In a place where violence never drew so much as a second glance, the weak were always a target. Leomaris was well aware of how vulnerable he looked to the patrons of the tavern, but in a situation like this, there were two possible outcomes.
He would either be approached by someone who wanted to rough him up for their own ego or someone who wanted to rob him. So long as he remained fragile and oblivious, whatever they were after wouldn't come with the level of satisfaction they expected. He might take a few slaps, but in the end, he'd be left alone.
The second type was someone kind enough, or perhaps nosy enough, to approach and warn him about the dangers of the tavern. These were precisely the kind of people he was aiming for.
But then again, he needed more time to think. That morning, he had stumbled upon something bizarre about his own death. It turned out that after his execution, the citizens had burned his body on the platform out of celebration.
It made him believe that whoever or whatever had brought him back to life might be the true Lord Trinity, or perhaps something that went beyond even that. But at the moment, he wanted to believe he had been saved before the execution happened and that whoever saved him wielded an illusion so powerful that everyone, himself included, was made to believe it had taken place.
'That will suffice. I can't dwell on how it happened, only on why. My plan hasn't changed regardless.'
He ruffled his hair and immediately regretted it. The clumps that came away in his hands every single time nearly brought him to tears. But he couldn't stop, his scalp was always itching something terrible. The old woman who sold him the hair dye was definitely a witch. At this point, he was going to end up completely bald.
'I'll have to change my hair back to normal in a week. People will likely have forgotten what I look like by then.'
Before his thoughts could conclude, someone settled into a seat near him. She had long dark hair that nearly reached her waist, eyes with a slight innocence that made her look easy to manipulate, and a perfectly shaped figure that could only have come from a noble upbringing.
Leomaris's expression darkened. He wasn't sure where he'd seen her before, but she looked familiar. What had him most was the fact that she was approaching him, and yet, with all the innocence about her, she looked utterly clueless.
'Wait…'
Leomaris stiffened. The girl wasn't just walking toward him — she was getting far too close in a way that made him uneasy. Her face came within inches of his, close enough that their eyeballs could have met.
Leomaris backed off immediately.
"Oi, what the heck are you doing?"
No sooner had the words left him than confusion set in. He looked perplexed and started to think he'd gone quite mad. The lady was sitting in her seat and, from the looks of things, hadn't so much as shifted an inch.
He began to question reality itself, unsure whether the movements he saw were real or a symptom of his psychosis.
The bearded bartender was attending to her as well and looked baffled by the panic written across Leo's face.
"Are you alright, lad? Those were rather rude words for someone you've just met, weren't they?"
The lady turned to him, her tone gentle but clearly triggered.
"He's new. Take it easy on him."
The bartender, who was wiping down a wooden mug, said and gave them space.
Leomaris was still confused. What in the world had happened? Had he somehow been taken in by the lady's beauty to the point of imagining things?
The lady locked eyes with Leo again and offered a handshake.
"I take it you are not used to seeing young ladies like me in taverns, so I have taken you by surprise. Call me Hazel."
Leo, though confused, forced a smile.
"…Leo."
Hazel fist pumped in silence. She'd used her Trick of Cognitive Illusions on Leo just moments ago. She couldn't sustain it for long, and it was far too shallow, the illusion had run loose with her imagination, but Leo had fallen for it and started talking, and that was good enough. She was certain now that he wasn't dangerous.
"It's nice meeting you, Leo. I must say, you look rather tense. Is something bothering you?"
Leo ran through a few breathing exercises and collected himself. He could tell she wanted to talk, and he was quite sure he hadn't been imagining things moments ago. This girl had to be a Trickster, and that was reason enough to cooperate.
He wore a pretend smile.
"I must be imagining things. Perhaps it's your beauty… my mind was playing tricks on me just now."
Hazel sipped her tea, and the bittersweet taste drew a darkened expression across her face.
"What if you weren't?"
Leo furrowed his brow.
