I felt my heart skipping a beat. This truly came out of nowhere, to the point I wondered if she did it on purpose. I couldn’t help letting out a stupid groan as I was taken by surprise.
“Huh…”
As usual, there was nothing to read on her face. Maybe because of her calm exterior appearance, I took hold of myself to answer her.
“Outside of the domes? What do you mean?”
“I deducted from my observations that you are not someone born inside the domes but someone from outside. The only way to go through a dome is by teleporting. As such, I concluded that you are a spatial mage coming from outside.”
“Interesting. How sure are you about this theory?”
“99%.”
“What about the remaining percent?”
“Because I lack concrete proof, and that it is possible there are elements outside of my imagination I couldn’t take into account.”
99% were the same as saying she was sure I was from outside. I could deny it, but that would be futile. Judging by her thought process, it would only antagonize her.
“Let’s imagine for a moment that you’re correct. In that case, would you keep this a secret if I asked you to?”
“No.”
There was no hesitation whatsoever in her reply.
“Please?”
“No.”
“Pretty please?”
“No.”
“…Is it because you don’t lie?”
“Yes.”
I now understood why she had been fired from her previous jobs. Being a curious person, she would dig for secrets from the people around her and then reveal everything if asked. In a way, she was the ultimate gossip, the person to go to if one wanted to know all the juicy information about one’s colleagues. Of course, this sort of thing created absolute chaos in the groups she worked in, and she would end up being let go.
“Ugh… Then, what about this? You don’t need to lie, but you won’t go out of your way to spill my secret unless specifically asked about it?”
There was a pause as she stared at me emotionlessly.
“That is possible.”
“All right. Then I ask you to do that, please.”
“I understand.”
I gave a long sigh, already feeling tired even though it was only midday.
“How did you find out, anyway?”
“Should I list all the hints that allowed me to deduce it?”
“…No need, I can guess already.”
I sighed again.
“Whatever. I’m just a normal person, and you’re a smart one, so I didn’t stand any chance.”
“Correct.”
“Haha.”
Her lack of tact was something else, but it was nothing new. I looked at her for a few seconds before continuing.
“You know what? I don’t care anymore. It was bound to be discovered anyway. I’ll tell you everything, including the one percent you missed.”
I didn’t need to do so, but I had a good reason for it since some part of the truth had come out.
“I was wrong about something?”
“Yes, but it’s not your fault since it’s hard to imagine. The truth is, I come from a different planet.”
I monitored her face carefully, hoping that at least this would get some reaction out of her, but was disappointed once more. There wasn’t a single ripple on her expression. She was awesome in a strange way.
“Tell me more.”
“Okay, here’s the story…”
Just like I did for Suuru, I explained everything to her. Since I was at it, I went all the way, even including matters like gender, reproduction, and my real rank. When I was done, she nodded peacefully, accepting everything I said as the truth.
“I understand. This is very interesting.”
It was now time for me to touch on one of the reasons why I wanted to spill all my secrets.
“Right? Now it’s my turn to ask a few questions.”
“You can ask me anything.”
“How are spatial mages viewed in the domes?”
It was something I had already asked Suuru, but she hadn’t been able to give me a satisfying answer. I felt bad thinking about it, but there probably was a large gap in information between the ultimate gossiper Minsto, who had gone through a high level of education and met countless people in her work, and the recluse Suuru, who lived isolated from others.
“Spatial affinity is lost inside the domes. No one is born with it, nor has anyone been born with it for centuries. It is considered a legendary affinity, and, as such, there is neither positive nor negative sentiment about it. Some people dream of having it to see what is outside of the domes, but this stays as a simple wish.”
“What do you think the domes' governments would do if they knew about my affinity?”
“I cannot say for certain, but they would certainly make contact with you.”
“What would people think about other sentient beings existing outside of the domes?”
“I can predict all kinds of reactions, from interest and curiosity to fear and hatred.”
“Am I in danger if my secrets are revealed?”
“It is hard to say, but you would at the very least be closely monitored. Some people might try to control you, too. Some others might hurt or kill you.”
“What about you? What do you think about me?”
“You are very interesting.”
It was a boring but also completely expected answer from her.
“Right. Anyway, now that you know it all, look at this.”
I switched to the second and main reason why it was beneficial for me if she were aware. Taking out my phone from my storage, I showed it to her.
“What is this?”
“This is an extremely advanced computer with multiple features, from my world.”
“Computer?”
“Computer is a generic term for a tool that does advanced calculations. Yes, exactly like what you wanted to research.”
I started it and gave her a demonstration of the multiple features it had.
“This is astonishing.”
She then stared straight into my eyes.
“You accepted my request for advanced computing research because this technology isn’t something that can be reproduced in the domes, correct?”