The very first thing that greeted Isaac after he had entered the private room was the sight of a wooden tray pointed right in his face. At the end of an outstretched arm was Ryuu, who was furrowing her eyebrows and was staring at him warily, temporarily unsure of what to say.
‘Ah, how nostalgic… even though it has only been a few days.’
For a moment or two, he thought about teasing the stiff Elf again, but then he just released a reluctant sigh. Riveria had given him far too many hints during the celebration, so he knew very clearly what she wanted him to do. It wouldn’t do for him to create even more difficulties for her, right after she had just had to deal with one of his messes.
Isaac’s silence and seeming obedience made Ryuu relax little by little, so the degree to which her eyebrows were furrowed soon decreased. After taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and finally managed to find the words that she had been looking for.
“Thank you for your time. How do you know… all of these things that you mentioned last time? We had never met before and I had never even heard about you. Please, tell me.”
Her words caused Isaac to feel a playful itch… and he just had to scratch it. Mentally, he already apologized to Riveria for what he was about to do and justified it by saying that he would at least not be deflecting from the topic that the motherly Elf wanted him to discuss with Ryuu. So it wasn’t the worst thing that he could do, far from it!
With a slight tilt of his head, Isaac stared directly into her eyes. The look on his face made it seem like he was convinced that he was looking at an idiot.
“Why should I tell you?”
At first, Ryuu was simply speechless, then she clenched both her tray and her jaw. Was he just playing her again? She was here to have a real discussion, not to perform as his clown!
Her angry face made a small smirk play across the troublemaker’s lips. Before the incensed Elf could get a chance to speak, Isaac simply shrugged innocently and continued talking.
“Just look at things from my perspective for a moment. Some person that I’ve only met once before requests for me to tell them about one of my secrets. What reason do I have to tell you? And how could I trust you?”
His words stumped the Elf, and for a short period of time, even the threateningly raised tray wavered. Yes, he was correct. Why would he tell her anything? They had met twice, they couldn’t even really count as acquaintances yet.
While Ryuu was worrying about which reason to come up with, Isaac, the source of her troubles, was calmly smiling to himself. He didn’t really care about any of this, he was just playing with her feelings for his own amusement. Hadn’t he already told far too many people about matters that most others would rather keep to themselves? At this point, what was one more? Still, everyone else had their own specific reasons as to why they had needed to be told about all of this. Ryuu, however… just what could she bring to the table? Why would it be necessary to tell her anything about himself?
“You have brought up some fair points. If you hadn’t mentioned something directly related to me, then I wouldn’t have any right to inquire about it. But as you know far too much about me and my familia, you made this my business. There you have it, this is my reason. So please tell me.”
Seeing the determination in her eyes, Isaac nodded to himself. She had reacted exactly how he had expected. But wasn’t she forgetting something?
“Again, how could I trust you?”
Ryuu tensed up a little, as she had hoped that he would overlook this point. Then, she took a deep breath and lowered her tray, holding it close to her body again. From her previous threatening stance, she had returned to a calm, professional and ‘safe’ one.
“I will give you my word. I shall never tell a single soul.”
Immediately after her words had left her lips, Isaac shook his head.
“That’s not good enough. The word of a stranger doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Now a bit desperate, the Elf stuttered.
“Th-Then what should I… do?”
A somewhat evil glint flashed past Isaac’s eyes as he unabashedly sized up Ryuu. Everywhere that his gaze passed, she involuntarily got goosebumps, and a slight fear welled up inside of her heart. This guy… did he intend to ask her for her body!?
Right before she was about to drop all pretenses and erupt in rage, the way that Isaac looked at her changed again, returning to his mischievous one from before.
“Hold up. I don’t know what you were thinking about in that indecent mind of yours, but I just want you to swear an oath on justice itself. That should be easy enough, right?”
Yet again, his words had taken the serious Elf aback and for a few moments, she just stood still, in absolute silence. Finally, she realized - she had been duped.
In all honesty, in Isaac’s eyes, Ryuu was almost the one that he had to worry about the least in this world. As long as justice was involved somehow, she would be very easy to control. No matter what he told her, she would never go back on her oath. Sure, his ‘secrets’ could still be extracted from her memories, or even her very soul. But that was always a possibility. Even gods weren’t safe from such a fate, so mortals were even worse off. Still, as it wasn’t really of importance to him whether anyone knew about his matters, as the worst that could happen was more slight annoyances popping up, he wouldn’t bother with being a worrywart or behaving too secretively.
“I, Ryuu Lion of the Astraea Familia, hereby swear on justice itself to keep secret all of Isaac Blackshaw’s matters, for all of eternity. Should I break this oath, may the guiding light of justice never again lead me to a safe harbour. May it extinguish instead.”
Although these words would have sounded overly dramatic to any outsider, Ryuu was being completely serious. Even under the most normal of circumstances, she wouldn’t play a joke, so obviously, she wouldn’t do so now either.
‘It’s really impressive that she could come up with this over-the-top oath on the spot. In a different world, she would have probably made a great screenwriter.’
With a satisfied smirk, Isaac nodded to himself. Originally, he hadn’t planned to make use of this retired adventurer at all. She wasn’t necessary to his plans whatsoever, and their views on what justice actually was - amongst others - clashed heavily. But ever since their chance encounter, his thoughts had started to shift. He was already involved in her life now, so he might as well try to slightly change her views. It would be a waste for him to not make use of such a talented resource when it basically delivered itself to his doorstep. When he saw Syr today… that was when he knew that his new plan would have a fair chance of success.
“Alright. I won’t waste your time, then. First of all, let’s get this out of the way. I’m not from this world, I only traveled here about a month ago. Back in the world I came from, I once read a story about a world full of gods, set in a city located right above a dungeon that continually spawns monsters. A certain Elf also played a part in this story. Sadly, I have to admit that I didn’t get to the part where her past was explored to the fullest, so I only know bits and pieces. Like her name being Ryuu Lion.”
Although the Elf in question really wanted to say that his words were just lies or another trick that he had come up with, subconsciously, she started to feel an instinctive fear. What if his words were true? Without her being aware of it, she started to stammer.
“So you’re telling me… that what I really am is just a character in a story?”
‘Oh, she’s actually the first one to pay attention to that part.’
A slight but genuine smile stole itself on Isaac’s face, then he shook his head.
“No. What I am saying is that in a story written in another world, there is a character that seems awfully similar to you. The difference in phrasing may seem minor, but it’s actually a huge deal. Still, don’t think too hard about this. You can start to worry about other worlds once you’ve dealt with your own problems.”
In his mind, he added a few more words.
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‘A character in a story, eh? No matter what, it’s a theory that can never be disproven.’
His lengthy reply snapped Ryuu out of her daze, and almost immediately, her gaze sharpened, her eyes full of mistrust.
“How can I know that you’re not lying to me?”
Yet again, Isaac just shrugged.
“You can’t, as I don’t plan to travel to other worlds anytime soon. But there is something else that I can prove. I can teleport myself and others to any location instantly. See?”
In the process of talking, he had leaned forward in his chair. Then suddenly, before Ryuu could even blink, her entire surroundings had changed. What greeted her was an all-too-familiar clearing in a particular forest, with a grave mound with a variety of weapons stabbed into it to act as impromptu gravestones at its center. The smell, the quality of the air, the lighting conditions… everything had changed!
Completely unable to accept what she was seeing, Ryuu was slack-jawed. She even found it hard to think and felt like all of her gears had just… ground to a screeching halt. If their chairs hadn’t accompanied them, she would have probably fallen on her butt without any chance to react. Repeatedly, she blinked to see whether the scene in front of her would disappear. She even pinched herself in an effort to determine if she was currently dreaming or caught in an illusion of some kind. Of course, these efforts were fated to be in vain.
