The World Is Mine For The Taking

"Nice to meet you," said Tris, offering a polite smile. Her voice was smooth and composed, and it was carrying the relaxed tone of someone used to socializing. "I'm Tris. You could say I'm a friend of Leon. Well, more precisely, my husband is close friends with him, so naturally, that makes us friends too."

"Ah..." Isiliraiellyn's gaze darted to the side, like she was uncertain. Her posture stiffened slightly, and her words came out disjointed, like she wasn't sure how to respond. Still, after a short pause, she seemed to find her footing. "I'm Isiliraiellyn. No—I'm the great Isiliraiellyn. You better remember the name, or you'll be cursed if you don't."

Her declaration was a bit over the top, but it felt like she was trying to push past the initial overwhelm Tris's presence stirred in her.

Despite the awkward air, she forced her name out in that usual confident, almost haughty tone she always used, as if trying to reclaim control over the situation.

"I see~, I see~," Tris said playfully, putting a finger to her chin while pretending to ponder something deeply. Then, her eyes sparkled with sudden realization, and she snapped her fingers. "I see! I see! I get it now! I totally understand! So this is also your type, Leon!"

I blinked, dumbfounded. "...I don't know how the hell you came up with that conclusion. Shouldn't we be discussing something a bit more important right now?"

"Hmm? Like what?" she asked, tilting her head innocently.

I felt like I'd just tried to reason with a literal brick wall.

Seriously, I couldn't believe this. She was the one who suggested this place in the first place, yet now she looked like she had completely forgotten why we even came here.

"The witch," I reminded her flatly.

Her expression lit up like a light bulb flicking back on. "Oh yeah! Now that you bring it up, I did talk to you last night about meeting the witch here, didn't I? That explains it. I was wondering to myself, 'Wait, why did I even come here again?' and then I thought, 'Oh right, it's to meet Leon!' But then I was like, 'What was the topic again?' And that's why I ended up being super late. Annnnddd... I also ran into someone along the way."

I stared at her for a moment. This woman was seriously the kind of person who would rather chase butterflies than deal with anything even remotely dull.

Well... considering she was a hardcore fujoshi, that kind of behavior wasn't exactly surprising.

"Well?" I prompted her.

"Don't worry. We'll meet her," she said, her tone suddenly more composed.

It held an unexpected seriousness that caught me off guard for a moment.

"But before that..." She broke into a mischievous grin. "I think we should enjoy ourselves first. Don't you think so? This is Pleasure City, after all! It's not just about debauchery and flesh. There's an entire entertainment district here! We could hit up La La Land, or maybe catch a theatre act or something."

"Sorry, but I didn't come here for any of that," I said flatly.

"You're such a buzzkill, you know that?" she said with a dramatic sigh. "But whatever. I was just kidding anyway."

Her teasing tone vanished as she continued. "However... what I said about the witch being here isn't exactly accurate. I know she's somewhere in Pleasure City, but I don't know the exact location."

"...Huh?"

My breath hitched. I nearly choked on air from how absurd that sounded.

So we came all the way here to find the witch responsible for turning Johanne into a woman—and she was the one who suggested it—and now she tells me she doesn't even know where the witch actually is?

"What the hell are we supposed to do now?" I asked, exasperated.

Before I could get another word out, a face suddenly leaned in close.

She was way too close.

Her visible eye locked onto mine, the other hidden beneath a stylish eyepatch, and a wide grin stretched across her lips. She was radiating energy, and her eye glittered like she'd been waiting for this moment.

"Are you having trouble?" she asked with that same sly expression, like a devil ready to make a deal.

She looked at me with such anticipation, like she already knew we were going to ask for help and was just waiting for us to say the words.

I let out a sigh, rubbing the back of my neck.

Guess I might as well take her up on that offer. She seemed more than eager to lend a hand, at least.

"But before we do that..." I turned to Tris. "What exactly are this witch's features?"

Tris nodded. "Well... she's a woman, obviously. She drinks tea in the mornings. She has this habit of giving advice to random people who bump into her—especially if they hand her some coins. Oh, and she's kind of short."

"Huh..." I mumbled, trying to piece together an image in my head. But as I thought about it, I realized something wasn't right.

That wasn't a description of her appearance. That was just her routine.

"So... do you have anything else? You didn't actually describe her at all. I mean, how the hell am I supposed to recognize her with that?"

Tris just shrugged with an unapologetic smile. "Sorry. That's all I got from my investigation."

