Sphinx

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"...Who in the world is Shaula and why do I already feel excited?"

You clasped your hands together and waited for an answer. The final point in Echidna's plan was to recruit this person into the Crusaders, but this name was an unfamiliar one. 

Sitting back into her chair, Echidna crossed her arms and explained, "Do you remember the tale of the Sage, the Sword Saint, and the Dragon who defeated her?"

You nodded your head, now seeing where this was going. "The swordsman was Reinhard's ancestor and the Dragon's name is Volcanica, so does that mean that the Shaula is the Sage?!"

Echidna scoffed. "Not at all! If that dullard was the Sage, then I would weep for this world!" Regaining her serious demeanor, the Witch of Greed shook her head. "No, Shaula is the Sage's apprentice and the current protector of the Pleiades Watchtower."

Ignoring the fact that Echidna set up that entire example just for it to be loosely related to her point, you had actually heard about the Pleiades Watchtower during a meeting with Anastasia a few months ago.  Back then, it was a tower of mystery, and you still didn't really know that much about it. "What exactly is the Pleiades Watchtower?" you asked.

After hesitating for a moment, Echidna replied, "The Pleiades Watchtower is several things. First of all, it is a library that contains knowledge that even I do not possess. Secondly, it acts as a lookout for Shaula to locate and kill all trespassers, as they may be aiming to reach the shrine in which she is sealed."

"..." You scratched your head. "Why is there so much stuff to learn about in this world? I feel like something new always comes up out of nowhere and then you start telling me a ton of stuff. Now I can relate to how Subaru felt when I used to try and tell him everything I knew about what was going to happen."

Echidna seemed genuinely concerned about this statement. "Is that so?" she wondered out loud. After a moment of thought, she concluded, "If that is truly how you feel, then I will temporarily halt the communicating of my thoughts. In fact, this may be for the better, as you may not retain all of this information if it is given in a short burst of activity."

This reaction from the Witch of Greed was unexpected, so it took you a second to process what she just said. "Wait, you're going to stop short? When have you ever talked less because it made other people's brains scramble?"

"..."

Echidna had no response, so she changed subjects. "As soon as you exit this Castle of Dreams, fall asleep. We will have several tasks to complete tomorrow, so your mind must be rested in order to be successful."

"Any chance you'll tell me what they are?"

The Witch grinned. "Only after you wake up."

Time Skip

The entire Priscilla and Al ordeal left you more exhausted than usual, so you had no issues falling asleep.

Falling asleep the second time was the issue. 

When you first opened your eyes, the sun's harsh rays were yet to rise, and Omega was still asleep next to you.

Truth be told, it was going to take a little time to get used to sharing the bed with her, but it would surely become another occurrence that was added to the list of everything else in this fantasy world that you had become accustomed to.

You closed your eyes once more and attempted to fall asleep, but thoughts began to creep into your mind about the day that was yet to begin and about the more distant future.

What was Echidna planning? What else was she going to say before she stopped? How strong is Shaula, and what race is she if she's been alive for over four hundred years? What would be the best "inventions" to make? Will people in this world put their equivalent of pineapples on pizza and begin a war over it?

As your mind began exploring these questions, another voice posed a different question.

'(Y/N), why do you keep yourself awake when I need you to sleep?'

You looked beside you and didn't notice Omega making any motions. This meant that Echidna had her physical body resting while she communicated with her nonphysical form.

'Well, it's not like I'm trying to stay awake. At this point, I can't stop thinking about different things and my brain won't let me sleep.'

'I can see that...'

After a pause, Echidna instructed, 'Follow my directions, and there is an eighty percent chance that you will fall asleep.' 

Wanting to see where this was going, you got ready to do whatever it was that Echidna had in mind.

'To begin, make sure that you are in an optimal position for comfort,' Echidna said with a calculated voice.

You were already comfy, so step one was already done.

Continuing, Echidna instructed, 'Now, close your eyelids and take a long, deep breath through your nose and exhale slowly.'

You closed your eyes, just as she said, and started to take those deliberate breaths. Just by doing this, you could already feel your body relaxing.

