Lira stared at Gabriel blankly as silence ensued. Only the sounds of leaves rustling amongst themselves could be heard.
The two people looked at each other, trying to guess what the other person might be thinking.
"It's not crazy. You said you'll do anything I ask in return. I told you my demand. Now the rest is on your shoulders." Gabriel appeared to be unphased.
The lady had come to him with a request. It wasn't him who went to her first. Moreover, since he was taking a risk to put her at ease, he wanted to ask for something impossible.
"Can you ask for something else?" Lira asked after thinking for a few minutes.
"I don't need anything else. Take your time and think about it. I'm not in any hurry. It's not like I have a home to go to."
Gabriel sat under the shade of a tree. He kept eating the apples as if he was Adam in the garden of Eden, not caring about anything else for now. He didn't need to hurry back to the town since everyone had gone already. The only destination for him was the Royal City.
He intentionally placed a task like that before her. He wanted her to agree to it. He knew it was impossible to pull it off, so if Lira agreed, it could only mean she wasn't serious about this cooperation, and his suspicions were correct. It was more complicated if she actually disagreed.
His goal of going to the Holy City was simple... Get back at the ones who messed with him, especially Hawrin, since he was the core of this entire mess.
Leaving Lira to her own thoughts, Gabriel observed his Ancestral staff even more carefully. According to him, this staff was most probably the Ancestral Staff of Necromancy.
It was supposed to be the strongest Elemental Staff. Lira was also after something similar but for her Element.
This showed Gabriel the importance of the staff he had. He literally had the strongest weapons in the world that anyone could have. He had the Holy Book of Necromancy, and he had the Ancestral Staff of Necromancy. The only part of the equation which was lacking was himself. He needed to make himself stronger, and he realized it.
Initially, his enmity might've been with Hawrin, but now the entire world was against him because of his other element. For his safety, he needed strength... Even more strength than he had… strength to kill anyone who even thought about hurting him!
"I will a-" Lira opened her lips to speak something but stopped in the middle as a frown covered her forehead. She went silent again, turning his back to Gabriel.
After a long pause, she broke the silence. "As much as I want to help you, it's impossible. I can't help you steal the Holy Book of Light!"
"You are asking for something that is literally impossible," she calmly stated. "The Holy Book of Light is with the Head of the Church of Light. Even with the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, I won't be strong enough to face him directly."
From her initial reaction, he felt as if she was just about to agree to convince him but stopped and eventually disagreed. What made her stop? That was the question. Was she a friend? Or was she an enemy? He still couldn't be sure.
All he knew was that for now, she didn't plan to hurt him, maybe because she wanted him to steal the Ancestral Staff first. However, that was just his suspicion for now. He couldn't be sure of it. He tried to push her more.
"Who said you will be alone?" Gabriel inquired. "I will be fighting with you. Two against one. Even if he is stronger, we can do it."
Lira shook her head. "Even if we manage to get lucky and kill the Head of the Church of Light, as I told you before, the Holy Grimoires never select the killers as their owners. The Holy Book of Light won't select you as its owner. It'll disappear after the Head of the Church of Light is killed. Your wish is literally impossible."
Gabriel heard her explanation but didn't speak.
'Did she realize it was a test?' he wondered. 'Her explanation is exactly why I wanted to use this as a test. Because I knew it was impossible since Grimoire won't select me if I contribute to the death of its owner."
"That's why I'm telling you to ask for something else. Literally, anything else. I could make a false promise to you right now saying I'll do it, but I know it's impossible," Lira explained.
"If I lied now, the day you find out that I lied, there would be bad blood between us, and I don't want that. So I'm not going to lie to you just to get you to do what I ask."
Gabriel noticed the eyes of Lira. Even though she was a Dark Mage who had probably taken a lot of lives, her eyes were seemingly pure. But there was something incomprehensible in them as well.
He could feel that she wasn't a bad person. But that mysterious feeling…it was only getting stronger, warning him to stay careful.
"Fine. I'll help you." Gabriel tossed an apple to Lira. "I know stealing the Grimoire of Light is impossible as well."
He finally agreed. Even though he was only more suspicious of her now, he went along with it to see just what it truly was. As for keeping his side of the deal, he left that decision for the later. For now, entering the Holy City was more important.
"You know... And you agree to help me despite me not promising you? Why?" Lira stared at Gabriel in confusion as she caught the apple.
Gabriel didn't directly tell her that it was because he wanted her knowledge, despite not trusting her one bit. Instead, he gave another reason, mixing some lies with lots of truth.
"You might be the only person in the world who won't look at me like I'm a Devil, despite knowing both my elements," he answered. "Just like I'm the only one who won't judge you. If you want to change the world, you'll need my help. And if I want to fight back and become stronger, I'll need your help."
"We are the two bad apples of this world that everyone hates," he further added. "It's time we showed the world what a few bad apples can do."
As Gabriel spoke, it was pretty ironic that he was holding an apple in his hand.
Lira couldn't agree with Gabriel's statement more. That was precisely what she thought. The two of them needed each other in this battle. If she wanted to survive long enough to change the world, she needed that Ancestral Staff in her hand… and she needed him!
However, she still wasn't sure why Gabriel asked for a demand he wasn't going to follow through on. She had a feeling that it was probably a test, but she couldn't be sure. Moreover, in the end, he offered his help without anything in return.
After a long time, she finally asked, "Could it be... You were testing me?"
Gabriel didn't answer. He kept his focus on his Ancestral Staff.
"There's a saying in my town. A burnt child dreads fire. I've seen what happens when I trust someone without thinking things through. As you said before, even your family can betray you at the last second."
"I wanted to see if you would lie to me just to get what you want. You didn't. If you had lied…." He stood up and stretched his arms and didn't finish her sentence, which sounded a bit threatening. "I will help you."
"You..." Lira just blankly stared at Gabriel.
This young boy... She initially thought he was going to be an impulsive young man who asked for requests without thinking things through. But he was different... He had thought things through. Even his demand had a hidden purpose behind it. If she had lied to him, she would've lost his help and trust forever.
"So you really don't want anything in exchange?" Lira inquired.
"I didn't say I won't ask anything in return. I don't need to ask you anything this instant. When the time comes…." Gabriel declared.
Even though Lira was an advanced mage with a Grimoire, Gabriel didn't feel threatened for now. He had seen death from up close twice. In this life, he wasn't going to be scared of dying.
"I promise. When you need help, I'll always be there. It doesn't matter if you succeed or fail; I'll be there to help you!" Lira reached out her hand to Gabriel.
Gabriel responded in a similar manner and reached out his hand as well.
And thus, an unlikely partnership had formed. A partnership that had the potential to change the world forever... A partnership which was built on a foundation of suspicions and mysteries hidden in the depths…