Zuria Kingdom

Merlyn found herself looking at Cador through the corner of her eye as well. He seemed apt not to take in her visage at full intervals and this was fine. But she did catch him taking occasional peeks at her through the corners of his eye. "I suppose that is fair. If they were as freely created as humans... there would likely be a great deal of trouble~" she stated. She knew that powers like the ones she possessed were quite dangerous in the wrong hands. That being said, having previously lived an existence so similar to this one she had no qualms with it. Nor did she have any problems with the way Cador referenced her. When they spoke of the boy King, Cador mentioned a certain feature of the game which had gotten him here that he might have invested in to save himself from his current level of embarrassment. "Yeah, that pack would have helped him out a bit. People do crazy things with it... but one can't deny a couple of hidden attributes could do wonders~" she said softly. Still that pack was something of an enigma. And beyond that, the lad probably didn't actually realize his tool wasn't big enough to get the job done. Everything about him, reeked of ignorance. Even his dream of a harem was ignorant when one considered he hadn't the skill nor physical ability to please one woman, much less a group of them.

Far beyond the reaches of simple chatter in their conversation, it seemed that Cador was at least curious about what Merlyn offered. She knew he was staring a hole into her face, he even managed to claim that he knew she could do what she said but asked how she'd do it. Well, there were several possible answers, many of them involved fornication. That being said, and given how he'd specifically ended up with such pain in his heart, she already decided such a route wasn't for her. "By promoting it as part of the 'reality' I create here. Though specifically I think by planting a seed there," she said pointing at his chest. "A bit of light to feed on that darkness, should balance back to neutral. And let you ease towards healing over time. The Spirit Knight deserves to have his own spirit fully operational after all~" she mentioned. She held up her index finger near the side of her face with said seed atop it. She wasn't the type to take advantage of this man's misfortunes... she only wished to see the man as fully as he could exist. And she'd been quite serious about not taking advantage of him at all...

At the same time Arthur's words made Kolin smile even harder. She did indeed think she deserved this sort of worship. Arthur had caught on quickly and become such a good version of her favorite type of man. Beyond that, she knew he could satisfy her, she could even skip the service she made other perform as his lip service did more than enough for her state of mind. "Oh? I will take it into consideration~" the woman said. She seemed to be so very excited. As Arthur took his leave, she could barely contain herself.

A world filled with succubi was surely the dream of one like Leorio. For Cador and others of sound mind, however, the thought alone was an absolute nightmare. "If ever that happens, Merlyn, I'd like to ask the favor of you discovering how I can become an incubus. A single enigma of your ilk is probably all I can handle, I'm afraid," he said. Lies, in all technicality. Existing in the same space as Merlyn alone took all of his resolve, but alas... it was good practice against the wiles of Kolin and any like her. Thankfully, he had a lovely jumpstart... unlike Leorio. "I think the king has enough hidden attributes already. He should get himself one that shows on the stat sheet, brandished like a fine sword." he snipped.

The method Merlyn intended to use for the sake of 'healing' him was a point of curiosity, but more curious yet was the actual answer. Some sort of magical construct existed at the tip of her forefinger, apparently a creation to be planted within his heart to incorporate a bit of light. How surprising. "You truly do have honor, don't you? And here I thought you were going to say something like... I don't know, 'I'll suck it out of you myself,' or something of that nature," the Spirit Knight spoke. Frankly, he was disappointed by that not being the answer, now that he thought about it properly. Mere side-effects, surely. "You have my thanks, but I must decline. Our troubles shape us, remember? If I accept that from you, I will eventually leave myself open to the next version of that woman... perhaps even literally her next version. Fear not, Merlyn; my past does not haunt me. I'll use what I've learned from it to help the next ones like me."

According to Sir Cador, if the world were filled with Succubi he'd want to be an Incubus. That was fair she supposed, those came with at least some resistance to the succubus wiles. "Oh? Well, I suppose I could look into that for you. If any others pop up... I'll let you know~" she mused her mannerisms still light and joking. Even to the point that she managed another laugh because of what Cador had to say in relation to the one known as King Leorio. "Shishishi~ I don't know if those count as hidden~" she stated after clearing it up. Still what would come of her open offer to help the man out of his particular level of predicament.

