Isaac lifted the egg above his head. He smiled widely, unable to hide his joy. The mermaird looked intrigued at Isaac's behavior. She didn't know the difference between eggs. In her eyes, all eggs are the same.
It didn't matter to her.
"Looks like you got what you were looking for. Now, give me that green orange," said the mermaid. Her lips pursed, she couldn't wait to get her hands on the fruit that she said tasted so delicious.
Just as she asked for it, a green orange flew and landed in her hand. The mermaid opened her eyes wide.
"Wow! Special orange!"
She was acting like a child who had just gotten a present.
Having had enough of holding, Isaac quickly put the spiritual beast egg into the inventory. He couldn't linger on exposing it. There was a pair of eyes watching him from behind.
Isaac turned back. He saw the duchess standing there holding her waist. That woman looked at him with piercing eyes. Alyna was a demon. It was easy enough for her to recognize the egg.
Alyna had already seen Byakko in person at the auction. Both of them had the same aura.
"You always bring surprises, Lord Isaac. A spiritual beast egg."
There was no sarcastic tone to Alyna's words, but Isaac was not happy to hear it.
After all, the two of them were not allies. Even though they had been together for the last two days, that didn't mean they were friends. Alyna was a demon. And a demon's nature was to be treacherous. Just like Gavin had done to him in his previous life.
Alyna was the enemy!
"Alright! My business with you guys is done! Goodbye!"
The mermaid dived back into the lake along with the fruit she craved. This time, she would not return to the surface.
That left Isaac and Alyna. Suddenly, the air got colder. The lake water seemed to freeze his feets. The darkness was getting deeper.
The duchess seemed to be waiting for Isaac to come to the shore.
"Do you like to linger in the water? Come here, Lord Isaac."
At the duchess's words, Isaac followed her. He walked over and approached the woman. She stood right in front of him. The two stared at each other. It was as if they knew what was in each other's heads.
Alyna smiled widely. Isaac just looked at her with a flat face.
The man prepared for battle.
"Thanks, these two days have been quite fun."
She hugged him.
'Eh!?'
Isaac opened his eyes wide. He looked confused.
"I thought this would be boring. Instead, I saw something interesting. It turns out that there are many hidden secrets in this game. I think, the longer it goes on, the more fun it gets."
Alyna spoke casually. Isaac looked the opposite, he was frozen. His head was trying to make sense of the current situation. The duchess should have asked him to hand over the spiritual beast egg, but she did not. She even thanked him.
Strange. Unexpected. Hard to understand.
The redhead woman released her embrace. She smiled, then she frowned.
"Hey! Don't be quiet, you're making me look like a weird demon," she scolded.
Isaac gasped. His eyes were still wide open, seeing that the woman before him was a strange creature.
Alyna sighed, her shoulders slumped.
"I see your point."
Her fingers seemed to dance in the air, as if she was pressing something. Not long after, a notification appeared in front of Isaac.
Ding!
[A player sent you an item.]
[134 wyvern eggs]
[Did you receive it?]
[Yes/No]
"I put them in the inventory on purpose. It's not that I wanted to take them or ask for them to be mine. I just don't want to attract monsters. They're annoying."
From the look on her face, Alyna showed absolutely no interest in wyvern eggs or spiritual beasts. She really didn't care. As if they were nothing.
Seeing the way Alyna tried to explain that she was not trying to steal the eggs, made Isaac smile.
He pressed the 'no' option, and Alyna's jaw dropped. The demonesse couldn't hide her surprise.
"What the heck!? Why are you giving me these eggs? You know the price of them, don't you?"
"You can take them. Consider it a reward for helping me get the spiritual beast eggs," Isaac replied casually.
Alyna couldn't take it. She pushed Isaac.
"You know, I haven't declared your ally yet."
"I know," he replied.
Now, it was the woman's turn to wonder. Most demons she had encountered would unquestioningly take everything. They even took what didn't belong to them. Moreover, what Isaac had given her was the wyvern eggs.
One day, they will turn into giant monsters flying in the sky. Bringing terror to mankind. In the shop, one of them was sold for 300,000 zenny. Even though they were C-class monsters.
Giving 134 wyvern eggs to a demon that wasn't an ally was foolish.
That's what Alyna thought.
Once again, Isaac gave her a surprise.
"Giving me these eggs won't make you my ally. You have to get to rank 50 first. I don't take bribes."
Isaac chuckled. "Whatever you think of them. They are yours. It was you who managed to summon this lake mermaid. Also, it was thanks to your unripe fruit that I managed to find the spiritual beast egg."
Alyna squinted, looking at the man with a suspicious gaze. Meanwhile, Isaac was so relaxed. As if he hadn't lost anything.
Finally, the duchess's suspicion was dispelled. A smile crossed her face.
"It's fine if you insist. What can I do?"
Gavin's betrayal had left him deeply traumatized. Resentment, anger, and hatred; those negative emotions blinded and clouded his judgment. Making him thought that every demon was the same.
However, after seeing Alyna today, Isaac changed his mind.
He realized that he could not look at Alyna as Gavin. Although both of them were dukes, they were two different demons. Two different individuals. He could not hit each individual equally.
If he had to be objective. He had to judge a person based on personality and behavior. Just like when he was a dungeon master judging the performance of his monsters.
Isaac must not let his emotions affect his judgment. If he wanted to win this game, he had to be able to differentiate between individuals.
"Anyway, we still have 19 days left. There's still a lot I can do. These wyvern eggs are good, but I think there are better ones out there. Do you have other plans?"
Alyna looked curious about Isaac. She tried not to show that she enjoyed exploring with him. After seeing Isaac find dozens of wyvern eggs and a spiritual beast egg, it wasn't a bad idea to travel with him.
Moreover, a lot of high-level monsters and other demons out there. They must be moving in packs.
On the other hand, it was certainly easy enough for Isaac to understand the woman's intentions. He also needed a back up to help him with his next plan. But before that, he had to make sure of things.
He raised one of his eyebrows, making a face of astonishment.
"What is this? You want us to explore Yggdrasil together? Where are your men."
Alyna sighed, slightly annoyed. "Didn't I tell you yesterday. I got separated from them, when the wyrm horde attacked us. Moskov and Benedict, those two morons ran in different directions."
Isaac forgot about it. Throughout the forest, Alyna talked without pause like a radio. More than half of her words were ignored by him.
Most of the topics she discussed seemed unimportant and the rest sounded interrogative. Of course, he remembered if it was important information; such as special monsters or information he had never heard in his previous life.
"Do you intend to look for them? If so, I don't have time for that," Isaac said bluntly.
Alyna shook her head. "They're adults. I'm sure they can take care of themselves."
"Good, I don't mind if you come with me."
The red-headed woman shrugged while shaking her head. "Aye, aye."
Isaac smiled a little. The two of them soon left the lake.
For some reason, Isaac felt he could rely on Alyna. He didn't know their current relation; whether allies or enemies. The two of them had yet to make a deal. Nevertheless, Isaac could trust her.
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