142 - Wicked dialogue

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"So... What's the deal?" (Yggdrasil)

There was no need for any pretense, the individual in front of her was aware of her existence. For an information entity, this was far from ideal. Her biggest advantage was that nobody should be privy to her presence in reality. An unknown variable that will not show up on any radar. At most, enemies and allies alike will treat her like they would for Lastia, not understanding that her capabilities extend beyond.

Still, this was a vital progression, one that wasn't welcomed. For higher level magical battles, 'concepts' become incredibly important. A 'human killer' magic would lose effectiveness on her, evidently as she isn't a human. As someone who has yet to be evinced in the spotlight, her greatest advantage was the concealment of her very nature. She wasn't at the point where battle's were fought with information yet, but preparing for such a day would never go in vain.

"Nothing... I just thought, you needed a little help. Even if it's roughly the same time that Lastia has been active as a magical girl, a month wasn't sufficient for you to adapt yet." (Arin)

She knows the time of her birth when Yggdrasil had deliberately avoided them for the first few days. The person that accessed the memories of that curse... The person who planted the curse... Yggdrasil also possesses Lastia's memories, there's no need to go around in circles. It's Arin, isn't it? Lastia could ignore it out of precious sentiment, Yggdrasil couldn't. One could say her emotions weren't sufficiently developed to handle considerations for others yet, or perhaps she had yet to form the bond that Lastia had.

It was a fundamental difference between them. Even if Lastia was an existence that expired in a day, her connections were real. As for Yggdrasil, she was pretending to be Lastia, adding a layer of obscurity to her relations. How should she go about it now? She solved the case in a little more than a month, but it was only because Arin exposed information to her, an information entity. She was giving hints to Lastia too...

She wanted to be found. Why? For now, she'll feign ignorance.

"So you've known from the start? As expected, I couldn't get past her closest friend. What are your intentions? My life is now in your hands... " (Yggdrasil)

Naturally one would begin to feel a little impatient. A subtle appeal to emotion, effective against Arin who wants to see emotion. By commending her, hopefully she would let her guard down. Or was it too uncharacteristic? Enough to alert her? That's why Yggdrasil attempted to frame it as a self admittance of defeat without saying it. Anything to fly under the radar.

Hiding that you know information is easier compared to hiding your existence. The things that exist in the mind are intangible, at least at the present moment, Arin can access the memories stored in the curse but not Yggdrasil's current database. The fact that Yggdrasil is putting in the effort to hide her own awareness of Arin's involvement... It indicates her complete hostility.

Just like herself, Arin has been hiding her strength for a long time. {Barter}? Trading something that is important to themselves for something else... Nowhere is there a rule that said the value of the items exchanged have to be equal. It's like an exploit in a game, whether it's exceeding the normal limits of other players or duplicating something precious... It would be more accurate to call it {Cheat}. Arin inexplicably advanced from C grade to A grade, leaving Sariel behind, this was no coincidence with Lastia's awakening.

Yggdrasil only possessed the memories Lastia made since Yggdrasil's "birth". Everything before that remains a mystery. The curse possessed the memories made since its inception. Arin has been here from the start... 3 different levels of information, and Arin has the deepest. She was disadvantages from the start, that's why she couldn't pick a fight now.

However, there was a miniscule point in Yggdrasil's favour. She can improve, grow stronger and smarter. Arin can't. She's been at her peak from the start, like a veteran player bullying a newbie. That's how this whole situation with Lastia came about. One has been prepared from the start while the other wasn't allowed to prepare. Yggdrasil isn't a player of the same game, she didn't have anything to plague her memories and sabotage her efforts.

"My intentions have never changed. I only did my part in offering a little assistance for my dear friend. I'll be going now, bye bye~" (Arin)

She flashed a cryptic smile before walking past Yggdrasil, heading for the entryway to Lastia's house to leave. With a click, Lastia closed the door behind her and finally begun to relax on her couch.

" Tch! There's a chance she already knows, she's just toying with me." (Yggdrasil)

After all, Arin has shown consistent desire to reveal her plans to Yggdrasil, even if she didn't outright say it.

"Whatever, she actually helped me big time for this... I won't get flustered by every little thing..." (Lastia)

Without much else to do, she let her damaged body heal on its own through sleep. At the end of the day she was possessing a heavy corpse barely kept in suspended animation. By exerting it too much, it might start up the decomposition. Heat wasn't something you want when trying to preserve a body, yet it was something needed to sell the act. If she was frigid when Corinne checked on her temperature, there would be a lot more issues.

Her magic is able to move the body by sending energy to the brain that imitate neurological signals. But as far as complexity goes, her ability is limited to motor movement. The lack of heat regulation was what led to the event earlier, further exacerbated by the Trace appearance. The next weekday, she calmly strolled into the classroom, wobbling unsteadily to her seat.

Corrine rushed over in concern, hitting the side of another classmate's table and causing it to skid slightly.

"Las-Lastia! With what happened yesterday, I can't believe they let you out already!?" (Corrine)

"Alright alright... I'm okay. It was a mild fever that went away after two nights thanks to the prompt attention." (Lastia)

She could tell the brown haired red eyes girl in front of her was blaming herself for the trouble. Even if Lastia was the first party to provoke her, she was still gnawed at by a sense of responsibility... What a good kid.

"It's my fault for running while unwell, I didn't mean to drag you into it. Congrats, you won the spot fair and square." (Lastia)

She flashed a wry smile in an attempt to quell her worries. Their attention was brought back to lesson, signaled by the characteristic slamming of the classroom door.