Cador seemed a bit surprised by the offer made by Merlyn. Given what she'd seen of the woman he previously dealt with, she could understand at least a little why he'd be so surprised. What was more, his mental run to vulgarity just caused a smile on her face. She supposed she could have done exactly as he said. She still could, such things were well within her abilities. "Of course. I was quite serious about not taking advantage~" she said. Having knowledge of the effects she had on people, she wouldn't want them to feel as if their free will had be stripped by simply offering them things which their nature would have made them happy to get. That is how one got a Kolin, and the world didn't need that. "And yes, I would have offered that to you. But that is counterproductive per my previous point~" she mentioned with a playful wink. It was joking but still she knew, the type of woman that was Kolin would never offer such a thing. The poor men in her life were starved but likely felt like they got so much by her manipulation, such was the nature of one who took advantage but gave little to nothing in return. But what of her offer? He wouldn't take it. Of course he wouldn't, an sigh left the lass in the moment still. She was happy, sort of. "The men in my life are so difficult to look after... won't take help freely offered. So willful and unnecessarily difficult~" she said with a playful pout crossing her face. Even as that little seed of light disappeared and she'd go on to tap her forehead gently. "Still, that is what I enjoy about the free will of mankind. I suppose that is the exchange on that, I won't complain," she stated most wistfully. If he wished to use his previous experiences to help out the lad, and work through them on his own, she had no room to question his resolve. Such resolve is why he could of course, have such casual conversations with her. Even so, the amount of independence in men like Cador and Arthur could be taken as a bit annoying, she knew not all wanted to walk an easy path, but to lighten the burden a little wouldn't have changed much. What about the fun part?

"Do so. I would be in your debt," Cador said regarding the hypothetical overflow of succubi in this world, and the potential solution for his sake. A laugh here, a chuckle there, and he was content to move on from matters regarding Leorio and others within the kingdom. He was far more interested in other matters, anyway. For example... Merlyn's choices and method of assisting. She claimed she would have gone with the more assumable option for easing his pain. Perhaps he would have taken that option, if given it. Ah, but was that just another side-effect? Possibly, but perhaps not fully. "Oh? Open with that next time. Maybe the answer will be more to your liking, in that case," he offered.

Cador hadn't a clue how time had been passing outside, but he continued drinking from an endless ale mug as if he hadn't a care in the world. The matters of his past were not so problematic to him directly; he truly didn't need Merlyn's offering. The only negative he could take from it presently, was the fact that someone like Kolin still walked around cursing others to fates so similar to his own. "Obviously, the men in your life are saving you from eternal boredom. I should let Arthur know what a great service we are providing! The Future King and the Spirit Knight, protecting the idle mind of the timeless Merlyn! You should really thank us for our service as your loyal followers~"

A nod came from Merlyn. She'd actually not mind having this man as one of her ilk. She felt that at the very least she could trust him not to take advantage of others, so maybe one day Merlyn wouldn't be the only of her type in existence. What was more the man claimed that she should have opened with a true nature showing of her abilities. If she did so perhaps he'd have accepted her assistance. She couldn't help but find this bit amusing, how could he honestly say such a thing. "Hm? I'll have to keep it in mind. Though any answer is technically to my liking as long as the choice of that answer is yours~" she stated honestly. To be fair, she was almost certain simply being able to see her did a number on the man she was currently with. Would she save herself from eternal boredom at the cost of them? Not really, to be honest she'd rather be bored than have something bad happen to this particular pair of young men. Luckily enough at least one of them bore a reasonable amount of immunity to her. Sir Cador on the other side of that resisted by will alone.

"Oh? Is that what you're doing? Well, I suppose thanks would indeed be in order for my loyal follower~" she said with a snarky little grin on her face. "That's just you by the way. Arthur is not at all a follower of mine~" she said with that same light tone. Of course, the Spirit Knight did manage to keep her company and amused in this rather boring land of disturbing dreams. Strangely, enough she also knew he'd be around to keep her company during her waking hours, it isn't as if someone else would be sent to guard her at all. Perhaps she'd make use of this new found information about the man during that time.

"Kuku~" Cador snickered. Merlyn had an interesting way about her, and it occasionally showed in the brightest of shining moments. As far as things to her liking were concerned, this revelation was one such moment. "How incredibly chivalrous of you, Merlyn. I'm glad I gave you free roam of my subconscious," he stated in earnest. If there were other succubi around, he'd undoubtedly choose Merlyn as his go-to at any given moment. Sure, her influence over him at present was something beyond normal comprehension, but... he did offer her his dreams before even seeing her face fully.

Indeed, all was certainly for the benefit of Merlyn! Laughable as the notion was, Cador simply continued drinking. It was apparently thought by Merlyn that Arthur couldn't be considered a 'follower' of hers. Cador strongly disagreed. Perhaps she'd missed part of his discussion with the Future King while being scarred by the events of Leorio's chambers. In spite of the fact that Arthur was never sure how much he could trust Merlyn, he seemed to have absolute faith in the succubus. Perhaps Cador himself was already more invested for various reasons, including his lack of immunity to her passive traits, but Arthur was not to be counted as an exception to Merlyn's believers. "The curse of Clairvoyance strikes. Arthur may not bend the knee to you, but I have reason to consider him a legitimate follower of yours. Far less devout than my loyal self, of course~" he joked.

Snickering. That was about right for what she'd just said. Of course, she wasn't the type of take advantage of him. Even so, she expected him not to fully understand exactly how much she could have done if she were less... well herself. A chuckle escaped her, "I thought we were in agreement that I wasn't at all chivalrous~" she said with mock surprise crossing her face. "Admittedly, I too am glad you gave me permission to roam your subconscious. I kind of like it here. It'd make a great time-share~" she jested with that same kind of tone she always had.

