19

"That is all my lords." A messenger said with a bow, having just finished his report to the council before him.

"Thank you, you are excused." The central figure of the elderly men said with a gentle smile, resulting in the messenger bowing one more time before swiftly taking his leave from the throne room leaving the council of wise men to themselves.

"News of the cult isn't new, but it is more troubling to hear of their actions when we're still dealing with other matters…" One of the wise men said, mulling his thoughts aloud to start a conversation amongst them.

"If you are referencing the escaped warlock, then I think they pale in importance in comparison to him." Another one spoke up. "There is no development in being able to deal with the cult, meanwhile he has presented himself as a greater threat that tried to gain influence over the capital."

"He completely vanished as the knights went for him, however, much like the cult. Do you not believe that he is a part of them, thereby making the threat of the cult more significant?"

"Nonsense, It's clear that his sister helped him out and is covering things up. She made her disdain for everything quite clear to everyone." A grumpy member interjected.

"Now, now. There currently is no evidence to suggest that and since that day the Felt camp has become rather cooperative. There very well may be truth in their claims of manipulation." The leading member replied.

"Then it is a sign of a weak leader instead!"

"Are you forgetting that the sword saint is a part of that camp?" The leader calmly replied. "Due to a potential successful manipulation of the whole camp that would naturally include the sword saint. I needn't explain just what that would entail now would it? I feel that no leader would be able to escape the thrall of his power if it managed to grasp Reinhard too, and the threat posed by such a situation makes it one that cannot be brushed aside no matter how unlikely."

"But if that is truly the case, then what would he have had to fear? At any moment with the sword saint at his bidding, he could have easily laid waste to the capital." Another of the council members said.

"His way of thinking could perhaps be as impossible to understand as the witch cults," A council member said with a heavy sigh. "It may be possible that village, in particular, was destroyed by him instead of the cult, after all, it happened so soon after his disappearance."

"If we are resuming the topic of Leon Aries, then we should start with what we know about him, and progress down towards things that we have merely heard of." The youngest-looking member said gaining agreeing nods from several of his colleagues.

"There is little to nothing known about him. Vice Captain of the knights, Heinkel Astrea, revealed that he possesses the power to both kill and revive living things with a mere touch, and he is in possession of the Sword of Life, Zeam."

"He is accompanied by a Great Spirit and another quasi-spirit and even received training with the sword from Reinhard. Finally, he aided in the subjugation of the White Whale, with only a single reliable witness claiming that he directly confronted two archbishops of the witches cult."

"That can't be considered reliable at all!" Another council member interjected, "It was merely a maid in service to the half-devil, all others had their memories wiped or perished. It was all fabricated to cover up or manipulation."

"Now, now, we don't even know if that is true. Currently, as the situation stands there is nothing to prove either side of the story." The central and leading figure of the group spoke up.

"The issue lies in how little there is to know about him. His background is completely non-existent. Even some of the cultists that have been killed previously could have had some of their backgrounds worked out slightly." Another man sighed. "The Margrave reported that some of his abilities defy what magic or divine blessings are capable of, defying what should be impossible."

"His abilities are like some of the few reports we have on the cult archbishops, they were said to possess cruel abilities that defy reason. Is that not more evidence that he sides with them?"

"Then what would be his motive in aiding in the defeat of the white whale, and competing with two sin archbishops? It would have been of great ease to completely annihilate those forces then and it wouldn't have been suspicious with how previous hunts on the whale and cult have gone. I still think that he is an independent force to the cult, with chances that they might continue to collide with one another."

"If the claim of him being a warlock is genuine, and the witch cult follows the witch of envy, then perhaps it makes sense he would combat them in a rivalry against the witch?" Another council member suggested making numerous murmurs take place at the prospect.

"If he is a being capable of competing with the witch then not only Lagunica but the world is once more at great risk of experiencing another Calamity."

"But his powers seen so far bear little significance to the witch nearly destroying half the world, and requiring the dragon, hero and sage to defeat."

"What if he is building his power? He was previously unknown but reports rapidly grew in strength in recent times, if it continued he may yet harbour the potential that needs to be dealt with before it is realized."

"We are entering the realm of hypothesis, having little to bring reliability to these claims, however, their possibility also stands reasonable. I believe at a minimum it can be agreed that he should be slain at first sight, but the level of effort we shall give to find him and the caution we shall give in handling him…"

The wise went silent again as they each contemplated the question whilst those outside began to pull away from having listened in…

"It doesn't sound good for him." Julius quietly commented, making sure that only his two friends could hear him.

