"This... This can't be!"
I examined the two sheets of paper critically. I really didn't understand what the problem was.
Out of consideration for Cyrus, Lucrezia had written in the human language, and what was written on the paper wasn't really spectacular at all.
In Lucrezia's case, she had simply written "Reputation" whereas Cyrus had written "Corruption."
"So... What's the problem?"
"I, too, am curious." Lucrezia frowned. "I certainly was not talking about 'corruption', whatever that means."
"...Reputation." Cyrus stared at the word and repeated it over and over again.
I raised an eyebrow, watching him with a sort of morbid fascination that you can only get from observing the insane.
"Um..." Priya tugged on the hem of my jacket. "What's wrong with him?"
"I have no idea."
I gave Priya a pat on the head, ruffling the hair between her horns (?) before walking over and patting Cyrus on the shoulder.
"You gonna snap out of it, bro? What's the issue here?"
Cyrus stared at me like he'd seen a fucking ghost.
"Ryuuko... This... This is blasphemy we're committing here. It's high heresy against the church! We need to burn these papers right now!"
"Okay... Slow down and take it from the top, yeah? Deep breaths, Cyrus."
Cyrus nodded and inhaled deeply before breathing out.
"Alright... What I am about to say to all of you must not exit this room, alright?"
Naturally, we all nodded.
"We were taught that Goddess Krynera created the concept of Corruption in order to shield us from traitors during the War of the Seven Moons. We... have long believed that Corruption was a concept unique to humans. However, with it being present in the eastern tribes as 'Reputation', perhaps there is something more sinister afloat."
"Like what?"
"Allow me to demonstrate," Cyrus said before bowing to Lucrezia. "Your Highness, can you please say the word 'Reputation'?"
Lucrezia obliged, and Cyrus quickly nodded, the light of surety bright in his eyes.
"As you heard, Princess Lucrezia just said 'Reputation', correct?"
I nodded.
"However, what I heard was the word 'Corruption', even though I can say and write 'Reputation' just fine. You seem to be unaffected by this, though, which is further proof of my theory."
"...What is this? Mass mind control or something?"
Cyrus held up a finger to forestall my question.
"Before I proceed, we will confirm one more thing. Your Highness, please confirm what you hear after I say this word: Corruption."
"I heard 'Reputation.'" Lucrezia confirmed.
"There we have it."
"I still don't get it." I said bluntly.
Before Cyrus could explain, it was Antenora who interjected this time.
"...You are insinuating that there is someone who has played both sides of the continent for fools over the course of centuries."
"Indeed. While you were all journeying, I took the liberty of requesting citizenship information for you, Ryuuko. I'm sure you can guess what we found."
"Nothing, I'd imagine."
Cyrus nodded. "You do not exist in the records of Ardene. Additionally, you are the only one unaffected by this phenomenon. When we humans are born, all of us go through a ritual of baptism. I am sure the eastern tribes have a similar tradition?"
Lucrezia nodded slowly, which—by this point—I could tell wasn't a good thing.
"This conflict between the east and the west has been puppeted by someone or something who has access to at least two of the divines." Cyrus paused. "What I just proposed is heresy of the highest order. However, it is something that I must investigate for the sake of this continent."
"I... will need to speak with my father about this. Our ritual is not one that is mandated by law. It is merely tradition, and there are those who have not undergone it. If they can differentiate between the words just as Ryuuko can... That only serves to strengthen your theory, no?"
Cyrus nodded. "From this point on, we cannot communicate or we risk something going awry. Once I have obtained permission from the Princess to authorize your proposal and am ready to proceed with the next part of the plan, I shall send you a letter through the flugranz."
"Wait, hold up." I had one more stupid question.
"If Corruption and Reputation are technically the same thing, why don't Krynera's barriers work on the eastern tribes?"
"I... Because they're already—"
"Yeah, yeah. I know that part, but that was completely based on the fact that you thought Corruption was just how close someone was to an easterner, right? Since we know that's not the case now, isn't that logic flawed?"
