Chapter 193: Talk with an Angel 1
Chapter 193: Talk with an Angel 1
I took out some magic books and arranged them on a desk to make it look like I'd been studying.
When I felt that the female puppet's presence was near, I acted as if I was studying to fool the puppet's perception.
Although the puppet is connected to a powerful Higher Entity, she can only use a small fraction of her true power due to the restrictions of traveling to a lower world, thus my perception abilities are superior to the two puppets.
When the puppet was close I felt a subtle aura that checked the interior of the room. This aura was light and harmless but I still frowned as if my hero skills let me feel that someone is watching me.
The aura receded as I went on guard and after a couple of seconds, there was a knock on my door.
With stealthy movements, I took out a magic sword from my Rasen Dimension like a magic inventory and approached the door. This sword is rubbish compared to Tsubaki, but hey, she's not mad that I'm holding another sword so it's fine.
"Ryou-sama, can I talk to you?" – The voice of the female puppet sounded on the other side of the door.
Since I showed myself to be a friendly person who is easy to befriend most people call me by my 'first name' and not my last name, although I wish they wouldn't call me with Japanese honorifics either since we are in a world based on Medieval Europe…
I took a moment and then slightly opened the door while my hand still held the sword.
When my eyes met the female puppet, I showed relief and put the sword back in my inventory. All this was not seen by the eyes of the puppet, but she felt my movements so I showed that I have a certain level of trust in her.
I smiled amiably as I opened the door to let the puppet through. – "Has Vysis-sama requested to see me?"
The puppet shook her head gently and entered my room. – "Personally I want to talk to Ryou-sama… But first I need to check something"
I closed the door after she walked in and watched as she walked over to my desk. She removed the magic books and began to arrange two artifacts on the table.
The first artifact was a gold-lettered scroll, a low-level contract with little to no cheats.
The second artifact was a double-pan balance made of gold. On the two measuring sides of the balance were feathers, one white and the other black.
"It's BB-chan's Teachable Moment!" -BB yelled loudly in my mind.
"Shut up, it's my job to be the one to explain!" – System Goddess yelled angrily.
"I want to be the NPC that gives explanations!" – BB started acting like a spoiled child.
"I said shut up!" – System Goddess was furious.
"Wa, senpai, this woman is bullying me, you must protect your cute and defenseless kouhai~" – BB made false crying sounds.
I ignored BB and talked to System Goddess. – "What is that double-pan balance?"
"SEEEEEEENPAAAAAAAAAAAAAI!" - I ignored BB's yell.
System Goddess flashed a smug smile of self-satisfaction. – "This balance can check the sins and virtues of an entity, it is not based on the value of Karma but on the concepts 'Sin' and 'Virtue' within the actions"
"It is a harmless artifact used to determine how many 'bad' and 'good' things you have done in your life according to the perception of Good and Evil, but you should not worry, even if you have done horrible things, your good deeds in saving two worlds make up for all your sins" – System Goddess finished her explanation.
This female alchemist is more trustworthy than BB.
"Senpai is a cheater, senpai is a genocidal lolicon who steals wives, but he still has the label of a good person while I am seen as a monster just for doing little mischief..." - BB sighed with false indignation as if she was the victim of an injustice.
I ignored the women in my mind and waited for the puppet to arrange the artifacts.
"To begin with, I hope you can sign this confidentiality agreement" – The puppet showed me the contract with a respectful attitude.
[System Notification: The skill 'Paranoia' finds no danger in seeing the contract]
"A magical contract?" - I looked at the parchment with a doubtful expression.
"It's an existence contract" - The puppet spoke in a monotone voice. – "Magic contracts are contracts of the lowest level, followed by soul contracts, and at the top are existence contracts… It is complex to explain, but you can understand that this contract is capable of binding both mortals and gods "
This woman is too sincere, now I understand why the idealistic faction is a joke.
I accepted the scroll and checked the contents with [Silly Jack].
[Low Tier Contract: Secret Talk
The entity 'Seraph' and the user will have a peaceful talk where all questions must be answered truthfully, although it is possible to refuse to answer. During the talk, all acts of violence, mental manipulation, spiritual control, and lies are prohibited.
