The young receptionist shook, unsure if she had heard correctly. But, the name alone kept reverberating in her ears, beating to the sound of her heart and refusing to allow her to forget.
Names in the Martial World were too powerful. When they reached a certain level of standing, the clapped in one's ears like thunder. Even Ryu's Tatsuya family name when spoken felt like a reaper gripping at one's throat, yet they were technically wiped out almost a billion years ago. However, Ailsa's Clan hadn't waned in the same way. In fact, they were still brimming with force and vitality.
The young receptionist couldn't quite seem to understand why it was that Ailsa would come here in the first place. But, even beyond this, wielding such a name so nonchalantly as though it hardly mattered seemed to be even the worse offense.
Even now, after speakign her name, Ailsa's attetnion was entirely placed on Ryu as though she was still trying to coax him. Her action were gentle and loving as though she was trying to impress him rather than the other way around.
As a receptionist at this Lower Quadrant's bank vault, this young lady's standing was actually quite high. Compared to other who had to sell their street wares to stay in this place, her experiences were, by far, much better.
But, even then, even with all the things she had seen, this was the very first time she had run into such a situation.
"Yes, ma'am. Right away, ma'am!"
The young receptionist hurried with the procedures. As for checking Ailsa's identity, was that a joke? Anyone who dared to speak of the Cultus Faerie name without being a part of them would have found themselves struck down by Faith. The best case scenario for such a person was to become a cripple. In the worst case, their existence would be completely erased. The only way to escape such a Fate would be to have enough strength to rival the most powerful existence of the Cultus Clan, but if you were such an individual… would you really need to use any other name but your own?
Understanding this, it was no wonder that the young woman was so flustered. This was the most powerful name she had ever heard. On top of that, those of the Cultus Clan were practically living Legends. She never thought that she would run into such a character.
Looking toward Ryu who still seemed to be somewhat cold and distant, the young woman couldn't help but feel a twang of jealousy. The only human such an existence would be close to would be their Life Partner. But, everyone knew how rare it was for Humans to gain the favor of Faeries. This could only mean that Ryu was also an elite amongst elite talents of humans as well.
All of this left the young woman in a complete daze. She practically felt like she was dreaming even up until Ryu and and Ailsa vanished from her sight.
"Ah.. I need to report this…"
The young woman finally snapped out of her daze, a flustered expression still on her face.
…
Ryu and Ailsa walked through the long and tall empty hallways in silence. The marbled decorations were quite beautiful to behold, but neither seemed to be in the mood to speak. Ryu was still trying to sort out how he should be reacting to this situation while Ailsa felt as though she was walking on pins and needles.
Somehow, compared to before, Ailsa was even more afraid of displeasing Ryu. In the past, their relationship hadn't been very deep. But, if after finally getting Ryu to accept her, her own words pushed him away, she didn't know if she could ever recover from that.
The emotions left her feeling somewhat stifled. She almost didn't realize when they reached their destination.
Since Osiris was a Dream World, there were, of course, no tangible locations for things. As a result, Ailsa didn't need to go to an exact bank to retrieve things she left behind. Rather, she only needed to visit a branch and she would have access to everything.
Ailsa fiddled with the key that the receptionist had given her, but her hands were shaking so much that she couldn't seem to use it properly.
Ryu watched on from the side, at a loss. He had never seen Ailsa in such a state. Of course, this was one part due to the fact he never looked into her mind and another part due to the fact she had never been able to stay in her true form for long in the past.
Ryu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, a beautiful silver reflecting within his irises, he had subconsciously reacted, reaching forward and placing his hand on Ailsa's.
Ailsa froze, looking back at Ryu, a half expectant, half confused light in her eyes.
"It's alright." Ryu said, the edge in his tone dulling considerably.
He took the keycard from Ailsa's hands and opened the door for her. A wash of light assaulted them as their identities were checked.
Since Ailsa and Ryu shared the same wavelength, it wasn't even necessary to go through any hassle of giving Ryu permissions. He was allowed in just as easily as she was.
Ryu pulled Ailsa into the room, the oddity in his heart calming considerably.
At a loss, Ailsa followed Ryu in, the large doors clicking closed behind them.
Ryu found a marble bench sitting in the middle of an empty room with pinkish rouge marble on all sides. The only other thing in this room was a marbled table, but there wasn't anything on it either.
He sat at the bench, pulling Ailsa to sit beside him.
"I've decided." Ryu said, looking toward Ailsa. "Even if I don't agree with your path in the future, I will never hate you for voicing your opinion."
Ryu took a deep breath. "Ailsa, you are my woman. Do you understand what I mean by this?"
Tears brimmed within Ailsa's eyes to the point the began to spill over. The words were said with such straight-forwardness and brevity, yet they were words that rang with Ailsa's soul. The reason was simple. She could see through what Ryu meant exactly, his eyes conveyed it all.
"Now tell me, what do you mean?" Ryu gently pushed.
Ailsa took a deep breath, her heart feeling much lighter.
"… I…" Ailsa smiled, wiping her tears. "The Tatsuya Saintly Weapons are great, but they were flawed. For one, they separated into three disciplines that have yet to be fused. But, this is only the most surface level issue. While switching between weapons in battle seems like a great idea, the reality is that it's only hindering you.
"I want you to put effort into a single weapon that can fuse all three paths of the Tatsuya Saintly Weapons into one. And, most importantly, I want you to choose a weapon that can make use of your dual wielding talent to a much greater extent than the spear, glaive and halberd can allow.
"I spent a lot of time thinking about what weapon could meet all these criteria while also allowing you to carry on your Clan's legacy. I've decided on an ancient weapon that's long since been fazed out of use."
Ryu's gaze narrowed, feeling an image Ailsa was projecting to him.
"The swordstaff?"
Just saying the word made Ryu feel as though something was calling out to him from the depths of his soul. As a Runic Master, he had come across his ancient weapon more than once.
"No." Ailsa smiled mysteriously.. "For you, we will make it the Great Swordstaff."