I brought a hand to my forehead and groaned.

Seriously, this should've been rule number one when you're trying to find someone—get their appearance. Not just their morning habits and how tall they are.

I glanced at her, and she gave me a goofy wink while lightly knocking her fist against her head, sticking her tongue out.

"Tee-hee."

Classic. She finally realized she screwed up, but instead of apologizing, she just went full-on cute mode.

"Fufufufu..."

Suddenly, the girl beside me—Isiliraiellyn—started giggling like a demon who had found a brand new source of joy. Her shoulders trembled, and she covered her mouth at first... but then, she let loose.

"Fuhahahahahahahahahaha! FUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

She burst into a dramatic, devilish laugh, full of ridiculous flare and theatrical volume, like she was some villain from a stage play relishing in chaos.

People were turning their heads, staring at her with wide eyes, some of them muttering under their breath or laughing nervously.

I immediately turned away and tried to hide my face.

Secondhand embarrassment hit me like a tidal wave.

God, people with eighth-grade syndrome are really the kind of folks I shouldn't be standing next to if I want to keep my dignity intact.

She suddenly sprang up from her seat, the chair scraping sharply against the floor with a jolt of urgency.

"I will help the two of you!" she declared, her voice ringing out with theatrical conviction, like a self-proclaimed hero entering the stage.

I turned my eyes to her, narrowing them slightly.

Something didn't sit right with me. I couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt. Could she actually find her?

I mean, we were talking about someone so elusive that even Leonamon had failed to track her down.

So how in the absolute hell was someone like Isiliraiellyn going to succeed where even us came up short?

"You seem to doubt me," she said, her grin unfaltering, "but remember this, mortals! I am the Great Isiliraiellyn! I possess the Eye of the Demon God—an all-seeing eye that can pierce through the veils of reality and witness everything!"

With an exaggerated flair, she reached up and lifted the black eyepatch that covered her left eye.

Some strange flickering lights suddenly sparked around her, like some magical surge had just been activated by the very act of revealing her eye.

We watched in silence, holding our breath as we waited for her to finally pull it up and show us what lay beneath.

And then, after all that build-up, she finally lifted the patch.

Her eye was red—nothing more, nothing less. Just a glowing, crimson eye.

She cast her gaze toward us, that same cocky grin plastered across her face like she knew she just won the moment.

"And someone who can see everything," she said, "is more than capable of solving any problem that dares cross her path!"

Tris and I exchanged glances.

We didn't know if she was full of shit or if she was genuinely about to do the impossible.

"You're searching for a witch, right?" she added, straightening herself. "Well, if that's the case, then I'll help you! So that the both of you can finally admit to yourselves just how amazing I am!"

***

Isiliraiellyn led us forward, guiding us with an oddly proud bounce in her steps.

She took us to a tucked-away corner deep within the Pleasure City—.

It was a place so obscure, it felt like it had been forgotten by time itself.

While the rest of Pleasure City was alive with life and noise—laughter, footsteps, the murmur of pleasure and chaos—this area was completely devoid of people.

The silence here felt heavy. Still. As if the very air refused to move.

"Are you sure she knows what she's doing?" Tris whispered to me, eyeing the empty streets warily.

"Well," I muttered, voice low, "thanks to you being an idiot, we're stuck relying on her now. We've got no other choice."

"I think calling me an idiot is a bit unfair, don't you think? But whatever… I'll allow it."

We walked for a while longer until finally, she stopped in front of a solid wall.

It was a massive, towering slab of stone that looked like it had been standing there untouched for decades.

"We're here," Isiliraiellyn announced with the pride of a tour guide unveiling a grand destination.

I stared ahead, confused.

There was nothing here.

It was just a wall. A dead end.

A plain, unremarkable wall that shouldn't lead to anything.

"Now, let's go," she said.

Without another word, she took a few steps forward and walked straight toward the wall.

But as I focused more—really focused—I felt it.

The air here was thick. Tense. Charged with magical energy.

The atmosphere buzzed faintly against my skin, like a low static hum pressing against my ears.

Now that I was paying attention to the flow of mana around us, I realized the entire surface of that wall was cloaked in powerful magic.

And not just any magic.

Illusion Magic.

A well-crafted veil meant to keep the unworthy away.

Without hesitation, Isiliraiellyn walked through the wall, her body phasing through it like it was nothing more than smoke and mist.

I paused, glanced over at Tris. She gave a small, silent nod.

And with that, the two of us followed her through the illusion.