Julius, Reinhard and Felix had been standing further down the corridor from the throne room, making use of Julius's spiritual arts to enable them to discreetly listen in on the wise men's conversations, each with their conflicting feelings on the matter.

Whilst Reinhard and Julius were against breaking the rules on listening to conversations they were not invited to be present for, they still desired to remain as knowledgeable about the situation as they could. A decision that was made easier for Reinhard with the simple command of the queen he served.

"They're taking him even more seriously nyow." Felix commented, "I wonder if they'll try luring and trapping him, but it would be catastrophic if anyone were to kill him."

"It is quite troubling to hear, it seems like the council is currently unaware of the consequence of that…" Reinhard added on with a sombre look.

"It seems that there is something about him that the two of you know that I do not, not that I feel that his undeserved death is acceptable, however, you make it sound like there are worse things to be concerned about," Julius asked with a confused look.

"It's because Leo is immortal, but every time he would die, everything around just dies instead apparently." Felix nearly spat out in disgust. "All the death at the planes was his fault."

"What? But then… if there were an attempt to slay him, potentially countless lives could be lost!" Julius exclaimed in shock.

"Felix, I understand your opinion about things but please don't hold it against Leo. It isn't a power that he wants nor is that an aspect that he can control…" Reinhard said.

"I nyow, I nyow, thanks to Miss Cruche's divine protection. But it doesn't mean that I have to or will accept that kind of power." Felix grumbled in response, refusing to look at his friend whilst Reinhard merely kept his troubled gaze on him, at least glad that the demi-human knight didn't hold anything against Leo personally.

"Don't you think that such a trait of him ought to be told to the council before something regrettable happens?" Julius asked in concern resulting in Reinhard's expression falling even more as he looked increasingly troubled.

"Perhaps, but Lady Felt is concerned about how the council might treat him after that, considering it would be informing them of an opponent they cannot beat."

"They would likely resort to attempting to imprison him instead, or in the worst case scenario, seal him away in some capacity like the witch," Julius said. "I do not imagine any current way that could be achieved without the aid of the Sage, but perhaps they might consult the Margrave for his knowledge considering they might view this as dealing with a warlock."

"So long as he isn't found then everyone will remain safe… I feel that I must go and report to Lady Felt now, so I bid you farewell, friends." Reinhard said as he composed himself once more with a warm smile.

"Yes, I feel that you lady would quite like to hear such ongoings, I shall see you later Reinhard," Julius replied with a smile of his.

"See ya!" Felix cheerily said as Reinhard took his leave, leaving the two knights to themselves, thinking about the situation…

"We're getting rather close to the border now," Pandora commented as they walked along a dirt road, the evening sun setting behind them as the day was coming to an end whilst the last of its light shone upon a city in the distance, whilst a huge river ran straight through it.

"How much further is it? Is that river considered the border?" Leo asked, his voice filled with a mix of hope and curiosity.

"The city's name is Pristella, and it sits right on the border between Lagunica and Kararagi. Unless you can fly or walk on water, it's the only way to cross over. The only other alternative would be heading far north into the frozen land of Gusteko to go around its source." Pandora answered.

"It's that big?" Leo said in shock. "Well, it doesn't matter, I suppose."

"Your current concern is finding a way through the city. Passing through you will most likely be recognized if even that small village potential acted out of recognition towards you." Kou said. "You will need some way of covering up your identity whilst working out how to officially cross the border."

"If we could have grabbed cloaks or something before then this would be much easier, albeit risky…" Leo said in contemplation as he thought about the situation. Currently, he had nothing to cover himself up, the only boon he had was the fact that he believed the personal clothing he had been brought to this world with was, whilst unique, not something that gave away his identity.

"It isn't something that you need to think about right this moment. We can attempt it tomorrow." Pandora said, interrupting his thoughts. "We have been travelling all day so far, and we might need to rush through there."

"You're right…" Leo quietly replied, "I suppose we just need another place to camp out another night and some food."

"There's some wooded ahead over there." Cecily then pointed out, her finger aimed at a patch of trees that were too small to be considered anything noteworthy, but it was more than the majority of space around them that were plains that would leave them out in the open.

"It seems unless you wish to gain traction we shall be going without a fire this time," Pandora noted.

"It doesn't matter, I can regulate Master's temperature with my fire magic because of our contract!" Cecily declared before she started to pull Leo in the direction of the trees. "You need to get rest, Master! I don't want anything going wrong again…"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, somehow, Cecily," Leo replied as he allowed her to pull him along whilst Pandora followed behind them.

It wasn't that long before the group had gotten settled in the cover of the trees, finally taking a much-deserved break after their long day of travelling. Since the village, their days of travel had thankfully been rather uneventful, aside from learning the horrid taste of Mabeast despite how Daphne created them for consumption to Pandora's claim.

