"What–" She flinched back. "I wasn't–"

  "For the record? It's not a problem. I have ways of verifying if you're lying or not. If the target you've suggested doesn't deserve death, then I'll just find a different one."

  He laced his fingers together. "That said, now would be a good time to come clean. Are you being honest with your intentions?"

  Katarina's posture sagged. "I'll admit that...there are those who I wish to see dead. People who've wronged me. Wronged others. And...well..."

  "This was a golden opportunity you couldn't pass up."

  She met his gaze. "When you see the target I have in mind, judge them as you see fit. I won't gainsay your decision. Still, whatever you choose, I cannot recommend you pursue the slavers instead. It won't end well. Perhaps we can try in the future, but neither of us are strong enough to stand up to them yet."

  Simon's mouth slowly settled into a half-frown. "You're acting like they're untouchable."

  "Aren't they? It's hardly any different from how we're avoiding the nobles for now. That's just how things are."

  "No. It's not."

  At his voice – harsh and cold, yet burning with restrained emotion – Katarina flinched back. "Simon?"

  "I get why we have to avoid the uppercrust types. They have higher Levels, higher mana affinity, elite soldiers, and plentiful resources with which to defend themselves. Even if the commonfolk all rose up in rebellion, they'd likely be crushed underfoot – or suffer so many losses that victory would be pyrrhic at best."

  His face betrayed no emotion. "But slavers aren't of the nobility. They're far less powerful. Far less entrenched. If everyone banded together, if they just bothered to make a stand, then the slavers wouldn't last a week before being rooted out."

  Katarina eyed him with a mixture of confusion and wariness. "Simon...I was referring to us. Our paltry group of two. We are presently incapable of challenging forces larger than ourselves. That's why you seek to raise our Levels, yes?"

  All at once, he realized he'd let his suppressed frustrations boil over again. "Nevermind," he said, the anger leaving his tone like muck through a filter. "Got sidetracked."

  "And it's not as if rooting out the slavers would be a simple task," Katarina continued, sounding mildly defensive. "Not even if the commonfolk banded together. You can't expect people with empty stomachs and emptier pocketbooks to risk their life for causes that don't concern them. It would require great sacrifice to accomplish what you describe."

  There shouldn't *need* to be great sacrifice. The masses of the commonfolk outnumber the slavers a million to one. It'd be like a roaring tsunami crashing onto a ramshackle hut.

  If only everyone was on the same page. The people of Valtia – united against tyranny.

  Simon shifted his gaze towards the upper district many streets away, its taller edifices peeking up over the lower district. "Who's officially in charge of Caelryn City?"

  Katarina recovered quickly from the sudden change of topic, having grown used to that by now. "In what way do you mean?"

  "Springwater has a Mayor. What does Caelryn have?"

  "Ah. Well, among the nobles who reside here, a High Lord is designated every so often. I'm obviously not privy as to when or why. Nominally, the reigning High Lord rules over Caelryn City."

  She furrowed her brow in thought. "Although some say it's a toothless position. Piers Helmund doesn't even live here, but if he so desired, he could single-handedly appoint a High Lord that heeds only his command. Who would stop him? A few wealthier merchants are nearing the nobility in terms of status as well. At a certain point, coin trumps lineage."

  Her eyes widened. "Is this related to that De- that ability of yours?" She cut herself off before saying 'Demonic'. While it was unlikely that anyone was eavesdropping on them, you could never be too careful. "The, um, Subjugation one?"

  Simon nodded, bringing up his Character Sheet.

  -If the established leader or governing body of a village, town, city, or any similar settlement yields authority to you, then you are granted dominion of the aforementioned area.

  Subjugate Territory was vague about what 'established leader' meant. Was it the official High Lord? Was it Piers Helmund, the scion of the Severed Isles? Was it a merchant rich enough to buy Caelryn five times over? Or was it perhaps a hypothetical shadow figure pulling strings behind the scenes – the true ruler, unbeknownst to all?