'As you take these breaths, note that your eyelids begin to feel heavier, and you are becoming increasingly drowsy.'

Echidna knew what she was doing because, just by breathing differently, you were getting closer to sleep. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that your mind was now focused on something other than the raging thoughts that kept it running.

'Now focus on your breathing and your face. Relax your forehead... your cheeks... your lips... your jaw... Relax every minuscule muscle until all tension is dispelled.'

As you relaxed these muscles, you were surprised to discover that your muscles were less relaxed than you thought they were, because there was a noticeable difference between the tension in your face muscles before and after you listened to Echidna.

Echidna picked up on this silent amazement and resumed with more enthusiasm in her voice. 'Continue to relax your muscles until your entire body is devoid of tension. As you are doing this, remember to take deep breaths.'

Your muscles weakened from your shoulders all the way to your feet, and now you felt as if you were truly relaxed for once. Now, since your mind was focused on breathing and your body was relaxed, you were now in the perfect condition to fall asleep.

Unbeknownst to you, Echidna counted down from ten with her fingers, and as she reached zero, you were already asleep again. With a faint smile, the Witch of Greed noted, "He feels comfortable enough with me to the point that simple instructions will lure him to the realm of the unconscious."

Looking up at the artificial sky, she sighed, dropping the smile. "How have I changed so drastically in less than a year? I am reminding myself of myself when I was younger... Has this boy given me something that I abandoned all those centuries ago? Can I actually hope to return to the person I used to be?"

Echidna shook her head. "That is impossible," she whispered to herself. "There is a reason that I had to give up... A reason why I had to abandon my heart."

After a deep, shaky breath, the Witch of Greed muttered, "It's all her fault."

Time Skip

"Wake up, (Y/N). It is time to initiate stage one of today's plan."

You rubbed your eyes and saw Omega reaching down and gently shaking your shoulder. Sitting up slowly, you asked, "And what exactly are we going to do for this stage?"

"Get dressed and I will tell you."

Since this topic was one that actually interested you, you got out from under the fancy covers and went to grab your casual clothes. All of your clothes were in the small closet located across from the bed, and while Omega was yet to receive or create new clothes, there was more than enough space for her to store her clothes in there if she wished to do so.

After you got dressed, you made the bed. This might have seemed like a small action brought by not being slothful, but there was an actual reason to do it. You didn't want Frederica, Clind, or Ram to try to clean the bed themselves, because inside the mattress was the Tome of Wisdom that you found at the Sanctuary, and if the wrong person found it, there would be a lot of issues.

It would have been easy to tell Subaru about the book, but that could also create more problems down the road, so you and Omega decided to keep its survival a secret until it needed to be revealed.

Now, with the bed made, Omega nodded with a pleased expression. "Now that you are ready, let me explain my plan as we prepare to eat breakfast with a jester." 

Something about that sentence struck you as unusual. "Wait, how do you know that Roswaal's going to be at breakfast for once? Did he say something about it?"

Omega shook her head. "Not at all!" she answered.

As she opened and walked past the door, Echidna explained, 'Now that he has come to a false conclusion about my identity, the clown aims to either kill me or use me as one of his pieces. His first step will be to make me seem untrustworthy, so he will meet me at breakfast and either attempt to make me say something suspicious or make me reveal something before I am completely awake and aware of my actions. I will oblige, but do so in a way that will leave my interrogator confused.'

As you followed Omega down the hallway, you grinned in anticipation. 'Since you're always with me, he's probably going to question me too, right? If he does that, I'll come up with something good to clap back with.'

'Indeed. I trust you not to say something stupid, so please consider your words before you utter them.'

'Gotcha. I can be smart when I want to be, so you have nothing to worry about!'

Time Skip

Roswaal sat at the dining table, waiting for a certain guest to enter the room. If his suspicions were correct, then Sphinx somehow survived the Demi-Human War and somehow hid her existence from the world until now. 

What was she doing here, and why was she so close to (Y/N)? 

