She set her teacup down and looked directly at Isaac.
"Anyway," she continued, her tone more businesslike now, "could you tell me about your parents and ancestors? Of course, I’ll compensate you, and—"
She flicked her wrist casually.
A card appeared between her fingers.
She slid it across the table toward Isaac.
He looked at it but didn’t touch it immediately.
"This is?"
"A Skill Card. Using it will let you learn the skill engraved on it."
She paused, then added, "Gods and Angels like me can’t interfere too much in the material realm. This is about as far as I’m allowed to go without drawing the System’s attention. Still, it’s a powerful skill."
Isaac finally picked up the card.
He knew this was a gift.
A gift given because she considered herself his guardian mother... and a bribe to get him to talk.
"I can give you more things, but that would require tributes. And I would strongly advise against it unless there’s something urgent you absolutely need."
Isaac raised his eyes from the card.
"Why?"
"The System doesn’t allow Gods and Angels to interfere too deeply in the material realm. If you had a Saintess from the War God’s religion, things would be simpler. But you don’t," she explained.
She sighed lightly. "You’ve started a religion of your own. That means any reward I give in exchange for tribute will cost far more than it normally should. Even minor things would require an unreasonable amount."
Isaac glanced down at the card again. "And I don’t need to pay tribute for this?"
"No. This one is paid for with what the System allows me personally," Seraphina said.
Only then did Isaac properly inspect the card.
...
Domain of War
Rank: Transcendent
Level: 1
Active Effect: Creates a War Domain centered on the user. Allies within the domain gain heightened combat awareness, resistance to fear and suppression effects, and increased coordination during battle.
Passive Effect: All allies within two hundred meters gain a 200% increase to physical attributes. Mana and Stamina regeneration increased by 200% for affected allies.
Duration: 30 minutes
Cooldown: 4 hours
Mana Cost: 4000
...
Isaac’s expression finally changed.
A Transcendent-rank skill.
He had only a few of those himself.
’This skill doesn’t limit the number of allies it can affect.’
The range was already massive, and he knew from experience that it would only grow as the skill leveled up.
’It is a simple but terrifying skill.’
He slid the card into his spatial ring without another word.
Naturally, after receiving something like this, he had no intention of making things difficult for her.
Instead, he smiled.
"I can tell you about my parents and ancestors, but I need three things in exchange."
Isaac didn’t know anything about his origins, but the angel didn’t know that. That meant, it was time to be a scam— merchant.
"Tell me what you need first. If it’s too big of a demand, I am afraid the system will not allow me to provide it," she said.
"If you can’t give it, I’ll ask for something else," Isaac replied evenly,
She nodded. "Alright. What are the three things?"
"First, I need a way to hide my physique."
Seraphina frowned slightly, listening.
"You recognized that I’m the War God’s descendant instantly. If others can do the same, I’ll be in trouble. I’ve met a remnant of another God, and he warned me that other Gods will come after me if they discover my lineage."
He leaned forward slightly. "I want to hide it completely."
"I can do that. It’s not difficult," she said.
She snapped her fingers.
A pendant appeared in her palm. Simple in appearance. Dark metal. No visible inscriptions.
"Wear this," she said, handing it to him. "It will conceal your lineage, physique, stats, and anything else tied to your nature. You can decide what others see when they use inspection skills on you."
Isaac took it and put it on immediately.
He felt it settle against his chest, then vanish from his awareness entirely.
"What’s your second demand?" Seraphina asked.
Isaac’s expression grew more serious.
"One of my wives has the Catastrophe Blood Lord sealed inside her. I want to remove it without harming her. And then I want to kill it."
Seraphina blinked.
"...One of your wives?"
"Yes."
"You have multiple wives?" she asked, her calm cracking just a little.
Isaac tilted his head. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"No Nothing is wrong with it," she said quickly, shaking her head.
She just hadn’t expected it.
Given how similar Isaac seemed to the War God, she had assumed he would be just as eternally single.
Instead, he sounded far closer to that infuriating playboy Sword God.
She cleared her throat.
"So," Isaac said, pulling her back to the topic, "what about my second request?"
Seraphina fell silent.
"I can’t give you direct information about that. That kind of interference is too much," she said eventually.
She paused, then pursed her lips slightly.
"But I can help you indirectly."
She looked at him. "Do you have a Dungeon Stone? Or a Random Quest Ticket?"
"I have a Dungeon Stone," Isaac said, pulling one from his inventory.
It was the [Random Dungeon Stone] he had received after defeating the Catastrophe. He’d planned to use it after combining all his cities.
Seraphina reached out.
She snapped her fingers, and a thin stream of energy flowed from her hand into the stone.
"There are multiple ways to extract the Blood Lord. I’ve altered the causality tied to this Dungeon Stone. The dungeon it generates will now contain a method suited to your request."
She looked up. "Is this acceptable as compensation for your second demand?"
"Yes." Isaac nodded without hesitation.
This encounter was windfall that arrived by luck, so he was satisfied by this much.
"Now for the last request, it’s related to what you want from me," Isaac said, meeting her gaze,
Seraphina frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I’ll tell you about my origins. I know you’ll investigate them, and I want you to share everything you find with me."
"That’s your last request?" she asked slowly.
"Yes."
An uneasy feeling crept into Seraphina’s chest.
"Why are you talking as if you don’t know your own origins?" she asked.
"Because I don’t."
"...Didn’t you just accept payment for sharing your origins with me?"
"You never said what I shared had to be important."
"..."
For a moment, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Strangely, she wasn’t angry.
Annoyed, maybe. But not angry.
It was her mistake. She should have confirmed first that the information Isaac had was worthwhile.
Isaac continued calmly.
"I was an orphan. I was raised by an orphanage created by an organization called Three Colors. I don’t know much about them, but I can promise you this: they’re looking into my background."
He smiled faintly.
"The orphanage I was raised in was hidden. And yet someone still found it and left me at its doorstep. They must be looking into my parents. If you investigate Three Colors, you might find something about my parents. And maybe even track the War God through them."
He didn’t say it out loud, but he was satisfied.
If he couldn’t trouble Mother himself yet, letting an angel like Seraphina dig into the organization’s matter was the next best thing.
Seraphina thought for a moment, and nodded.
"I will look into this organization."
She added, "If you were left so mysteriously, your parents must have left something with you. Like a card with your name, or an inheritance. Am I correct? I hope you can show me what you were given by your parents."