Cador continued drinking in his dream but he apparently, took issue with Merlyn thinking that Arthur wasn't one of her followers. He claimed it to be a curse of her Clairvoyance that she had no idea about Arthur's mindset. According to Sir Cador, though Arthur didn't bend the knee to her, he was still a follower. He tossed in the idea that the blonde was less devout than himself which made her laugh just a little. "Well, I don't know if that is a curse of Clairvoyance. I felt no need to spy on the two of you... I trust you Sir Cador," she mentioned in gentle passing. True enough, upon seeing this man's actions within the world, she knew he deserved quite a bit of her trust, beyond all of that, she simply knew he was always deserving of such trust. "So, if you say that Arthur is a follower of mine, though not to the same extent that you are... I have no choice but to believe you~" Merlyn's words came out with sing-song tone. She was amused as she always was while speaking to Sir Cador. She knew this would be the case when she laid eyes on him the first time. Funnily enough the plan to get her locked up, while it helped Arthur gain better standing with Kolin, also gave Merlyn this amusement and the ability to chat with Sir Cador uninterrupted for long periods of time. This was what she meant by doing things the 'fun' way.

"Of course we were. But, minds change~" Cador said about Merlyn's apparent chivalry. Hearing his dream referred to as a potential timeshare, he quirked a brow while tilting his mug. That was actually a rather interesting concept, he thought. "You're right! Hmm. I don't have any other takers, though; no one else would even be able to sit through the presentation. I suppose then, I'll just have to settle for renting it out to you. The rental fee will be nominal, of course, but quality is assured~"

The idea of Arthur truly being Merlyn's follower, was accepted by virtue of trust in Cador. He'd hardly done a thing to earn such faith, as far as he was concerned. Alas, he would not be one to question this. He had just as much faith in Merlyn, and he'd harbored said faith long enough for it to be no result of succubus magic. "Many thanks. Don't think buttering me up is going to get you cheaper rent, though. All it will earn you is..." He paused, thinking it over during another swig. What would such statements from the succubus get out of him? "... well, everything else." Ah, yes. The same way he pretended to be around Queen Kolin, he found himself being in actuality around Merlyn. Eventually, he'd discover how much of this was an effect of her nature as a succubus, and how much of it was a legitimate feeling of comfort in good company.

Apparently Sir Cador changed his mind about Merlyn's nature during their conversation. "Well, if Spirit Knight wishes to change his mind about the nature of my virtues, I'm hardly inclined to argue~" Merlyn's words were playful as ever. She quite enjoyed this moment. What was more, Sir Cador easily found himself in the spirit of her joking nature. He seemed to at least agree with the idea of his dream space being a decent time-share. But he claimed he had no other takers. She'd be the only renter, but it was at least quality assured. "Well, the fee is always fine. So long as the product is worthwhile. After being part of this tour I've no problem paying up~" she mentioned. What an interesting metaphor and yet also strangely a truthful desire. Merlyn could take up a bit of the Spirit Knight's brain space. She would enjoy the time here, and likely pay whatever he desired to enjoy its comforts. What a strange way of thinking when they'd both already made known their lack of desire for anything truly committal.

Her ability to butter up the Spirit Knight came with thanks, but also with a clause about it not lowering he rent within the space of his mind. He had more to say but there was a gentle pause between his thoughts as he swigged from his drink. After he spoke a bemused chuckle escaped the white haired lass, she had quite the response to his words. "Why I would never expect a discount on the rent!" she seemed mockingly outraged by such an accusation. "Though buttering you up, definitely shouldn't give me everything else~" she said still in good humor but there were more words to follow. "Make sure to keep something for you." Strangely this statement was something Merlyn meant. He should definitely never give anyone everything, but if he wanted to give her something or even most things, she might accept them... mostly because she was willing to think of an equivalent exchange between them as the most ideal.

Cador stood, stepping closer to the fire. He felt as if he was actually warming up here in the dream. Perhaps that was the fault of Merlyn and her reality-shifting, or perhaps it was simply Cador's imagination. Whatever the case, he continued drinking by the fireplace. Jokes shared between the two seemed to be never-ending, with no single instance of jest being addressed only briefly. Naturally, the timeshare of his subconscious mind was not exempt from this way of conversing. "Ah, good! When the madness is over, I'll be expecting the security deposit and first month's rent. Oh, and here at Spirit Knight, we reserve the right to evict you for being even a day late~"

No lateness, no discounts, no complaints. This imaginary rental situation was coming together quite nicely. Though... as imaginary as it was, Cador literally couldn't resist believing there was great truth behind the banter. Speaking of this little 'agreement' of theirs, Merlyn spoke of the exchange rate that came along with the flattery. Yes, that was worth some negotiation, wasn't it? "Hmm, very true. I should benefit as well, and everything may be overpaying for flattery. Well Merlyn, I'm quite stumped. What would you consider a fair exchange? I'm sure a decent enough arrangement can be made."