His only goal was the Teigu.
Hand over the Teigu, and he would spare her life.
No, not just that. He had even promised to pay a reasonable price for it.
What was this, treating her like an idiot?
Where in the world would something that convenient happen?
Even so, it was obvious Chelsea had no chance of turning the tables. No matter how unwilling she was, there was nothing she could do.
"Here."
She very carefully placed the Teigu on the table.
Because until now, she had seen far too many people who broke their word.
Even though she could not sense killing intent from this man called Lamur, she still did not dare relax in the slightest.
Even if staying alert would not change the outcome, at the very least, she wanted to understand how she died.
Noah did not know what she was thinking.
Looking at the makeup case before him, he placed his hand on it and raised the contact level, appraising the Teigu on a deeper level.
"Mm, I see. So the material came from an extinct fox-type Danger Beast that isn't even recorded in the literature."
Wait.
This Teigu's compatibility with this girl was actually this high?
After the appraisal, the way Noah looked at Chelsea changed slightly.
This girl's compatibility with Gaea Foundation was unbelievably high.
This was the first time he had seen someone whose compatibility with a Teigu exceeded ninety-nine percent.
Teigu were said to contain the will of Danger Beasts, but that consciousness was not the original will of the material.
From the moment they were forged into Teigu, the Danger Beast's original consciousness had already vanished.
What replaced it was the Teigu's own will.
Otherwise, how could a Danger Beast filled with resentment ever agree to let the humans who killed it continue enslaving it?
"May I ask one more question? Of course, if you want, I can pay you a corresponding fee."
His appraisal could reveal Chelsea's background.
He understood her even more than she imagined. Only, she did not know that.
But as expected, without using the Soul Corridor, he could not see memories related to how she had obtained the Teigu.
'Again with this?' Chelsea felt irritated.
He kept talking about peaceful transactions as if he meant it!
"Hey, isn't this enough already? Is making a fool out of me that fun? I've already given you the Teigu. I have no means to resist now. If you want to kill me, then hurry up. If you want to interrogate me, forget it, because I don't know anything!"
Chelsea suddenly stood up, ignoring even the killing intent Taeko was releasing from the side.
She seemed to have truly prepared herself to die.
She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to still see her own body when her head was cut off.
Several seconds passed like that.
But no pain came from anywhere.
Only when a loud clank rang out did she open her eyes in fright and look at the table. In that instant, she froze.
An absurdly large gold bar was sitting there.
No, calling it a gold bar was wrong.
Its size was far too different from what people normally called a gold bar. This thing should be called a gold brick!
Eh?
Really?
But such a large gold brick… he clearly had not been holding it earlier, nor had she seen any bag or package.
Where had he taken it from?
Noah pushed the gold toward the girl and said casually, "Roughly thirty kilograms. What do you think of this price?"
"Ah?"
What did he mean, what did she think?
"..."
Chelsea stared at the gold shining in front of her. In truth, she was not someone who had never seen the world.
Although she had been born into an ordinary family, her excellent performance had allowed her to enter the governor's office at a young age and work for the local nobles.
Originally, she had also yearned for the lifestyle of high society, hoping she could one day become the wife of a noble and live comfortably.
But after entering the government office, she discovered a darkness that she, as a commoner, would never have been able to see.
Faced with the reality that the entire Empire was rotten to the core, she had felt deeply powerless.
In the governor's treasury, there had been far more wealth than thirty kilograms of gold, but she had not been able to take any of it.
This gold, however, was different.
It could almost be said to already belong to her. Once she left this room, no one could stop her from spending it however she wanted.
It really was extremely tempting!
But that was nothing more than saving herself alone.
The Empire still had not changed and she still lived inside that terrifying darkness.
The moment she thought of that, fear returned, and the joy in her heart faded away.
"I don't mind telling you, but you probably won't believe me." Chelsea looked at the Teigu that was so close, yet no longer belonged to her, and said while recalling the past.
"It called to me."
Oh? Called to her?
Noah fell into thought because of that word.
As long as it involved legends about Teigu, even if it sounded ridiculous, he had investigated it carefully.
There did seem to be such a saying.
Teigu chose their own users and many people believed that.
But judging from the intelligence Teigu had displayed, let alone choosing anyone, most Teigu were little more than signal receivers, except for biological-type Teigu.
When someone attempted to use one, it would detect the user's wavelength.
If the person did not meet the requirements, it could not be unlocked.
That mechanism was practically like fingerprint recognition on a smartphone.
Will did not equal self-awareness.
Hundred-Armed Giant, the poison-type Teigu, and even Murasame were all the same.
As long as he suppressed their internal will, he could use them if he wanted.
Until now, he had never encountered a Teigu that could resist him.
But conversely, he had also never felt a Teigu call out to him.
Noticing Noah's silence, Chelsea originally thought that speaking honestly would earn her mockery.
After all, this sounded far too absurd.
No one with a normal mind would believe it. Until now, she had never told anyone this secret.
But this man named 'Lamur' asked seriously, "How did it call to you? Did it transmit some kind of signal to you, or did it speak inside your mind?"
Noah did not ask whether it had spoken beside her ear.
Because this Teigu did not have a mouth.
Sound was vibration, and Gaea Foundation did not have any function that allowed it to produce vibration on its own.
Naturally, it was impossible for it to "speak."
'Uh. What is going on?'
Chelsea was now extremely confused by this atmosphere, which felt as casual as chatting with a neighbor.
Was this Lamur not from the Empire?
Why did he talk about peaceful transactions one moment, then calmly chat with her the next?
She was an assassin from the Revolutionary Army.