"Thankfully I can just do this now," Leo said to himself after remembering the moment, putting his hand to a tree to use his authority on it, making it rapidly grow fruits on its branches before their very eyes.

"Were you thinking back to the Mabeast incident?" Pandora calmly asked as she stood with him, ready to pick some of the fruits that grew.

"You could have mentioned something then if you knew…" Leo grumbled in response.

"Apologies, but it was a rather amusing reaction from you," Pandora said with a usually gleeful smile that quickly returned to normal. "But I am glad to see you freely making use of your abilities now, even if it is only for smaller things."

"If used it much more then we would just be leaving a trail…" Leo sighed in response, tired of how much the witch had been pestering him to openly use his authority without restraint. "What does it even mean to you about me using my authority too much anyway?"

"Because possessing an authority is the right to interfere with the world. It's the shared sentiment of all authority wielders. The right to do as you please, it's why authorities overpower all other powers in this world, and yet you still let it do with you as it pleases. It's something that I don't understand."

"Just because you can, doesn't mean that you should…" Leo replied.

"But you are being chased down, people are trying to kill you without even getting to know you. You have perfect reason to stand up and fight back, put them in their place but instead, you just run and don't fight back. It's not because of a lack of power from how you have grown. Many others in your situation certainly wouldn't act as you do. Even the Great Spirit surely agrees, don't you?" Pandora continued, turning their attention to Cecily who seemed off-put from the sudden attention.

"Well… I don't like people just hunting down Master. They're more monsters than he is right now, he's done nothing wrong and they just keep coming up with their ideas and acting on them without getting to know him or confirm anything either…" Cecily murmured in displeasure, not enjoying the fact that she agreed with Pandora.

"It seems that you're rather alone in your way of allowing the world to trample on you like that."

"I never said that! I don't like it but it's one of the ways that Master is kind by giving them chances!" Cecily instantly sprung back with energy.

"Then how many chances do you plan to give them? Or will you do so until you finally break beyond repair?" Pandora asked, bringing about silence as they waited for whatever Leo's answer would be.

"You're just being antagonistic right? Trying to convert me or something?" Leo eventually countered.

"Not at all, I'm just curious. But it seems that is an excuse that you are working with currently, doesn't it?"

"I don't really care about the world, I just want a comfortable enough life. And I know that not everyone is bad, I mean everyone in the Felt and Emilia camps supports me. Wilhelm and Crusche also have a high opinion of me as well I think."

"But at this rate, you will never see them again. And that village has already shown how much people can affect you."

"Just shut up," Leo said as he went back to pick a multitude of apples off of the tree as Pandora helped, something that he no longer found himself appreciative of in the new desire for some time away from her.

"Sorry, but it isn't good to run away from things forever. Unless this world has something surprising to prove me wrong, you'll have to face it." Pandora said only to receive pure silence from Leo who was attempting to block her out. "How about I do something for you as a sign that I am on your side? Something that will help you?"

"And what could that be?" Leo asked almost sarcastically, not having any hopes for the witch.

"I can increase the power of your authority." Pandora calmly answered, making Leo briefly freeze before looking at her, still processing her words to make sure that he had heard them right.

"Seriously?" Leo asked again.

"Yes, currently your witch factor hasn't fully settled in because of your lack of use of it. But I can accelerate the process without any drawbacks and give you full access to your authority's abilities. No matter what, having more power at your disposal makes you safer and more able to carry about whatever your desires are, right? Would you refuse that?" Pandora asked again, putting down her apples before taking Leo's to do the same, making a small pile of fruit.

"But why? You're making me stronger and we're not exactly allied. If anything you should want me dead unless you're really that confident that I'm going to trust you one day and join you…"

"But I have already staked my freedom on it, no?" Pandora replied with a tilt of her head.

"I thought it was primarily to keep me from killing you…"

"Even after I have told you multiple times my reason for travelling with you? If all I cared about was my continued survival then I merely would have made a contract where we would have never bothered one another again."

"True…"

"All you should be worried about is what you will gain from it, and this is a power that you will inevitably gain over time so nothing will change in the end."

"Really?" Leo said as the news. 'So she really is just speeding things up for me then?' He thought to himself. "How long would it take normally anyway?"

"It would depend on how much you use your authority. Using it as little as possible could make it take years, whilst regularly using it plenty to bring it down to mere months, maybe even just weeks if you were using it intensely enough."

"Wait! How would you do that anyway? You can't just skip over years of development like that!" Cecily interjected with a hostile look. "You're keeping something from us, what would happen to Master?"

