"I guess that we now have an opportunity just the two of us, we can finally talk business."
The moment Laventhign said that, Soren's only thought was:
'I knew it. I knew she definitely wanted something. And judging by what I know, I am expecting Lavenza's name to brought up in this conversation.'
"For starters, let's start with you. Let's get a proper introduction from the man of the hour." Laventhign said with a serious expression.
Soren himself was a bit suprised with this line of questioning. 'Ask about me, instead of her daughter. It woukd be pretty natural to check on the man who took care of her daughter.' Soren thought to himself.
"My name is Soren and I am a just a guy who travels through the sea to look for hidden wonders. Right now though, I have picked up the adventurer job so I can get myself some quick cash, before I continue my search for more hidden things." Soren answered with a confident look in his eyes. He knew that lying was his only option since he never existed in this world before, so he decided to make a story which shows that he has barely made connections with people.
"I see." The woman answered expressionlessly. He couldn't see if his lie has worked or was she pretending that she believed it, only for later to sucker punch him with a low blow. So for now, Soren had to continue keeping his confident act, so she wouldn't suspect a thing.
"Next question. When did you reach Crystalia City?" Laventhign asked with a similar expression as before.
"Around a couple of days ago." Soren answered confidently.
"I see. Next, what was your reason for coming to Crystalia City?"
Soren would still have a bit of trouble for answering this, since he wouldn't know enough, but now he has a much more believable story now.
"My main reason fo coming was actually to meet with a friend of mine who had information about Pallas City, but by the time I reached, he had already left. Since I had been robbed and then thrown somewhere in the middle of nowhere, I had already lost a couple of days at least, so by the time I reached the Crystalia City, he had already left."
"Intersting... Next question. Why are you looking for Pallas City?"
That question was a bit harder for Soren since he didn't expect that she would dig into the Pallas City business, but he kept his cool and answered:
"There is something that I am looking for and by everything that I have gathered so far, my best bet would be Pallas City. That is all I know." Soren decided to be a bit vague on the Pallas City part, since the fact that he was looking for Ultimatus, had to be kept an absolute secret, just like the fact that he is a reincarnator.
"Very interesting Soren. Now, let me ask you, what do you truly know for Lavenza?"
'Here it is. The question which I was expecting for. She has a high chance of knowing Lavenza's true identity, but nothing is set in stone. I'll have to gamble for this.' Soren knew that this was an extremely risky question and if he said the wrong thing, getting away with a scolding would be least of his worries.
"What do I know? I know that she was found near the Border East Garrison, since I was the one that found her and hatched her. I know that her nane is Lavenza, since I was the one who gave her name. I know that she can use water magic to protect herself since we fought together quite a few times. I know that she is a fast learner and that she knows how to work in a team, despite the fact that she is an infant." At that moment, Soren halted for a second, steeled himself and said: "She is... Your biological daughter that you never came for in the first place. And last but not least, she is a friend who has saved me and i have saved her and both want to see nore of the world." At moment, Soren stopped talking since he said what he truly wanted to say. He figured out that it's better to say the truth on times like these, even if it was cold and harsh, but that was what he truly knew of her from the past few days he spent with her.
"I... See..." Laventhign had a bit of a sad expression when she said that and then asked: "Then, what do you intend to do?"
At that moment, Soren fell silent. That was a question he wanted to answer after some time had passed and had seen the world. He had some short-term objectives, but he didn't have anything planned in the far future. If it was the previous life, he would have become a marine biologist, but with this new world, he didn't know if that job even existed in the first place. At that moment, Soren then answered seriously:
"To be honest, I don't have anything planned in particular. I just want to see and experience the world and the people. I want to see what kind of adventures are waiting for both me and Lavenza. And I want her to experience the world with her own eyes, seeing the people, hearing their stories and I want to see her grow as well. There will be a lot of hardships, for sure, but I feel like, compared to being stuck in one place and seeing the same people all the time, those hardships would be a small cost to pay for experiencing what the world can truly show." After Soren finished his answer, he felt a bit emotional. He hadn't noticed how much he had actually bottled up inside him. Even though he was here for only a few days, he felt like he had truly become a part of this world and wanted to experience even more.
After Soren finished saying that, there was a small moment of silence, before Laventhign spoke with a slightly sad voice:
"It seems you really do resemble him. Even though it's been 500 years, I'll never forget those days. And you reminded me of the person who made those days, some of the best that I could ever remember."
Soren felt a bit confused. 'What did I do now?' Soren thought. Then Laventhign asked something with a calm voice:
"Would you mind hearing something for a bit before I ask you the next thing?"
"Sure, go ahead miss." Soren answered back.
"Thank you. For starters, you should probably know a bit about the founders of Crystalia City. Those would be me, Quan, Kris and Daren. I was the founder of the church, Quan was the protector of the city, Kris was govenor and Daren was builder and engineer of this city. For now though, let's focus on Quan though. You should already know all this from history books for all the details, but to sum up quickly, Quan was the protector of Crystalia City and the only one who had the ability to fight against some of the most powerful beasts in the sea. Another thing you should already know is that me and Quan were dating at the time of founding the city but we had no descendants between the two of us, since Quan died too young."
Soren was shocked. He could barely process this info. She was actually one of the founders of Crystalia City. But Laventhign continued as if she hadn't noticed Soren's shock.
"For now, I leave the itty nitty details of truly happened back then, but what I can say was that I actually had a child with Quan. And the child that both Quan and I had, is actually Lavenza. At the time, I thought I had lost her completely after those attacks at the Garrison, hence the reason I became a bit obsessive with my children, I just couldn't bear losing another child after those days and losing Quan the day after I lost my little girl was nearly too much to bear at the time. I did manage to pull through, but I felt like I was no longer the same person I was back then."
After Laventhign said that, Soren understood a bit better now. Losing your child and your beloved one can only be described as pure hell. That was what Soren was thinking before he tried to say something but then stopped. He couldn't think of anything to say to try and conmfort her so he decided to just stay silent. After that, Laventhign continued:
"Anyways, now that you know that my daughter actually is my first child. Can you please look after her and show her the world in my place? I don't want anyone to know of Lavenza's existance and I believe she would be better off without knowing she is my daughter. I don't want this to be a request to be from an Arch-Priestess, but from a mother who couldn't help her daughter at the time."
Soren thought for a moment before he said: "Alright then, I won't tell her anything about what you told me and I'll make sure she grows into healthy girl and sees world." Soren was actually prepared to fight with her to take care of Lavenza, but after hearing the story and her request, he calmed himself and agreed without making a fuss.
After Soren agreed, Laventhign's eyes shone a blue light for a moment before they went back to green. Then Soren asked:
"By the way, what was the blue shine?"
"Oh, that? That is a simple silence spell to make sure no one would hear us. After all, this kind of business is highly confidential, isn't it?" Lavenza answered back with a happy expression.
"Hmmm... I see. I guess that makes things easier now." Soren said a bit casually before he chuckled.