At the end of this chat, both parties will be prohibited from discussing the content of the chat with other entities under a seal of confidentiality.
Warning: Whoever breaks this contract will lose their memories of any matter discussed during the talk]
The content of the contract was identical to what [Silly Jack] found. I was uncomfortable with such honesty, but it's expected from the faction of idealistic idiots.
I showed a confused expression. – "A secret talk?"
The puppet nodded. – "What I want to talk to Ryou-sama is a very important matter so I will need you to sign this contract for security reasons"
Does the idealist faction wish to recruit me?
Do they wish to use the 'Holy Sword' to push the Dimensional Gate away from the racist faction?
Do they suspect that I'm Seiji?
There are many possibilities, but at the same time, I have many options…
Looks like I'll have to make adjustments to my plans.
I smiled wryly and pressed my thumb on the signature part.
[System Notification: The 'Secret Talk' contract has been accepted. During the next talk, the user is prohibited from lying and the skill 'Mythomania' will be sealed]
[System Notification: The energy 'Resen' and the skill 'Stand: Libera Me From Hell' have removed the seal. The skill 'Mythomania' can be used]
I thought of using mind games to trick the entity without using [Mythomania] but my stand is a wonderful skill.
I sighed heavily and had [Anti-Rasen] cover the room to prevent any detection or espionage skills.
The puppet stared blankly at me, but it was clear that she is on alert to defend herself in case I want to attack since what I just did is something a newly summoned hero shouldn't be able to accomplish.
I smiled wryly and took out a couple of crystal glasses. - "Do you want something to drink? I have different spirits, fruit juice, coffee, tea, or almost any drink you want within the limits of a mortal entity"
The puppet didn't answer me and just watched my movements.
There is a small area with two sofas and a glass table ideal for conversations, I took a seat and drank coffee while my appearance changed. – "Well, miss, it is a pleasure to meet you, my name is Ichijo Seiji"
The puppet stared at me and after a few seconds of contemplation she sat down in front of me while her appearance changed.
Although her appearance is that of an ordinary woman with nothing remarkable, that appearance changed to show a beautiful blonde woman who could only be defined as a goddess of beauty.
From what I've seen, to synchronize the puppet with the puppeteer it is mandatory that the puppet has the same appearance as the Higher Entity so she has been using illusion magic to hide her true appearance, although that is useless since [Reader's Madness] allows me to see through illusions and lies.
As for why she did that, it's simple, it would be strange if the servant of a goddess of beauty was more beautiful than the goddess herself.
The female puppet calmly accepted a cup of tea. – "As she says in the contract, my name is Seraph, it is a common name where I come from so I hope you do not mind"
(Author's Note: Seraph from the manhwa/novel Memorize)
I smiled wryly. – "Do the agents of Paradise use ranks as names? And I thought that I lack the creativity to give a name…"
Seraph let out a soft sigh. – "It seems that you know a lot about us… Well, it is what was expected of a hero with three worlds of experience who is also a resident of a world like Gaia"
I paused for a second and smiled bitterly. – "Great, my pretentious act was just ruined, thanks…"
It seems that Paradise bought information about me from Gaia… Stupid Will of the World, you are supposed to cover my back, not sell me to the highest bidder…
"To tell the truth we have been trying to contact you, but it is difficult since there are many eyes watching your every move" – Seraph seemed to find my bitterness amusing, but she makes an effort to hide her emotions under a mask of calm and indifference.
"I know" - I sighed. – "Heroes everywhere, reincarnated making disasters, now there are even angels from Paradise… It is unpleasant to be popular"
Seraph showed a subtle look of sadness. – "We did not want things to become like this, my holy lady wanted to colonize this world by peaceful means while peaceful coexistence between intelligent races was achieved, but unfortunately the rivals of my holy lady discovered this world and began to use its resources to drive the human nations to the point of pushing the other races to the brink of the abyss…"
A cliché story of an idealist who discovers a treasure to help the world, but an egoist arrives to take advantage of said treasure for his own benefit.
