"Goddess grace us, no!" she said, putting up her hands defensively.
I stared at her, unbelieving. She hesitated, chewing her lower lip. I simply placed my hands on my hip, and she scratched her cheek slowly, eyeing my blade.
"T-they tried to recruit me— not the Elise. But one of my contacts within the Elise. But this was back at the very start! He didn’t think we had a chance, so he tried to get me to betray Ginah’s Crew."
"Then what happened?" I stepped forward; I was not trying to be intimidating— I was curious, but she took it the wrong way and drew back.
"Nothing," she admitted. "I mean, I told Jack and he didn’t like it. So, we turned down the offer, and took care of all loose ends. Ginah— and Kai— should know about this. They just kept it quiet because they thought it was better for morale that way!"
Nodding, I took a step away from her to give her space. "I see."
"I can promise you, I have not been bought by the Elise."
Lisa looked at me pleadingly, and I just sighed.
"I don’t believe you." The young woman took in a sharp breath, but I raised a finger. "But I have no reason not to trust you either. So stop being so worried. I’m not going to kill you or anything."
"Oh, uh, thanks." She gave me a weak smile.
I was satisfied with the answers— well, not satisfied, but content; I found little issues with what she said, and could even verify some of that information with Kai. I paused right at the doorway, deciding to ask one last question.
"By the way,’ I said, turning back around. "Why are you so nervous of me now?"
She was calmer— had been calmer— before I stopped to interrogate her one last time. Her smile slipped, although it remained on her face as she replied.
"What do you mean?"
"Don’t bother hiding it. You’re obviously way too jumpy around me."
"Well, you know, it’s not really a thing I have against you personally. But it’s just that I have always found magic to be…"
"Off putting?" I raised an eyebrow.
"To put it lightly? Yes." She brought up her arms helplessly. "I mean, I’m sure you have your beliefs and thoughts on the Goddess. I, personally, think She can be either the Goddess of Light or Dark. But magic is something the Demons did— and I don’t know, maybe it’s because of all the stories my parents would tell me about them when I was young to spook me into behaving, I have always found them to be a little scary."
"It’s fine, Lisa," I said reassuringly. "I honestly expected more people to have reviled my use of magic."
"Revile is… a strong word. But I wouldn’t say it’s incorrect." She looked up at me meekly. "And it’s not like spellcasters are the most unusual thing in the underground. Jack and I worked with these outlaws years ago that had a spellcaster as their boss. But they eventually clashed with Ginah’s Crew and… aren’t around anymore. And we get the occasional shipments of illicit books from some anonymous customers."
I actually found myself smirking. "I didn’t expect you— smuggler and criminal— to be so devout to the Church."
"I’m not devout or anything to the Church. Sure, I went to the temples every month on the day of the Illumination to pay my respects up until I was a teenager. But I stopped long before I even became a smuggler."
"Why’d you stop going?"
Lisa shrugged. "Because they kept taking my money."
I stared at her for a moment, before feeling my lips quirk up. I tried to hold it back, but I actually found myself laughing.
"What?"
"Aren’t those donations?" I asked. "You could’ve continued going and not donated anything."
"I know," she said, rubbing her temples. "But then they’ll give you that look, and make you feel bad. I don’t like being judged for what I’m doing, Melas. That’s one thing I really like about my job— no one ever judges you!"
"Honestly Lisa, you’ll have to tell me why you even became a smuggler one day if it’s as entertaining a story as why you stopped praying to the Goddess."
She looked like she was about to retort but stopped herself. "It’s not that I don’t pray to Her Light. I just… do it less now than before."
"Sure."
"I’m telling the truth!" She gave me a mock glare. After a moment, we both laughed for just a little bit.
I shook my head and finally started out of the door.
"And hey," I added, before finally leaving the room. "At least you’re more relaxed around me again."
Lisa nodded slowly, and smiled genuinely back at me. I turned around and walked away, leaving her alone.
And at least, I’m not so paranoid around you. Although that had been the norm for me up until now; I was trying to be better. Apparently Gennady’s pestering had finally started to affect me.
Of course, I went to Kai to confirm whether her story was true, and it turned out that it was. That did not vindicate her from anything she could possibly be doing covertly or could possibly do in the future, of course. But that meant she wasn’t lying about this.
We waited by the docks of the city as was planned. The streets were empty of all life. The crashing of the waves echoed in the distance, and a light, buzzing sound slowly came closer and closer.
It was a mana car.
It rode down the streets of Luke by itself. Its windows were tinted, and I could barely make out the figures within. Myself and Braz ducked further into the alley as it rode by us.
Honestly, I was slightly uncomfortable around the man,
