"My skill told me, clearer than ever before, that if I went out today, the only encounter I would have on my way back home would be with someone who'd ensure the best outcome for my children."
"…"
Leon didn't respond immediately to Genevieve's statement. He thought about the circumstances under which he'd found Genevieve and realised that they hadn't seen another soul during the few minutes they walked to her house.
Even after meeting Camellya and Cameron, they hadn't encountered a single other person on the street on their way back.
After a few moments of silence, he finally said, "So you're saying our encounter was predicted by this skill of yours, and you deliberately went out knowing this prediction?"
"Indeed," Genevieve replied. "I certainly didn't expect to trip and fall, however."
Just as she finished speaking, footsteps echoed, and Cameron came down the stairs carrying the briefcase Genevieve had asked him to get.
It was a brown case with leather strap locks and a distinctive rhombus-shaped insignia on the bottom right corner.
As Cameron set it on the table, Genevieve thanked her son before turning to Leon.
"Now then, even if the one I meet is meant to ensure the best outcome, I have little reason to believe they would do so without some incentive," she said, flicking open the briefcase's locks.
Cameron looked curious, but Camellya called him, so he left, and then Leon asked,
"So whatever's in that briefcase is something you want to offer as payment? Are you even certain I'm the person your skill's referring to?"
Hearing the question, Genevieve shrugged. "Well, obviously, because I asked my skill about this immediately after I asked you to help me get home. Simple yes/no questions like that don't cost much."
"Is that so?" Leon said, glancing down at the briefcase.
'That's a quest item from Chapter 2. I recognise it well because the theory video I made about it was my channel's first video to hit a million views.
It was found along with other items in a safety deposit box in Lona, the Rusell Empire's capital, when the protagonists begin recovering some of their memories and tracing their parents.'
Just as Leon thought that, his mind wandered to something else that sparked a bit of curiosity.
In Deity Rising, the protagonist was gender-selectable.
One either chose to play as Cameron or Camellya, but aside from their different appearances, personalities, and such, the story didn't change much.
Their abilities were identical, and they went through the same events in the same way, with similar responses and reactions.
But now, in reality, Cameron and Camellya were two separate individuals. It made Leon start to have a lot of questions.
'What exactly accounts for this difference of there being two people in reality and one in the game?'
The question of which came first, whether the game was based on the world or the world was based on the game, crossed his mind, but Leon pushed it aside, knowing now was not the time to dwell on such questions.
'When I get back home, I'll sit down and properly think through everything.'
Refocusing on Genevieve, he was about to speak when Camellya's voice echoed.
"Cam, what did I tell you about leaving your plates in your room?!"
Camellya stepped into the dining room, carrying a stack of flat plates with a frown on her face. She was headed straight for the connected kitchen, but the moment she glanced in his direction and spotted the briefcase on the table, her eyes widened, and she nearly stumbled.
The plates she was holding wobbled dangerously, but fortunately, Cameron appeared just in time to catch them.
"You're okay, sis?" he asked, a bit concerned, and Camellya quickly returned to her usual self, replying,
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."
Even as she spoke to Cameron, her eyes flicked toward Leon, first at the briefcase, then her mother, and finally back to Leon.
Leon's eyes narrowed immediately as he caught the fleeting look of recognition in Camellya's eyes, one she quickly tried to hide.
'She clearly can't recognise me because of my glasses, so… the briefcase?'
It wasn't surprising that she recognised one of her mother's items, but the shock on her face when she saw it was so intense that she nearly dropped half a dozen ceramic plates, certainly was.
'Let's run a little test,' Leon thought as he watched Camellya vanish into the kitchen.
Raising his hands to his face, he removed his glasses and set them on the table beside him, then turned his gaze toward Genevieve, who blinked lightly once he took them off.
Her eyes moved toward the pair on the desk, and a look of realisation dawned in them, "Ah, I see. They're an artifact."
Leon nodded lightly, his gaze still fixed on the kitchen door, but when someone emerged, it wasn't who he was expecting.
Cameron stepped out first, holding a cup of hot coffee, and when he noticed Leon in the corner of his vision, he raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? Ah! You're that guy I saw on TV this morning. But why didn't I figure that out earlier…?"
His voice was a bit loud, and Camellya, walking out of the kitchen right behind him, naturally heard it and immediately asked,
"What are you even talking about?"
She followed Cameron's gaze toward the dining table, and when her eyes met Leon's, she froze. This time, it wasn't only her eyes betraying her shock; her entire expression reflected disbelief and astonishment.
"Leon Raviaz…? Wha—why are you…?"
"Sis?" Cameron called out when he noticed her reaction, and very quickly, Camellya glanced at him, then crouched down to pick something from the floor.
When she stood back up, there wasn't a trace of the earlier surprise Leon had just seen. Her expression was so calm that he almost wondered if he'd imagined her shock.
But he knew he hadn't.
Shifting his gaze to Genevieve, Leon spoke.
"I didn't properly introduce myself earlier. I'm Leon Raviaz, of the Rusell Empire's House Raviaz."
He rose from his seat, glancing at the watch on his left hand as he continued,
"I'm suddenly feeling very receptive to that prediction your skill gave, Miss Genevieve. In fact, I'm quite inclined to help make it come true."
A moment later, he tapped his fist lightly into his palm and added,
"Of course, it won't be for free. There may be some very stressful things involved, and honestly, I don't think I can handle all of that just out of the goodness of my heart."
Genevieve was puzzled by the sudden change in Leon's attitude. She could clearly sense the skepticism he had shown earlier, but now it had completely vanished.
Holding out his phone with a QR code on the screen, Leon said, "Here. My contact information. Let's discuss this matter in detail on another day. I need to get home early and rest since I have some ruins to explore in the Pohedurn Forest tomorrow."
As he spoke, he glanced toward Camellya, who had her back turned while speaking quietly with her brother, then looked back at Genevieve and added with a smile,
"Besides, I do have this little indie game called Deity Rising that I want to play before I go to bed."
Even though his eyes weren't on her, Leon was certain that Camellya flinched the moment he mentioned the game's name. Cameron, on the other hand, gave his sister a worried look, asking if she was okay and noting that she'd been acting strangely.
Leon didn't look at the siblings again, instead exchanging contacts with Genevieve before taking his leave from the Seradain household.
Not even a full minute later, Camellya grabbed her jacket and dashed for the door.
"Mum, I'm heading out!" she called, and before Genevieve could respond, she was already gone.
◇ ◇ ◇
Camellya rushed out of the compound, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of Leon, but she saw nothing.
Without wasting a moment, she hurried toward the direction from which he and her mother had returned, turning the corner and moving quickly down the street.
Just before she reached the main road, a voice called out from the door of a café she'd passed.
"Hey there."
Camellya instinctively stepped back from the voice and turned a cautious gaze toward its source. Seeing this, Leon, the one who had called out to her, chuckled.
"You look like a wary cat ready to pounce."
He pointed toward the café door behind him, one hand slipping into his pocket as he continued,
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but this isn't exactly the best place to talk, and it looks like the sky is about to cry, so let's head somewhere we can sit."
With that, he stepped inside, and after glancing at the darkening sky, Camellya silently clenched her fists and followed him in.