"Seen me? I don't know you at all..."
Although her chin was being gripped by someone else, the young girl's expression remained fairly calm. She didn't become incoherent just because she felt threatened.
"Is that so... indeed, you don't know me either. ...Then where exactly does this sense of familiarity come from..."
Fíliya retracted her hand. She certainly didn't want people to think of her as some bad seed who relied on her strength to bully and tease strange girls.
After pulling her hand back, Fíliya didn't stop observing the other party's movements.
The girl's hair was a moist yellow color similar to her skin tone, and her hairstyle was fluffy and short. Even though she was in a state of being held hostage, the look on her face still appeared somewhat... listless, as if she couldn't work up any energy.
"My name is Edel. We have no intention of becoming enemies with you... You should have been able to tell that our team really lacks combat capabilities, so can we negotiate?"
Although she had just been toyed with by this person holding her chin, Miss Edel was surprisingly open-minded about it and didn't seem to care about what had just happened at all.
"Wait... what did you say your name was?"
Fíliya froze for a moment.
She had originally intended to say: "Little sister, negotiation requires capital... what are you prepared to pay?"
But as soon as she heard the other party's name, Fíliya immediately changed her tune.
"Eh? E... Edel? What's wrong?"
Miss Edel was obviously confused as to why the person in front of her would have such a reaction to her name.
Now Fíliya finally remembered completely why she felt this girl in front of her looked so familiar.
Back when she was still studying at the magic school, she had once listened to this young girl's lectures. Fíliya, a fellow who barely even attended regular classes, had surprisingly attended Edel's lectures several times.
That's right. Although this girl was roughly the same age as her, Edel had long since been qualified to stand on the podium of the magic school.
Because this Miss Edel was a genius who specialized in [Mental Magic].
At the same time, this also explained why she was still a [Second-Class Mage] to this day.
Because according to the Magic Association's current selection standards, which placed excessive emphasis on actual combat ability, a talent like Miss Edel who specialized in a single type of magic found it truly difficult to pass the tests.
This was truly a case of someone handing you a pillow just as you were getting sleepy. ...Fíliya looked at Edel and couldn't help licking her lips. Of course, this action scared Miss Edel into shrinking back slightly.
"Easy to say, easy to say. Miss Edel, I am actually a fan of yours. Come, come, come, let's go over here to talk."
As Fíliya spoke, she placed her hand directly on Miss Edel's shoulder, preparing to put her arm around the other girl and walk her into the small grove of trees.
But in that very instant.
Miss Fíliya felt a sudden shock impact her brain. This shock was so rapid that even she couldn't react in time.
"Hiss..."
Fíliya covered her head subconsciously after feeling the pain, then stared at the girl beside her with a face full of question marks.
"I... I didn't mean to!!! It was you who suddenly hugged me... I was startled... Wait... You! You!!"
Miss Edel, who had initially wanted to explain herself, suddenly turned pale, as if she had also received a significant fright. She pointed a finger at Fíliya, her mouth opening wide in rapid succession.
Reacting quickly, Miss Fíliya immediately covered her mouth with her hand, then forcibly dragged Miss Edel into the small grove dozens of meters away.
"I have some words to say to this Miss Edel. Wirbel, you keep a close watch on the rest of them."
Before leaving, Fíliya didn't forget to instruct Wirbel.
Wirbel and Ehre exchanged a glance. Although both of their eyes held varying degrees of confusion, they tacitly agreed not to step forward and interrupt.
...
This is bad,
Fíliya thought to herself.
Although she knew Edel was a genius specializing in [Mental Magic], she hadn't expected this person's mental magic to have such high attainments.
She was certain that during that brief moment of contact just now, Miss Edel must have already seen quite a few of her memories.
So the urgent priority right now was to quickly confirm exactly what this guy had learned.
