When she heard my out-of-the-blue question, Remilia's eyes opened wide and loosened her grip on my collar before pushing me back against the wall.
"You. What did you just ask me?" While wearing an incredulous expression, her face was slowly turning to the same color as her hair. "Can you repeat it?"
So she's this easily flustered. My unwavering eyes observed her every reaction. For someone as strong as her to be flustered at my question, the answer to that is probably 'no'.
That's a start I guess.
I remembered how Yumiko and Jayna reacted when I was talking with her back at that Dark Elven Labyrinth. If I managed to make this girl my Companion, will they be able to get along?
Ah. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, I have to confirm where she stands and get out of here alive.
"I don't believe you failed to hear it clearly… But for your sake, I will repeat it. Are you already in a relationship?" I shrugged and reiterated my question.
With the pressure of her Transcendent Aura loosening up, her mind must've gone into utter chaos. The blush on her face might be out of place if one thinks about how she carried herself as the Blade Monarch but this is a lot better than that cold and expressionless face she showed me before my capture.
"I see. I didn't hear it wrong. How bold of you, Daisuke? Do you not want to live anymore?" To calm herself down, Remilia's lips curved into another smirk as her tantalizing eyes glared at me.
"Not really. I very much want to survive here and go back to my homeworld. My Companions I left behind are waiting for me. But Remilia… I am serious. You can choose not to answer my question and kill me right here, right now. At least I tried, right?" I reached for one of her arms and grabbed it. Feeling the delicate skin as smooth as an unstained glass, I carefully wrapped her fingers around my neck myself.
Although it's quite bold of me to do this, Remilia was still processing what I said, hence, the lack of response.
After a while, her eyes alternated between her hand on my neck and my tranquil eyes that were fixated solely on her. The blush on her face was already gone and what replaced it is her seriousness.
"Daisuke." She started. Although her tone is flat, it's not as cold or as emotionless as before.
"Yes?"
"Where are you getting your confidence from?"
"If I tell you this is not confidence but my way of gambling my life to bet on the slim chance of my guess being correct, will you believe me?"
No matter how confident I am, against an absolute wall of power between the two of us, all schemes were pointless.
"Guess? You're betting your life just for a guess?" She asked with an incredulous look on her face.
"Ah. I heard things so… It's not entirely a wild guess."
And the sources of those things I heard were those two important existences in this world.
"Foolish guy… If I am any other Monarch and you tried this stunt. Forget about going back to your homeworld, you'll instantly die without any part of you remaining to remember by." She shook her head.
"I know. But you're not any other Monarch, Remilia."
"Why are you so sure that I will not hurt you?"
"You could've killed me back there at the fortress. As a Monarch, who would dare question your actions? I ran away to see if you will follow me and you certainly did." I smirked despite her fingers tightening around my neck. "You literally chased after me and carefully put up Energy Screens to isolate this place. You don't want anyone eavesdropping on us."
"If what I said isn't enough to explain why you let me live at this moment and you're truly loyal to the Great One Zaraya, you'll probably try to know the reason why I am still alive and why the World's Will and Great One Illiana moved for my sake." I continued. "But you see… I'm at least 90% sure that you're on the World's Will and Great One Illiana's side."
"Why do you say that? I am here under Great One Zaraya's order and considering you're not a native of this world, you wouldn't know the extent of the Great Ones' power."
"Correct. I'm still a frog at the bottom of the well at this moment. And even if I ask, I will not understand anything. However, think about it… If you're loyal to the Great One Zaraya, given that you immediately answered to the World's Will's command to capture me, he should've known my existence as well as the reason for the Great One Illiana's sudden Decree."
When my words ended and it got delivered to her ears for her to process. Remilia's face relaxed.
A calm and serene expression replaced the incredulous expression she had from earlier.
After a deep sigh, Remilia completely relieved me from her Transcendent Aura. Her hand also fixed itself. From my neck, it settled itself on my cheek, cupping it with her palm. Feeling that warmth coming off her palm, I couldn't help but continue observing the woman in front of me.
There's no doubt, I'm attracted to her. Maybe even if she turned out to be an enemy, I will continue pursuing her all the same. Just that, I needed sufficient strength to do that.
In any case, I'm confident that my guess is correct about her. So what I just said might not happen. The question is… is her interest in me reached the same extent as mine? Perhaps not.
A few minutes of silence passed. Remilia and I were stuck in the same spot and the same situation. Perhaps, she's processing everything that I told her and because of that, her eyes gradually closed.
When it opened again, the slight trembling in her eyes as she deliberated on what to do was now gone. Replacing it is the same glint when I first saw her in flesh. After another sigh, she then looked straight at me.
"… What else can I say? I'm not wrong about my judgement about you. You certainly interest me… You're correct. I'm a sleeper personnel of the Great One Illiana and the World's Will inside Great One Zaraya's clique."
"Then-"
Before I could continue, she placed her forefinger over my lips, blocking me from speaking further.
"Stop. I don't want to know about who you really are or how important you are anymore. The less I know the better for their cause. And you better not try to know about my circumstances as well. At the surface, I'm a follower of the Great One Zaraya."
I see. She's this careful. I guess that's natural. One wrong move and she will be outed. Even if Illiana went out of her way to save her, Remilia might not risk it. Perhaps, that's also the reason why she brought me in that Irreverent Dungeon instead of somewhere near the eyes of Zaraya.
"I understand. If that's what you wish. Confirming where you stand is enough.
"You're sensible at least. However, Daisuke… Can you tell me? Why are you here in this Dimensional Space?"
"I needed to act the part of being a freed Transcendent. When my seven days is up, someone will send me back to the Mortal World." I honestly said. If I want to build trust with her then it's better to start telling more truths than lies.
Upon hearing my answer, Remilia removed her hand on my cheek and put it on her forehead. Almost facepalming.
"Are you sure about this? You're ready to die earlier but now… You easily give away your current circumstances after a few words with me… I don't know if you're clever or just plain stupid."
Perhaps this is always the case. I keep doing something stupid when it comes to those I'm interested in. Just like what I did with Fleur. However, it's not like I never think about possible consequences for my actions.
"I already thought of all the possibilities and it all pointed to you telling me the truth about your being someone at the World's Will and Great One Illiana's side. Besides, like I previously said, I'm interested in you, in a romantic way, of course. Apart from the progress of my Pathway and the information I got here, meeting you is one of my greatest gains, Remilia." I tried reaching out for her hand again but she instantly slapped it away.
"Don't spout out flowery words on me, we barely know each other. I'm interested in you but not enough to consider tying myself with someone weaker than me. We're only interacting like this because of that slight interest." She instantly turned her head sideways and put her hand up. Maybe trying to cover that blush which once again appeared on her face. Also, she took a few steps back to get away from me.
Ignoring some of the words she said, I chased after her and asked, "Does that mean I can change your mind once I reached your level? At that point, we can then start getting to know more about each other. What do you think?"
Rank 4 Transcendent? I'm already geared up to chase after Illiana's current status, you know? If it's only that then… I will certainly reach it. This is overconfidence, I know, but this is also me being optimistic about my future.
Besides, this is possibly the only time I can see and talk to her in this Dimensional Space. She will be going to the front lines. Like Alwyn. But unlike her, Remilia will become one of the leading figures of this world against the enemy Transcendent World.
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