Already coming to a conclusion, with a twitch visible on her face, Drishti inquired to double-check her suspicion, “Did you just spray a perfume smelling like a goblin on his butt?”
“Lady Drishti, weren’t you the one who wanted to see something interesting?” Ryuk stated as he opened the bottle and poured the entire liquid onto the unconscious young man’s back.
Splash Splash
“Indeed, but isn’t it childish?” Drishti calmly retorted, folding her arms with her gaze fixed downward at the young man, oblivious to what was happening to him while her eyes reflected the liquid drenching him in a strong odor.
‘….’ Ryuk paused in his tracks, glancing at her before turning his attention back to the bottle in his hand.
How could a child think of doing something like this? Or perhaps, were his actions really that childish?
“Heh, if you wanted him to stink, shouldn’t you have done something more—” Drishti tilted her head, addressing the man beside her who looked back in confusion, leading her to realize that her initial speculation about this event was definitely not up to the mark.
“So, it’s not because you want him to stink?” Drishti raised an eyebrow, inquiring again but only finding a blank expression from Ryuk. She corrected herself, “Ahem, so, what do you want to achieve?”
“I can tell you, but before that…” With a soft smile, knowing that Drishti’s priorities aligned more with her interests, Ryuk proposed, “You need to tell me the identity of that Aternum.”
Drishti glanced at the young man before a smile formed on her face, understanding that he had intentionally poured the liquid in front of her to pique her curiosity.
And naturally, it was true.
Though a minor reason was that time was stopped right now providing him enough time, the major reason was related to Drishti, whose interest needed to be piqued here.
“By the way, you seem familiar with that word,” Drishti inquired, standing with her arms folded, her narrowed gaze evident of her understanding that from the way he asked about Aternums, he had likely heard the name before.
“…There is a girl I know who has their bloodline,” Ryuk replied, not intending to hide the fact about Celestia Reinguard.
There was no reason to do so, especially since Drishti seemed unfazed by the mention of an Aternum, even after seeing one with her eyes, indicating it wouldn’t surprise her to know about someone possessing their bloodline.
“Oh, you mean the daughter of the Sword Maiden,” Drishti recalled, placing a finger on her lips in speculation.
She knew that the only one on Heindal who had a high chance of possessing the Aternum bloodline was indeed that individual.
‘Sword Maiden?’ Ryuk thought, noting Drishti’s awareness of that woman, added with her recognition of the sword he possessed the first time they met, which only solidified his speculations about that woman’s strength known as the Sword Maiden to be even known by someone like Drishti.
Indeed, right now, that thing possessing the body of Edward would have had a big problem if it weren’t for Drishti’s presence here.
“Yes,” Ryuk replied, nodding in confirmation before inquiring again, “Can you tell me now?”
“Hm, you’ll eventually come to know about them, but for now, you should know,” Drishti spoke, leaning slightly closer to the young man, stopping just half a hand’s distance away from him before adding, “That thing is what makes Edward Abernathy special.”
‘….’ Ryuk simply glanced at Edward’s lying figure, noting a slight movement that indicated his body was regaining its previous state, specifically from his ability to adapt.
“Should I remove this?” Drishti inquired about nullifying the time freeze, to which Ryuk nodded. She brought her fingers forward and snapped them.
Snap
SWISH
“L-liege—” The moment time resumed, a woman instantly appeared in front of him, sword unsheathed, demonstrating her swift reflexes.
“You are late, Regina,” Drishti said, raising an eyebrow and mocking her in a teasing tone before smirking to see her reaction.
“What? Forgive me, my liege,” Regina stammered, unable to understand the situation but seeing Drishti’s expression added with her own instincts pointing to something amiss, so she apologized for her inability to react sooner.
“No, it’s fine,” Ryuk interjected. He, too, had found it difficult to keep up with the speed of the event, so he didn’t blame Regina.
“By the way, Lady Drishti, why did you leave her hanging there?” Ryuk inquired, glancing toward a white-dressed woman looking at him anxiously from a remarkable height.
Esme’s sensitivity to mana indicated she had sensed a significant occurrence.
Even for the fleeting moment, she had felt a huge concentration of unknown energy in the air, instantly resonating with the surrounding mana.
But now everything had returned to normal, yet the illusions she cast had taken a significant toll on her body, evident from her rosed heart beat and sweat beads.
“….I forgot,” Drishti followed Ryuk’s gaze, looking at the woman suspended in the air while looking exhausted prompting her to scratch her chin thoughtfully and tried to change the topic. “By the way, Regina, why are you standing on Edward?”
Regina turned her gaze downward and noticed the young man lying on the ground, the same one she had restricted moments ago.
The difference was that earlier she held him down, but now she was standing on him.
“Liege, did he wet himself?” Regina’s eyes were sharp enough to notice the subtle wetness on Edward’s clothes, prompting her to inquire the masked man.
‘…it works, I guess,’ Ryuk thought, appreciating that Regina could see the liquid but not identify its smell, which proved the pheromones’ ability to be sensed only by goblins.
‘Wait, how did she smell it?’ Then a realization hit him as he turned towards Drishti, who was moving to join Esme, narrowing his gaze in confusion.
Drishti had earlier asked why he was pouring a perfume smelling like a goblin, which meant either her olfactory receptors were extraordinarily sensitive or….
“Lady Drishti, can you wait for a minute?” Ryuk called out the leaving woman who halted and turned towards him with a curious expression, sensing an opportunity to enjoy the moment due to already seeing the whole scene from her prespective.
Esme was restricted in the air and Ryuk had stopped her from going for some reason—if manipulated slightly, a fun show will definitely occur.
‘….’ Glancing at Esme, who was looking back at him, Ryuk understood that talking with Drishti instead of helping Esme could be problematic.
“Heh, are you going to make a lady wait here?” Drishti inquired amusingly, feigning surprise. Which made Ryuk realized that she was also in the mood to play around.
“No, Lady Drishti, it was Regina who needed to ask you something,” Ryuk said blankly, deflecting the question to Regina.
He knew that if he asked Drishti what was on his mind in front of everyone, it could lead to a huge misunderstanding.
“Huh, what question?” Drishti turned to Regina, who looked back at her, perplexed by Ryuk’s sudden deflection.
“Lady Drishti, why did you still not let Abernathy members move?” Regina asked, seeing how all the Abernathys were stuck in their positions. Of course, there wasn’t anything better to help her Liege.
‘Good job.’
‘Thank you.’
A series of thoughts filled with mutual understanding passed between Regina and Ryuk without them looking at each other.
