Chapter 4 - Securing a Pawn

"Gods? What nonsense are you spouting?" She clearly looks confused. "And what did you just do?" Seems like she wants an explanation, but I'm not planning to give her one.

"I heard in some religions, calling the god nonsense could lead you to hell. I guess ignorance is bliss, as they say." I smirk at her while walking away, but a shock of lightning stops me.

"Wait!"

"Lightning imprint only belongs to the Eclair family. How did you steal our imprint?!" She sounds suspicious.

"Is this how you treat your savior?" I say, still not looking back. "I'd say that's not very elegant, Eris Eclair Regina."

She pauses, trying to stay calm. "I'll thank you for saving me, but not until you explain yourself. I can't let an outsider with the same power as the Eclair family simply walk away."

"Same power, you say?" I chuckle. "Oh, supreme god, humans have become so ignorant since you left the material world behind." She clearly isn't one of them. I think I can reveal a little to her.

"You see? There are things beyond human understanding. How do you think humanity survived against nature before science and technology existed?" I smile at her and ask.

"What does that have to do with anything? Just answer who you are and how you got our imprint!" She's trying to stay composed, but I can hear the tremor in her voice.

I say nothing, just smile, like Senior Ray would. Realizing I won't answer right away, she sighs and starts thinking.

"In the past, we struggled in hardship, but we adapted and overcame, eventually reaching this era of technologies. Isn't that right?"

"You're not entirely wrong, but my perspective is a little different from yours. Believe it or not, it's up to you."

"Just say it."

"Humans are weak, fragile, and lacking in divine power. Always hunted and preyed on by nature and other beings. Despite being at the bottom of the food chain, they wage war on each other. It was the gods who guided them. Each had different methods, but they ultimately led to goodness and divinity. Follow the teachings of the gods, and you'll be rewarded with divine power, and with that comes ultimate powers." Her eyes tell me she's both confused and wary of my words.

"How have I never heard of this if what you're saying is true?" She's doubting me, as expected.

"I told you, it's up to you to believe it or not." I smirk again.

"Even if what you're saying is true, how did you know? Not even the great families know about this. And you still haven't explained how you got my house's imprint!"

"I read it."

"Huh?"

"I read it in a book my grandpa secretly collected. If I remember correctly, it had a warning label about being forbidden." Obviously, I'm making this up. I planned to reveal the existence of the gods, but not expose myself just yet. "Who knows? Your family might have books like this." The seed is planted.

"After following the teachings in the book, I was able to use lightning without having an imprint."

"That's impossible! What? You just read a book, and now you can use lightning? What do you take me for?! Do you even know how much I—" She can no longer control her expression and ready to shoot lightning at me.

"If you don't believe me, scan my body with your device. I'll allow it. You'll see if I have an imprint or not." She hesitates, eyes darting between me and her device. But before she can act the forest around us suddenly dissolves, leaving only a white room.

"The evaluation has ended!" A man in a black suit with a visor says in a monotone voice.

"Please follow me, the headmaster wishes to see both of you." Headmaster? Did he see me using lightning? But I made sure to cover the forest with illusions.

"Is this part of the evaluation, or...?" She seems as suspicious as I am.

The man takes out his augment device and says, "I have nothing to say except to escort you to the headmaster." He operates the device, and in an instant, we're teleported in front of a door. He knocks twice and says, "I've brought them, Headmaster."

"Let them in, and you may leave now." The same authoritative voice calls from behind the door. As we step into the room, the man in the visor walks away.

The headmaster, looking out the window behind his desk, speaks without turning around.

"Did you two cheat?"