"Nothing, there is no consequence for this. At worst only some discomfort that you would quickly get over I imagine. You are still treating authorities like they are magic or something similar when instead they break all the rules. If authorities are involved then many forms of development that you speak of could have many different ways of being rapidly advanced."

"Seriously?" Leo questioned.

"You should know it rather well yourself, being able to grant and take life. You can heal even things seemingly impossible. I can alter reality to my will, and Lust with the power to shapeshift herself and others can impact and alter people's gates, causing them to deteriorate or develop and even change."

"But that's… that's impossible…" Cecily said in exasperation, struggling to believe what they were hearing.

"But that's just what authorities are." Pandora replied with a smile, "And you know that I can't lie to your contractor."

For a few moments, there was more silence that sat heavy in the air, the two thinking about the witch's words until Leo finally made up his mind. "If it's like that, then I may as well just get access to my full power sooner rather than later, right? Besides, I'm beginning to wonder what else there is to my authority if it hasn't reached its peak.

"Master?!" "Leo?" His spirits questioned nearly in unison whilst Pandora was pleased with the response she got.

"She said it herself, that I've got nothing to lose so why wouldn't I?" he questioned, making the spirits remain quiet for a moment.

"You hold a valid point, it is merely how lightly you seem to be treating the matter of authorities and witches currently. But perhaps the significance of this doesn't sit on you the same it does to a native of this world…" Kou said. "I do not object, however, if this is what you wish for. Perhaps it is something to be advised to prepare you for the worst should it come."

"Very well, would you come here then?" Pandora asked as she sat down on a nearby rock that served as a big enough seat for the pair of them.

"So, what are we doing? I thought you would just say something and your authority would do the rest." Leo said as he sat down beside the beauty, feeling somewhat uncomfortable to be so close to her.

"My authority doesn't work quite like that, instead there is something much simpler that can be done," Pandora answered.

"Oh? And that is?"

"You just need to swallow some of my saliva." She said as if it was the easiest thing in the world, leaving Leo with the need to think about her words for a few moments.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"And that'll help how exactly? Don't tell me you've got magical spit now…" He replied, voice oozing with sarcasm at the suggestion.

"No, I don't," Pandora said, taking his words literally. "Because of my own witch factor, I can infuse it a little into something you can easily ingest. We could have had a drink of something but because we currently don't carry any liquids we'll just have to do things directly."

"Directly? You mean you wish to k-k-kiss him?!" Cecily exclaimed, blushing at the news.

"I thought that acts of human affection would be lost on a spirit, perhaps being around humans for long enough might have changed things?" Pandora asked with a hint of interest at Cecily's reaction.

"You can't do it! You're just after Master!" Cecily proclaimed, now attempting to separate the two by pushing them apart.

"Not at all, I merely say this as my way of giving aid to him, and there is no other way of doing this unless you have another convenient idea. Personally, I don't see any harm in the action."

"Well… you could… is there nothing else?" Cecily asked.

"Nothing as convenient." Pandora said without flinching, "It is not as if it is an inconvenience to you, is it Leo?"

"Well…" Leo said, faintly blushing over the thought despite his completely torn feelings. 'On one hand, my authority will improve and I really wonder what other powers I'll have… but having to kiss her… I could try waiting… but… if you look past who she is then she is a beauty…' He continued to mull over them until Pandora finally reached out to gently hold his face, forcing him to look at her.

"It seems that you can't make up your mind, perhaps I should just choose for you? I don't see what you are having trouble with personally." She said with her usual, perpetual smile yet it somehow managed to further unnerve Leo as his mind became further frazzled.

"Can you… not?" Leo said in a weak voice, feeling how much his cheeks were burning up as he attempted a hard expression that only came off soft in the end. He had a feeling that he should remove her hands yet he couldn't bring himself either.

She didn't respond or listen to him, instead quickly moving her face closer to his. At first, Leo automatically began to pull away from it but Pandora merely held firm, preventing him from doing so. He would have pushed back against her, but some part of him felt hesitance at the thought of laying hands on her.

It was his hesitance that cost him, or perhaps rewarded him, as Pandora finally closed the last of the gap between them before planting a kiss on his lips. She didn't wait to begin slipping her tongue into Leo's mouth as his eyes widened in shock. She continued to hold him, preventing him from escaping the deep kiss until at last he was forced to swallow from the building amount of saliva.

The moment he did so, Pandora finally broke away from the kiss allowing them to breathe once more. 'Oh my god… what the hell?!' Leo internally panicked as he completely recoiled, covering his mouth with a hand, not noticing the wildly flustered expression that Cecily had.