The two of them should have been on opposite sides, the sort of relationship where life and death were decided the moment they met.
Did this man understand that at all? What was he doing?
Still, this was the topic she cared about most in her life.
Because this Teigu had changed her destiny.
If she had not used its ability to kill the governor, then she might still be working as a civil servant, or perhaps she would have already become the concubine of some country noble.
"It was just… after I got close to it, I suddenly had a strange intuition. I felt like it was calling me. That feeling was very mysterious. I couldn't ignore it…"
Aaaah.
What was she doing? Why was she answering him so seriously?
Chelsea suddenly deflated and sat back down in her chair.
"So you didn't hear a voice."
"Hah?" Chelsea did not know whether she had given up trying or what, but her true personality began showing.
"Of course not. It's just a box. How could it possibly make sounds? What, are you a fairy-tale enthusiast?"
Noah: "..."
He had never expected to be looked down on by a girl in such an unexpected way!
He swore that what he was about to do next was absolutely not revenge!
"As expected, the Teigu user is necessary too. If I only have the Teigu, it seems I'll miss something." Noah murmured to himself.
Seeing that he had finished asking what he wanted, Chelsea quietly stood and began inching toward the door.
She sneaked glances at Noah, praying in her heart that he would not suddenly attack.
Unfortunately, things did not go as she wished.
"Wait."
Eek!
Chelsea sucked in a cold breath and hurriedly questioned him, "Are you going back on your word?"
Seeing her react like a frightened cat, Noah said with a helpless smile, "Don't you want the gold?"
Chelsea froze.
Then she said somewhat unwillingly, "Even if I want it, how am I supposed to carry something this big? If I drag this around, I'll be killed by robbers before the Empire even comes after me."
Money could make even ghosts work.
That was even more true under the Empire's harsh rule.
Too many people were willing to risk their lives for a bit of money.
Let alone for a fortune.
This much gold would be more than enough for an ordinary person to spend across several lifetimes.
"I see. Then let me update our agreement."
A faint smile appeared on Noah's face beneath the mask. He casually removed the mask, revealing his true face.
Seeing that the face beneath the mask was actually that of a handsome boy around her age, Chelsea froze.
"..."
"You can't take this gold with you, so leave it with me for now. Next, I plan to hire you to help me research Teigu. Don't worry, there will be wages. Let's use the Empire's Grade-B official salary as the standard. Once the contract period ends, I'll pay you all this gold plus every bit of salary you're owed. Whether you want property in the Imperial Capital, cash, or even to exchange all of it for lifespan, that's possible too."
As he spoke, Noah casually picked up the enormous thirty-kilogram gold brick.
The dazzling gold instantly turned into sand in his hand, flowing down between his fingers and from the edge of his palm.
What?
Chelsea watched the eerie scene, and after hearing his words, she was completely overwhelmed.
"You… what are you talking about?"
A job offer?
Why had this man suddenly extended an olive branch to her?
Was he after her ability to use the Teigu?
Because he himself could not use it?
Thinking that, Chelsea suddenly revealed a disdainful expression.
"Heh. After all those meaningless lies, your real goal is to make me an assassin under you, isn't it? Don't dream!"
Noah blinked.
As if to confirm it again, he asked, "You… becoming an assassin under me?"
"Isn't that your goal?"
"Mm, no."
"You think I'll believe you? You just want to use this Teigu through me, because you can't use—uh, w-what?"
Because Chelsea kept talking, Noah understood what she meant and directly placed his hand on the makeup case.
The next moment, his body began to change.
First, his flesh expanded.
Then his skin color shifted.
When his clear eyes transformed into eerie vertical pupils, the transformation was complete.
The room, which was not exactly small, was immediately filled.
Having transformed into a terrifying black dragon as massive as a small mountain, Noah moved his head above the stunned Chelsea.
The girl's legs trembled violently and would not stop shaking.
The black dragon merely exhaled, and the icy breath turned the girl's face deathly pale!
Noticing the girl's embarrassing state, a trace of amusement flashed through those eerie vertical pupils.
The enormous body rapidly shrank, returning to the size of a normal human.
Noah looked at his perfectly undamaged clothes and sighed in admiration.
"It doesn't damage clothing either. Excellent."
Chelsea sat blankly on the floor, having personally seen him use Gaea Foundation.
"..."
This guy could actually use it? And he could even transform into such a terrifying monster?
"What in the world are you?!" Chelsea finally voiced the question she had been holding back.
Because she had assumed he would not answer, Chelsea had held back until now, but she could not endure it any longer.
Noah crossed one leg over the other. "From now on, I'm simply your employer. I keep my word. Help me research Teigu, and even if you want eternal youth or to live a hundred years, I can help you achieve it."
"You're not normal… you're completely insane."
"No, I'm quite rational. As for whether I'm normal or not, that sort of subjective judgment isn't something I can control."
To people who liked cilantro, those who did not eat cilantro seemed abnormal.
Although he would pay some attention to such casual definitions, he would not try to control them.
At that moment, an alarm sound only Noah could hear rang out.
The warning magic had been triggered.
He stuffed the makeup case into Chelsea's arms, then gestured toward Taeko as well.
The next second, both of them were transformed into cats.
Chelsea became a white cat and Taeko became a black cat.
Chelsea, who had become a cat, was utterly panicked.
Her cat face was filled with shock and disbelief.
Gaea Foundation could be used on people other than the user? She had never heard of anything like that!
She could no longer tell who the real owner of this Teigu was.
Thinking carefully, it should be him.
After all, just now, she had personally handed the Teigu over to him.
Although she had not taken the money yet!