A private meeting

I walk into the waiting room where Lillias and my real body are waiting for my arrival. I open the sliding door with a wide, toothy grin on my face.

"I apologize for making you two wait, I hope you didn't find the refreshment lacking," I say, fully acknowledging the rudeness of this so-called priestess.

"Ah, good afternoon, Priestess Akemi," Lillias greets me first.

"Good afternoon," my real body greets me next, albeit a little awkwardly as I need to concentrate to say it.

Iris is inside as well, sitting in front of Lillias and my original body. She immediately changes her sitting posture, facing me and bowing deeply with her hands on the floor. It is a good thing she doesn't see the mocking smile I have as Akemi. I then try to focus, and change my expression to something that fit the usual Akemi.

"Welcome back to Thresford shrine, Mister Victor and miss Lillias. How did you find your tour? I hope Naoki treated you two well," I said in a more polite tone.

"Oh, it was amazing! Thresford is a beautiful town, and Naoki was such a fun person to be around," Lillias replies to my question.

"That is good to hear," I say as Akemi, stepping inside the room.

As far as my real body's hearing told me, neither Lillias nor Iris have spoken a single word after Iris delivered the refreshments and sat down. It was a very awkward silence, apparently, judging by the look on their faces when I saw them just now. However, my arrival seems to ease that awkwardness a little. Lillias and I talk some more about our tour, before we start our main conversation.

"Mister Victor, Miss Lillias, I assume you two came here for business matters rather than simply having a tea party with me, correct?"

"Ah, yes," my original body clears his throat, "but I'd prefer if we can talk about this in private"

"Of course," I reply to myself, "Iris, please leave the three of us alone."

"Certainly," Iris says as she stands up.

She starts walking toward the sliding door, passing me. But before she can leave the room, I stop her.

"Iris?"

"Yes, priestess?"

"Go and be with Naoki. Reward him for his work this morning."

"R-right now?"

"Yes, right now," I insist.

Iris hesitates for a second before affirming my order in resignation. She leaves and closes the door behind her. After waiting until she has left, I then sit down in front of Lillias and my real body, straightening my legs and resting my hands behind me for support. It is very un-priestess-like, but there's not much point in pretending now.

"Heh, she might be tempted to eavesdrop on us if I don't send her away," I say, Akemi's face showing a playful, mischievous grin, "now, what can this lowly fox beast do for you?"

Lillias sends a disapproving glare at me in Akemi's body and says, "master Victor, that's rather tasteless. She's still a respected leader in this town."

"Is it? I think you should loosen up a bit, Lillias," I tease, Akemi's smirk widens, "this is hardly degrading enough. At least I only do it in private like this."

Lillias lets out an exasperated sigh.

"Well... yes, I suppose," she says before returning to the subject, "so, master Victor, what are we going to do from here on?"

"First, don't use my real name when I'm in this body, Lillias. Victor is the one right there," I point at my real body, who's sitting still, "while I am Akemi, the priestess. Secondly, like I said before, I can't do this alone. We need you to have a body to control by tonight. And I think we both know whose body it is going to be."

"You're suggesting that I possess Iris, master Vi- umm, I mean, Akemi?" Lillias asks.

"Exactly," I nod, "Naoki is a good candidate as well, but Iris seems like a better choice. She clearly disapproves of our presence while Naoki seems to be neutral, or maybe even like us. So, if we take Iris down, nobody will hinder our movement in this shrine."

Lillias considers my suggestion for a moment, before she nods in agreement, "very well, master. I shall be your assistant on both sides. I have to admit, I am looking forward to trying this spell again."

I smile when I hear her reply, I know that feeling well. Well, putting that aside, there's one thing I need to try before Iris returns. I have been suspecting something for a while now, and I want to put it to the test. As Akemi, I fix my sitting posture so that I don't need to prop my body weight on my hands. Once I am ready, I start chanting a spell, a full chant that lasts nearly a whole minute, using Akemi's lips. It is a mid tier paralysis spell, something that Lillias and I used on Akemi last night. However, while Akemi used a magic tool to cast it, this time I do it raw without the help of one.

Full chanting ensures the spell's strength and stability, as well as low mana cost. Shortening chants lower both strength and stability, unless you sacrifice more mana. Theoretically, one could cast a spell without chanting at all, but the mana cost would be enormous and any seasoned mage would know that it is a foolish act. Moreover, as the spell tier goes up, the mana cost will increase as well. That means, after a certain point, attempting this might end in your **** by sudden mana exhaustion, depending on the size of your own mana pool.

Of course, in battles, using a full chant will drastically reduce the speed of your spellcasting. That is why many mages rely on a magic tool, an item that is prepared before the spell is actually needed. These tools come in many sizes and shapes, but their function is essentially the same. By engraving a specific magic formula (or formulas) that substitutes a specific chant(s) on the tool, a mage can skip the chanting process and only need to supply the tool with mana to activate the spell. The mana cost depends on how precise and efficient the formula that is engraved on the magic tool, but it can be as low as a full-chanted spell.

The creator of this method, a great mage called Morgan, was nothing short of a genius. Morgan was the model researcher and inventor, and a lot of their ideas and creations inspired many generations after them to contribute to advancement in the magic field. In fact, the mind-link spell I am currently using is based on one of Morgan's research, during the final years of their life. The conservative mages of that time considered some of his research to be blasphemous, and Morgan was hunted down. It was also why there was no full record of their ideas, just bits and scraps that survived the dark ages of the magic field. Heck, we are still not even sure whether Morgan was a male or a female, let alone what happened at the end of their life!

While my mind wanders about the greatest mage that has ever lived, my body never ceases to channel my mana to my right arm, and my lips never fails to utter the chant with great accuracy. I finally raise my right hand and stretch it to my front, towards the two people in front of me. Lillias stays silent, watching me preparing the spell with bated breath, knowing full well what kind of spell I am chanting. She closes her eyes when I finish, bracing herself for the impact.