"Are you ok?" Pandora calmly asked, merely cocking her head in an attempt to see his expression.

"I'm… fine." Leo hesitantly replied through his embarrassment, "But at the same time… I'm not feeling any different…"

"Mm," Pandora hummed, "Do you know that as I grew up, there were countless men who adored me? I wonder how envious they would be of you…" she said in complete nonchalance as Leo jolted in response.

"Did… did you just tease me?" Leo asked as he slowly turned around in disbelief.

"You said that you were yet to feel any difference, perhaps you wish to do it again?" Pandora said as a sly smile appeared on her face as she looked at Leo with a sense of amusement. Whilst she was still calmly sitting on the rock with all the grace in the world, Leo only became more of a mess, unable to handle the completely unexpected side of the witch.

"Not necessary." He curtly answered, turning away from her again. Yet despite his words, he felt himself needing to resist the urge to touch his lips as he still recalled the sensation of her lips and tongue. 'It wasn't what I was expecting but… I can't deny, it was somewhat enjoyable… like hell I'm ever going to be comfortable with the idea however-' He thought to himself until he was interrupted by a pounding pain in his chest, forcing him to clutch it as he dropped to one knee.

"Master!" Cecily exclaimed as she attempted to hurry to his side only to be held back by Pandora. "Let go of me!" She said, attempting to shake off her grip.

"It would be best if he was left alone for a bit." Pandora calmly said, making sure that the spirit didn't escape her, resulting in the two watching Leo struggle before them as shadows began to surge out of his body. 'This should increase the influence his factor has over him now, he merely needs his will weakened a little and everything might start working out.' She thought to herself, her pleased demeanour not getting noticed by her typical attitude.

What felt like a minute went by as they could only watch his struggle, until at last the shadows died down. Leo was left panting in the attempt to regain his breath as Pandora finally took her hand off of Cecily allowing her to rush over to her contractor, kneeling by his side.

"Master, are you alright?" Cecily frantically asked.

"How do you feel now?" Pandora asked, earning brief scorn from Cecily. "You should be fully acclimated to your witch factor now."

"Better than the last minute at least…" Leo huffed in exhaustion before steadily getting to his feet as Cecily eagerly helped him.

"You should test out your authority again and see if anything has changed. Try attempting whatever you feel like you can do unless you acquire an ability that is more automatic in nature."

For a couple of moments, he merely glared at the witch who remained perfectly unflinching until he began to attempt her suggestion out of his own curiosity about what could have changed about him as he felt no difference from before. Even as he activated his authority, he felt no difference until a flood of energy quickly hit him all at once.

In little time, everything around him had begun to steadily wither and die, no longer caring for the fact that he wasn't touching them. Whilst he would have been amazed at the effect that his mere presence was having on everything around him, something far more alarming had him gripped.

"Master… please stop!" "You're affecting us as well, Leo!" His spirits quickly called out to him, making him immediately stop using his authority in alarm.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Are you two alright?!" Leo worriedly asked as he crouched down beside Cecily who was struggling by herself.

"I'm fine Master, I don't think you took much from me…" Cecily sighed as she recollected herself. "But that's amazing! I don't think anyone can stand up to you if you can do that!"

"Anyone unable to make it past his defence that is," Kou interjected the shining blue light that was Kou's being now notably dimmer. "It also still fails to be concerned about allies. However, is it most certainly a more powerful ability than one that requires touch."

"Are you feeling alright Kou?" Leo asked, wondering how much vitality a quasi-spirit even had.

"I daren't wish to be underestimated, despite this, I feel that my strength has been sapped. For what is small to a great spirit, is far more to a spirit of my lesser status. It would be appreciated for you to return the energy you took."

"Right, I'll try…" Leo said as he began to focus on the quasi-spirit that now hovered just before him, awaiting his aid. Upon reaching out to the spirit, it floated in his hand as he began to use his authority feeling a similar lethargic feeling fill him as he passed his energy into Kou instead, who began to glow brighter once again, if not even more than before. "Is that enough?"

"It is plenty, thank you for that," Kou answered.

"That's good to hear, but how did I end up harming you guys anyway? I thought that because of our contract…"

"They aren't that ironclad, Leo," Pandora spoke up again, gaining his and Cecily's displeased looks. "For example with our contract, I cannot lie to you, but I could unintentionally tell you something incorrect."

"So because I used my authority not knowing what the consequences were…"

"You didn't know it would harm them, therefore you didn't do it willingly or knowingly, and the contract has no power over that." Pandora finished.

