Chapitre 51: Kobold Cave [2]

[Sophie's Pov]

"So... why do you think James is absent? I don't think Mr. Brown is going to give in and tell us, no matter how much we ask..."

Me, Sarah, Arthur, Anna, and, for some reason, Adriana were all sitting around a table at the academy café having a good time when suddenly Anna warped our lighthearted subjects to something less joyful.

"James is gone?! Why?!"

Poor Sarah hadn't known about this fact, since she isn't a part of the A-class anymore and no one had told her, making her suddenly stand up and shout. Realizing her unworthy action, her cheeks reddened as she quickly sat down again.

Not minding the other royal's silly behavior, the newcomer to our clique opened her mouth, "Is there anyone here that truly knows what James's background is? Wouldn't it be impossible for us to try and guess what he is doing?"

Adriana was also a very interesting character. I knew that she didn't like James since that time in the cafeteria, although I didn't know why, but still, she hadn't been unpleasant to hang out with. In many ways, her personality was quite similar to Sarah's royal mode; A proud and strong individual, yet polite and, seemingly, caring.

Having started out by just asking if she could come with us to hang out, it didn't take long for it to feel natural having her around. She was truly skilled in the art of social interactions.

Still, something inside of me knew that there was something about her, something off. As I couldn't determine what created this gut feeling, I tried my best to ignore it. There was no reason to do anything before she had proven herself to not be the person she acted like.

Letting a glowing smile illuminate the room, which once again made my heart giddy and warm, my darling turned his head to me energetically, "Sophie, you have known James for the longest, surely you know what he is up to?"

Sighing, I let my head land in my hand, held up by my elbow on the table, as I once again reminded him of the situation, "Haaa... I've already told you, I didn't know him before I arrived at Ainu either. Just because I met him a few days before you doesn't mean I know him well."

What I didn't know was that my explanation would reinforce the preconceived notion that the elven princess already had about the man.

***

[James's Pov]

As night fell, it was finally time for my dive to begin, after spending a couple of hours sleeping restlessly in the inn, to make sure I was as energized as possible. Sitting in the same tree I had used to collect information about the dungeon previously, I split my consciousness and summoned Matt in the form of a raven.

The next steps were simple. I just flew into the portal, camouflaged by the darkness from the guards, with my extra body. After a stomach-twisting warp, I was in, still in the form of a black bird. Ignoring the wave of nausea that had emerged in my stomach, I quickly scoured my surroundings.

There wasn't a lot to say about the Kobold Cave, it was literally just a mine illuminated by torches attached to the wall. Taking flight, I flew in a bit further in to make sure that I wouldn't have to meet up with another hunter. Luckily, that appeared to be the case as the first living being I encountered was a big, bipedal rat holding a pickaxe.

Not wanting to blow my cover, I made my way back to the portal to the outside world and used [Swap] to get my main body in the form of a human inside of the dungeon, dismissing Matt quickly afterward.

Just as I liked it, it was a simple yet efficient plan, just letting Matt go in first, making sure it was safe so as to then switch our bodies to infiltrate. However, this was when the hard part would begin.

The reason why I chose this dungeon, and this dungeon in particular, was because of one simple fact; I needed to get used to fighting humanoid creatures to then later translate it into fighting other humans.

My stomach churned, even though the nausea of my other body didn't carry over during the swap, as I tried my best to resolve myself. This was my desperate measure of trying to get passed the limitations of my mind, the trauma that I had given myself.

I understood that even though Sophie could be said to be a very special case, just jumping in head first into combat without a care in the world, the mental shackles that I disguised with artificially constructed logic was the main reason why I hadn't even sparred a single time.

There was no way that I could start by fighting another human, therefore I needed something that was reminiscent but not too similar to one to battle first. Even during the survival event, I had been acting like a fool towards the virtual goblin that wasn't even alive in order to postpone having to fight another being.

Tonight, I had resolved myself to change this, even if I had to damage my mind by forcefully doing so.

****

[3rd Person Pov]

"Oh? So that is why you are here?"

"Yes. The sins of a god must be punished by the current ruling god after all. Thus, I will now carry out my duty."

Still smiling, Loki didn't seem to care much for the words of the furious goddess in front of him. No, he actually appeared to be enjoying her actions a great deal. Putting his finger to his chin, covered by the mask, he pretended to be thinking about what he should do.

"That is true... As per the laws of the threads of fate, the ruling god is responsible for keeping the other gods in check. Hmm... What a conundrum... I don't really want to let go of my divine life yet, I feel like I still have many good millennia, after all..."

Unable to stand the stupidity of the man, Theia suddenly materialized a pair of heavenly wings, radiating with holy energy as she brought out her trusted sword, adorned with angelic wings as the guard.

"Are you done? If so, excuse me, but I have a world that we are desperately trying to save while you are playing your stupid games."

"𝐌𝐘 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐏𝐈𝐃!"

His body blurring, Loki was all of a sudden standing inches from Theia, his face looking down at her, with rage displayed as purple light in the sockets of the white mask. Just as instantaneous, his body blurred once more, ending up with him sitting back with a relaxed face in his chair. "Ah, excuse me. A moment of weakness."

Wiping the spit that had somehow landed on her face, she didn't admit the fear that she had felt for just a second, "Still as crazy as ever...", to which Loki just waved his hand dismissively.

"Let's forget about that and continue with the fun stuff! Now, why do you think I am not trying my best to escape even though are obviously showing that you are serious about judging me?"

It wasn't that Theia hadn't been thinking that it was strange for him to just stay in his office, but she had been too angry to care. Now though, with him vocalizing the thought she had repressed, it didn't take long for her to understand the situation.

"Yes! Do you understand now? Just as you said, I made a promise, but the promise wasn't that I would leave him alone. It was that I wouldn't corrupt him. The fact that the strands of fate haven't ripped part of my divine soul out is proof of this."

"But I have seen the changes in him after you spoke to him! You have to have done something!"

Theia couldn't accept his words. Not even a day had passed since James had started to act like another person. If this was not the work of Loki, how could such a drastic change happen?

Letting his right leg find its place over his left again, the man felt his body filling with joy, seeing the most powerful god exasperated and desperate for answers. Still, he knew that he could make so much more out of this conversation, there was so much more entertainment that was still untouched.

"Yes, what did I do? Hmm... Let's see... I asked him some questions, and though I have to admit that I submitted him to some divine pressure in yet another one of my moments of weakness, I never injected any divinity into him. Oh, I did give him some verbal guidance before I left!"

Narrowing her eyes, Theia pierced his body with her eyes, "What did you say to him...?" In response, Loki just shrugged his shoulders, acting as if his words had been of no importance, "I just encouraged him to use a bit of his power. After all, wasn't that the reason you brought them here in the first place? Wouldn't it be a waste if your precious samples didn't display the immense powers they were granted?"

Then, he lifted his arm and looked at his imaginary clock, "Oh! Would you look at the time? Sorry, but I have some matters to attend to. After all, there is a young man on Tella that still might need some reassuring words!"

"You...!"

Theia could see her body starting to blur, signaling that Loki was done with the conversation and was about to send her out of his domain. Just before she disappeared, the lower part of Loki's mask disappeared, just to make sure she could see his insane smile as he spoke the last words of their discussion.

"Don't worry. He will be my first apostle, after all. I will take good care of him."

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