Not really bothering about his Elven teleport buddy’s troubles, Isaac searched the clearing for a while, before he found what he had been looking for. To one side, pretty close to the treeline, quite a few simple white flowers were blooming. Despite their plainness, they were actually really beautiful and reminded him of an untouched canvas.
Once he had made sure that Ryuu was paying attention to him, he plucked one of the flowers, then he walked back to her and teleported them back to their previous location.
“Yes, we were actually there. How else could I have gotten this?”
Before Ryuu could even open her mouth, he had already preemptively answered her question and shoved the white flower in her face, causing her to have to suppress the urge to sneeze.
With slightly watery eyes, she grabbed the flower out of his hand and subconsciously put it into one of her pockets, all the while hurriedly trying to calm down. What she had just witnessed should have been impossible. This went far beyond any kind of Magic that she had ever heard of - it was instantaneous, after all. She wasn’t even sure whether the gods would be capable of what Isaac had just done. Maybe they could do it when they were back in Heaven, but here in the Lower World, they could barely do anything. Comparatively, at least.
“See? I told you the truth about my ability to teleport. All of my claims should appear quite far-fetched to you, so now that I’ve proven one, you should have a little less of a reason to doubt me.”
Reluctantly, Ryuu nodded. She couldn’t deny that he most likely hadn’t been lying to her before. With that in mind… she actually grew a little disappointed.
“I see. So you’re not connected to what happened back then…”
With a slightly helpless smile on his lips, Isaac shook his head.
“Sorry about this. I don’t even know what event you’re referring to exactly. I have my theories, but no concrete knowledge. Ultimately, I’m just someone whose presence makes no sense and will bring a lot of chaos.”
A heavy sigh and a few moments of silence later, Ryuu suddenly snapped out of her mental lamentations.
“Wait a minute! What happened before, with Syr? What did you do to her!?”
Yet again, she was up in arms… and pointing her tray at him. DId she simply instinctively love to point things at others in an effort to make herself feel more secure? Even though he was distracted by thoughts like these, Isaac’s reply wasn’t late.
“Oh, that. I can tell you what happened, but only if you really want me to. Be careful, though. It won’t be something you want to hear or know about.”
He really had no obligation to keep other people’s secrets. No matter what reason there was for Syr’s actions, he wouldn’t stand on ceremony if someone asked him about her. Had the one aiming this question at him not been an acquaintance like Ryuu - yes, she had successfully ascended from being a stranger - then he wouldn’t have even hesitated to tell them everything he knew. But of course only if doing so would be beneficial for him.
Isaac’s words, yet again, sounded ominous. And yet again, Ryuu wanted to just dismiss them as lies, or as him making a fool of her. Still, she knew that now that he had ignited her curiosity and doubt, she wouldn’t be able to forget what he had said. She would start to look at her friend with different, uncertain eyes no matter what. After all, unless she had confirmation of the opposite, there was always a possibility of something being… off.
Therefore, she might as well hear him out. Doing so would either lead to the development that he had warned her about… or it would calm down this tsunami of worries and delusional theories that was currently assaulting her heart. Either way, there would be a resolution.
“Please tell me.”
After staring right into Ryuu’s clear and certain eyes for a bit, Isaac sighed and nodded.
“Alright, but it would be better to do so when she is present. Can you please get her to join us? I planned to talk to her later anyway.”
As requested, Ryuu made her way out of the private room and sought out her friend. Thankfully, Syr had still not left the tavern, as she was waiting for Ryuu to finish her conversation first.
“Syr, I asked the man I was talking to - Isaac - about what happened between the two of you before and he told me that he would prefer to reveal it when you are present as well. Will you please join us?”
When this question reached her ears, the grey-haired girl’s shoulders stiffened, and so did the smile on her face. She seemed really unwilling for a moment, but before Ryuu could tell her that it was fine, that she didn’t have to accompany her, Syr released a heavy sigh, losing a bit of her usual liveliness in the process.
“Okay. At this point, it was only a matter of time anyway.”
