"Hi, there, you must be Mysst Jenwell. It’s nice to meet you," I greeted her with a smile.

So, this is Ilex’s new girlfriend, huh? Hm...she’s pretty cute. Way to go, man.

She had medium-short, messy raven black hair that framed her face, with a dark blue stripe down the middle. She had bright silver eyes with a kinda lethargic look in them, and her complexion was on the pale, almost ghostly, side.

She was pretty short with a slender build, and, uh, very noticeably big boobs. Better stop staring before she notices...

"Uh, yeah...likewise, I guess. So...what’s this about?" She responded warily.

Guess I can’t blame her for being on edge, she just went from being a Knight Captain of Obsidian to a resident of a nation made up of people who were discriminated against in Obsidian.

I did speak to Ilex about her, and according to him, she seems willing to keep an open mind about this whole thing...but I can’t just take his word for it, I need to see for myself what she’s like.

So, I asked him to bring her to meet with me, so that I can assess her personality and motives, to see if she’s a threat or not. It’s possible that she’s here to spy on us or something, and is using Ilex to accomplish that...

"Right, I’ll get straight to the point. I want to see for myself how trustworthy you are, I’d like to make sure that you pose no threat to Arcadia," I stated bluntly.

"I guess that’s fair...how long is this going to take? I’m still, you know, adjusting and stuff, so I’m mentally kinda tired," She replied, looking a bit nervous.

"Relax, this is just a sort of formality, so you don’t need to be so anxious. Oh, quick side note, did Aries contact you? I did give her Ilex’s phone number, so that she could confirm that you left Obsidian of you own free will and weren’t kidnapped or something."

Hm? Her expression kinda soured...

"Ugh, yeah," She grumbled with a slight huff.

"She kinda got yelled at, a lot," Ilex informed me sheepishly.

"Ah, I see. Okay, back to the matter at hand...tell me honestly, how do you feel about living here, alongside Demons, Demi-Humans and people with the Light Attribute and both Attributes?" I inquired, narrowing my eyes at her.

With how much my senses have improved thanks to my Contracts, I can read people a lot better than I used to be able to, I can tell pretty easily whether someone’s being honest or whether they’re lying.

"I’m not bothered by which Attributes people have, and I have no problem with the Demi-Humans either. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid of the Demons though...haven’t encountered the Dragon King that lives here, but I’d probably be afraid of her if I came across her too," She answered.

Okay, I didn’t sense any deceit in her words, seems like that’s her honest opinion.

"That’s understandable, I’m pretty intimidated by the Demons and Dragon King myself. Now, then...what made you choose Ilex over the Knight Order?" I asked her.

"Oh, I kinda want to know the answer to that too," Added Ilex as he glanced at her in anticipation.

"Wh-wha-...c-come on, do I really have to say it out loud?" She stuttered in response, her cheeks turning red.

"Well, that reaction basically gives me the answer, so I guess you don’t need to-..."

"Um, actually...I’d like to hear you say it out loud," Grinned Ilex sheepishly. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"S-seriously? O-okay, fine...I don’t have anything against living in Obsidian or being a part of the Knight Order, but I wasn’t particularly emotionally attached to it either. But that’s not the case with Ilex...so, yeah, between staying with the Knights and never seeing him again, and leaving the Knights and living with him, the choice was easy," She muttered awkwardly, turning her gaze down as her cheeks grew redder.

"Wow, I’ve never seen you look so happy before," I said to Ilex, as a wide, cheerfully goofy grin spread out across his face.

"Yeah, I’m absolutely overjoyed right now."

"C-come on, this is so embarrassing, can I go now?" Grumbled Mysst, her gaze staying lowered.

"Wait, there is one more thing I want to check. Ilex tells me that you’re pretty powerful, and considering that you were a Knight Captain, I’d like to see just how strong you are for myself. So, if you’ll humor me, I’d like to engage in a friendly duel against you, I want to see what you’re capable of."

"Can I say no? That sounds exhausting...oh, and just so you know, I have no intention of taking on a job that’ll give me a lot of work. Actually, I’d rather just stay home all day everyday," She frowned apprehensively.

"That seems like it’d be a waste, but you’re free to live as you please, that’s the whole point of this nation, after all. Alright, how about this...if you beat me, I’ll never ask you to lift so much as a finger, you can laze about for the rest of your life and never expend an ounce of effort again, I’ll even provide you with a steady stream of income, at least the bare minimum required to support that lifestyle. But if I win, I’ll think of a job suited to your abilities and recruit you to carry it out. What do you say?" I offered with a smile.

"Uhh...if I’m not mistaken, you’ve got two Demonic Grade Contracts, don’t you? And I can sense it, how damn immense your Mana is, and my abilities work best against opponents with lower Mana capacities to my own. Yeah, no, there’s no way I can beat you," She shook her head without hesitation.

She sure is, uh, decisive, huh?

"Okay, then how about a few handicaps? I won’t use the abilities of either of my Contracts, and I won’t use my Soul Weapon either. I’ll only use my Spells, Skills and physical abilities against you, nothing more," I assured her.

"Damn it, that’s a good deal...it still sounds like a pain, but if you’re going to hold back that much, then I just might stand a chance. And the opportunity to earn myself a lifetime of sponsored relaxation is too tantalizing to pass up. Okay, then...let’s do this, I’ll duel you."

_____________________________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Also, check out my Insta account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.

Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:

https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP