Ren chuckled. "Do your best. I'll remember it! If you perform well, I won't kill you. I might even help you recover! But only if you perform well—and remain absolutely loyal!"
Fear still gripped Laxien, but hope crept into his eyes. "Yes, Lord Ren!" he said quickly.
Ren nodded. "Remember... write down your Earth Softening magic and give it to Hogue."
Laxien nodded without a word of protest. Hogue, meanwhile, looked thrilled. "Thank you, Lord Ren!"
Hogue knew just how powerful Earth Softening was. He had never been able to learn it before, so of course he was excited now that he had the chance.
Ren waved a hand, and the two men withdrew.
Once they were gone, Morgana woke from her cultivation. "Master... can those two be trusted?"
Ren chuckled. "Whether they can be trusted depends on us. Besides, they can't resist me or lie to me. With our heightened senses, we can easily tell when someone is telling the truth. Hogue works for the Magic Council's Intelligence Division, so he knows a great deal about this continent, from intelligence to common knowledge. Laxien served under Brain, so he knows about Brain's dealings with Hades and plenty of other secrets. That will help us too. We have every reason to keep them both!"
Morgana nodded. They had only just arrived in the Fairy Tail World and needed information about it. And now that Hades and Brain were Ren's enemies, it made sense to keep someone who knew them. Observation Haki from the One Piece World could easily tell whether someone's words were true, while the heightened perception they had gained in the Death God World could even sense a person's soul.
Neither Hogue nor Laxien could hide anything from Ren.
As they spoke, Ren looked down at Ultear, still