— — — — — —
In the reception lounge. Across the coffee table, Ryo watched as Willa, with her almost bewitching looks that blended innocence and seduction, lifted a cup of warm tea and brought it to her lips.
When a few drops slipped from the corner of her mouth, trailing down her neck and disappearing into that deep, shadowed curve, Ryo calmly looked away as if nothing had happened. His index finger tapped lightly against the tabletop.
"You're members of the rising community from the North Area, Will-O-Wisp, right?"
As he spoke, Ryo boldly met Willa's gaze.
Information on the "Will-O-Wisp Demon" Willa was sold even in the East Area. Figures like her, local stars in their regions, rarely kept their basic details secret. In fact, most of it was deliberately spread.
Partly as intimidation, partly to gather faith.
"..."
Willa did not answer right away. Instead, she set down her cup and suddenly pulled out a white cross-shaped staff, lifting her hand as if she were about to throw it.
"W-Willa!" Ayesha, sitting beside her, hurriedly grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
Seeing this, Ryo raised an eyebrow, his expression tinged with mild surprise as he looked at the two of them.
After restraining one of Willa's bad habits, Ayesha quickly turned her head toward Jack-O-Lantern.
"Jack, we'll have to leave this to you."
Within Will-O-Wisp, Willa was the leader in name, but she rarely handled actual affairs. Sometimes she was downright willful and caused endless trouble. Unless Willa personally voiced an opinion, major decisions were always handled by Jack.
Although Jack was just a sentient Gift created by Willa, a mutation in his spirit rank during his birth had elevated his level above hers. He was a four-digit existence.
Facing Ryo, who was not only of the same level but also the newly appointed leader of Arcadia, letting Jack speak was the best choice.
Besides, in Willa's current state, Ayesha did not dare let go of her hand.
Asura might deliberately let herself get hit out of curiosity, but that did not mean Ryo would.
Ayesha knew it was unwise to provoke someone in a situation like this. But unfortunately, she also knew Willa would not listen. This impulsive demon always acted first and thought later when something caught her interest.
Pumpkin Jack glanced at Willa helplessly, then apologized to Ryo.
"My deepest apologies. Our leader's hobbies are… a bit weird."
"I understand," Ryo said with a smile, nodding.
Privately, he muttered to himself, 'Trying to throw things at me really is weird.'
Seeing Ryo accept it so easily, Jack quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
What he feared most was that Ryo would be the same type as Asura, someone who seemed reasonable on the surface but acted entirely on his own whims. People like that, if they were not weaker than you, could completely dominate the situation and leave you powerless.
Just like earlier, when Asura had forced them into the inner hall to attend a banquet, only to suddenly seal them away after entering because she saw Ryo socializing, deciding to patiently wait until Ryo finished his business.
People who acted on impulse were impossible to predict.
"Then, Mr. Yagami," Jack said, "I assume you want information about Asura from us?"
"No." Ryo shook his head, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "If it's just intelligence, I've already obtained more than enough from the Heavenly Army."
Jack's pumpkin face stiffened for a moment before he gave a wry smile. "Information from the Heavenly Army? In that case, anything we have would certainly be less comprehensive."
'We're on the back foot now…' Jack sighed inwardly, then asked, "Forgive my bluntness, but Will-O-Wisp cannot think of a reason why you would deliberately meet with us at a time like this."
The leader's debut Gift Game was about to begin. Asura was watching closely from the sidelines, and there was even the possibility of attacks from members of the Greek pantheon.
By all logic, Ryo should have been busy dealing with those matters. Yet he had intentionally set aside time to meet them, which left Jack puzzled.
Seeing that Jack did not bother with verbal sparring and instead asked directly, Ryo did not bother dancing around the issue either.
"There are many reasons, but they boil down to two."
"First, I need to make use of Will-O-Wisp's relationship with the Queen to send one of my subordinates into the community known as Avalon."
"And second…"
At this point, Ryo looked toward Willa, his voice dropping. "My private intelligence network reported something."
"It seems that members of Will-O-Wisp once had contact with Arcadia's former leader, Koumei Kasukabe."
"Huh?"
Willa blinked in surprise, looking at Ryo in confusion, "I don't think I ever told anyone about that."
Willa had never mentioned Koumei Kasukabe to anyone other than Jack. And Jack was not a person, but a Gift she had created. In a sense, she really had not told anyone else.
"So how do you know that, Ryry-Chan?"
Ryry-Chan…
Ryo's face froze for a split second.
For a moment, he wondered if Willa was deliberately messing with him. But when he looked at that pure, childlike face, then at the devilish curves of her body, he temporarily forgot that bit of irritation and replied as calmly as he could, "I believe I said it came from a private intelligence network."
In other words, it was not something he could explain. Pushing further would mean offending him.
"What kind of secret intelligence network?" Willa's eyes widened with curiosity. "Can it be used for peeping?"
Why peeping? Of all things, why would you associate a secret intelligence network with peeping? Ryo complained furiously in his head.
"Willa, please stop asking!" Ayesha grabbed Willa again, her head pounding.
She had nearly been scared to death just now. When Willa called him Ryry-Chan earlier, Ayesha thought Ryo was about to lose his temper.
"Ahem..." Jack quickly cleared his throat, "Lady Willa, I'll explain matters like secret intelligence networks to you later, in private."
Explain? He had no intention of explaining anything. He just wanted to divert her attention.
"Oh."
Willa did not pursue the topic further. Her expression returned to calm as she said, "Avalon regularly recruits members from allied groups. Will-O-Wisp does have such a slot, and I can give it to you."
"As for Mr. Kasukabe, part of the reason I came to see you was because of him."
"Oh?" Ryo's expression shifted.
Half of that was relief that Willa had stopped asking strange questions. The other half was genuine interest in Koumei Kasukabe.
Willa continued, her tone still gentle.
"Mr. Kasukabe asked me to pass along a message to Arcadia's members."
Ryo straightened his back. He understood that what came next was the real point.
Then, in the same even voice, Willa said, "There's no need to save me."
.
.
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