[I would like it if you would sit down. I did not come here with the intention of resorting to violence. It's quite the opposite, actually. I have come here to make a deal with you.]
Adrian scanned the thing wearing Hazel's body. After some contemplation, he released the tension in his muscles and sat back down.
…of course, that was just a performance.
After thinking a bit more, it was not a good idea to appear too guarded. The opponent would likely try to take advantage of that attitude. As someone had once said, it doesn't matter whether you are strong or weak. What matters is that you appear strong when it matters.
One incarnation of Alisardarc was sitting outside the window, so he could easily teleport at a moment's notice should the need arise. In the end, Adrian didn't need to appear too tense.
More than anything, the bracelet was silent, which meant that he wasn't in any immediate danger.
Looking into the creature's calm eyes, he spoke calmly.
"I believe we should start from the beginning. So, would you mind introducing yourself?"
The creature possessing Hazel's body nodded.
[Of course. An introduction is common courtesy when coming uninvited. As you have likely guessed, I am a Grade Three fragment relic possessing this girl's body. Although I don't really have a name to give you, there is a title people commonly use to refer to me. The One Behind the Veil.]
Adrian froze as he heard the creature's title.
'The One Behind the Veil…'
He knew that title very well. It wasn't only him; almost anyone living in the empire would know this title.
Because this was the title people used to refer to the leader of the criminal organization that's creating chaos throughout the empire, Nebulous Veil.
But of course…
[Simply saying that I am the leader of that organization will probably not mean much to you. You need some sort of proof to believe me, don't you?]
Indeed. Anyone could claim to be the leader of said organization. Nothing was really stopping them. What mattered was whether they could prove those claims.
But…
"No, I don't need any proof. Please continue."
It didn't matter to him whether the creature before him was really the leader of Nebulous Veil. Even if the entity provided proof, Adrian knew that he was still going to remain skeptical and consider both possibilities. So it was just a waste of time in the end.
For the first time, the creature's expression changed, and it began looking at him curiously. It was as though it didn't expect Adrian's response.
After a while, it calmly nodded.
[Fine, suit yourself. As for my business with you…]
It raised its hand and began casting a spell. Moments later, a pouch materialized in the creature's hand.
Adrian narrowed his eyes.
'A materialization spell? Hazel had a derived elemental affinity, so it must be the creature's affinity. But does that mean Grade Three fragment relics have elemental affinities as well?'
The one possessing Hazel's body reached into the pouch and pulled out what appeared to be…
'...A mirror shard? And it looks a bit familiar…'
Without any explanation, the creature pointed the shard's reflective surface toward his face, allowing it to capture Adrian's reflection.
But then, suddenly, Adrian's reflection within the shard grew blurry as grey letters appeared over its reflective surface.
⟦A▮▮▮▮r▮▮▮ o▮ Origin: Immutable⟧
Seeing the familiar letters that he had seen years ago, Adrian frowned.
Apparently, the mirror was no ordinary object but a Grade Two fragment relic that was used to reveal an individual's Origin ability. It was something that all noble families possessed. The commoners had to use the one present in churches.
He looked at the supposed leader of Nebulous Veil.
"I am assuming that you didn't just come here to know my Origin ability."
The creature leaned back in the chair.
[Of course, I wouldn't need to go through all this trouble if my goal was as simple as that. You must be aware of the attacks my organization is carrying out regularly on the noble families. The point of all those attacks is to obtain all the mirror shards in their possession. And that is precisely the reason I am here to meet you.]
Adrian paused.
'If what it's saying is correct…'
Then that would mean that the recent attacks were all happening because the organization wanted to obtain these shards that were in the possession of those noble families.
Words unconsciously slipped through his lips.
"You are out of your mind. You did all that just for such a tiny goal? You must be aware that Nebulous is basically finished. The empire will certainly wipe you out. It's just a matter of time."
The creature let out a sigh.
[It must be a tiny goal to you, but it's quite important to me. So what if the organization gets destroyed? I can just create a new one. Don't try to understand my reasoning; I am a being who is fundamentally different from you. Let's focus on the matter at hand. Now that you know my goal, you can probably guess why I'm here.]
Of course, it didn't need a genius to figure that out.
No matter how strong an organization was, it couldn't hope to attack the ducal families and survive. So, assuming that their goal was to obtain every single mirror shard, they would need to get the ones in the possession of the ducal families as well.
With a direct attack being out of the question, they would most likely need to resort to other methods. Methods such as…
"You want me to bring you the mirror shard that's in the possession of House Ravenshade."
[You are rather quick to catch on. I have already made arrangements with the other two ducal families. I will personally step in to steal the ones in possession of the Valcarion Imperial family. That only leaves House Ravenshade.]
Adrian met the creature's calm gaze and asked in a firm tone.
"What makes you think that I will agree to betray my family and bring you the—"
[House Florivelle is also one of our targets. And unlike House Ravenshade, they don't have the power to defend against us. If you agree to the deal, then we will only steal the shard in their possession without harming them in any way. But should you refuse, we will slaughter every single person living on the estate, including your fiancée's parents. Remember, their blood will be on your hands.]
"..."
[So? What is it going to be?]
He stared at the creature with a frown.
"Are you… threatening me right now?"
[Isn't that obvious?]
Adrian closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Opening them, he spoke firmly.
"If that was all you had, then I am afraid it's not going to work. Even though they may be connected to me through my fiancée, why would I have any sympathy for people I have barely met? You can go ahead and kill them for all I care."
The Florivelle family was under the protection of Rvaenshade. So if anything were to happen to them, then the blood would be on his mother's hands. Besides, it wouldn't really matter to him whether they died or not. At worst, Evangeline would cry for a few months and—
Adrian's thoughts suddenly paused at that point as he internally furrowed his brow.
'Are these… really my own thoughts?'
Adrian had been a rather apathetic individual even before his reincarnation, so he had never really felt much different even after he acquired immutable. He did feel several times that immutable was numbing his emotional response, but he had thought that it was mild at best.
But at this moment, he felt doubt for the first time.
'I have spent a lot of time with Evangeline. She might be the closest person to me aside from Ravian. And although I can't imagine myself getting attached to her enough to give up my life, I do think that I should've gotten attached to her enough to make a small compromise here.'
But the fact that he felt absolutely nothing was most likely caused by immutable's influence.
'But in the end, I don't know. I have no way to know what decision I would've taken without being under immutable's effect.'
Adrian had no way to turn immutable off, so he couldn't know something like that. And he couldn't make a different decision based on just that either.
Just then, the creature who had been lost in thought just like him finally spoke.
[Mmm… it looks like that didn't work. You don't need to worry, though; I wasn't really counting on it to begin with.]
His words brought Adrian out of his thoughts.
The creature then leaned in and spoke while gazing directly into Adrian's eyes.
[Saint of Truth, was it? I know all about what that little cult of yours is trying to do. But you must also know that what you are doing is extremely dangerous. Imagine if the empire were to suddenly learn of everything. Do you think that even the mighty House Ravenshade will be able to save you? Now, does this change your mind, leader of Truthbearers?]
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