I have to think. This wasn't a good situation. It could fall apart and turn into a fight at any moment. If that did happen, then I needed to take him down immediately... No, we would lose the moment that happened. Fighting was absolutely not an option.

Still, I kept my wits about me while watching him.

Sweat trickling down my face from anxiety.

'Dragon Synergy'.

They were a less popular path than Elf Synergy due to their scaly characteristics. The appeal of having the strength of a dragon quickly wore off when having to live as a scaled human being. Having to permanently be aware that you were now different.

Elves were at least similar to humans, but dragons were not. That's why a Spectral Core with a dragon within caused great changes to the body. Enough to even give them a tail and wings. Moreover, it wasn't easy mastering the Combat Gift that it inherited.

'Magic Eater' was the ability those with the Dragon Synergy obtained as a Combat Gift. It was pretty straightforward. The user was able to LITERALLY devour magical energy. Eat it with their mouth and store it up in their body. This had a lot of uses.

The most common was pairing it with one of three Stigmata Gifts from the Jobless Class. Each one meant a different branching path those who walked the dragon road could travel. The weapon they used usually indicated which of the four they had chosen.

The first was 'Sword Sharpening' from the Warrior Class. Combining the two abilities allowed one to create a cycle of eating their 'sharpened' energy before using it to enhance a blade again. Leading to results like being able to wield a gigantic claymore.

It was the path of a 'Dragon Swordsman'.

The second was 'Dynamic Heal' of the Cleric Class. I hadn't seen many of them, but that was only because they were the most respected emergency medics. All of them were able to access every single form of healing using external sources. The best of the best.

'Dragon Healer' was a precious role to have.

The third and last was 'Bullet Moulding' of the Gunner Class, and judging from the bayonet the man held, there was no better option. My prediction of his abilities could only go as far as that. There was no way to tell what effect his second Gift would have.

My former two leaders, the 'Twin Dragons' of the Hunting Guild, were also those who had draconic Spectral Cores. The only difference was that they didn't use 'Magic Eater' the same way as others. It was a completely different path from the ground up.

That's why I couldn't be certain despite my honest prediction made from experience. There were simply too many ways a single difference could change the entire path. Weapons like 'Mystic Tools', 'Divine Weapons', etc. All of them played a role in this.

"What are you two doing?" The suspicious tone of the flying policeman became deeper. He narrowed his eyes while slowly lifting his gun. About to aim at us and call for backup. I couldn't let him do as he pleased. I was close to lunging at him from below.

Only to be stopped by a warm embrace.

"Sorry, my assistant is inexperienced. We came here chasing traces of the current priority targets. We apologise for the inconvenience." Lucia's entire tone of voice changed radically. She became professional and boring. The natural elegance she had was gone.

Leaving behind only bluntness.

She held out a blank ID to the policeman. Confident in her words while showing no identification. I could feel my heart leaping out of my chest. Ready to fight for my life once the other party noticed. As expected of him, the policeman raised an eyebrow at us.

Looking at our clothing.

Huh? He wasn't getting angry?

"So he's your assistant, detective?" The flying officer spoke without any animosity. My eyes widened when I realised the policeman was caught in some sort of illusion. How was that possible? It was only then did my gaze lowered to see his shadow had been altered.

It was now connected to Lucia's own shadow.

The 'summon' could be used like that too...?

"Don't be too difficult. He is still young." Lucia spoke like an experienced old woman. Pretending she was some thug-like detective that would do anything to get her way. This act... would it really work well? I wasn't sure since the policeman still didn't leave.

He instead smiled politely.

"Are you sure bringing a kid is fine? He doesn't look like he could help in this situation. These are the people who managed to infiltrate Faustus. They are not simple criminals. The city has concluded that they may be either spies or terrorists." Even though the policeman was speaking seriously, I wasn't able to stop this mischievous feeling brewing in my heart.

This was so fun...

No, I shouldn't think that. A good citizen does not look down on authority. Law-abiding citizens like me should feel guilty about doing this. Stop it, me. You shouldn't be laughing on the inside. Don't fall into her pace. Don't. Don't look at the face Lucia made.

Aw... Now I'm done for.

"Absolutely! I cannot believe these people are so brave and cunning. Do they not fear death?!" I said with the seriousness of a student that was absolutely on his side. The man raised his brows. Looking like he didn't expect me to have such a 'honest' reaction.

He even seemed touched.

It was to the point the policeman had descended.

Completely letting down his guard.

My acting... I couldn't believe it was THAT GOOD.

"My assistant is correct. They are really brave." Oh no, Lucia was egging me on. We were both enjoying this immortal act. Becoming partners in crime. She was leading me down a dark path. Filled with the vices I'd known about, but had been trying to avoid.

"I don't know how they got in. None of the sensors went off. They even eluded our pursuit when we got a call from-" It was at that point the policeman seemed to remember something. He looked at me more intently, then spoke: "Wasn't it from you?"

"That's right. I couldn't relax while knowing there were criminals on the loose." I spoke with a sense of righteousness in my tone. Looking heartbroken and pained at letting 'them' escape. My mind was racing when he started to look at me for a long while.

Did he figure me out?

