"Well, now… it's my turn to ask a question,"
Frickon chirped, excitement lighting up his eyes as he looked at Aziel expectantly.
"Y-your turn? Wait, we nev—"
"Can't I ask just one question? I answered all of yours honestly, didn't I? Even though you already knew the answers."
Aziel tilted his head slightly, amused by the pleading tone.
After a short pause, he sighed in mock defeat.
"Fine. Go ahead. Ask whatever you want. I'll try to answer as best as I can."
Frickon grinned, puffing out his chest like he'd just won some grand debate.
"Earlier, when you were being interrogated by the captain, you mentioned that it was the first time you'd ever boarded a sail-ship, right?"
Aziel nodded, curiosity flickering across his face. What could this idiot possibly be getting at now? he wondered.
"Then it's natural to assume."
Frickon continued, his tone suddenly thoughtful.
"that you just finished your training for sailing. And if that's the case, you're probably not from the Central Area of the Revenant Consortium, right? As far as I know, only those with decades of experience, veteran sailors, nobles, or upper-echelon officials, are stationed there. So… are you, perhaps, from the Outer Layers?"
"Y-yeah… I guess that's the case," Aziel replied after a beat, masking his intrigue with a casual tone.
Frickon's grin widened, his tail, if he had one, might've been wagging.
"Oh really! I hope you take my deduction skills into account when evaluating my capabilities!"
Aziel blinked at him, a short, incredulous laugh almost escaping.
'This guy… pfft…' he thought, barely keeping a straight face.
'He claimed he'd ask a question, and ended up telling me one instead.'
Yet, behind the amusement, Aziel couldn't help but note it.
Of all the people present that time, this fool was the only one who caught details even he hadn't thought twice about before speaking.
---
A sudden disturbance ahead caused them to halt their conversation, as both their gazes turned forward.
Cutting through the shimmering mist, a low, vibrating hum filled the air, steady and powerful, like the growl of compressed lightning.
From the haze emerged a sleek, elongated craft, gliding effortlessly above the lake's surface.
It wasn't a boat, more like a hybrid between a jet ski and a glider, with a narrow front tapering to a split tail that curved upward like a crescent blade.
The body was forged from smooth, dark alloy with veins of glowing circuitry running along its frame, giving off faint ripples of aurora energy each time the engine roared.
At the front of the lead craft stood a woman clad in a full jet-ski suit.
The suit was a mixture of matte black and metallic silver, woven with fine fabric.
Her helmet covered her eyes entirely, its surface reflecting the shimmering blue of the lake like glass.
The lower half of her face was bare, sharp-jawed, lips set in quiet focus.
One of her hands gripping a handle jutting from the vehicle's center, the other resting lightly at her side.
Beside it, two riderless gliders hovered, slightly smaller than the main craft, tethered by violet ropes that swayed gently with each movement.
---
Aziel's mouth hung open as he stared at the vehicles, vehemence and awe warring across his face.
He hadn't expected plasma technology to be this advanced.
First came the humongous ship.
Now, these sleek, hovering gliders.
But his instincts whispered caution, no matter how impressive the sight.
"Come on! The jetgliders have arrived, Sir. W-wait… don't tell me you plan to walk all the way out to the lake?"
Frickon's words tumbled out, hurried and uneven, as he approached the jets at increasing speed before stopping to call out to Aziel.
"S-sir, please… let me travel on the jetgliders. I swear I've been working all day. I can't walk another step, I'm… mentally drained!"
"The heck… even the name is exactly the same as in their world," Aziel muttered under his breath, ignoring Frickon, before following along.
"Hello. I am Qwaqwawuwvavuwa Ju Jyuyugu. We'll finish the introductory part while traveling. For now, wear your helmets and get onto these, hurry."
'Oh, there he goes with the names again… I swear, it's like every alien just slammed their hands on a keyboard and called it official.'
Aziel thought to himself, sliding the helmet on with relative ease as he climbed into the one-seater.
The cockpit was shaped like a narrow spearhead capsule, merging seamlessly into a long, spine-like rear that stretched behind him.
"Oh great… another alien vehicle that looks like it was designed by someone with a thing for skeletal aesthetics," he muttered under his breath.
"These buttons… feels like I've seen them before. Either way, I think I'm in serious trouble right now…"
Aziel muttered, his eyes catching a small crystalline conduit hovering at the center of the console.
---
●●●
---
"I'm Drozaqy, captain of the investigation team."
A man with a lean-but-bulky frame spoke to a figure of blinding light, small in posture, yet somehow impossible to ignore.
"Captain… why are you telling me your human name? Is there… a problem?"
The blinding figure's voice cut through the quiet, as Drozaqy's gaze shifted to another man, nearly matching his muscle mass.
"Plyeyeqeyeeyye ye cquepe. What's the count now?"
"Captain… this was the 147th attempt, as far as I'm concerned. But… why are you even doing all this?"
Drozaqy's eyes narrowed, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
"Well… take a guess. Why do you think I'd go around handing out my second name for no reason at all?"
The man hesitated, clearing his throat.
"I assume it's related to your… conversation with that Aziel guy."
"Exactly. When I gave him my name, and my second name, just on a whim, he didn't even flinch. Stood there, accepted it like it was the most natural thing in the universe, then mentioned his human name in return. No hesitation. Don't you find that… strange?"
"So… you were trying to—"
The man's voice faltered, and Drozaqy cut in, finishing the thought for him.
"Yeah. I wanted to see if it was just him, or others as well. And guess what we found? Out of the one hundred forty-seven plasmas we tested, every single one had something to say, or profound reactions, every single time."
He paused, letting the weight of it sink in.
"That guy… he is not a plasma. He's but a liar."
---
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Guys, this one might be the last pre-unlocked chapter.