Inverse System

Xenia nodded sternly, then took a deep breath, opening her mouth to ask her questions.

"First, I want to know," she paused for a moment, looking down in contemplation, then looked back up at Rein. "Why are those people trying to collect curses? And who is it exactly that's after them?" She posed, Rein smiling at her question.

"That's 2 questions, so I'll answer 1 at a time," he laughed.

"Oh, whoops," she rubbed the back of her head apologetically.

"So you want to know why they're trying to collect all 7 curses?" Rein made sure, Xenia nodding to confirm. "Basically, they're harnessing their power to form the 'completed curse'," Rein revealed, Xenia, along with everyone in the room's eyes widened at his words.

"Completed curse? What does that do? What does it mean?" Xenia questioned.

"That, I don't know. But one thing I do know is that this completed curse has incomprehensible power, but it's not without its sacrifices," Rein informed.

"Sacrifices? What sacrifices?" She pondered.

"Most likely the curses themselves, no?" Clyde interjected.

"That's part of it. But if that's all it took to gain power of that magnitude, that would be much too easy," Rein shook his head.

"Then what's the sacrifice?" Chloe queried.

"I'm sorry, but that I can't tell you," Rein bowed his head down over the table, expecting everyone, especially Xenia to be angry at his secretive statement.

"Understood. If you can't tell us, then it's fine," she pardoned, Rein laughing at her carefree attitude.

"Thanks for understanding," he raised his head, then reassumed a serious appearance. "Now, onto your next question. Who is it that's after you. Well that, you should already know by now. You and Clyde saw her last month after you 2 teleported away somewhere," Rein reminded her, recalling back to that time.

"Oh, that white-haired woman. I knew it… So then the queen is the one after us…" She gritted her teeth, Clyde putting a hand on her shoulder, calming her down.

"Wow, you made the connection," Rein remarked, remembering the intellect stat that he shared with her last month. "That's right. The Queen of Orthlys is the one who's after all the curses."

"Melina Alister… She said that was her name, didn't she Clyde?" Xenia posed.

"..." Clyde closed his eyes, then glanced over at Rein, who nodded at him. "That's correct. Her name was Melina Alister, the duchess of Kanirah, as well as the current Queen of Orthlys. Though now, she goes by the name Melina Orthlysia," Clyde unraveled.

"Alister… And the duchess of Kanirah. She must've been the heir after the Timeless Blitz died then," Xenia concluded, her extensive knowledge on Ranger history coming into play.

"Shit, for real? So she's the Timeless Blitz's sister? There's no way…" Quint uttered in disbelief.

"It is true. When Xenia mentioned his name, she confirmed it, calling Drevius Alister her 'older brother'," Clyde revealed, Quint's expression becoming distraught.

"No way… I used to look up to him… There's no way the hero, Drevius Alister is—"

"Quint," Rein interrupted him, his eyes widening at the orange-haired male sitting beside him. "Drevius Alister has nothing to do with this, understand? I'd better not hear you doubt him again," Rein threatened as a red glow appeared in his eyes out of anger, stiffening Quint in place.

Silence befell them, Reggie, who was sitting and listening quietly, eventually broke the awkward pause.

"Well? What happened next then? After she said that he was her brother, did that woman do anything else?" Reggie posed to Xenia and Clyde.

"Hmm, after that, she ordered her troops to kill us if I recall correctly," Clyde put his fingers on his chin in thought.

"And then we both…" Xenia continued recalling the events of that day, her speech stopping as her face slowly began turning red, her mouth wriggling in embarrassment. "N-nothing happened after that! Right, Clyde?" She exclaimed.

"Hm? Oh, I believe not. I had all but accepted my death, and you almost broke my hand from how tight you were holding it," he laughed, Xenia freezing up at his words, one side of her frozen in embarrassment, and the other jubilant that he remembered.

"Th-that wasn't necessary to mention!" She yelled at him.

"Haha, I suppose not. However, it's strange. At that time, I had accepted that I would die, and yet when I look back at it, I don't view it as a bad memory," a smile appeared on his face. "No, it's actually the opposite. I'm quite fond of that memory. Is it the same for you?" Clyde curiously asked Xenia, innocently wanting to know the answer.

"A-anyways, moving on!" She changed the subject, her heart about to burst from fluster. "My next question. This one doesn't really relate to the curse, but something just came to my mind. How did you swap places with us that day?" She turned her face back to Rein, who was sitting back, waiting for her next question.

"Oh, that. I think Clyde could tell you," Rein pointed to him, who was reacted in a slightly shocked manner.

"You don't mind?" Clyde made sure.

"Nope. You know how it worked, right? Go ahead and tell her," Rein gave the go-ahead, Clyde nodding at his words.

"Very well. Basically, when a certain condition is met, Rein can swap positions with those wielding that red ring on your finger. I do not know why, but it seems to be the case," Clyde explained. "Since our hands were interlocked, when we fulfilled the conditions, we were both teleported," he concluded.

"Condition? Then what was the condition?" She posed.

"To say Rein's name. That was the condition. I said it back then, which allowed him to swap places with us," Clyde informed, leaving out some crucial information purposely.

"Oh. Why'd you randomly say his name back then?" She laughed earnestly, Clyde looking at Rein with a gaze of trust, Rein smiling at him and nodding.

"Rein Xilris," Xenia tried activating it, but nothing happened. "Huh? Nothing happened," she said in disappointment.

"It'll only work if I want it to. You can't just teleport me without my consent," Rein made the excuse, Xenia accepting it as it made sense.

"I see. Well, my next questio—"

"Let's save it. The boat's almost here now. We should get going…" 

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