"Now that's the spirit! I'll remember your face. Call the police if you find any leads." The man didn't pursue the subject of us climbing a building and left peacefully. It was the luckiest event we had. Dodging the law before it gained a tough stranglehold on us.

"Did you know that would have happened?" I spoke to Lucia while feeling relief. Strength left my body after having survived such an ordeal. There were so many ways that could have went wrong. Especially if the officer had called out to any of his colleagues.

More eyes meant sharper observations.

That’s why I had to ask if she predicted this.

“I’m not good at fighting, so this is what I specialise in. What? Do you find it dishonourable?” Lucia had a thorny look. I could tell she thought that I’d find this aspect of her disgusting. Maybe people from her world and this world had cemented that idea.

Saying that she was a liar or something.

But I wasn’t the same.

“That’s hot.” I spoke what I’d felt.

“Pardon?” The girl widened her eyes.

“It’s perfect. Let’s do this again later.” At my bold words, she dropped her jaw. It was probably the first time anyone enjoyed her ‘act’. There was no fear in my heart about her using it against me. She wasn’t that sort of person. I was certain of her innocence.

…No, it went beyond that.

“You aren’t scared of me?” Lucia threw away her seductive atmosphere and asked with eyes that seemed more genuine. I was likely right. She DID go through a lot when trying to build relationships. It was only natural they’d be afraid of her skills.

Was I any different?

Actually…

“Aren’t all husbands afraid of their wives to a certain extent?” I raised my hands expressively. Looking like it didn’t matter. It was sad the sweat trickling down my face betrayed what I’d felt. She likely realised that I too feared she would do something shady.

Please don’t judge me.

I’m still a normal guy, after all.

Just as I was expecting her to get angry…

…I was instead surprised by her friendly laughter.

“You seriously don’t hate me. Wow… Just…” Lucia seemed unable to believe what she heard. She looked at me more closer than before. Her eyes peering into the depths of my heart. The blend of emotions I myself couldn’t figure out made her say: “Wow…”

“Why would I hate you?” I defended my innocence.

Since when did I judge people for their skills?

“Animosity is hard to control. People tend to fear and hate those they don’t understand. Scared of what could happen to them.” Lucia approached and stubbed her finger into my chest. The sharpness of her nail made me think of a knife being thrusted.

An illusion that quickly faded.

I knew this feeling were my own fears.

It made me realise that this wasn’t a first for her. A common man wouldn’t be able to stop themselves for thinking her abilities were ‘evil’. Able to be used for the worst of crimes. Misleading people and causing chaos. Especially since she was like… ‘this’.

Her natural slimy attitude didn’t really scream that she was trustworthy. I barely even knew her at this point, but it was still a slow process and her looks doing the heavy lifting. She couldn’t really blame me for being suspicious. That was an unfair assessment.

“…We should go now.” No point in standing here.

It was good she didn’t pursue the subject. 

I felt like she would chase me to the ends of the earth for a proper answer. There was still uncomfortable stare she gave. Most of the discomfort was on her side from considering what I said. Did husbands really feel normal when fearing their wives like this?

Only a man could answer that question.

We finally got to the office without complications.

I checked from the windows whether there was someone inside or not. There was an automated system, and there was having to talk to someone in order to register. Unfortunately, it looked like there was someone already sitting there at the reception.

I took a deep breath and stayed calm.

Acting natural.

“Don’t worry.” Lucia put her finger on her lips. She had the same cheeky expression from when we fooled that policeman earlier. Should we put on another act? No, it was obvious now. I couldn’t get enough of these lies we’d tell others about ourselves.

It was really fun.

On no, now I can’t get enough.

We schemed our way in there and started to put on another act. One of a pitiful guy who had ran away from home. Eventually wanting to settle down and get married. I weaved quite the nonsensical story to the receptionist. They had no choice but to believe it.

My identity as a member of the Driftwood Family was solid. The years I was away was uncounted for officially, but there were several ways to verify my identity. I was born here. Then all Lucia had to do was pretend she arrived from out of the city state.

If we talked the talk enough, then perhaps the receptionist won’t bother to check if all the facts were true. We kept on going until the marriage was legalised. The papers also came with verified identification for Lucia while she was living here.

Now we could finally leave with lighter hearts.

“Thanks.” Lucia waved the ID in her hand.

“No problem.” I felt a bit coy.

“Well, I’ll see you later.” She turned her head.

A part of me felt devastated by the sudden heel-turn all of a sudden. Was she leaving me? We had such a nice time until now, but was that it? Was she really abandoning me now that I wasn’t useful? My heart felt cold from the betrayal. It felt like I was in Hell.

“You’re going?” Even as I called out, my ‘newlywed wife’ didn’t turn her head. Leaving without giving any words of explanation whatsoever. It was only a minute after hearing me did she turn to look back. A glint of surprise appeared in her eyes as my sorrow.

“I just have some things to do. I’ll see you at the hotel later.” Lucia’s words made me embarrassed of my own insecurities. Maybe I was projecting the worst aspects of my life on her. That’s right, it’d be better not to become too dependent on her presence.

After she disappeared in the streets of Faustus, my thoughts finally changed. I took out a trinket on me.

It was the ‘custom coupon’ that Freya had given me.