“I guess such a person would be in the palm of your hand, but as long as no solid proof exists of such a person’s identity and whereabouts, no matter whom you tell they wouldn’t be able to do anything, especially if it es for people as despised as .
“That was actually a bit smart ing from you. While it is true that lots of people have spent years trying to discredit us, so if I was to publish said story, they might not fully believe me, but I want you to stop for a sed and imagine how all those people are currently feeling.
They are all incredibly angry and are looking for something to point their a, so I am sure, even if they wouldn’t want to believe me if I gave them a ving story they would look into it, especially if they have a dire to go in.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Holding out her hand an Omega butterfly nds on it. “Do you know what this is?”
“It is an omega butterfly; you use it to send news across the world.”
“That is correct, this wonderbeast is an incredibly useful one whi has monopolised, but it has quite a few other funs, you see this beautiful beast record images, thehose imagio other butterflies, and this eime I have been rec an image of your face. So now all your enemies have something to look out for.”
Crap, she got me, my guard was too low this eime. “And you see while we were in Basileia this thing caught an image of a rge horned wonderbeast, the one all the prisoners escaped with.”
She must mean Willow the 2nd.
“So you see, we have spent quite a lot of time trying to track down said wonderbeast. Every day for the st week or so, we found said wonder beast running bad forth from around the easternmost part of Terrafide. And after following it back, we eventually found this pretty amazing cave system underground, you believe it!”
My facial expression grows grim, as I finally realize how badly I have messed up.
“So now, I have your identity, proof that links you to the Basileia i, and the location of your base, all of which I could give to who knows hoeople. All of which would be ing after the Basileia crystals in your possession.”
Think Orb, there must be something you use against her. As I am about to say something in response she interrupts me with, “You think I was dohere is still one more yer of trol that I have over you.
Seirei, the spirit nation, has beey crazy the st few days because a rather dangerous person has been taken out of the try. So Seirei has now put out a notice, that if you spot two boys whose descriptions match yours and Cyrus’s perfectly, they should be put under arrest as criminals in that nation.
They have even been sending representatives to harass the church of the messiah in Deno because apparently one of the boys where wearing church robes, so I am sure they think this is one giant ploy against them.”
“But they have nothing to do with this.”
“So did the workers at Basileia who were turned into sves because of the events that took pce.”
I am uo respond to her words.
“Now that I have fialking about what was just on my head, we get back to our main discussion, Orb what you offer me for my help in finding this missing sister?”
I have nothi, no information of any worth that I could give to her, she has plete trol over this whole versation.
“Oh, nothing, I thought that was abht, but since you have no information, I would like it if you were to offer me something with a bit more real value.”
“You couldn’t mean.”
“Yes, I do, Basileia crystals. Specifically, I want you to sell them for me and then I want y pert of the profits.”
“y pert. That’s too much.”
“You don’t seem to uand the situation you’re currently in Orb, you have no leverage in this versation, the fact that I am giving you any is something you should be thankful for, I could ask you for a hundred pert of the profits and you couldn’t say a thing about it, that is how much power I have over you in this instant. And the fact that you ’t uand that has upset me, so I will be taking y-five pert of the profits now.”
“But-.”
“Ah, ah, ah, no pining or do you wao take y-eight pert. But to be ho, if you just abandon all your friends and run away to Fimbulwinter I will have no leverage again.”
“I ’t do that.”
“I know that, so what do you have to say to our deal,” she says stretg her hand out.
Dammit, I have been utterly defeated, I am so sorry everyone, even after I said I will take responsibility for all of you, I couldn’t work it out at all. I have no other option than to agree so I stretch my hand out to accept said deal.
As our hand are about to touch, she takes her hand and pces it on my head saying, “So how was your first defeat Orb, I am sure all that mispced fidence came from the fact that no one has ever beaten you before. But I, a non-batant have pletely left you at my mercy.”
As she says this my frustration grows even more, and I say, “You only won because you were being unfair.”
“You see this is why adults are scary, they will use all their knowledge and influeo extort kids like you without a sed thought. Adults have no cept of what you refer to as fair, and now you have ended up in a situation where all the lives under you could be ruined.”
“So is this your form of taking pity on me.”
“Yes, but also no, I don’t feel like just helping you for free anymore, so I will offer you an alternative solution, do you accept?”
“ I hear it first?”
“But it is either this or the y-five pert option.”