"It's ok master, we know that you would never do it intentionally and you made us better afterwards!" Cecily said, putting on an energetic act.

"It is interesting how your authority has grown, however. There is nothing less to discover about it, only to just gain better control over it but even that is mostly instinctive. You should try to better learn about your authority now." Pandora continued she had their attention.

"Does that mean I can learn to choose who is affected by my authority then?" Leo asked, hope in his voice.

"Likely not." Pandora quickly answered, "Your authority works in a certain way and that won't change, no matter how hard you try now. All you can learn is what exactly the rules are, which should come to you intuitively. If you don't feel like you can do it, then you can't."

"Then I can't even use this upgrade without harming you all, hell, because of our contract I can't willingly use it at all!" Leo argued, "It was for nothing then…"

"Not quite. If maybe be limited but you can't say it was for a waste." Pandora said, shaking her head. "It might depend on what your range is but so long as it's small enough for you to leave you alone…"

"Well, it might come in handy later Master! Wouldn't it be better if it never did, though?" Cecily said making Leo think about the matter for a few moments before sighing.

"I get where you're coming from I can't pick people apart, but still…"

"Perhaps we ought to look past this for today. Instead, would it not be better to consider whatever our plan might be for tomorrow? Pristella is a city, and news of you has most certainly spread there. Should you be spotted attempting to cross the border I fear what might.' Kou said, breaking up the tense moment.

"In a worst-case scenario, I wonder if they might go as far as informing Karargi about such matters if they see the attempt?" Pandora nonchalantly added on. "You would truly be running out of options for the peaceful life you want then."

"I get that much…" Leo replied with a grumble, unsure if the witch was enjoying pointing out the negatives to him. "I wonder if this will be enough to get by? It's not like anyone knows about Pandora at least." He then said, gently gripping the massive, long black hooded cardigan that he wore. It was a thin material but it did more than enough to cover the majority of this body and even hide his face somewhat as well.

"It's a too thin veiled disguise," Pandora said. "Besides, Cecily is also recognized as your spirit isn't she? Doesn't she need something as well?"

"Well… why not invisibility?" Leo then suggested only to see Cecily nodding her head in approval.

"So long as you can maintain concentration for that long then I should have enough mana to last the two of us that long!" She happily stated.

"Well, that makes that all simple enough. You just need to pass through as we follow you and it'll all be over in no time. I don't even know why you made it sound like a problem." Leo said as he began to relax, taking a bite out of an appa they had picked before taking a hard look at it.

"Is there something wrong?" Cecily asked with a curious look.

"No, it's just I was pondering something. The whole language of this place, at least when spoken, is exactly the same as where I come from… except for the names of fruits and stuff. When you get so close yet so far it turns from amazing to disappointing you know?"

"What else between our worlds is so similar then?" Pandora asked.

"Well…" Leo hesitantly said as he looked back at her, thinking for a few moments before making up his mind. "I suppose in some ways not that much, but also there is a lot of difference…"

"Really? Is there more than your stories to talk about?" Cecily said, now completely sat up and eager to listen to the stories that she had gone a while without hearing.

"It's a whole other world, of course, there's plenty more to talk about. We aren't just a bunch of people who live our lives in books and such." Leo chucked before taking on a more soft, glum look at the worry of the spirit.

"There are many things in this world that are absent there. Magic is the most major of them. Some things don't exist here, like technology and infrastructure. To be honest, everything that exists there could also exist here as well if you worked towards it, but the same couldn't be said in return."

"Really? Do you mean that you could create some of your life here?" Cecily asked.

"Not at all, some stuff is small and simple enough in concept to manage, but other things we spent so long making stuff that makes other stuff that helps us make more stuff with far greater ease or enabling it entirely. What we have is the product of hundreds of years of development and research, and it would take so much longer for one person to do it alone, even if I already know plenty of the… information behind it."

"Oh, I see… but you can still make some things right?"

"I could, there are plenty of simple things that could be made that would still have a major impact on this world at least…" Leo said as his voice steadily became more glum.

"What about the stars?" Pandora suddenly spoke up.

"The stars? What about them?" Leo asked, confused at the seemingly random question. "Do they have some significance here?"

"No, they don't. To nearly everyone in this world, they are just small dots that light up the night sky."

"Then why would you want to know anything about them? What do they mean to you?" He continued, now completely shifting himself to face Pandora.

"A long time ago in the past, I knew another person who came from your world, and they were very fond of the stars and spoke so much about all sorts about them," Pandora answered with a reminiscent look as she looked up into the sky where it was already becoming dark with the stars steadily coming out one by one. "His fascination rubbed off on me a little, I suppose. I wonder if you knew any more about them than what I got to learn."

