"So, have you remembered?"
The Earl's audacious question made my fists clench on instinct. Shameless bastard.
"Yeah, I remember now, you smug piece of trash. Bet you got all excited when you heard I'd forgotten about that day because of the fever, huh? Figured you could play the victim and milk me dry."
Back then, my memories from before the possession were fragmented. I had no idea what had really happened at the Earl's manor.
When people told me, "Nikellus caused a commotion at the Earl's estate," I assumed the original Nikellus had lost his temper and gone on a rampage. That was just who he was.
For a moment, I even believed it was Nikellus' fault. I nearly paid the compensation. If it weren’t for the reward from the oracle—the return of my missing memory fragments—I might have gone through with it.
But now?
"I remember everything. So stop stalling and talk. The Oldest Seer—where are you keeping them?"
"The Oldest… Seer…?"
"Yeah, the one you kidnapped. Spill it. Now."
The Earl’s fear was evident. I thought a little more pressure would break him.
"The Seer…"
"Hm?"
"The Seer is… mine!"
“…What?"
The trembling man suddenly raised his voice, as if possessed by some unnatural fervor.
Just moments ago, he had been shaking like a leaf, but at the mention of the Seer, his demeanor transformed completely—like he was under some kind of spell.
"…What’s with the sudden outburst? Did you hit your head or something—?"
"Neither you nor anyone else will ever take the Seer from me!"
"…You’ve lost your mind, haven’t you?"
"No matter how much you ask, I will never, ever tell you where they are! Not in a thousand years!"
There was no doubt the Seer was someone important. But prioritizing their protection over his own safety, especially now? That was… odd.
And his reaction—completely unnatural the moment I mentioned the Seer’s name.
‘…Open status window.’
Something didn’t sit right, so I double-checked his status window. At first glance, it seemed normal.
Predictably unimpressive skills. Pathetically low karma points.
Honestly, I’d wondered if he might be completely unawakened—someone whose status window couldn’t even be accessed.
But something unusual stood out at the very bottom of his profile, under the "Special Conditions" section:
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
----------------------------------------
Special Conditions
—Currently under the influence of a mental manipulation skill.
----------------------------------------
So that’s why his behavior had been so erratic. A mental skill, huh? That explained it.
Anyone caught in a mind-altering spell would struggle to make rational decisions.
‘Come to think of it, this guy was weird last time too, when the original Nikellus visited.’
Back then, the Earl had been oddly fixated on the Seer. I assumed it was just his greed at play. But now it seemed he’d already been under the skill’s influence even then.
Despite knowing the Earl had kidnapped the Seer, Nikellus failed to act calmly. Instead, he stormed into the Earl’s estate, demanding their release.
The Earl, smug as ever, had dared to provoke him:
"I don’t know how you got this absurd idea, but without evidence, you can’t do anything to me~"
That had been enough to make Nikellus lose it, demolishing half the estate in a rage. The Earl only managed to escape by flying off with a high-grade mobility item.
And that, as it turned out, was the true story.
----------------------------------------
A Quick Recap:
1. The Earl kidnapped the Seer.
2. Nikellus, attempting to rescue the Seer, rampaged through the estate, causing massive destruction.
3. After my possession of Nikellus, I forgot about the Earl’s crimes due to the memory loss.
4. The Earl exploited this to frame me as an unprovoked lunatic and extorted compensation.
5. Turns out, the Earl might have been under a mental skill the whole time.
----------------------------------------
‘But how’d he gets caught in that skill? He’s rich enough to afford mind-protection items.’
Could the skill have been strong enough to bypass his defenses? If so, we were talking at least an A-rank ability.
‘Great. Just what I needed—another headache.’
Knowing I’d likely need to get rough to extract the Seer’s location, I subtly signaled to Rubin, who was standing nearby.
The gesture was simple: Start recording.
Rubin gave a small nod, confirming he’d understood, before discreetly activating the recording device.
Turning back to the Earl, I spoke calmly.
"You think the Seer belongs to you? They’re not anyone’s property. You abducted an innocent person in the dead of night, and now you have the audacity to—"
"I took them to protect them!"
The Earl blurted out exactly what I wanted to hear.
So easy.
Was it because of the mental skill? Regardless, he walked straight into my trap. I kept pressing, feigning confusion.
"Protect them? From what?"
"The Tower of Prophecy, or whatever you want to call that pathetic excuse for security. If I hadn’t stepped in, foreign agents would’ve abducted them eventually!"
"So, you kidnapped them… out of patriotism?"
"How could I sit idly by while such a precious resource was so poorly managed? Before any foreign powers could swoop in, I acted for the Empire's benefit, taking them under my protection—!"
"Enough."
As soon as he said exactly what I needed, I turned to Rubin.
"Got all that?"
"Every word. The video’s clear, and the audio’s crystal."
"Perfect. Save it. This is all the proof we need to expose the Earl’s abduction scheme."
Even in this relatively primitive era, magical recording devices existed.
The Earl’s face paled as realization dawned. He clamped his mouth shut, but it was too late. His confession was already securely stored in Rubin’s device.
"Alright, stop recording," I told Rubin. "What happens next isn’t meant for public eyes."
----------------------------------------
It only took three punches.
The first? He sputtered indignantly: "You dare lay a hand on me—?"
The second? He tried to bargain: "I'll double your compensation! Just stop—!"
By the third, he broke completely.
"The Seer is at my villa on the southwestern coast of Filmarion!"
Of course, I threw in a couple of bonus punches for good measure. He deserved it for framing Nikellus and extorting compensation.
Satisfied, I left the Earl bound and unconscious in a remote location before setting out for the villa with Rubin.
As we soared through the air, Rubin, carrying me on his back, turned his head.
"So, Nikellus. What’s the real story with this ‘Oldest Seer’? Why are you so determined to rescue them? Is it… for justice?"
"Justice?" I hesitated. The word pricked at my conscience.
"Not really. They came to me in a dream. Said they’d been kidnapped and promised to share some critical information if I saved them."
"In a dream?"
"Yeah. You’ve heard of dream demons, right? Succubi, incubi, that sort of thing."
Rubin’s ears twitched. "Of course! Lower-class demons that invade dreams to steal energy from humans."
I nodded. "Well, the Seer’s bloodline traces back to one of those demons. That’s why they can enter dreams and manipulate them. Their foresight ability? A remnant of that heritage."
Rubin’s tail wagged with curiosity as I explained further, the vast expanse of three moons and countless stars lighting our path.