Without bothering to explain her words any further, Syr took a glance at her fellow coworkers and slightly shook her head while smiling to herself. Then, she led the way and confidently walked to the private room, with a confused and admittedly worried Ryuu in tow.
‘What did you mean by that, Syr? Don’t scare me like this!’
Isaac had been waiting for the two girls while relaxedly reclining on his chair and reading one of the books that his subordinates had obtained for him. When he heard footsteps approaching the door, he put it back into his inventory and raised his head.
The confident stride of Syr halted the very moment that she laid her eyes upon him, and it took Ryuu poking her in the cheek for her to snap out of her rigid state. No matter how thoroughly she had tried to prepare herself mentally, she didn’t want this meeting to happen. Sadly, it seemed like she didn’t have a choice this time - the events would unfold, one way or the other. With a deep breath, she entered and sat down in a chair as well.
Before Ryuu could explain anything, Isaac motioned to her to stay quiet. Then, with a peculiar smile, he looked directly at Syr.
“Please forgive me. This might be rude, but it’s the easiest way. Why don’t you just drop this act, ‘Syr’?”
For Ryuu, these words felt like heavy punches to the gut. But while her mental alarms were already blaring, she tried to convince herself that everyone had their secrets, so it wouldn’t be surprising for her friend, her saviour, to have one as well, right? She didn’t need to worry… right!?
In response to Isaac’s words, Syr just innocently tilted her head, an expression of confusion on her face.
“What do you mean?”
With a smirk, Isaac started to release some of the mana from his mental layer and used it to surround Syr from all sides, causing her eyes to widen in surprise.
“Do you want me to forcefully break it? I’m sure there would be repercussions, which I doubt you would want to deal with. I also don’t want to be enemies with you, if I can help it.”
Finally, after seemingly struggling for a few seconds, Syr heaved another deep sigh, muttered a “It was worth a try” and smiled defeatedly.
“You say that, but you’re still forcing me to do this? What a bad boy~”
Right in front of Ryuu’s and Isaac’s eyes, Syr… proceeded to transform. She grew a little bit taller and her body became more voluptuous. Her grey hair and eyes became clearer, until an almost silver colour was reached. It was a little hard to notice this due to her having her hair tied up in a ponytail, but it also grew markedly longer. Even her face slightly changed, now having become far, far more beautiful than ever before. It was simply gorgeous and otherworldly, and robbed the spectating Elf of her breath. Ryuu didn’t even get a chance to think about anything before she was captured by this woman’s incredible charm.
With a playful and seductive smirk on her lips, the woman played with her hair and glanced at the waitress uniform that she was still wearing. It felt awfully tight and was at least a size too small now that she had reverted back to her original body. Speaking of, her ‘assets’ seemed dangerously close to bursting the blouse part of her clothing…
“I have never actually worn clothes like these while in this state…”
Compared to before, even her voice was different. Instead of the previous youthful, cheerful tone, it was now far more mature and melodious. Every sentence felt like a rhyme or song that was perfectly calculated to fascinate any and all listeners. After muttering to herself, the woman raised her head to look at Isaac.
“So, are you happy with what you’re seei---”
Before she could finish her teasing words, she fell silent, as she had noticed… that the look in Isaac’s eyes hadn’t changed at all. What was more, now that she wasn’t Syr anymore, she had regained the use of her abilities… and what she saw left her completely baffled. This man… how could he possibly have a Divine Soul!?
A knowing smile played across Isaac’s lips. For a moment, he shot a glance at the spellbound Ryuu, before proceeding to ignore her for now - she wouldn’t be able to escape from this plight for quite a while, it seemed.
“Nice to meet you, Freya. And sorry for raining on your parade like that.”
All manner of stealth and illusions, even Magics that could alter one’s appearance, allowing one to become someone else… they could easily be seen through by Isaac. But he hadn’t even needed to make use of that ability of his. As for his ability to see souls, he also hadn’t needed to depend on that one. Instead, he had only relied on his proficiency with mana to unravel this persona that the goddess in front of him had built up for so many years.
But was Syr really Freya? There was far more to it than just that.