"It's a whole other world, I don't know how much of my knowledge applies to these stars…"

"It doesn't matter. You can just say whatever you know. I have already heard some things about your North Star, and the names of some constellations and stars that make them." She said as she looked back at him. "Even if it's just some names or the stories behind them."

"Well… I don't remember a lot about the stars, it wasn't my greatest interest but it's not like I know nothing… do you know of the Zodiac?" Leo asked with a brief thought, checking with the witch who shook her head in response.

"Is it a particular constellation? It sounds like a group." Pandora noted.

"It's a group but not of stars, and they're the humble roots of astrology. There are twelve Zodiac constellations each with their own names, and they appear depending on the time of year." Leo said, "People in a religious sort of way came to say that people have certain personality traits and such depending on what day you were born on, or using them to make future predictions for the day and so on. None of it has any proof to it but people like to think about it."

"Truly? I find it interesting that despite you making them sound like rather commonplace knowledge of stars, I didn't hear about them from Him. Do you know their names?" Pandora asked, making Leo gain a bitter smile as he lowered his head as if to hide his expression from the witch's interest.

"Yeah… Leo and Aries are both names of the Zodiac. I think it's partly why the nickname Leo stuck more than the full name of Leon, although it also definitely attracted a worse kind of attention as well. My parents were fond of it, they thought it was a good name that could also be quite fitting to our family name as well…"

"Are you?" Pandora then asked, Leo's confusion as he looked back up to see her looking back at him. Whilst she looked expressionless, the sole tilt of her head made her appear far more bewildered.

"Well, I have no issues with it… why?"

"Because you appear upset," Pandora said to his shock whilst Cecily began to lean forward, reaching for his face.

"It's true… are you ok?" Cecily said with a troubled look, her hand gently brushing aside two small streams that had been unknowingly making their way down his face. "Why are you upset?"

"Ah…" Leo said, still taking in his apparent sadness, "I'll… be better soon."

"But what's wrong? Please don't keep things to yourself like this!" Cecily pressured.

"You do seem to like trying to keep everything bottled up. From a few days before and now, you seem to be reaching your limit." Pandora observed, making Leo tense up as heard her words.

"Well… what do you think?" Leo said, his voice bitter, his clenched fists which were beginning to shake. "I had a life before, I was content with it and had people that I cared for… then just like that I was taken away from it all. I arrived here, I was lucky and began a new life, new friends and things were working out… and then I lost it all. Harder than before as I'm hated, despised and loathed with nearly everyone out to kill me just because one man hated the fact my best wasn't enough!"

"Master…" Cecily murmured.

"Why did you even bring me here?! What did you actually want?!" Leo shouted at Pandora, fury burning in his waterlogged eyes.

"I didn't." Pandora calmly answered.

For a brief moment, Leo was shocked and confused at the response that she had managed to answer with but it didn't last long in the face of his overflowing emotions. "What the hell do you mean?! You even greeted me and everything the second I was taken from my home!"

"I did. But I was not the one who took you from your world." Pandora said unflinchingly despite Leo's demeanour.

"Then who did!?"

"The witch of envy."

"What?" Leo said, his shock managing to calm him down, his whole posture slumping as he processed the information.

"She reached across worlds to find someone, but she also took you unintentionally. I merely took advantage of the situation to meet with you and lend you some aid, hoping that we would be capable of one day mutually benefiting one another in our goals. That is how we met."

"So she's… but then…" Leo murmured to himself in frustration and confusion, no longer having something to vent his frustrations on. He almost hated how suddenly no one around him was responsible for any of the injustice in his life, only people who technically supported him instead.

Had it been another time, then perhaps he would have been glad but instead, it left him only in an emotional confusion. All he could do was thump the ground with a fist as his gaze dropped to the ground as if in defeat.

"Can't I get a break?" He quietly muttered. "I never signed up for anything… And now… all of this…"

He didn't even have any hope of going home if it wasn't even Pandora who was responsible for bringing him to this world. Whatever peace he wanted would be something that he would have to make for himself within a world that who knew if he had seen the full extent of its unwillingness to reject that. Yet it was at that moment he couldn't help but remember what Pandora had said.

"Because possessing an authority is the right to interfere with the world. It's the shared sentiment of all authority wielders. The right to do as you please, it's why authorities overpower all other powers in this world." her voice echoed in his mind.

Did that mean he also could carve out his ideal place in the world? But if he did, then he would be no different to any of the witches or sin archbishops. But unlike their desires, he just wanted a peaceful place, compared to getting involved and ruining people's lives. But the very idea of forcing there to be a peaceful place would likely mean becoming even more of a monster in everyone's eyes.