“I would still like to hear it.”
She clicks her to my suggestion, then says, “Ok then, mister buzz kill I would like you to bey son.”
“Huh, why?”
“You see Orb, I happen to love little kids,” she says with a pletely serious expression.
“You really aren’t taking this seriously, is it really that fun to mess with me?”
“I AM SERIOUS, kids are cute, adorable, wholesome, don’t hold malice, try their best, and give love unditionally, all kids what deep down inside is to be loved and I will provide that, no matter how or who they are: dumb, smart, fat, skinny, boy, girl, I will always be there for them, because they exist. Children are god’s gift to this world.” Ai drools as she gives me this speech.
I think I am starting to see why Capti didn’t marry this woman. She is frightening me again but in a pletely different way than before. All my senses are tellio run at full speed.
“So, you know Orb, that also extends to you. Your extremely cute Orb and I nee-want you to be my son, and if you have any other pretty little friends, I adopt them too. Any child who has e under my prote is always in an unending state of happiness.”
She trapped me from the beginning, this was all a way for her to force me to accept this, she really has gohis far to make sure I bee hers, what a psychopath, I really, really don’t want to be anywhere close to this woman, but I don’t have the opportunity to dee, she has me pletely backed into a er.
“So, Orb how about it.”
Begrudgingly I say, “I accep-.”
“Orb, are you ok?” I hear a familiar voice say.
Looking over to my side I see Suzuka. “What are you doing here?”
“Your thoughts have been going crazy for a while, so when I started feelier I decided to e che you.”
Seeing Suzuka, I immediately give her a hug and rub up oails. “Orb what are you doing.”
“Sorry Suzuka, I just needed some fort from this evil woman behind me.”
“Do you wao beat her up for you?”
“No need, she already has both of us utterly defeated.”
Turning around I say, “Sorry about that.” But to my surprise, I see Ai pletely dumbstruck with water dripping from her mouth and tears falling down her face. “Are you ok?”
“That girl is a goddess. She is the most adorable child I have seen in decades. Orb who is she?”
“This is one of my many friends Suzuka Gozen, the said important person from Seirei.”
Standing up and smming her hands against the table she says, “No way if a child this cute was in Seirei the other member of would have reported it to me, I swear they have not been telling me about all the cute childrely.”
Looking at her face, I uand what is going on, the other members of probably didn’t tell her what Suzuka looked like, because they are aware of her behaviod bless those people.
“Hi there Suzuka, my name is Ai Kumo, would you like to be friends,” she says while trying to touch Suzuka.
Knog her hand, Suzuka gres at her, and says, “You almost reduced Orb to tears, you think you do that and touch me, vile woman.”
“But I.”
“Get away from me this instant you bitch.”
Despairing at Suzuka’s words, Ai flops back down oable. Seeing all this has given me an idea, so I whisper into Suzuka’s ear, “Follow my lead.”
“Ok, Orb.”
So Sitting down I say to Ai, “So let’s tinue our versation from before.”
“Ok then,” she says barely springing herself back to life. But as she gets up, she sees a sight that gets her to ask me, “Orb, what the hell are you doing.”
“It is just that you have really tired me out, so I o recharge by rubbing up on Suzuka’s tails, aww, the softruly is unparalleled, it is like a cloud given form.”
Ai for the first time, today has a look of defeat which re-energises me. Grittieeth she says, “So, Orb, do you agree to my deal?”
“Wait a sed, let me enjoy Suzuka’s tails a bit more.”
Taking g her, I see she is biting down oeeth and gripping her fist so hard that blood is ing out, that’s the level of jealousy I want to see. “Suzuka is such a nice girl allowio do this. Getting to touch her tail like this makes me feel so happy, especially sihe only people allowed to do this are her friends, and the friends of her friends. Isn’t that right Suzuka.”
Taking a sed to read my mind, Suzuka says, “Of course it is Orb.”
Hearing this Ai perks up and says, “Orb me and you are friends right, so I touch her tail.”
“Since when have you and I bee friends.”
“Then will you bey friend?”
“You think my friendship is that cheap, if you really want to bee friends with me you will have to pay ae price.”
“Then I will give you -sor- lupas.”
“Not, good, enough.”
“Then what do you want.”
“Oh, you know what I want, and just to make me happy, you better throw in a bit extra.” As she sits there pting what I said, all I think is: this is going to be fun.
