"Third, I want you to kill someone for me. Of course, you only need to kill them after I have proved my visions of the future are true," Isaac said.
"Who do you want to kill?" Duke Falcon asked.
"I will tell you when I have proved the visions are true," Isaac said.
He wasn’t trying to be mysterious. But if he told them to kill the headmaster of the Academy—the future Knight of War—they would obviously refuse.
He needed their trust first.
"That is all. I will be taking my leave now," Isaac said and stood up.
He stopped at the door and turned around.
"Since I’m being kind enough to hide what your daughter has done, surely you can pay me something," he said.
"You just presented your conditions," Duke Falcon replied.
"I’m asking for chump change. Give me a Sil Grass, Monobra Mana Core, Drieg Chalk, Biill Wood Bark, Jello Mana Core..."
Isaac listed the names of ten items that contained a lot of mana. The cheapest among them was 100 Gold Coins, with the most expensive one being 850 Gold Coins. These would help him rapidly gather mana until he started earning from Mana Breathing Technique.
He also asked for 100 Gold Coins for his spending money.
"Is that all?" Duke Falcon questioned. His eyes, which had held suspicion, awe, shock, and slight regret until now, had changed. Now, it was as if he were staring at a scum.
"No. There is more. Send me my portion of the profits when you get the ores," Isaac said. The information had not been for free obviously.
After making his demands, and receiving an agreement, he left the office.
...
Merlin POV
After Isaac went out, Merlin, Vera, and Strider stayed behind for a short talk.
"That is not Isaac," Duke Falcon said as soon as Isaac left.
"What do you mean?" Princess Vera asked.
"His gaze is completely different. He could never look me in the eyes. But now, he was... staring at me as if he was an equal," Duke Falcon said.
"You think someone possessed him?" Vera asked.
"Yes." Duke Falcon replied without hesitation.
"I agree with you, though I had a different theory until now. I thought he had a master who was guiding him from behind the scenes and training him secretly. But... the mana control he showed in the carriage was on par with Ten Stars. That’s only possible if—"
"If this person is not Isaac but someone else," Duke Falcon said.
"Don’t report him to the church," Vera ordered.
"...okay," Duke Falcon nodded after thinking a bit.
"You agreed that easily? I thought you would want to purge him," Vera said.
"He shared Mana Breathing Technique with us, then he talked about the visions. Although I don’t know if those visions are true, the fact that he is willing to share something as precious as Mana Breathing Technique suggests he has no bad intentions. I think we should observe him and then decide what to do with him," Duke Falcon said.
Vera sighed. She had been worried how to change Duke Falcon’s decision if he wanted to kill Isaac—the person who possessed Isaac.
’Should I tell them that it’s actually Isaac?’ Merlin, who had been silently observing, wondered.
He decided against it in the end.
Revealing oneself as a reincarnator was an enormous risk. Moreover, Merlin would have to reveal how he could scan souls to tell if Isaac was really Isaac.
"What about Duke Wright?" Vera asked.
"He won’t mind. If anything, he would be happy someone useful appeared in the place of his scum son," Duke Falcon answered.
A hint of disgust flashed across Vera’s face, though she kept her thoughts to herself.
Duke Falcon noticed her reaction. He didn’t say anything to her and turned to Merlin.
"You did good by not assassinating Isaac. I believe you surrendered because you noticed the change in him and wanted to observe more?" Duke Falcon asked.
Merlin nodded.
Vera stood up to leave after their conversation was done. She was not surprised by the assassination plot. Everyone knew Duke Falcon was a doting father. He wouldn’t let someone go if they harmed his daughter.
Just as she was about to open the door, Duke Falcon spoke, "Princess, I know you have a dangerous dream. Whatever you do, I hope it does not endanger Isaac’s life. Or else, I will personally make sure you regret your choices."
Vera froze. She was not worried about the threat, but that Duke Falcon knew she wanted to kill the king.
She quickly regained her calm, then turned to face him with a smile.
"I didn’t know Isaac had such a caring father-in-law," she said sarcastically.
"I don’t care what you think," Duke Falcon replied. "He has created Mana Breathing Technique. Someone as talented as him might break the curse of humanity. I cannot let him die."
"Curse of humanity...?" Vera looked at him with a confused gaze.
"You don’t need to know what that is." Duke Falcon waved his hand, signaling her to leave.
Before Vera could ask more, she was pulled out of the room by Strider.
Strider’s stiff face made Vera realize she knew what Duke Falcon was talking about. However, no matter how much Vera questioned her, she did not give her an answer.
...
Isaac POV
The head butler of Falcon Estate had gone to bring the items Isaac asked from Duke Falcon.
With free time on his hand, Isaac sat down in the lounge, tore a few pages from the diary he found on the table, and wrote on them.
The head butler returned with the items after half an hour.
Isaac kept everything in the satchel. These items would last him until he could start earning from Mana Breathing Technique.
He left the mansion along with the papers he wrote.
He found Vera, Strider, and Merlin near the carriage parked outside.
"I’m sorry," Merlin said as soon as he reached them.
"For?" Isaac asked.
"Trying to kill you for something you did not do," Merlin said. His expression said he was quite sorry. "I know this might not be enough for compensation, but I will help you whenever you need—"
"Okay. Complete this thing for free for me then," Isaac said, then gave the papers to Merlin.
The papers had the basics of Communication Technology created by Merlin in the last life. Since these designs were already altered, Merlin could complete them faster.
"...Got it." Merlin nodded, surprised by how fast Isaac gave him an order. It was almost as if Isaac had been waiting for him to say those words.
Merlin was also surprised to see Isaac was not shocked to find Merlin was trying to kill him.
He suppressed his shock and read the papers. He stiffened.
He looked at Isaac, then at the papers, then at Isaac again. He rapidly flipped through them, making sure they were authentic.
"W-where did you get something like this from?" Merlin asked.
"I invented it." Isaac lied with a straight face.
"That can’t be true. This needs Life Element to serve as its foundation. You don’t have Life Element," Merlin replied.
"How do you know I don’t have Life Element?" Isaac asked.