75 Chapter 20.5 extra : Mind Games (2/2)

”This mask,” I began, letting my fingers run the length of it from my ears and to my face. ”Emis said a blindfold would have fit me better as a mask because of my master...”

”B-blindfold?— Faram?”

”Yea, correct! But Emis later decided that its best to make it look like a crown because of my lineage!”

He puffed out air, ”I knew it! You're the long lost lady of Greenrun of the Seven Kingdoms! I thought it fits the appearance.” He says, eyes measuring me. He sweeps his gaze from my chest and then down to my feet. ”Years has been kind to you, so it seems!” He snickered.

He sit comfortably down his feet. ”I ain't afraid of you, laddie. I have long been catching purebloods, both Light and dark magus alike! I am the great Gyro. My collection is second to none! I've been doing this for twenty years and counting!”

I just smiled at him, ”With all due respect, Mr. Gyro. Let me introduce myself properly this time then, I am Aerrandria Leingod, Faram's apprentice.” I stuck my tongue out and a symbol of zero appears in black and crimson light before fading away. I grinned at him and continued, ”I'm the zeroth member of Ouboros. I'm fifteen years old and as you can see, I am a dark magus. It seems the experience gap between us is far different. So, instead of fighting with violence I suggest something else... Shall we play a game?”

”A game?” he muses, one brow up.

I swayed my hand and all the creatures around us crawled back to the corner-most areas of the alley until they disappear from sight.

”I made a deal with the guys in Ouboros so that if you win, you can do what you want with me. I won't even bother to resist. And the people I made a deal with will have to accept you as their Meister too. That includes Aide, Emis, Scias and even Faram.” I explained, sitting on my heels.

I can see Gyro's eyes sparkling in delight at my offer.

”But— if you lost. You will give me all the information I need and you will promise to become our confidant from here on out. Deal?”

I just calmly returned his steady gaze as he smirked.

”Alright. Deal!”

Such confidence. He didn't even ask what the game is about. He'll likely bail out for sure.

”The game is to bet using our fingers. So that means we have ten rounds. The first to lose all the fingers wins!”

His eyes widened like an owl.

I bursted out laughing. ”It was just a joke! A joke!You're too serious, geez!”

He crunched his brows at me.

”The game is pretty simple. I'll tell five outrageous statements and you try to tell me if I'm telling the truth or not! You only need three correct answers to win the game.”

He bursted into laughter. ”I know this game! It's the one Cerguz loves to play! You really are the child he abducted before! I can't believe this! Hahahaha!!!”

”I'm not done telling the mechanics yet, be patient silly!” I beamed at him. ”Come on, sit down please?”

He flustered at the sight of me smiling sweetly and sat back down.

”I heard there's a pureblood you once collected that can help you win games like this. He's a wielder who can tell lies. What is his name again?”

Gyro's eyes sparked when he answered as if reliving that moment, his first kill. ”Rial. He's a Sol descendant. His ability has helped me through a lot, that's why I made sure I kept his momento alive with me. I immortalized him with this!” He shows me his pendant with pride.

”That's nice. I have a precious thing with me too!” I showed him my anklet. ”It's nice to carry some with us, huh?”

”Yes. It truly is.” He says, shoulders loosen. He's relaxing to me. ”It's actually... splendid.” The menacing look in his eyes returns as he veered his eyes on me. ”I can immortalize you too. Tell me, what is your ability? Are you a wielder or a transmuter? I won't ruin that face, I promise. It has to be handled with utmost caution. Oh, I know! I'll keep your head in a container and keep you at the center of my bedroom, that way, I can see you everytime I go to sleep! It would be a wonderful thing! We can spend eternity together!”

I shook my head ”Let's start the game so we can see which victor can enjoy the prize later!” I told him with a grin.

”Alright!” He says now, his face returns to that calm decent-looking guy with a gentle aura. He's too excited and confident now.

I watch him as he walk closer to me and take his necklace off; he puts the pendant down in the space between us.

”Let's begin.” I stated. He nods with a cordial smile. He's too cooperating that it makes me want to laugh.

I raised my hand and stretched my fingers open. ”Five fingers means five statements. You guess if I'm telling the truth or if I'm lying. After that, I'll touch the stone so you can check if you're correct! Remember, you only need three correct answers to win the game!”

”Let's do a test run” he suggests.

”Of course!” I gave him another sweet smile. ”For the test run. Here's my statement: I truly and genuinely believe I will win this game and you will lose and try to run away. By then will I cut both your feet off and poke your chest with my finger. I'll dig my nail through that ribcage, twisting and screwing it deeper until I can feel your heart. And then I'll pierce a hole inside it and finally take my finger out.”

His lips parted open, obviously taken aback.

I just tilted my head and kept my smile on, ”Truth or lie?”

He snaps back and chortles, ”You said you truly and genuinely believe, huh? It's the truth.” He answered with aplomb.

”I'm telling the truth.” I lightly touched the yellow pendant and nothing happens.

The pendant only changes color if it senses you're lying.

