As I promised, Ilina and I make our way to the couch, then sit sideways on it to face one another. Klaus and Alto are making small talk at the table while enjoying tea, but it's obvious that they're dying to know what we talk about.
I cast a silencing spell around the couch. Then, I meet Ilina's gaze with a smile and address her.
"Alright, Ilina, ask away." (Mizuki)
Ilina pauses a moment, seeming to collect herself, then she asks her first question.
"Are you really Lady Nedonera's servant?" (Ilina)
"Fufufu…no, definitely not. I hope you'll forgive me for that ruse. Now that you know, I'm looking forward to just calling her Nina all the time like I usually do. If I'd known how annoying that would be to remember, I might've forgone it." (Mizuki)
I try to infuse some humor into my answers to keep her from feeling so on edge, but it doesn't seem to help that much. She nods seriously, then continues.
"What is the real nature of your relationship with her?" (Ilina)
"Ah…well, I mean it's probably best described as something between friends and lovers. It's definitely not platonic, but we're not a married couple either." (Mizuki)
Ilina's face turns light red, and she has trouble meeting my gaze for a moment, but then continues.
"Oh…uhm…sorry, I guess I mean more like, which one of you is stronger and how do you know each other?" (Ilina)
"Ah, I see. No worries. Well, I met her the day after I met you. I didn't want to spend months in the forest for your job, so I went looking for her myself and found her. After some initial disagreements, we hit it off. We formed a contract that lets us sense one another's emotions and location and communicate telepathically. As for which of us is stronger, it's me." (Mizuki)
She seems to take all that in with a surprised and slightly troubled face, but she doesn't stop.
"The Elder Dragons are unrivaled powers, Mizuki. If you're serious…just how strong are you, really?" (Ilina)
"Hmm…I don't think I really know. That's the truth, I'm not trying to be furtive. According to Nina, none of the Elder Dragons would survive a direct altercation with me. I think if I really put my mind to it, I might be able to singlehandedly wipe out life on the planet. However, I'm not going to do that." (Mizuki)
Hearing that, Ilina goes completely pale, and she looks like she's going to be sick. After taking a few moments to recover, she presses on.
"What are you? There's no way you're human." (Ilina)
I can't help but smile and chuckle at that one.
"Fufufu…yes, I promise that I'm human. Very disappointing for you, I know. You can't write us all off anymore." (Mizuki)
My jokes are still not landing with Ilina, and she seems conflicted.
"I'm not calling you a liar, but I have a hard time believing that's true. Why are your eyes that strange color, and why are you so strong? There has never been any human I'm aware of that even comes close to the level of power you're describing." (Ilina)
"Ahh…well that I can somewhat answer. You see…I wasn't born on Azura. I was brought here from another planet with Azazel's help. In my homeland, this eye color isn't that rare. My magic power is the result of developing on a different world as well." (Mizuki)
Ilina's mouth is fully hanging open at this point, and she's staring at me like I should admit that I'm joking any minute. I hold her gaze patiently until she's in a state of acceptance.
"Why did you help Klaus and I that first night?" (Ilina)
"Really? Don't you know that one? You were in trouble, and obviously the victim of that disgusting adventurer. Plain and simple." (Mizuki)
At this, Ilina manages to smile, then it turns into a chuckle as she responds.
"Fufufu…you know, it's funny. I'm realizing how little I knew about you, but how well I already knew what kind of person you are. It's like a cosmic joke about how no number of absurd revelations about you should matter if I'm sure of who you are at your core." (Ilina)
I smile warmly and wait for her to continue.
"Okay, these are more curiosities, to break up the tension. What kind of spells can you actually use?" (Ilina)
"Every kind, as far as I know. I can even create entirely new spells." (Mizuki)
Ilina lets out an exasperated sigh and smiles at me.
"That's so unfair, really! Okay, what were you doing with Miss…err, Nina's scale when you said you were testing it on me for magic interference?" (Ilina)
"Ahh…yeah, another ruse. Sorry about that. The scale was irrelevant. I have an ability that lets me track people or things even in another country, so long as I can touch the thing or person first. I was holding your hand to learn the signature for a high elf, so I could track you later." (Mizuki)
"Yeah, that sounds more truthful. Regarding things that you lied to me about, I remember when Klaus mentioned your eyes that first night, you started saying a lot of things that seemed to throw us off. Was that a tactic?" (Ilina)
She somewhat averts her gaze, and I can see some color in her cheeks as she asks the question. Oh ho, is it about that? I'm totally going to have to tease her a little.
"I hate how clever you are most of the time, you know that right? To answer your question, it was both. I wanted to fluster or distract you two. At the same time…if you're asking me if it was a lie that I thought you were the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, then no, I meant it. Fufufu…are you going to blush this time when I say it, too?" (Mizuki)
Ilina's face goes deep red at being called out.
"M-Mizuki don't act like I'm the weird one here! You don't just say that kind of stuff to people like it's nothing and expect them not to get embarrassed! So, did you also mean it when you said that my personality is so horrible you could never see me romantically?" (Ilina)
Shit…she was listening.