"Neee senpai~" – BB started making annoying noises. – "I think I know who the leader of this woman is~ I can give you some advice, if she is who I think she is, then it is convenient for you to establish an alliance with her since she is more reliable than Gaia… Although senpai will have to avoid doing bad things or that woman will seek to punish senpai~"
I sighed, this damn girl only gives me information when she feels like it...
System Goddess doesn't know the hierarchy of Paradise so she couldn't tell me what I need, everything is troublesome.
Seraph continued to tell a tragic story of how her leader was in anguish over the war situation in this world, but those were unimportant matters so I interrupted her.
"Don't assume the role of victim, even if your holy lady wanted to help this world, the reality is that this world is a mess because of what you did" - I frowned adopting an attitude of indignation like an impulsive moralist.
Seraph frowned slightly as I pointed out the responsibility her leader had in this conflict. – "What are you going to know about responsibilities? You have worsened the situation of the war while my holy lady only wants to help this world because without powerful support this world will become a factory of soldiers which will only bring pain and suffering to innocent entities"
I relaxed my expression a bit but still showed anger. – "Did I make the war worse? Then what should I do? Stand by while innocent people are killed?
I stood up angrily. – "Should I allow women to be raped in front of their children just because they are not human?! Should I pretend I don't see how Inhumans are captured to be used as toys?!"
Serafin looked away. It is painful to witness the injustices of the world when you have a conscience, that's why people are indifferent, to be happy.
I clenched my fists in anger, directed not at Seraph or her leader, but at the injustices of the world. – "I fight on behalf of those who cannot fight, that is why I am a hero!"
[System Notification: The skill 'Mythomania' has circumvented the rule of telling the truth]
I took a deep breath to calm myself and sat back down in frustration.
Seraph was silent for a few seconds until he finally looked back at me. – "It is true that you have protected the non-human races and for that, both my holy lady and I are grateful to you, if it were not for your arrival it would have been impossible to stop the actions of my holy lady's rivals…"
"Hey Listen! You already have her, champion! Now force her to do all fours and spank her holy ass until she does an ahegao!"
I ignored the stupid things in my mind and relaxed my angry expression. – "I think I overdid it, it is as you say, this happened for external reasons while you and your holy lady only have good intentions"
Seraph relaxed a bit when she saw that I am understanding. - "Thanks for understanding"
I smiled more friendly and poured her more tea. – "To tell the truth, I found out about the conflict between the two factions of Paradise, so I have been looking for how to contact you since I cannot protect this world with my strength alone"
Seraph nodded. – "Your achievements so far are amazing, in human years you can hardly be called an adult, but even so, you have saved two worlds while you have been able to stop the advances of the heroes sent by one of the largest organizations in the multiverse, without doubt, you have a good inheritance…"
Seraph spoke admiringly without showing disbelief.
Normally it would be very eye-catching that a newborn hero like me could have so many achievements in just one year, but I have one advantage to justify my achievements, the legacy of the hero Ryuu Ichijo.
Although I haven't been able to thoroughly research the ancestor of the Ichijo family, I have a theory that he was an important figure in the multiverse.
This theory was reinforced by Seraph's comment.
I showed curiosity. - "Inheritance? What inheritance?"
Seraph showed a subtle smile. – "Perhaps you do not know it, but your ancestor was an outstanding hero who fought alongside us… Sadly, that hero retired from the battlefields to live as a normal mortal and died of old age"
Although it is frustrating for most people that his achievements are attributed to his parents or ancestors, I am happy that all my achievements are justified because I have an outstanding ancestor. Blessed be the debunking of the effort.
I showed surprise and although I would like this woman to tell me more about ancestor Ichijo to take advantage of his connections, there is something more important.
"Although this talk is nice and I would like to know about my ancestor, there is something I need to know" – I showed seriousness and professionalism. – "What do you need from me?"
Seraph also showed a professional expression. – "Before talking about business, I need to ask you some questions and you must answer me directly with a yes or no, and if I ask you to give an explanation, you have the right to remain silent… Is that clear?"
I nodded. – "It's fine, but you will also have to answer my questions with the same rules"
Seraph nodded and the questions began.
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Author's Note:
[System Notification: The author has ascended in the Dao of Cliff]