Cyrus shook his head. "You're not entirely correct there, Ryuuko. Corruption and Reputation are still separate things. Corruption is how close someone was to an... easterner based on how we perceive them to be. Reputation is..."
Cyrus shrugged, looking to Lucrezia for an answer. Naturally, as a human who only ever lived amongst humans, Cyrus had no clue what Reputation really was.
"Reputation is simply a measure of your favor in Pyladae's eyes, or so the myth goes. We call it Reputation, but it is more similar to Darkness in which it is merely a resource that exists to be spent on powerful techniques.
"It can be replenished later through simple rituals. Normally, humans cannot learn abilities such as [Demonic Enhancement], which is why I questioned you about it when we first met."
I frowned. The only ways I knew how Darkness was gained came from the rulebook. Even though I never actually needed to use those methods due to my seemingly bottomless Darkness pool, they never seemed savory.
"Replenished through simple rituals? Sorry, but I need to ask... How exactly do you replenish Darkness?"
"I... What?" Lucrezia stared at me, utterly confused. I could see that Priya and Antenora shared the same sentiments as her.
"Yeah, uh... I don't know how to explain this, but I've always had enough Darkness."
"Lady Ryuuko is an unusual person, after all." Antenora chimed in.
Lady Ryuuko, huh? That's a first.
"...You're right. I can tell you, but not in the presence of a human." Lucrezia said as her gaze slid to Cyrus momentarily.
"Oh. Well, that's fine. I'm in no hurry, just... You don't have to offer any blood sacrifices or impale people on pikes, do you?"
She looked at me in abject horror. Even Priya gasped in shock.
"Of course not! Why in the world would you think that, Ryuuko!?"
"Well, uh... Remember that study we were in back when I first got you out of those ropes? There were a few books on the subject."
"I... I suppose those methods would certainly work, but they are needlessly violent and downright disgusting. Not only that, they would require you to sacrifice a member of your own race. It's..." Lucrezia paused and unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.
"It is unthinkable." Antenora finished for her in a sharp tone. For the first time, her anger wasn't directed at me, but rather the people who devised such methods.
"Good to hear. I didn't think the eastern tribes used such methods after meeting all of you, but I wanted to make sure. But uh, if Corruption and Reputation are technically different, what's the point in magically making them sound the same?"
"Unfortunately for you, I am still looking for an answer to that particular question." Cyrus replied.
With my line of questioning done, the subject returned to Cyrus' conspiracy theory which was becoming more and more probable as he and Lucrezia began sharing cultural tidbits.
Even so, there was only so much they were willing to reveal to each other and the conversation soon cooled down.
Lucrezia questioned him a little more about what he planned to do while he operated apart from us. Then, the five of us swore an oath to not speak of what we had discovered to anyone else before burning the two sheets of paper.
"Now if there aren't any more society-shattering discoveries you want us to make, I'm going to head to bed."
I grinned. "Have a good one, Cyrus."
Cyrus remained inside the small office-lodge hybrid. Apparently, it was a temporary residence for Rangers like him, and pretty much every town had one no matter how backwater it was.
The rest of us ended up stepping outside into the cool night air, which was rather refreshing after spending the entire day in an office. It was cozy, but still small.
I stretched my limbs and turned just as I heard Priya's stomach growl. It was rather uncanny timing, but she blushed cutely, so I thought nothing of it.
"Someone's hungry."
"S-Sorry! Um... C-Can we eat at the inn tonight?"
Honestly, I was planning on just using our rations to save on money. We were running low on gold since the only income we had was from the corpses of cultists and we didn't exactly have the time or mindset to pilfer the late count's treasury.
But of course, cuteness was my ultimate weakness, and Priya defeated me handily. We were about to make our way to the bustling lower floor of the inn before I felt a tap on my shoulder.
Antenora.
I turned around, giving her an inquisitive glance.
"My apologies, Lady Ryuuko, but I still do not understand. It has been on my mind ever since you said it. What is the meaning of this 'peace out'?"