie: I quite literally got the notion that ‘inspecting others without their consent, in a non-hostile space, is rude’ slapped into my head, so I don’t do it anymore”.

Aaaaand it turned out that displaying that I could ignore the vocabulary restriction from the [System] was a terrible idea because suspicion immediately tinted the [Inquisitor]’s mind.

“Anymore, you say?” He tentatively asked, and I was glad that I was given a way out.

“Well, nobody expected my [Inspect] to so rapidly [Evolve] past what people would believe conceivable, so by the time I could completely bypass any attempt to stop me from looking at someone’s [Status] I had already made it into almost a compulsive habit to check anyone I met for any hidden danger.

“Shamefully, speaking about that, I have to admit that it worked in my favor maybe two times, and any other time it only made things more complicated, because I was effectively rudely perusing their personal [information].”

It didn’t feel good to admit that I had grown paranoid during my time in this [Nexus], but anything was better if it calmed down the [Inquisitor]’s worries.

Thankfully, it worked, even though it somehow earned me some annoying giggling from the rear.

“Ah, sudden power without prior experience does oftentimes result in unexpected problems. Don’t let it get to you: Treat it like any other life experience and simply [Grow] from it.

But don’t mind me, my instincts as a [protégé of Growth] often get the best of me”, the old rabbit said while awkwardly patting me on one arm.

I normally wouldn’t let a stranger just casually touch me, but the abrupt breach into my personal space was overshadowed by the words that came out of his mouth after those he said to not worry about.

Did being a [Protégé of a True Gods] influence you, in some way?

I was very superstitious of my own, thanks to a generally unlucky life, but I feel I’ve been blaming destiny, luck, and [Luck] a bit too much for things that could genuinely be simple coincidences or happenstance.

“Well, if that’s what’s happening I know that it wouldn’t be something that [Luck] would do consciously-

Why, thank you

-because it would work against her if I believed anything bad that happened to me was her realm of influence’s fault.”

You really are the worst

>:(

Probably that my prolonged silence meant nothing good, Sheeno bumped into me and inserted herself into the discussion.

“I know what you mean, [Inquisitor]: My [Teachers] often discussed whether I was just normally hot-tempered, or my [Blessing of Conflict] just made me itch that much more for a good fight”, she replied, one hand comfortably on my shoulder and another clenched in a fist in front of her.

For his part, the Kebunu hummed appreciatively.

“Huh, isn’t that always the dilemma: Were we chosen because already aligned in character with our [Patrons], or did we slowly change after receiving the [Blessing] to be more in line with them?

“The [True Gods] are silent on the matter, so we’re left to speculate on the matter ourselves. If you want my opinion though, I think it’s a little bit of both.”

“Yeah, that sounds right to me too”, I found myself surprised at how easily the answer fit into what I knew, and how little it bothered me.

Less surprising was when we three [Protegees of True Gods] exchanged knowing looks with one another.

Having found a semblance of common ground the atmosphere finally got lighter, with us all comfortably walking along in silence, only briefly broken by passing innocuous comments, until we eventually reached a massive tent that used the central stone tower as a central pole of sorts.

The [Colonel] in back adopted a confident air and started explaining the situation to us.

“This here is the command center for the [Army] currently deployed to aid the [Humans].

“[General] Lerwick is the current highest grade officer present, so you don’t want to anger him”, and for some reason, she threw a warning glare my way, “but another two [Generals] got recently sent in to help him and hold almost as much authority as him, so I would watch my words anyone in the tent, just to be on the safe side.”

I wasn’t well versed in military operational conventions… but having multiple [Generals] doing practically the same mansion felt… wasteful.

And indeed, as if reading my mind, Miss Lush kept explaining, touching exactly on that point.

“[General] Lerwick is the acting [General of the Army], while [General] Eimrod is in charge of logistics and [General] Tuum as the repelling force for more powerful [Demons] on the field.”

Fair enough: Someone took care of the big picture, someone took care of the more minute details, and another took the field.

“Ok, then it all makes sense.”

Sheeno was quick to make it known that she had been professionally taught to deal with this exact kind of matter, and Undine followed right after with something similar.

We finally made to get inside and made know for what exact purpose we were called to help, and it was when I turned around to say my goodbyes to the [Inquisitor] that the long-eared man gently stopped me by laying a hand on my arm.

“You might be the last person in the [Nexus] that needs it, but…”, trailing off slightly, he opened his other upturned hand, revealing a small token-like object, made out of some kind of yellowish jade and carved to have a stylized three on the visible front, “when things get tough, I’ll be glad of having given you, specifically, this”.

Weirded out by the suddenness of it all, and not knowing whether to trust the lack of warning from [Precognitive Aura], I cautiously accepted the token and immediately used my [Gaze of the Abyss] on it as it was being deposited on my hand and-

coin

“Well… fuck me, I guess.”

Still staring apprehensively at the ‘coin’ I mumbled a goodbye to the infuriatingly pleased rabbit-grandpa and finally followed my companions into the tent.

Stepping inside, a small [Enchantment] washed over me, one that both kept things private and scanned if anyone entering was ‘demonic’; which was smart if redundant.

Only then the screaming reached my ears.

“What do you mean ‘alone’!?”