After that initial sting, Fíliya had urgently strengthened her own mental barrier. Although her mental magic was far inferior to this girl with the somewhat old-fashioned voice, this measure was enough to prevent her from casually peeking again.
"You... you aren't going to kill me to silence me, are you..."
A trace of panic finally appeared on Miss Edel's face. After all, she knew that what she had seen was something incredible.
"Mm... depends on my mood?"
Fíliya stared maliciously at Edel, her gaze sweeping back and forth over Miss Edel's body.
"...You... how can you be living together with the Demon Race!"
Having recovered her wits slightly, Edel still voiced the question that had shocked her so greatly.
"Oh? You've already seen up to there? What else?"
Fíliya cupped her chin with her hand, continuing to urge Edel on.
"Nothing else... I'm not lying... Just now, you suddenly leaned in close and I had a bit of a stress reaction, so I subconsciously used magic... I didn't intend to spy on you."
"What I'm saying is true... I just saw you and three demons, inside a house, eating together... talking and laughing..."
Miss Edel's expression was somewhat anxious, but she was also very clear that mere words wouldn't carry much persuasive power.
"Alright... I know you won't believe me easily. I will remove my mental barrier... You should know a little mental magic too, right? You verify it yourself."
Miss Edel finally let out a helpless sigh.
"Wow, aren't you savvy. Come, come, come, let me take a good look at you. Don't worry, I won't hurt you."
Seeing the other party say this, Miss Fíliya immediately became interested. Rubbing her hands together like a greedy fly, she slowly approached the other girl with a slightly wretched demeanor.
"You... why do you always like using this strange tone..."
Miss Edel was very helpless. She thought to herself that the person opposite her was clearly a very beautiful girl too, yet she couldn't sense any of the reserve belonging to a girl from her at all.
"Mm? You're strange in that regard too, aren't you? Clearly a young girl in the prime of her youth, yet your voice is so [Old-fashioned]."
Fíliya stared into Edel's eyes with great interest.
"I was born like this... forget it, I can't be bothered to explain. Just hurry up and confirm it."
As Miss Edel spoke, she simply closed her eyes directly, looking like she was ready to be at someone's mercy.
At the same time, she fulfilled her promise, displaying her sea of consciousness heavily unfortified before Miss Fíliya.
Consequently, Fíliya quickly checked Miss Edel's mind once over. After discovering she truly hadn't lied, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright, you pass, Miss Edel."
As Fíliya spoke, she withdrew her mental power and patted Miss Edel on the shoulder.
"...Wait a moment... pass? You... aren't you worried I'll speak of it?"
As soon as Edel finished speaking, she immediately covered her own mouth, wondering why she was so stupid. The other party was about to let her go, so why did she have to speak up and remind them?
But Miss Fíliya indeed had no intention of making things further difficult for her. Fíliya's tone sounded very free and easy as she spoke.
"Of course. I've already confirmed it in the mental world. Miss Edel, you are a smart child who knows what can be said and what cannot. Besides... since you saw the way I live together with the Demon Race, you should have also confirmed that those three demons and I are just like... well, family. We aren't brewing any strange conspiracies. So, let's just keep this as a little secret between us."
Fíliya chuckled softly, making a 'shh' gesture to Miss Edel.
"As for the [Negotiation] you mentioned, I agree to it too. You guys lack combat power, right? It just so happens that the combat power on my side is overflowing a bit... In this test, I will protect you, and I can even give you a Stille. In exchange..."
When Fíliya reached this point, she deliberately kept her in suspense.
And so, Edel began to ask somewhat anxiously.
"Just say it..."
Oh? I thought this child was a slow-tempered one. Looks like I misjudged again.
Fíliya smiled, and only then did she continue speaking.
"In exchange, you have to teach me [Mental Magic]."
After Fíliya finished speaking, only then did Edel heave a fierce sigh of relief.
If it's just teaching magic, then that's fine... She had thought Fíliya was going to propose some strange and embarrassing condition.
___
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