"What?"
Hazel shrugged.
"What if you're simply seeing an illusion I placed in your mind?"
'Illusions? Mind? Is this Unlit?'
The possibility of meeting one of his own servants had crossed his mind, but he hadn't counted on her being the very first person he'd speak to. That explained the familiarity.
This helped, though. He now understood how his ability to trick the mind worked, and from here, he could pull more information from Hazel without appearing like a clueless god.
"How is that possible? This isn't fantasy, you know."
Hazel smirked.
"Let's be a little delusional, shall we? Just for the sake of a comfortable, interesting conversation."
She winked at Leo, and for some reason, it really suited her. Leo would have gone along with it on the strength of that wink alone, never mind that he was already planning to cooperate.
"Uhm… that sounds great. So how do you do it? The illusion?"
"It is an ability bestowed upon me by my lord. I am only at a novice level, as I can only target one person at a time."
Leo motioned in understanding.
"How's that going to work, though? I'm a firm believer in science. You can't convince me with something so trivial."
"But do you believe in hypnosis? Think of it that way. You only need a target, and you must be within a certain range."
"That sounds interesting… but is illusion all there is? Can't I fly? A bird with no wings. That sounds like fantasy."
"Do you want to?"
"Not necessarily. We're being a bit delusional, aren't we? If there is illusion, there must be something beyond it."
Hazel frowned. This wasn't where she wanted the conversation to go. She'd only come to talk about illusions, and, perhaps by the end, nudge Leo toward joining the Realm of Illusions. But Leo was after something else, information about other realms.
She couldn't stop now. It would only make her appear suspicious.
"There is, but illusions must belong to illusions, and other aspects must belong to their own."
Leo could feel the uneasiness. He wanted more out of the conversation, but since everything had been kept hypothetical, he couldn't ask the questions he truly wanted answers to.
This brought him to a quick conclusion. He couldn't remain in the Realm of Illusion forever, and the best way into the world of realms was clearly through his own servants. He'd be able to keep an eye on them and pass better judgment from how things played out.
Hazel found Leo's eyes on her. He was staring in a way that made her uncomfortable.
"Is something the matter?"
"Oh, yeah… you seem very knowledgeable about this. Honestly, I don't think what I saw moments ago was a sign of madness. What you're telling me is real, isn't it?"
"What led you to draw such a conclusion?"
Leo shrugged and took to sipping his wine again, even though the melted ice had long since drained it of any taste.
"This world isn't particularly clear. I'm into history, and I've read too many incidents to believe there's something beneath it all. The assassination of Emperor Alastair III… and more recently, what happened to Emperor Marshal and his family. I wouldn't be shocked if there's more than what we know."
Hazel found Leo's words noble. It was as though he were a historian who doubted the very existence of his world. But she couldn't trust him that quickly. Getting Lord Trinity's name out there could land her in serious trouble, and she already had enough bother on her hands since her roommate had seen the ritual.
"Wouldn't we all like to know?"
She sipped her tea down in one go, got to her feet, and headed straight out of the tavern.
"I've got urgent matters to attend to, Leo. I'll see you some other time."
Leo sent her off with a goodbye, but he knew it wasn't done. Hazel would return the next day around the same time, and it would keep going until she trusted him enough to recruit him.
'Strange… I'm being recruited into my own realm.'
—
Meanwhile a few hours later, in Hazel's room at Billy University, she stood at the centre of it, utterly still. Her eyes swept across the room, slower this time… and all she saw was blood.
Moments earlier, she had hidden her roommate in the wardrobe, just after Lona saw her return from the Realm of Illusion. She had meant to convince her, truly, she had. But if that failed… she'd already decided what came next. It had failed.
Lona's head was smashed in. Hazel's luggage lying where it had struck, the room stained with it. No matter how she looked at it, no matter how she tried to think it through. This was bad.
Worse than that, something about it felt… intentional.