>>5973198“Hey, I was wondering, would it be a good idea to get Marie another weapon? In case other Strangers recognize it as a Cheat Skill?” You ask while still with Asher and Midori.
“Oh, guess I forgot to tell you outright, sorry,” Asher sighs, like a scribe who was just told his printing press broke and he needs to copy texts by hand, “What I’m about to say should never leave this room, understand?”
“Understood.”
“Wow, It’s like I’m a real secret agent!”
“Sure, whatever,” Asher dismisses Marie’s rambling, “As you might have inferred the Inquisition has full knowledge that Strangers aren’t necessarily demons and is completely willing to recruit or help those they deem as either safe or useful. We aren’t evil, you know?”
“But then why does the Inquisition not let the general public know this? It seems awfully strange to lie.”
“Would you believe me if I said being a cool shady side of the church with a ton of secrets was an aesthetic choice?”
“No.”
“Well, while it is kind of cool it isn't that. The fact of the matter is that it’s a useful lie for the majority of the public to believe since a lot of Strangers that come here are, and I cannot stress this enough, dangerous. I don’t know why but a lot of people that come to this world from Earth don’t tend to be as reasonable as Marie here. So any inquisitors figuring out she’s a Stranger would be more of an annoyance than anything else, an annoyance requiring paperwork I’m sure none of us would like to deal with.”
“So that means I’m special?” Marie’s eyes sparkle.
“You sure are,” You can taste Asher's sarcasm. You don’t fully understand the joke but Midori pouts at his remark. “Anyways I can’t exactly threaten you to keep the secret because of your position, Lorina, but I do hope you see the point of what I’m saying.”
“That you would rather the public remain ignorant on matters regarding Earth?”
“Yeah pretty much.”
You think for a second, “At least you’re being honest with me,” You eventually conceded, “Does anyone else in my family know this?”
Asher shrugs, “That’s a bit above my paygrade honestly, but I’d rather you didn’t ask them if you could. I can’t exactly stop you but I can ask nicely.”
“That is the worst groveling I’ve seen in my life, inquisitor, do better.”
Asher sighs again and drops his head. When he picks it back up he looks to be doing his best impression of an innocent child, it looks ridiculous, “Pwetty pwease with a cherry on top?”
“Ew! Never do that again and I’ll agree,” You state as Marie laughs.
“It’s a deal.”
There’s a natural pause in the conversation before Marie breaks it, again applying her meek persona instead of her excitable one, “Um, would it still be okay for me to try out some other weapons though?”
