"Who are you?"
Even though he had already considered countless possibilities in his mind, the man addressed as "Sir" by the young female Inquisitor still chose to ask directly, looking toward Steven for an answer.
Steven, who had been absentmindedly rubbing Gladiia's little head, finally paused his actions. With interest, he met the gaze of the masked man.
To be honest, this guy's outfit was pretty cool—so cool that Steven felt like he wanted to collect a set for himself.
But more importantly, as he noticed the deep wariness in the man's eyes, Steven scratched his head, puzzled about what he had done to deserve such scrutiny.
Why was this guy looking at him as if he were some kind of wild beast?
"Sir, these two Ægirs originally wanted to escape with the village chief, who had ties to the Church of the Deep. However, when they saw me, they voluntarily... surrendered."
Even though she knew how absurd this sounded, the young girl still reported the truth to her superior.
"He didn't resist at all. In fact, even this guy was subdued by his own hand. Based on my judgment, I don't think he's one of the villagers."
She pointed to the old man beside them, who had already lost too much blood due to his extreme agitation and had fallen into a coma. The girl made her assessment with a serious expression.
Although this guy, who called himself Steve, had been acting in a completely unpredictable manner, there was one thing she was certain of:
From beginning to end, he had never shown hostility toward her.
Even when the village chief initially tried to mislead him, he had only maintained a neutral stance and never intended to fight her.
She was quite confident in her judgment.
"That's good. Once an Inquisitor makes a judgment, they must stand by it and not waver due to external influences."
The masked man nodded, seemingly approving of the young girl's assessment. The wariness in his eyes toward Steven lessened slightly.
It was clear that he trusted his subordinate deeply—so much so that he believed Steven wasn't an enemy just based on her words alone.
Suddenly, Steven started suspecting that their relationship wasn't just that of superior and subordinate. Judging from the feathers sticking out of the man's hair, could it be… these two were father and daughter?
Was the father bringing his daughter out on missions to gain experience?
As Steven playfully entertained this thought, the man walked straight toward him.
After glancing briefly at Gladiia, who was clearly not in a normal state, the man turned his attention back to Steven.
"Hello, I am Dario, a High Inquisitor from the Inquisition. That young lady over there is my subordinate, Inquisitor Irene."
Just as Steven thought this man would issue some harsh warning or even arrest him on the spot, Dario simply extended his hand in greeting and introduced both himself and the uniformed girl.
The situation suddenly shifted from a police officer apprehending a dangerous suspect to a casual self-introduction between new acquaintances.
"Uh... Hello, I'm Steven. Not an Ægir."
Since the other party had introduced himself so politely, Steven naturally felt obliged to respond in kind. He had always been willing to be friendly with people who treated him with respect.
Shaking hands with Dario, Steven deliberately emphasized his species.
Call him a Minecrafter if they must, but he was definitely not an Ægir.
What if racial discrimination was a big issue in this world? He didn't want to be burdened with an unjust label right from the start.
So, it was best to clarify these things upfront whenever possible.
"You just called yourself Steve a moment ago, didn't you? How dare you deceive an Inquisitor!"
Before the man could respond, the young female Inquisitor named Irene couldn't hold back any longer. She jumped in, pointing her slender finger at Steven.
She clearly remembered that this guy had introduced himself as Steve earlier. How had he suddenly acquired another name in just a few minutes?
"A name is just a codename. I can be Steve, or I can be Steven. Does that really matter? Besides, compared to your attitude, I obviously prefer speaking with this more mature, friendly, and reasonable gentleman in front of me."
"You—!"
"Simply put, your superior knows that before asking for my name, he should introduce himself first. You, on the other hand, were just calling out 'hey, hey' earlier. So, what's wrong with me throwing out a codename to mess with you?"
Steven rattled off a bunch of justifications that even he didn't quite believe. Then, seeing Irene's face change with frustration, he chuckled and revealed the real reason.
The Liberi girl was completely speechless. She clenched her fists—if it weren't for her identity as an Inquisitor, she would have already punched this irritating guy.
How could someone be this insufferable?
Fortunately, the High Inquisitor beside her seemed to read her thoughts. He patted her on the shoulder in reassurance before decisively moving past the awkward topic.
"Mr. Steven, given the ambiguity of your relationship with this village chief, some conflicts have arisen between us. Would you be willing to come with us to the Inquisition for a discussion?"
The way Dario spoke didn't sound like someone trying to arrest a suspect. His tone was more like an invitation between acquaintances.
However, only Dario himself knew the truth—this seemingly carefree young man standing before him radiated an overwhelming pressure.
Even compared to his own mentor, Carmen, one of Iberia's Twelve Saints, Steven's presence was on a completely different level.
It didn't even matter if Steven insisted he wasn't human. Even if he turned out to be one of those unspeakable horrors from the deep sea, Dario would believe it without question.
To put it in Steven's own words—he was the real danger in Dario's eyes.
Perhaps the only reassuring thing was that Steven seemed incredibly rational and, surprisingly, easy to talk to. That was the primary reason for Dario's current approach.
The Inquisition's duty was not to provoke mysterious beings whose very existence was an enigma.
"I don't really mind. It's all the same to me wherever I go. But clearly, now isn't the time to be thinking about that, is it? Shouldn't we be figuring out how to break through instead?"
Steven smiled. He was actually quite interested in visiting the Inquisition, a place the old man had described as a terrifying death trap.
And as an official organization of this nation, they might even be able to provide some information about that Rho-something Island he was looking for.
But as he said—those were concerns for later.
Right now, the real issue was figuring out how to break through the swarm of strange creatures that had suddenly emerged from all directions in the village.