Was she back for revenge? This was the only logical explanation unless Sphinx somehow changed drastically ever since his grandmother (who was actually just his soul inhabiting a woman's body) cut one of her arms off and drove her away. She was also reported dead soon afterwards by the head of the Barielle family, who claimed to have killed her, so there was yet another puzzle to solve.

Nevertheless, Roswaal was going to find out how this nuisance survived, and he was going to uncover her motives before anybody could be compromised.

As he sat patiently at the dining table, others began filtering in, the first being Otto.

When the merchant walked into the room, he seemed surprised. "I didn't expect to see you here, Roswaal, but this is perfect! I need to talk to you about several visit requests that ask for you, specifically."

Otto was the Head of Internal Affairs for the Emilia Camp, so he was in charge of things such as this.

Crossing his arms, Roswaal called out, "Ah, Otto-kun! Hooooooowww nice of you to remind me! Let me seeeeee..." He pretended to ponder the requests, and after a short pause, he announced, "Accept Muse-san's request and ask if the others would consider a different time, for I am a verrrrrry busy man!"

Otto nodded his head as he scribbled down some notes on a loose sheet of paper that he carried with him. 

As he was doing this, Emilia, Subaru, and Beatrice walked in together.

"Oi, Ros-chi! What are you up to? You never eat with us unless we have guests!" Subaru was the first one to react, pointing his finger at the clown and accusing him of ulterior motives.

Putting a hand up to his chest, Roswaal pretended to be hurt by these words. "You make me verrrry sad, Subaru-kun! Can I never dine with company other than Ram? How lonely this makes me feel!" Dropping his hand, he added, "But you are correct. I am only here because of a guest! I would like to know (Y/N)'s companion, Omega-san, better, so I am here!"

While Beatrice looked at Roswaal with suspicion, Emilia did the opposite. "That's super nice of you!" she exclaimed. 

Beatrice began to retort, but at that point, Roswaal paid no attention to the three who weren't Sphinx.

He had revealed to Subaru that he was honestly waiting for "Omega" for two reasons: he could use this twisted truth to ask questions without interference, and any attempt from "Omega" to use his words against him could be hidden under this guise and his position of Emilia's benefactor.

He waited patiently while the four others made idle talk, but none of their words made it through the filter that allowed only important information pass through his ears.

Soon, after Clind seemed to have finished preparing breakfast, Roswaal's ears finally picked up on something coming from outside of the dining room.

"Omega, you don't have to be so grouchy about it! I know that you're still a little tired, but you don't have to yell at me for sending us down the wrong hallway!"

Roswaal heard you approaching the room with "Omega", and a smirk failed to hide itself on his face. Sphinx was now here, and now he could finally begin to dig some information out of her.

Of course, he was going to have Clind examine her tone and facial expression to detect lies, so this standoff could not fail even if she lied. The only option other than this or telling the truth was to withhold information, but even this would work in Roswaal's favor, as it would make the sudden guest seem very suspicious to the other residents at the table.

Clind, being the superior butler that he was, set out the dishes with elegance as he already fixed his eyes on "Omega". 

As the two of you approached the table, Roswaal waved. "Goooooood morning, (Y/N)-kun and Omega-san! You've come with perfectttttt timing! Clind has just finished making some of his very best mystery pancakes!"

"Omega" yawned as she sat in the chair across from Roswaal. "What do these mystery pancakes consist of? What exactly is their mystery?" she asked.

Clind, who was setting the pancakes on each plate, answered. "I have yet to grasp the concept of pancakes, so instead of perfecting my technique, I decided to stay clueless as to how to cook them, so their ingredients and style of cooking vary greatly. Thus, one wonders how I managed to create something so delicious. Ingenious."

"Ah, is that so?" she wondered. "Omega" proceeded to wolf down her pancake, and her face displayed a pleased expression. "I see! Somehow, you use your lack of knowledge to lower one's expectations, and once that expectation is surpassed, the unexpected flavor always pleases the tongue. I wonder how such a thing is possible!" After a brief pause, she added, "In short: explain. Who are you to be able to accomplish such a feat?"

