Chapter 126: That’s not much of an answer
"I’m fine," Leon said, though his grip on the book had tightened noticeably.
Internally, his mind raced. He hadn’t spoken to Medusa since waking up back in that strange, endless field, hadn’t even considered the possibility that she might be able to reach out to him from wherever she actually existed, whether that was the ring itself or somewhere else entirely.
Yet here she was, apparently listening in, or watching, or somehow aware of exactly what he was doing right now.
’If you’re going to be dramatic about it, at least keep reading,’ Medusa’s voice said again, amusement clear even through the mental connection.
MOr better yet, just talk to me. I can tell you everything in that book, and more besides. Faster than flipping through pages, too.’
Leon kept his expression carefully neutral, doing his best not to react outwardly again, though it took considerable effort.
If Iris caught him talking to seemingly nobody a second time, there was no telling how she might react, or what questions she might start asking that he had no good way to answer.
He thought back at Medusa instead, focusing his attention inward the way he’d learned to focus on his status window.
’Can you hear me right now?’ he thought carefully.
’Obviously,’ came the immediate reply, dry and faintly exasperated. ’Why else would I be responding?’
Leon fought down the urge to react physically again. Instead, he kept his eyes fixed on the book in front of him, using it as cover while he continued the silent conversation.
’Why now?’ he thought. ’You never said anything before this.’
’You never asked before this,’ Medusa replied simply. ’And you weren’t exactly in a position to hear me clearly.’
Leon almost winced at the reminder, though he kept his expression carefully blank.
’If you’re this willing to just tell me things,’ he thought, a note of frustration slipping into the thought despite himself, ’then why can’t you just unlock Aegis’s full power for me? Why do I still need to earn anything at all?’
There was a brief pause on Medusa’s end, long enough that Leon started to wonder if she’d simply chosen not to answer.
’Hmm... I can, but you need to meet my requirement first.’ she said, her voice growing more sultry as she spoke. ’Power like that isn’t mine to just hand over, not entirely. But if you actually do what I want? Then fine, you can get the full power of Aegis.’
Leon frowned slightly at that, turning the explanation over in his mind. It didn’t fully satisfy him, but it was, at least, more of an answer than he’d expected.
’What requirement is that?’ he thought.
’I’ll tell you about it... when next you meet me.’ Medusa replied, chuckling lightly.
Before she could continue, Iris’s voice cut back in from the real world, pulling Leon’s attention sharply back to the room around him.
"You’re doing it again," Iris said, leaning slightly closer, studying his face with obvious curiosity now. "Your eyes just went distant. Are you talking to someone?"
Leon hesitated, caught between explaining too much and explaining too little.
"Nah... I was just, going through my system," he admitted finally, deciding a partial truth was safer than an outright lie he’d have to maintain carefully. "It’s a... player thing. Hard to explain."
Iris’s eyes widened slightly at that, her earlier suspicion shifting rapidly into something closer to fascination.
"You mean you’re checking your attributes...?" she asked.
"Something like that," Leon said, keeping his answer deliberately vague.
He expected her to push further, maybe even grow more suspicious given how strange the whole situation clearly looked from her side.
"That’s incredible," she said, leaning forward slightly.
Leon blinked, caught off guard by her reaction. He hadn’t expected genuine enthusiasm, not from someone who’d made her general dislike of players clear only a short while earlier.
For Iris, this was different, though Leon had no way of fully understanding exactly why.
In all the years she’d spent poring over her grandmother’s old books, sharing stories nobody else seemed to take seriously, she’d never once had anyone actually engage with the material the way Leon currently was.
Most people, players especially, dismissed her interests outright, treating her fascination with old legends as childish or pointless.
Leon, whatever his actual reasons, wasn’t doing that.
If anything, he seemed more invested in these old stories than she was, reacting to details with a kind of hunger that suggested something personal.
That alone made him different from every other player she’d ever encountered.
"Keep reading," she said, gesturing back toward the book still open in his lap. "Or checking your status window... whether."
Leon nodded slowly, returning his attention to both the book and the quiet, ongoing conversation still humming faintly at the back of his mind.
’She’s curious about you,’ Medusa’s voice said suddenly, an unmistakable note of amusement threading through the words. ’Careful, Leon. Humans get attached quickly when someone finally listens to them properly.’
Leon nearly choked at the unexpected comment, managing to turn the reaction into a slightly awkward cough instead.
’Are you jealous?’ he thought back, unable to fully resist the jab.
’Absolutely not,’ Medusa replied instantly, though something in her tone suggested otherwise. ’I simply think you should focus. You wanted my story, remember?’
Leon forced his attention back to the matter at hand, setting aside the brief moment of teasing.
’Right,’ he thought. ’Tell me. What actually happened between you and Arthur?’
Medusa was quiet again for a moment, longer this time, the silence carrying a different weight than before.
’It’s a long story,’ she said finally. ’Longer than you have time for right now, sitting in some stranger’s study with someone watching you.’
Leon glanced briefly at Iris, who was indeed still watching him intently, her earlier fascination showing no signs of fading.
’Then give me the short version,’ he thought.
’Fine,’ Medusa said. ’The short version. Arthur and I were never enemies, not at first. We fought on the same side, once. But loyalty like that only lasts as long as the ones enforcing it allow it to.’
Leon frowned slightly at the deliberately vague answer, sensing there was considerably more beneath the surface than she was currently willing to share.
’That’s not much of an answer,’ he thought.