“Would you believe me if I said that I was just trying to help? We robbed the safehouse together and faced a life and death situation together so won’t that make us comrades in arms? Cut me some slack here” Maria called bullshit at those words. The kid in front of her was a liar of the biggest degree.

When she refused to give any kind of positive indication, the teen let out a sigh of regret. He was not fooling Maria with his innocent act.

"Fine. I was just curious what the oracle was doing here and living. Not to mention, those ears on your head don't seem to be human. Can I touch them once?" Maria's knife moved like lightning and rested on the fragile throat of the teen.

He dared not even act surprised at the suddenness of the action. He only looked resigned at his fate and stepped back to let himself secure a sizable distance. He raised his hands in a mocking surrender and looked quite sheepish.

"Hey, I'm not here to harm you. See, I don't even have a weapon or anything. I haven't even informed the authorities about you yet" the kid pleaded his innocence.

There was some merit to his words and he was right about not having outed them yet. Not that it would have mattered much because the royal guards could not spare enough people today to get them. Something big must have happened.

But all that had to wait because Maria had to deal with a potential threat in front of her.

historical

"How did you recognize me? Was it the face? The powers? Or something else?" Maria tried to interrogate. If the kid had enough sense to be able to recognize her.

She might be in for a long makeover once she reaches the Grand Canyon. She would force Nao and Suna to participate as well. This was a promise Maria made to herself.

"You have bright pink hair and a very recognizable face. Besides, I've seen you live in the capital once. Having a pair of bunny ears is not the best way to change your looks" the kid replied and Maria felt acceptance run through her. Of course, it was her hair that gave it away.

"I'm sorry if I don't fully trust you. You've lied to me too many times" Maria reminded those words but she also made no move to kill the kid. All her moves this far had been in an attempt to capture the kid.

Technically, Maria had not killed anyone with her own hands. She might have gravely injured several people or caused unassumed deaths while fighting at the train station but her conscience had not registered those things yet.

As such, Maria was unprepared to make her first kill. And for it to be someone who had not yet harmed her was a move she could not make. All she could do was bluff her way out of the situation while she waited for the kid to surrender. What would happen once he did was not something Maria had thought about.

But she was also fairly confident that Nao would have a solution for her worry. Somehow, Nao always seemed to have a solution for her in these scenarios.

[Users can purchase a memory eraser. The said item has a 30% chance to remove a recent memory. Users can purchase this item as a combo with luck boosting potion. The rate of success will be boosted to 75% instead.

Note: both items have drawbacks and can leave severe mental trauma on the consumer. Consumers are informed to take these at their own risk]

The system sounded chipper when it informed Maria of the last note. There seemed to be an almost eager tone in those words for Maria to go ahead with her actions.

And as much as Maria wanted to do that, it felt cruel to her. To not only make someone lose their memory was one thing. But having odds for it to mentally cripple someone was far too cruel of a fate. Maria didn't want to subject anyone to it.

"Again, I'm not asking you to trust me. We can ensure that I keep my words by forming a small vow. You know how that magic works, right?" The teen asked and Maria felt herself falter to answer.

She could guess what the magic did by hearing the name but she had never heard about it before. Vowing magic seemed like contract magic and Maria's teachers had never taken the liberty to teach that kind of magic to her.

Maria felt like she could still hear Silyva's disapproving voice saying her famous words to her.

'An oracle does not need the help of those kinds of magic. Maria, especially, doesn't need those kinds of magic to make her powerful. Don't bring those sour topics up again if you know what's good for you' Silvya had a certain viewpoint about the kind of things she wanted Maria to learn.

'System, a quick explanation please' Maroa asked as she felt the teen stare at her. He was waiting for her to answer.

[Vow is the binding contract magic that dictates terms the two users must uphold for a durable of time. The terms are binding and the consequences of breaking depend on the grade of the vow. By default, LVL 1 bow is the weakest, and breaking it will cause an instant death]

Maria felt pale as she read the last line. It would result in death after. It was a little better than outward killing at this point but Maria felt cornered.

The teen was just not going away. Maria would just have to decide on her own. It did not feel good to be making them but someone had to.

"Alright kid. What are you proposing to me?" Maria asked as she lowered her weapon. It was a call for a truce but that did not mean Maria lost her sharp edge.

Her grip on her knife was tight and ready to attack back at any second. The teen would not be given a chance to retaliate if he decided to betray Maria's goodwill.

"Well, let me start.

'I vow to not betray the Oracle's trust today as long as she doesn't let me out of her sight. Let the vow be binding'

And that should do it for now" Maria felt the power in the vow flow through her but she did not miss the clever usage of words. The kid had as good as made it known that letting him out of the sight would be a bad call.

The innocent grin of the teen did not feel reassuring. She should have known that Nao's feelings about such things were generally right on the mark.