Did he even have a chance anymore? But should he even be worried about anything to do with those who would wish to ruin his life? But then what would it do to the nice people that he cared about? Perhaps they would understand, or it would be instead dropping to morals too low that even they would leave him. Did he need or want people that would leave him? But they hadn't left him now, why would they then, surely they would understand it to be something akin to self-defence? But they were also the people talking about making sure he was accepted again… But that was their suggestion to ensure him a peaceful life, but didn't that mean they wouldn't approve of such lows?

…when did he become accepting enough of such lows to consider them?

"This… isn't right, I wasn't like this before, was I? I mean maybe, maybe Heinkel but…" He thought to himself doing his best to push the rest of his thoughts aside. "Wait, didn't Echidna say something about witch factors warping me? Am I already losing myself?!"

Maybe he shouldn't have taken the power up after all… but now it made it all the more important that he kept himself together, to not lose himself…

"Why can't I catch a break…" Leo sighed to himself to the concern of his onlookers who remained clueless to the extent of his inner turmoil.

"Master…" Cecily said as she hugged his side, hoping to give him some support.

'Try to remember that you are not far from your goals soon enough. By tomorrow you will be in another land, with a fresh start once more. I am sure that there you will never need to be involved in anything that brought you pain before." Kou said as he floated beside them, his voice completely monotone despite his reassuring words.

Pandora remained seated on her rock as she watched the three with interest until after a few moments of spectating she finally rose up and walked over. At first, the spirits were shocked and almost perturbed by the witch's actions, feelings which rapidly grew as she proceeded to kneel down before Leo and draw him into a hug.

Leo himself was once again stunned by the witch's actions who continued to gently hold him to her with a delicate yet firm enough hold that it managed to give him reassurance somehow. "I apologise for how things have turned out. Perhaps if I had left you alone then you may have turned out better. I assure you that I shall help you achieve your goals, however,"

"So that one day I'll help you achieve yours?" Leo quietly replied.

"That was always my plan." Pandora almost whispered back. "But when was it ever wrong to help one another?"

Leo couldn't help but let things stay that way, devoid of strength and will to have any kind of reaction other than to simply accept it. Only after a little bit did he feel he had regained himself enough to talk again. "Pandora, did you know that witch factors can cause a person to change? Even if they're compatible?" He asked in an almost pleading voice.

"Everything can cause a person to change-" Pandora began to answer.

"Pandora." Leo interrupted in the same voice, making her go quiet for a moment before talking again.

"Yes, I knew they could do that to a person… but a strong enough will can resist that. I know someone who took in a witch factor they had no compatibility with, and yet they managed to desperately resist its influence despite when it, by all means, is at its worst."

"I know you forced that whole situation…" Leo said in a bitter voice yet still failing to draw up the energy to get truly infuriated again, "But if you knew that why did you do it to me? How could you do it to me? I mean, the contract?"

"I caused you no direct harm, but can I not believe in you? As I said, with a strong enough will you can resist it, but also the more you are naturally compatible with the witch factor, the less willpower is required to do it."

"You should have told him before!" Cecily pointed out in a huff.

"He had been dealing with it since the beginning, and he would inevitably get this far anyway." Pandora replied, "Although, perhaps I should have mentioned it in the case that he didn't know."

"Perhaps?" Leo grumbled. "If you're after my trust you're getting a few more negative points from that…"

"Very well." Pandora hummed in response as Leo simply sighed, not knowing what he would do with her. There were still questions that he wanted to ask her and a murky history of her's that he had to keep in mind, but in the current time, all he wanted was rest…

Pandora, even as they chose to lay down for the night, never lost her gentle smile. Silently pleased she threw a glance over at Leo. 'Even if it cost me a bit of trust. This is important progress, although hopefully there was more to it than he said.' She thought before closing her eyes for the night, now knowing that it was just a matter of time. All she needed was the chance to shatter his last hopes and he would fall…

"Sir I swear it. Over in the distance, that small wooded patch, everything started withering away for a moment! Look at the grass, it's mostly dead now isn't it?" A guard said from atop the stone walls of Pristella, the guard captain at his side cast his gaze in the direction his subordinate pointed out.

"This is trouble indeed… does it mean he's here?" The captain spoke through gritted teeth. "Get to the communications mirror… send an urgent request for aid. For now, we remain vigilant, hopefully, nothing happens too soon else even defensively we may stand little chance of lasting long enough…"

Who knew what kind of aid they could hope to receive, or when it would arrive? All the guards of Pristella knew was they had to prepare to take out the worst…