He laughs again but I can see sweat begins to roll from his forehead.

”Let's start the real game.” I said as he sat up straight and I mirrored him.

I held my fingers out, showing it to him as I curled my thumb close. ”First statement: I didn't expect to meet you today at all. It's a complete fortuitous event, perhaps even a fateful encounter! I have been long looking for you after all! But you were too good to hide your tracks! I wasn't able to track you at all! So when I came to this town, I didn't know you're here. So, I didn't plan everything like it happened now. I didn't expected you will take me to this alley. I didn't expected you will agree to play this game. I didn't knew anything at all. It was all by chance. All my calculations were wrong.”

The smile in his lips sank down and he eyed me tentatively as I had him in my focus. I can see the Adam's apple of his throat go up and down as he clears his throat. ”You're... lying.” And it dreaded him saying it. He looks as if he wants to be proven wrong.

”I'm telling the truth.” I just poked the pendant and it changes to a dark shade of brown.

The pendant changes color if it senses you're lying, that means everything I said just now is a bluff. It's actually the exact opposite. Everything that happened today was as expected.

”You're correct!” I told him with a smile. ”You should be celebrating! You only need two correct answers left!”

”Just... keep going.” He murmured in a husky tone.

I closed my eyes and remembered my previous life this time. I curled my index finger close and when my lids open, I saw the life I lived before, ”Second statement: Back then, I have a simple life.” I began, as if narrating my memories. ”I'm an only child and I only lived with my mother who works countless jobs to support me.”

There was a long pause.

This tells me he knows about my real background back in Greenrun. He had his eyes on me too but perhaps because of the nature of our continent, it was hard for him to slip in and meet me or my brother. ”Truth or lie?” I broke the silence.

”Y-you're telling the truth.”

He chose to dodge that matter.

”I'm telling the truth.” I poke the pendant and nothing happened.

Gyro looks genuinely confused but he didn't said anything.

He has a big ego and takes pride in his hobby of collecting purebloods. For him, it's his life. It means everything. So to acknowledge that I had become his target yet failed, would discredit his name and reputation as an infamous Collector. He will never admit it.

He will never question that statement.

”You're correct!” I said. ”One more and you win! I better take this seriously now, huh?”

He looks uncomfortable at my words.

I curled my middle finger down, ”Third statement: I'm a Null caster. I'm also a Shadowmancer... And I'm a warlock. I can switch between these different types of dark element because I have mastered them all.”

”Impossible!” He bolted up from sitting. ”No one can switch to different types of element. Not a light nor a dark magus can do that! No human can do that! Lies! It's like you're saying you can change your ethnicity whenever you want! It's far Impossible! You're lying!”

”I'm telling the truth.” I poke the pendant and nothing happens; this confirms my revelation.

”Impossible!” He repeated, looking rattled and at lost.

”Sit down, Mr. Gyro. Let's keep going! I have two more statements and you only need one correct guess to win.”

He sat back down but I can see his eyes are out of focus.

I curled my ring finger down, ”Fourth Statement: I am the Meister of every elite mercenary in Ouboros. Claude, Faram, Aide... and everybody are following me and all my whims!”

I watch his face transitions to pale colors, ”Y-you're telling the truth.”

”I'm telling the truth.” I poke the pendant and it immediately changes colors, indicating that the statement is false.

”Of course, I'm not all their Meister!” I laughed. ”Not all of them!”

Gyro lets out a deep and long exhale. His hands, stretching up to his head but he tries his best to hide the anxiety he's feeling. He nudges his glasses up as though he can hide the clouded look in his eyes behind those frames.

”This is enough! This game is a joke! You changed my pendant! You—!”

”Last one statement!” I stated, curling my last finger down, closing my hand into a fist. ”I'm telling the truth on this one. It was raining hard that day and I didn't notice the two bright lights. Before I know it, everything felt empty. I was someone and then... I was gone.” I pivot my hand before my eyes as it slowly turns to black. The tips of my fingers became sharp and I showed it Gyro. ”No one was able to save me then. No flashbacks; no nothing! That was... the moment I died.”

Gyro's paleness returned color. The confidence inside him flickered back like a switch. ”You are lying!” He says, grabbing the pendant and springing up to his feet. ”Hah! I won!”

”I'm telling the truth...” I stood up as well and just touched the stone as he pulls it up before my eyes. I watch his facial reaction turn upside down as though I watched all the color of his face washed away while he sees the pendant didn't change in color.

”Like I said, I'm telling the truth!” I repeated.

”You're cheating!” He yells

”Yes, I am cheating.” He sees the pendant changes in color as I said the words, indicating that he's wrong with his snide remarks. Though deep down, he knew very well by now that I never cheated and I have been telling the truth all this time and he believes it but he can't comprehend it. He had that pendant far too long, it won't make a mistake. It never did, not even once. So he's baffled at this sudden turn of events; his mind can't keep up.

I stepped away from him and just looked up at him as our gazes met.

”No running... Keep your words and you get to keep your feet.” I told him with a straight face.