As she ranted about the mystery pancakes, both Clind and Roswaal secretly made a mental note. Sphinx always used the phrase "in short" when she talked, so this gave them another piece of evidence that was backed up by the same occurrence yesterday. 

This was either Sphinx or an unknown somebody who knew her well, both of which were very dangerous threats.

Complying with her demand, Clind explained, "I am Clind, the butler of this mansion and loyal servant to the Miload family. I am highly skilled at most things, so please do not be startled when I perform impressive feats. Jesting."

Seizing this moment, Roswaal interjected, "And while we are on this topic, may I ask who you are and where you come from? You see, I am very curious as to how you and (Y/N) already seem so close to each other. Has his luck with females suddenly improved?"

Your eye twitched, but you let "Omega" answer those questions.

"My my, those are a lot of questions, but I suppose that it makes perfect sense for me to answer them," she replied. Leaning back in her chair, "Omega" began, "In short: listen. My name is Omega, and I have been living a nomadic life for quite a while now. I was lost for a while, but then I found some companions, but then they were mercilessly slaughtered while they were unsupervised by me. Therefore, when I heard about The Crusaders, I could not help but jump for the opportunity to join. Luckily for me, I was at the Crusch Karsten manor inquiring about this organization when (Y/N) and the rest of the group arrived to deliver crystals. I joined The Crusaders, and then I arrived here. As for my relationship with (Y/N)... I am sure that, given time, we will become great accomplices, akin to a witch and a warlock."

"That was not short at allllll," Roswaal remarked. Apparently satisfied with the answer that he received, the jester nodded his head. Clind didn't ask him if breakfast was delicious, which was the code for a detected lie, so this was the truth. Sphinx's identity was pretty much confirmed at this point, so only two questions remained: how was she alive, and what was she implying about her and (Y/N)? To claim that he was the equivalent of a warlock... what did this mean? His teacher's relationship with Hector, the Warlock of Melancholy, was one of brute hunter and cunning prey, so how did any of that translate to (Y/N)?

As that last thought passed through the clown's brain, "Omega" began to talk even more. "I apologize if I seem suspicious in any way, but I believe that this is inevitable, as any person who joins this camp from the outside will definitely be met with apprehension."

From across the table, Subaru chuckled. "I know exactly what you're talking about! When me and (Y/N) first came to the mansion before this one, we were really sus. So don't worry! We were in way hotter water than you, so I'm sure that you'll be fine. Unless you're actually up to something..."

"Omega" ignored the glare that Subaru subsequently threw at her, but Roswaal did not miss it.

In fact, he found joy in seeing that glare, for it meant that it would be easy to frame Sphinx of a dubious act if she was not already planning one.

Time Skip

Breakfast did not last for long, but it was a very productive time for Roswaal. He wasn't able to uncover any secrets from Sphinx, which was expected, but he was able to discern a path to extract this information.

There was a possibility that Sphinx was already deceiving him and Clind, but the chance of this happening was very low, for the Sphinx he knew was mentally unstable and incapable of perfectly controlling her emotions. The only way that he could be fooled in this situation is for Sphinx to have become whole through loss of memories or gaining lost ones (but those were unlikely since a whole Sphinx would be Echidna and she would not act this way toward her pupil) and a Sphinx with lost memories would be actively searching for them, as this was in her very nature.

It was still possible that this was not Sphinx, but that was as likely as Rem's existence returning to the world before Gluttony fully digested it.

Roswaal grinned as he contemplated the possibilities of Sphinx's current state, and this grin remained as he suddenly heard a voice call out from down the hallway. 

"Excuse me for continuing my interrogation, but where can I find a library in this manor?" 

The subject of Roswaal's contemplation voiced herself, and the margrave couldn't help but to stretch his grin even wider. "I do not mind at alllllll, Omega-san~! But can (Y/N) not direct you to our library, or is there a reason you had to ask meeeee?"

With narrowed eyes and a hushed voice, she replied, "You are very perceptive, indeed. For some reason, you seem to see right through me... It is as if you

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