  He knew he was getting ahead of himself. They weren't in a position to Subjugate anything bigger than a destitute, dying village.

  Still – it paid to be prepared. When it came time to bring Caelryn City to heel, he wanted to know who exactly he'd be making a Contract with.

  "How about religious leaders?" Simon posited. "Like a pope or a priest. Sometimes those can wield more power than the nobility."

  "What's a priest?" Katarina asked, the word stumbling over her tongue. "Or a pope. Or 'religious' leaders, for that matter. That's all new to me."

  Simon gaped at the woman in disbelief. There hadn't been an ounce of sarcasm in her tone. Even if Valtia has different names for religious terms, shouldn't the Universal Translator Trait have handled that?

  "Priests are..." He paused. Needed to establish a baseline first. "I've heard people mention the Ancient One before. What other gods are recognized in Valtia?"

  In an instant, Katarina's mood soured. "Congratulations," she murmured. "If there was any lingering doubt in my mind over your supposed memory loss, you've just dispelled it. Only someone who truly knows nothing could have devised a question like that."

  A shudder ran across her body. "Gods. With an 's'. Didn't even have that fear until today."

  Simon mentally backpedaled. He'd been looking at this from the wrong angle – like a student studying religious history from a safe, detached distance, focused solely on defining its political and societal influence. After all, divine intervention wasn't something that affected day-to-day living on Earth. Gods didn't toss down lightning bolts to smite whoever had slighted them.

  That may not be the case for Valtia. Heck, he'd already met a god. Voice-In-The-Sky wasn't this world's patron deity, but it was still proof that higher powers existed in the universe at large.

  "The Ancient One created our world many millennia ago," Katarina began. She spoke quickly, yet with a hint of austerity, as if speeding through an uncomfortable tale heard in her childhood. "No one knows how – we only know that it sought to massacre us all."

  Simon raised an eyebrow. "It created you, then tried to kill you?"

  "Like pigs for slaughter." She barked out a laugh devoid of humor. "The Ancient's motivations are beyond our reckoning. I could spend hours regaling you with frightful stories my father used to keep me in line when I was younger, but I'll be brief. In its wrath, the god devastated Valtia, failed to eradicate us, then disappeared. The end."

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Hmm. Hope this doesn't sound overly blunt, but... "Is there physical evidence that the Ancient One existed?"

  Katarina seemed surprised. "Didn't take you for a skeptic. Though I suppose it is a comforting thought. I'd very much like to believe that the Ancient One isn't real – that there's no chance it might return someday."

  "My amnesia grants me a different perspective," Simon offered. "As someone learning the world for the first time, I need to be halfway skeptical of everything. And while I'm not completely discounting the Ancient's existence, it's also more difficult for me to believe things I can't personally verify, or that people I trust can't verify for me."

  "Ironic, coming from the mouth of a Demon. I'd never met your kind before this past week, only heard of you in fables, yet here you are."

  She sighed. "Believe what you will. It honestly doesn't concern me. Just...don't say gods where people are listening. The last thing anyone wants to imagine is the prospect of the Ancient One having family."

  "Understood." Simon intended to research the subject later, but this was enough for now.

  Katarina had given him much to consider.

  Back on Earth, it was fairly common for societies to venerate gods that they feared. The concept of a kind, benevolent deity wasn't at all ubiquitous.

  Valtia took that a step farther. This world didn't have a god – it had a boogeyman.

  There was no religion based around the Ancient One. No priests extolling its supremacy. No temples constructed in its name. The people here didn't worship or revere it, as that would mean keeping the Ancient in their thoughts rather than consigning it to the darkest corners of their minds.

  They just didn't want to think about it.

  Inwardly, Simon found himself hoping that his skeptical half was right.

  --

  Both of them were quiet as they continued onward to their chosen target. Simon's mind was whirling with thoughts of Subjugate Territory, the legend of the Ancient One, and Caelryn's slaver industry – an infestation that he wasn't capable of exterminating just yet.

