Chapter 173: Sharing Secrets is one way to establish trust
An awkward silence of sorts fell over Bellona and Zhen Liu as the mind reading abilities of the former came to light. While something like this normally wouldn’t be a massive issue, the problem was that the person who’s mind was getting read, essentially shared a headspace with five other individuals. Well, four other individuals and a disembodied voice that may or may not be his, possibly sentient, formula. Again, he had to address this soon.
Regardless, the situation right now was that Zhen Liu had just accurately guessed what he assumed to be Bellona’s biggest secret, while she was basically privy to his from the get-go. There was no good way to approach this, but they had to at least try. With this being the case, Zhen Liu went first.
“So…how much of my mind and my secrets are you aware of exactly?”
“I’m not privy to your subconscious or deep memories if it helps, but I do have access to your concious thoughts…I think. I can’t read the minds of your… compatriots, but I can hear the conversations they have in your head. It’s rather entertaining to be honest,” Bellona stated nonchalantly, “I also don’t know their names. Everytime they were stated, it sounded like nails on a chalkboard.”
[So that why I felt like someone was watching us at the restaurant….huh.]
[No…privacy…]
[She hears us? Should I cut her?]
“So you heard all of that just now?”
“Yup.”
“Fun.”
The two of them returned to awkward silence after this exchange…granted it didn’t last long as Bellona decided to ask her uncomfortable question…well, it was gonna be uncomfortable for Zhen Liu at least.
“Why haven’t you thought about killing me yet?,” Bellona asked point blank and with zero hesitation. This sudden question threw Zhen Liu for so much of a loop that he rolled over onto his back in order to actually lift his head up enough to stare at Bellona in the eyes.
“Come again?”
“I know some of your vital secrets and these compatriots of yours -”
“Kaijin,”Zhen Liu added.
“Kaijin are at your beck and call and seem incredibly strong. But you keep them a secret, meaning you don’t want the wider world to know about them for some reason, illicit or otherwise,” Bellona concluded, “It would be in your best interest to make sure as few people as possible knew your secrets and dead men tell no tales.”
As Bellona concluded her case as to why Zhen Liu should kill her, the latter just rolled his eyes in mild annoyance while thinking she was crazy and a tad suicidal.
“I’m not crazy or suicidal,” Bellona retorted, “just practical.”
[Self-sacrifice is noble, advocating for one’s own death is not.]
[Regretful…actions…]
[Do I oblige?]
“Okay, let’s entertain this train of thought. For starters, Bellona, if I wanted you dead I could have just left you to that Leech guy back in the tunnels.”
“Yes, but you didn’t know I could read minds let alone yours until just now,” Bellona retorted, “For all intents and purposes, I was a damsel in distress at that moment.”
“Fair point,” Zhen Liu conceded, “alternatively, I could have just killed you when my suspicions weren’t confirmed just yet and I had just summoned the kaijins.”
“From what I’ve seen so far, you’re too much of the careful type. You want to make sure something is concrete before committing to action.”
“Maybe I’d want to ransom you?”
“I’m the daughter of the third prince of a small kingdom and this is the frontier. I could easily be written off as an accident, collateral or being forced to kneel before the strong,” Bellona stated matter-of-factly.
“Emotional attachment?”
“We’ve only known each other for a day.”
“And you’re sure you’re not suicidal?”
“Positive.”
Zhen Liu just stared at her in disbelief at that confirmation.
“Well in that case, you forgot one other important factor.”
“What is that?”
“I share a headspace with some opinionated individuals,” Zhen Liu answered.
‘Guys, what do you think? Do y’all think we need to kill her?’
[Unnecessary, milord.]
[No…]
[I mean…]
[Stop that.]
[Fine.]
“Yeah, see? None of them think we need to kill you either,” Zhen Liu said while vaguely moving his shoulders in an attempt to convey the idea of throwing his hands up. The gesture looked weird, but it got the point across effectively. With that done, Zhen Liu proceeded to lay his head back on the ground…granted, this answer still didn’t placate Bellona in the slightest bit, she was just now more confused.
“But…why?,” Bellona asked again, genuine curiousity mixed into her voice this time. In response, Zhen Liu just sorta sighed.
“You know…for a mind reader, you are bad at reading people,” Zhen Liu stated before answering the question. “I don’t want to kill you, because you and I are in similar situations.
“How so?,” Bellona asked while squinting her eyes in Zhen Liu’s direction. For the sake of dramatic effect or at least to confirm something again, Zhen Liu lifted his head up once more to look directly into her eyes.
“You’re trying to hide your abilities, just like me,” Zhen Liu answered, “to the point of even hiding it from your parents, right?”
Bellona’s eyes went wide as Zhen Liu accurately guessed something he probably shouldn’t have done so easily. Then again, turnabout was fair play in this particular situation.
“How did you-”
“A few days back, when we first met, one of my kaijin noticed something was off in terms of our mental communication, like someone was listening. Now, a different voice in my head is surprisingly knowledgeable about the greater world, so I asked them about who or what could do that…”
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‘How strong?’
‘Pass. Aside from Farisia, I’m pretty sure there are no anima Wielders in Stone Claw…at least I think so…’
‘I think he said the…Bronze Bell Kingdom?’
‘Huh…and the history behind that is…’
________________________________________________
“At which point they told me about your family’s progenitor and his beloved wife,” Zhen Liu finished explaining.
“Now I’m no monarchy expert or something, but when a kingdom has a condition as specific sounding as that, I would assume that any royalty with said ability would be closely guarded both secretly and militarily and be provided ample cultivation resources,” Zhen Liu continued to say, “but no offense, your father seems weak, your guards do too and you have a good base for royalty, but it’s not at the level of exceptional. Which can only mean, only you and I know you can read minds, right?”
At the end of this analysis, Bellona looked positively stunned at being called out like this.
“All I needed to hear.”