He hid the pendant back to his pocket. I can see his other fist clench tightly until it goes white. He wants to fight back, he wants to try me. But from the game, I already sent all the messages I want him to understand.

”The Dyllan clan moved away after their two daughters were taken. They hid away in the woodland area on the far north. The chieftain and his wife no longer had any pureblood children after the incident of the kidnapping. I lost track of them eventually and I let them be because they didn't seem to be interesting to monitor anymore.”

”The last time you heard or tracked them, where did they live?”

”Woodland area on the far north! Are you not listening?”

I didn't answer and just sent him a cold glare.

”I-it's the Saeres Valley. They're somewhere there. If I were you, you'll have to look for a cave called the Vale of Saeres. There's a chasm inside it, like a great split in the walls. It's a passage that can take you to a hidden lagoon with a small woodland where the Dyllan clan resides. But like I said, that was few years back, I'm not sure now if they're still living in that place!”

”How many years are we talking?”

”About one to two years ago.” He replied, I watched him and all his movements. He just seem like he wants to get out of this place.

”Good enough!” I curled a finger under my chin. ”We'll check on it. Thanks for the info, Mr. Gyro!”

He just sighs in exasperation.

”From now on, you're our informant. But we'll gladly accept any job you can offer us as long as it doesn't involve abduction, human trafficking and slave trading! I hope to keep a nice relation with you!” I beamed at him, reaching a hand over.

”Bah! Whatever...” he muttered but took my handshake anyways. ”Don't I get anything out of this in return? If you want to keep this deal going, laddie, you must...”

”Alright!” I cut him off even before he can finish. ”Here's a gift!”

I showed him a black eye-mask.

”It's a mask with an enchantment called Deadman's Regret! You can have it.”

”What does this do?”

”It can make the wearer say profound things no body on their right mind can say...” I took my own mask off and wore the other one.

Gyro just watched me curiously.

Like before, the familiar surge of confidence bursted out of my mouth, ”Grovel before me and kiss my foot, you piece of worm!!!”

Gyro blushes and his eyes sparkled, ”I would love to, my goddess! I'm all yours!!!!” He flew his hands open and jumps towards me.

Hm. That wasn't as bad as the last time I used this.

I took the mask off and swings a fist at him just as he drew closer. His face met my knuckles and he went smashing to the wall in a loud thud.

”So do you want it or not?” I asked, watching him coolly.

”I want it!!!” He says with enthusiasm, pulling away from the wall. ”Thank you, my beautiful goddess! I shall await for your return!”

His eyes would've practically twinkled in hearts if he could.

”Well then, this had been fun. Bye, Mr. Gyro!” I pushed at my heels and leaped off from the ground.

I landed at the top of the wall and saw Gyro waving merrily at me from down below. I turned and hoped to the next roof of the building, gliding and dashing across until I reached the Mugcart Tavern at the other end of the road, just near the main gates of the town.

”Done already?” Aide asks, as I landed on my toes, facing her while she perched by a wall.

”Yup. Got the information I need! Where are the others?”

”Emis is inside, picking fights again. Scias is waiting for us by the gates!”

As if on cue, Emis steps out the Tavern with a satisfied look on her face. ”I'm so full!” she rubs her belly.

”Won't you ask where Faram is?” Aide chuckles, crossing her arms together and one feet behind the other.

”No need. I know exactly where he is. He's been following me around all day. He didn't mask his presence very well.” I answered, trying not to laugh. I turned my head over my shoulder and smiled at the guy who just appeared behind me. ”Right, Faram?” I grinned profoundly at him.

He just sighed, shaking his head. ”For someone who thinks she did well, you forgot something back there.” He shoves a bag of candy over to me.

”Hey! I did forgot about that! Thank you!!!” I cheered, opening the candy to put one inside my mouth.

”You always loved sweets, huh? You never changed!” Emis laughs.

”So, are we leaving now?” I asked, trying to hand the bag of candy around but they all declined. Oh well, more for me then!

”Yeah, we're heading to the Libera Kingdom first. Someone wants to hire us for a special courier service. It seems like a feud is going with some nobles.” Aide uttered, opening the map. ”And guess who the other side hired!”

”Claude's group, I bet.” I answered, a finger curled under my lips.

Aide nods, ”Yeah, I heard it's all four of them plus two other young adventurers.”

”It seems this will be a riot then!” Emis says in a cheerful tone. ”How exciting!”

”After the job, we can head next to the Saeres Valley” Faram adds.

”It's a plan! Scias is waiting by the gates, we better go before he begins to nag about it later!” Aide concluded, stepping off from the wall she was perching on to.

”Alright! Let's moved out!” I stated, putting back my mask on.

I can't wait to meet up with the guys! I thought, as we all begin to walk away.

Wait, did Aide said two adventures just now? I'm surprise Claude accepted a job where he shares it with weaker allies on his back, unless he knows the two.

How curious, I wonder who they are?

———End of Ch. 20.5 [EXTRA]———