The Nolos residence.
Doram led Misha and Sasha over a long, gaudy rug laid at the entrance of the Nolos residence. As one would expect from a family acquainted with the Necrons, the Nolos were distinguished. Their mansion was large and luxurious, and the corridor the three of them walked through was filled with beautiful art and furniture.
“It’s this way,” Doram said, pausing to point at a large and sturdy door. It looked like it had been made in the Dilhade style, but there was a magic circle on it forming a powerful barrier.
“That’s quite the strong vault you have there,” Sasha commented. She stared at the door with her Magic Eyes, but she couldn’t detect any magic power within; the barrier on the door was too powerful.
“Yes, that’s because the gifts are all inside here.”
“Hmm.”
She exchanged a look with Misha. This amount of security for a birthday gift seemed excessive—and suspicious. Both of them were probably wondering who in the Nolos family was even capable of constructing such a thing; the barrier was of a quality and strength only seen two thousand years ago.
“If you’ve prepared the gifts already, what do you need to consult us for?” Sasha asked.
“I was hoping that among them, you could pick something your mother would enjoy,” Doram said, reaching for the door. He sent magic through his hand and the door opened without a sound. “Please, come in.”
They followed him into the large room. Inside, from floor to ceiling, was packed with an assortment of items: gemstones, ornaments, clothes, trinkets, paintings, antiques, and more. The quantity of gifts stuffed in the room—and their quality—was honestly quite impressive. Misha gazed around the room with her Divine Eyes in awe.
“We can help you choose, but can you first explain the situation?” Sasha said with a serious look. “What you said about the fate of the Nolos family resting on this sounded really ominous. Why did you need to prepare so many presents?”
“I understand. The truth is—”
Doram paused with a look of confusion. He seemed lost in his thoughts, failing to finish his sentence.
“What’s wrong?” Sasha asked.
“Nothing, it’s just...” Doram struggled for words. “I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t remember... Why am I doing this? Just now, I...”
Misha and Sasha exchanged another look with each other.
Just then, another voice in the room spoke.
“My apologies. I implanted him with false memories. Rest assured, they will not harm him.”
From out of the shadows, a man in a peaked cap stepped out in front of them. He wore a military style uniform in peacock green, with a fire symbol on his shoulder and cap, and an insignia of foam and ripples on his chest. The man walked straight up to Misha and Sasha.
“Who are you?!” Doram yelled as the man in the cap reached out for him.
“Sasha.”
“Got it!”
A magic circle appeared over Doram, but Sasha destroyed it with the Magic Eyes of Destruction before it could activate.
“Step back,” Misha ordered Doram. Both she and Sasha stepped in front of him.
“I mean no harm,” the mysterious man in the cap said. “My business with him is done, so I am returning his memories.”
“We can’t trust you,” Sasha snapped.
The man in the cap lowered his hands. “My apologies. You’re right. Please know that in a few days his memories will naturally return.”
“You wanted to see us?” Misha asked flatly.
“Affirmative. My name is Gui Ambarret. I cannot disclose my affiliation. I cannot answer any of your questions. I came here with a request for Misha and Sasha Necron.”
“You have a request for us, but you can’t answer our questions?” Sasha retorted. “Sounds kind of selfish if you ask me.”
Sasha glared at Gui with the Magic Eyes of Destruction evident in her pupils. Although she wasn’t using them to attack, the average person would have collapsed just by meeting her Eyes in this state. But the man simply stared straight back at her destructive gaze.
“I am aware this is ill-mannered of me,” he said.
“What’s the request?” Misha asked.
“It’s as the man said. I’d like you to choose a present for your mother from what is in this room,” Gui said earnestly.
But Sasha still looked skeptical. “I don’t get it. Why would you antagonize the Necron family just to pick a present for our mother? You’re either plotting something or you’re completely out of your mind.”
“Negative on both counts. The present you’re picking is for your former mother.”
Misha’s Divine Eyes widened slightly. “You mean the Goddess of Creation Elenesia?”
“Affirmative. As soon as you choose a present, I will leave. I promise I truly mean you no harm.”
Misha thought for a moment. “My mother perished.”
“Affirmative.”
“So why a present?”
“I cannot answer that question.”
Misha looked at Sasha. They couldn’t figure out Gui’s objective at all.
“We’ll pick a gift if you tell us why we have to,” Misha said.
“And if you can’t tell us,” Sasha said, “then we’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Gui stood there with a surly face, unmoving. He seemed to be thinking, but his expression didn’t change as he held his silence.
Eventually, he decided to speak. “I am a servant of Elenesia. I need to bring a gift with me when I return to my master.”
“Does that mean you’re going to die?” Sasha asked.
“I cannot answer that question.”
It was clear that Gui had no intention of answering any of their questions. If he were really a servant of the last Goddess of Creation, then he would have been alive before Militia was even born. And indeed, his magic was of a different wavelength than that of humans, demons, or draconids. Neither was it like a spirit or a god’s. Staring into his abyss was like seeing a mix of everything.
“Okay,” Misha said. She turned to the objects around her and began examining them.
Sasha followed her little sister while keeping a wary eye on Gui. “Are you sure?” she whispered to Misha. “We don’t know anything about him.”
“I don’t think he’s lying about the present,” Misha said.
“Really? What about everything else?”
“That I don’t know.”
Misha looked over at Gui, who hadn’t moved from where he was standing—not even to look at them.
“He’s hiding his heart behind a strong will,” Misha noted. “I saw a glimpse of it when he mentioned the present, but nothing more.”
“So he really is Elenesia’s servant? Hmm. If Elenesia’s world was recreated before it was completely destroyed, there may be people with memories remaining... I guess?”
Sasha still looked disbelieving.
“It’s my first time seeing someone like him too,” Misha said. She had been watching the world since its creation, making this a truly rare occurrence.
“The present he wants is more like an offering to the dead, right? Why did he have to go about this in such a roundabout way?” Sasha muttered.
Misha tilted her head. “Maybe the last world had its own rules?”
“But we have no way of confirming such a thing. Well, if it’s really just picking a gift, I don’t mind doing it. And once we do, we’ll probably get a better idea of what his goal is.”
“Let’s go with this,” Misha said, picking up a piece of parchment.
“Are you going to write something?”
She nodded. “I want to say thank you.”
Sasha blinked in surprise, then smiled gently. It was typical of Misha to pick something so thoughtful, even at a time like this.
“I should have expected as much,” she said.
“Do you want to write something too?”
“And give it to that shady guy over there? I don’t know...”
“No?”
“Well, I guess it’s fine. Since it seems like the present part is true.” Sasha picked up the magic quill that was beside the parchment. “Let’s write it together.”
“Yeah.”
They both wrote their words on the parchment before placing it in an envelope and sealing it with Sehm. Sehm was a sealing magic that allowed only the addressee to open its contents. In ancient times, it was custom for the people of Dilhade to seal letters to the dead with Sehm, as they believed that doing so allowed them to reach the deceased.
“Done,” Misha said, holding the letter out to Gui, while Sasha, still glaring warily at the man, held out the quill she had just used.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
Gui accepted the letter and quill and immediately used Gatom. A magic circle appeared at his feet before he vanished.
Sasha stared at the empty spot he left behind for a while. “So he really just wanted us to choose a present?”
“So it seems,” Misha replied.