Only an inch of space away from Zarestia's arm, the sword suddenly came to a halt - Orsted instinct warned him to move away and that's exactly what he did.
Boom!
Like explosives, the air between Orsted and Zarestia compressed and exploded like a bomb.
'Not enough time to devour it...'
The force sent Orsted flying backside for a second, before he planted his foot into the ground to stop his body from rolling into the houses.
For a moment, Orsted felt real killing intent from Zarestia, however it vanished as soon as it appeared. From the very beginning, Zarestia didn't hold any real killing intent against him.
"Can you not? I don't have business with you...."
Though appearing as if to have calmed down and complaining, Orsted could feel that her mana was more active than before.
"Ahhhhh....." Voices began echoing from everywhere - the citizens who were hiding in the nearby houses began floating into the sky. They were practically ripped out of their houses, even holding onto windows didn't help.
"....." Even Crane was hanging in the sky.
"From this height, if they fell, wouldn't it be bad for them?" While speaking to Orsted, Zarestia stared at Crane from the corner of her eyes too.
Watching Crane's expression warped into that of guilt, Zarestia's eyes shone and her expression turned triumphant.
"Judging by that expression, it's definitely you. It's no use hiding, you reek of that thief." As if to prove her point, Zarestia grew more assertive.
Orsted: "...He is feeling guilty because he thinks that everyone was pushed into danger due to him."
Ignoring Orsted's input with a pause, Zarestia vehemently pointed right at Crane.
"For mercy's sake, I will assume you did it in the spur of the moment. Give back the light sphere instead - don't worry about the whole retribution thing."
After experiencing a close brush off against Orsted, Zarestia's stance seemed to have softened up.
Watching Zarestia negotiate with Crane, while keeping an eye on him - Orsted fell into silence.
Thinking of Orsted as a swordsman, Zarestia might not consider him a lethal threat at their current distance - not aware of his true capabilities.
If it's now, Orsted was confident that he could defeat Zarestia using arcane dragon slayer magic with an ambush.
'But, what's the point of doing that? Rather now appears to be the perfect time to land a deal...' Orsted glanced at Crane calmly.
From the beginning, Orsted's plan was to sign a contract with Zarestia - that was his system's quest too.
Knowing Zarestia well from reading the sloth if route, the chances of her killing all the locals by dropping them was close to zero. In the end, it was all just an empty threat and nothing more.
Crane struggled in the air as if going through his memories intensively, to find this 'light sphere' - that Zarestia spoke of.
It was no use, he had not a single idea about it.
Crane: "I don't have a single idea about this light sphere. Please, they have nothing to do with it and neither do I."
Zarestia's aggressive stance faltered for a second, sensing the very complicated atmosphere spreading.
"W-What...? Are you trying to fool me with that look?"
"There has to be some kind of misunderstanding...."
"There's no way I'm wrong!" Zarestia didn't show any intention of giving up yet.
Orsted decided to join appropriately: "How about you stop with all that emotional denial? You made a mistake. He has clearly not stolen anything from you."
"NO I DIDN'T! That lizard had to have stolen it! There's no way...."
Orsted couldn't figure out how to deal with Zarestia, who finally started throwing a tantrum for a second. Her face was flushed as she kept acting stubborn, like a child.
Orsted coughed slowly, his rough voice grew more tired: "I want to help you find the light sphere too. How about we make a contract? Aren't you a spirit?"
Zarestia froze stiff suddenly, "You...how do you know...?"
"It's simple." Orsted pointed his finger at Zarestia's face: "Because you don't look away."
His words baffled Zarestia, her face jumping from confusion to blankness.
"Are you screwing with me too...?!" Zarestia's eyes turned sharp, she felt like teaching Orsted a lesson.
"Bring those people on the sky a little down, so that they can see me. You will understand then." Orsted continued without any impatience.
Suspicion covered Zarestia's face, but she still decided to see what Orsted was talking about.
As the people came closer to the ground, many eyes came to Orsted, before dispersing quickly.
"....Why?" With her keen senses, Zarestia could feel the terror every local felt as their eyes went to Orsted.
"Every living being who places their eyes on me would come to either hate or fear me. That is my curse - only being such as spirit, aren't affected by it." Orsted said naturally.
Watching Zarestia's gaze grow complicated towards him, Orsted continued.
"In the first place, you are the one who introduced yourself as a 'Shinigami'. There is only one existence nearby that goes with such a name. The most beautiful shinigami, Zarestia - many know of your name." Orsted concluded naturally, his cold expression not changing for even a second.
As if the cat was out of the bag, Zarestia looked away with visible embarrassment.
Seeing all the locals and Crane listening to him, Orsted felt his objective to be completed.
It couldn't be helped, from how much Zarestia had destroyed the city - if Orsted doesn't expose her identity to everyone. The city mayor and others would push to throw her into the cell. Not a very optimal situation.
But if her true identity as the four great spirits was known - no one would dare step forward with such intention.
"Contract...." Zarestia was lost in her own thoughts about Orsted's suggestion. She embodied freedom and so didn't like shackling herself to anything. Hence, she felt resistant to any kind of contract.
"I will help you find this light sphere and get it to you within a year. In exchange, I want you to be a companion and not hurt anyone in the city. So, what is your decision?"
"1 year...." Zarestia grumbled, "I swear it's that lizard over there. If the thief turns out to be really him, how will you compensate me?"
"And what if it's not him?" Orsted countered calmly.
"Then my light sphere is yours!" Zarestia stated confidently, with her hands folded before her chest.
"Okay, deal. Let's add that to the contract too."
"....."