Friction

While Sian went along the way trying not to interact with Illianna, they quickly reached their goal.

After a few minutes of yammering and walking back and forth, Illianna finally stopped and seemed to get ready to climb on one of the big rocks near the river.

Seizing this opportunity, Sian stretched out his hand and a small circular magic tool with a blue magic stone in the center appeared. After communicating with someone, he looked suspiciously at the top of the rock where Illianna was.

With her figure in a relatively high place, she maintained a contemplative posture when looking at the sky with open arms. Being bathed entirely by the faint light of the rising sun and the gentle breath of the wind that swayed her beautiful golden hair, Illianna's appearance could only be described as divine. It was as if she were an angel who had come down to earth to grace everyone with her beauty.

Sian was speechless, all he could do at the moment was to admire this dazzling scene that unfolded before his eyes.

"A beautiful woman is one whose legs, bust, face or any other part of the body are praised." Illianna said in a soft, graceful voice. "But a woman as perfect as I am, is one whose entire appearance is of such beauty that it leaves no scope to admire isolated parts."

With those words, the dazzling scene once contained in Sian's mind collapsed to pieces, causing disgust to spread across his face.

'If she just kept her mouth shut, it would be wonderful.'

"My beauty is a gift that even the heavens envy, it's normal for you to look at me like that."

"Don't be so cocky, I still prefer my Ophilia." Sian protested.

"My beauty is like a work of art, it is normal for some to not know how to appreciate it."

"Okay Miss Work of Art, I'm not patient enough to argue with you. So let's get right to the point, did you go up there just to satisfy your ego or to examine the place?"

Illianna walked gracefully down the rock and came face to face with Sian. "Both, it's been a long time since I bathed under a sunrise as beautiful as I am."

Sighing, he said. "Do you still intend to continue looking around, or is it enough to complete the blueprint?"

"I already have all the information I needed."

"As this is the case, now I want to know what those tools are for and what exactly you intend to do."

"These tools are essential things that I intend to create. As engines to draw water, elevators to facilitate movement between floors, heaters for when it is cold, air conditioning for when it is hot [...]"

After waiting a few minutes until Illianna finally finished the long list of items, Sian said. "There are too many things to remember and also, there are a lot that I've never heard of. Is this really necessary? "

"I know what I am doing." She said in a confident tone.

"Is that so?" Lifting the communication tool that was still in his hand, he continued. "I just spoke to your mother, and she told me that you never studied anything related to magic tools or architecture."

Still with a composed stance, she said. "If you are talking about the woman who is running the duchy in your place, she is not my mother."

"Well, whatever, what matters is that you're lying." Facing her, Sian put the tool away and continued threateningly. "And I don't like being fooled one bit."

"I don't have to lie about my abilities. And you saw what I did with your own eyes." Illianna said displeased.

"I don't think Diana would be audacious enough to lie to me. But you, I have always questioned your sanity. I don't doubt you've had that blueprint since you left the duchy."

"Humph, even if she doesn't have the guts to lie to you, that doesn't mean she knows what I did or didn't do, we were never close. Also, when I became a slave, all my belongings were confiscated."

"Nothing prevents you from having it stored with magic, this morning I felt a weak oscillation of space magic. From the fact that you were so weak and that old man had only mentioned your affinity for light magic, I thought it was just my impression, but the oscillation was probably coming from you."

"Humph, even if I can use space magic, I wouldn't need to do something like that, I have full confidence in my abilities."

Unable to believe Illianna's words, Sian used the slave contract and said in an imposing tone. "I demand to know the truth."

After his words, a purple mark appeared on her forehead, but as if she didn't care, she just said stubbornly. "Even if you torture me, I will not say anythi-"

Before she even finished speaking, the slave contract came into effect and the purple mark shone brightly, making her feel a huge pain in the head.

Gritting her teeth as she endured the pain, Illianna remained motionless, looking at Sian with determined eyes.

Even after a few minutes under the effect of the contract, in addition to the little sweat that ran down her forehead, she did not move a muscle, refusing to budge.

"The pain the contract causes is as if there were thousands of needles sticking to your brain, even strong warriors can't bear it." Walking around her, Sian said slowly. "But for you to resist like that without letting out a single grunt of pain, I must admit that I am very surprised and impressed, I thought you were someone who only knew how to brag."

Stopping in front of her, he deactivated the contract. "I like strong and determined people, so I'll give you a second chance. Even if you are not useful in the construction, you are still useful to manage the inn. So I can promise you that I will not do anything against you, but as I have the feeling that you are very cunning, I want you to tell me what you hide. "

"If that is the case, don't hold your breath." She answered with a sneer.

"I know you're a proud person, and I kind of understand why you don't want to give up, but you know," Approaching and looking deep into her eyes, he continued menacingly, "There are times when you need to know when to back off."

Not saying a single word, she just gave him a dismissive look.

"Okay, If it will not be by the easy way, then it's going to be by the hard way." Sian said angrily. "I can use magic to easily invade your mind and I guarantee it will be even more painful than the contract."

"Then go ahead." Illianna replied.

With the fury pouring all over his body, Sian grabbed her delicate neck. "Very well, I'm going to make you regret this choice."

"Wait!" Illianna spoke suddenly.

"You decide to tell me?" Sian asked with a smug smile.

"No, I just wanted to say that if you do any harm to me, your beloved Ophilia will know." As if she was mocking him, she continued. "I guarantee that she will be horrified when she learns that you did not resist your desires and ended up raping your 'old friend'."

"The only desire I have for you now is to twist your neck." Sian narrowed his eyes and smiled wickedly. "Besides, if you die here and now, she won't know anything. I can simply say that you left on your own."

"Even if I die, she will still know." The corners of her lips arched back in a presumptuous smile. "You know that oscillation from earlier? I am quite skilled with space magic, so I left a message for her and in two hours or when I die, she will hear it."

These words surprised Sian, causing a huge stir in his mind. But after a brief hesitation, he remembered when she was crying in Ophilia's arms and how well she tricked her.

With anger emerging again, he squeezed her neck and looked her straight in her eye. "I almost fell for your lie, but unfortunately for you, I checked my surroundings constantly and didn't feel any magical flow remaining in the room."

With difficulty breathing, Illianna seemed to try her best to speak. "You can be strong... But don't be so arrogant as to think... That you're the best in the world... I may not be as strong as you... But I'm sure you know... How useful is space magic for camouflage."

Illianna's words surprised Sian again, as this was something he was fully aware of. If she were really as skillful as she claims to be, then killing her would surely bring unnecessary problems to him.

'I need to calm down, killing her now would only delay things, and if Ophilia finds out, I will not know how to act in front of her. As I decided that I would become a better person and live a peaceful life, sparing her should already be a good start.'

Convincing himself that this would be the best action to take at the moment, he loosened his hands, releasing her neck.

Taking a long breath while he contained his anger, Sian said grumpily. "You're in luck, if it were the me of 5 days ago, your head wouldn't have a body anymore."

"But the you of now is not the you of 5 days ago. And I have a proposal." Illianna said calmly with a smile on her face, as if nothing had happened.

With no more options than having to put up with her, Sian asked. "What would that proposal be?"

"I want you to provide me with books on magic, magic tools and magical formations, from basic to advanced. In return, I will tell you all my secrets, so we can have a good cooperation, without friction between us. "

Looking at the red marks on her neck, Sian thought. 'This girl seems to have nerves of steel, how can she act as if nothing has happened?'

'Besides, this is strange, to ask books from basic to advanced, isn't she practically admitting to being ignorant about the subject?'