  Katarina seemed to sense that he could use a distraction. "You removed everything of value from our carriage, correct?" she asked. "Nothing's left there to tempt any passing thieves?" It was the kind of question that she already knew the answer to, conjured up solely to fill dead air.

  Simon graciously seized the opportunity. "I have. It all went straight into Inventory."

  "Inventory," Katarina muttered, "Out of your myriad assortment of fantastical abilities, I think that one baffles me the most."

  "More than the capital-D abilities?"

  "Do you have the faintest notion of how convenient Inventory would've been for me? It makes theft impossible! No more wasted nights of fitful, restless sleep, wondering if my possessions will still be there when I awaken."

  She exhaled. "Even now, I worry about the carriage we left behind. Shame you couldn't fit it inside Inventory as well."

  "Isn't that why we paid for secure storage?"

  "As if that would stop a truly industrious thief."

  Simon paused. "I brought the Navigation Crystal with me. They can't just activate it and drive away."

  "Again – that wouldn't deter some of the scoundrels I've met." After a moment of contemplation, she shook her head. "This is untrodden ground to me. Not used to owning high-risk valuables."

  "Does it matter if our carriage gets stolen? With my abilities, it shouldn't be hard to track down the culprit."

  Katarina glanced over. "You sound strangely eager."

  A smirk played at the corners of Simon's lips. "I just don't shy away from conflict. If someone is bold enough to steal an entire carriage, wheels and all, then I can only thank them for the entertaining diversion."

  And for delivering a potential EXP target right to his doorstep.

  "I see that look in your eyes." She poked him in the shoulder. "Must you be so–"

  Katarina froze mid-poke, her body going stiff as stone.

  The change was so abrupt that Simon walked past her for a second before stopping. "Kat?" He turned around, pushing against the tides of the crowd to reach her. "You alright?"

  She didn't answer. He followed her gaze, peering across the street.

  A man in his early 30s was sitting by himself. His eyes were blank, staring listlessly into the distance. From his clothes, to his appearance, to his indifferent expression, nothing about him appeared particularly noteworthy. If Katarina hadn't singled him out, Simon wouldn't have given the man a second thought.

  Although...something about him did seem vaguely familiar.

  "Is that the target you picked out?" he whispered. "I thought we were ten minutes away."

  Still no response. The blood had drained from Katarina's complexion, leaving her as a shocked, pale ghost of a woman. She hurriedly shuffled behind Simon, hiding herself from view.

  ...Okay. The transmigrator covertly examined their new target, suppressing his growing hatred so that it wouldn't show on his face. Identi–

  Pain. Invisible needles jabbing at his eyeballs. The world churning and wavering. Like when he'd used Identify on Kirkelas and the Ravenous Wanderer, but much less intense.

  The sensation faded quickly, a floating system window taking its place.

  Name: Armand Calloway

  Description: What you see is what you get. A dull, friendless, passionless man. Laments every minute he is awake. Aimless and unremarkable.

  At least while the sun is out. When night falls...the true Armand runs free, gleefully painting Caelryn with rivers of red.

  Estimated Level: 28

  Simon fought to retain his poker face.

  An Estimated Level of 28 was obscenely high for a random passerby on the street. From what he'd been told, that kind of strength belonged to seasoned warriors with better-than-average mana affinity. In fact, after Kirkelas and the engorged Wanderer, this was the third-highest Level Simon had ever Identified.

  And as for the man's Description–

  "I know him."

  Katarina's voice barely rose above the crowd. She was speaking just loudly enough that Simon could hear, trying her hardest not to draw attention.

  In a flash, Simon remembered why Armand Calloway felt familiar. He'd seen this man once before.

  When using Sin Scry for the second time.

  Visions of a dark alley, an insane smile, and a bloody dagger surged to the forefront of Simon's mind – right as Kat's confirmation slithered into his ear.

  "He tried to murder me."