Hidden Motivations (1)

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After celebrating her first victory against Icarus, Echidna quickly sighs trying to calm down and begins to reflect on the situation.

'Phew! I had better take it easy! I shouldn't celebrate too soon! After all, even though I'm already over ninety percent sure that he's hiding something. I still have no idea what it is and why he is hiding it! Well, knowing him I don't think he's doing it for no reason. There must be a reason, even if it's a completely stupid reason! But it doesn't matter, because I want to know anyway!'

Although it seems that Icarus does things randomly and with no purpose in mind, the reality is just the opposite! Everything Icarus does or says, from important things to the most random nonsense, he does with a clear purpose or objective in mind!

The purpose itself is irrelevant, as it changes depending on the situation.

Sometimes being to make a bigger profit on a given transaction or simply for the rotten and distorted satisfaction that Icarus feels when irritating and deceiving someone!

This is how Icarus' chaotic and unstable personality worked, and this is something that anyone who lives long enough with him will eventually get used to.

'Well, despite having let his guard down, he still gave a clear explanation that he was doing this, because of the doubts he had'

Echidna then remembers that earlier, Icarus said that he wanted to ask her, things like: Who was she? Was it she who brought him to this planet? Among many others!

In her opinion, these doubts are completely justified and in a way serve as an explanation for the enormous effort, he made to get her to speak.

'However, yet something doesn't seem right to me. After all, these doubts are... well, as I say this... they are very normal!'

Surprisingly, one of the reasons for her distrust is that although Icarus' explanation seems to be quite solid, it is not something that suits him because it is very normal.

'It doesn't make any sense... there is no way for him to move so much just for simple and normal reasons like these! No matter how I look at it, it doesn't match his distorted character at all!'

After making some offenses against Icarus without any real need, Echidna spends time trying to decipher Icarus' real motives, while trying to find out what he is hiding.

Nevertheless, in the end, it all ends up being a useless effort, and after a while she decides to change her approach

'Sigh! It seems that I have no choice...'

Echidna then stops for a second and while internally she makes an evil smile, she concludes: '.... I'll have to force him to tell me! Icarus you had better get ready! Haha-'

"Hey, Echidna"

[Aaaahhh!]

Suddenly being summoned by a voice, Echidna who was distracted is startled and screams

The owner of the voice is obviously Icarus. Echidna's scream was so sudden that even he was surprised and froze for a second.

However, he quickly recovers and after clearing his throat he asks

"Ahem... You know... Are you okay?"

Having recovered a little from the scare, Echidna is confused by Icarus' words

[W-What do you mean?]

Seeing that she did not understand his question, Icarus patiently explains it

"Well... I ask that because... it's been about ten minutes since you started ignoring me!"

[Huh? Really?]

"Yeah really! And if that in itself wasn't strange enough, for some reason you started whispering in a creepy voice, things like: No… it can't be… but did he do it on purpose? If that is not the case... why did he do it that...? I need to discover this no matter what..."

Hearing that she was acting so suspiciously without her realizing it, Echidna is tremendously ashamed.

'Aaahhh, what a shame! I can't believe I was doing this! It seems that I ended up taking the habit of Icarus, this idiot, and start to whisper things out loud!'

Echidna feels strange when she finds out that she is doing this. Even so, as if he didn't realize it, Icarus keeps talking and rubbing salt on her wound

"Man, this was weird as hell! Even I was starting to get scared of you, thinking I was dealing with someone with serious psychological problems! You know, I was tempted to call the police... but then I remembered that... I don't know the number I should dial to call the police in this world!"

[...]

Hearing this, Echidna thinks: 'Knowing him, if he could call the police... he really would!'

While Echidna is grateful for not having to deal with a strange situation such as having to deal with police, a thought that given the circumstances, by itself is already very strange

Icarus finally stops talking nonsense and concludes: "Anyway! With that said, I ask you again... Are you okay?"

[Y-Yeah, I'm okay...]

"Excellent, anything warns me, okay? I will try to help you get the best psychological assistance available on the market! Money is not a problem... after all… I can always fool some idiots out there!"

[T-Thanks... I guess]

Before the subject moves in an even more strange direction, Echidna decides to use the situation to her advantage

'There is no better opportunity! Seeing how carefree he is... it's now or never!'

Then in a very serious tone of voice, Echidna questions Icarus

[Icarus answer me one thing... is curiosity really the only reason you went so far to talk to me?]

"Huh?"

Not being prepared for that question, Icarus is taken by surprise.

After hesitating for a second, he responds in a firm tone

"Ohh... yeah! Yeah, that is the only reason! Why do you ask?"

Despite his confident tone, his initial hesitation, didn't go unnoticed by Echidna

'I see... so he's really hiding something!'

This was the proof that Echidna needed to be completely sure of her hypothesis.

Once she has confirmed this she does not answer Icarus immediately, instead, she remains silent.

In this way, a strange mood is established between the two.

Echidna's strange question, followed by the scary silence that has set in, begins to make Icarus somewhat uncomfortable, something very rare, given his personality.

However, this mood does not last long, because after almost a minute, Echidna finally breaks the silence and in a threatening tone, she asks:

[Is that really the only reason? First of all, let me clarify one thing. Even though I fell for your tricks earlier, it doesn't mean I'm an idiot! In important situations, I can see when something is going on! That said, I don't think you took the trouble to get me to answer you, just because I was curious about my identity!]

"I..."

[Shut the fuck up! I haven't finished talking yet!]

"O-Ohh... okay... sorry"

[Hmpt... Anyway, I'm sure there is something you are not telling me!

You know, if you are completely honest with me, and tell me what it is, I can even cooperate with you and answer some of your questions!

However, if you lie to me, not only will I disappear, but I will also ignore you completely from that point on, leaving all your doubts unanswered!]

Echidna then stops for a second, and then in a provocative tone she asks:

[So how is it going to be?]

'Hahaha! I was perfect! There is no way for him to escape this! He's going to have to answer me! Hmpf! He deserves to have the shortest end of the stick at least once!'

Hearing the resigned tone that Echidna is using, Icarus is confused about how to respond

'Damn it! What the hell is this aggressive stance? In this situation, she at least should have left a gap for possible negotiation, right? So, why is she immediately cutting all possible ways for a healthy communication? Tsk! She sure sucks when it comes to bargaining!'

Despite his frustration, Icarus does not rush into his choice.

Normally, Icarus would respond to that threat with a joke and then immediately try to change the subject.

However, this time his swindler instincts, which he trained for years, are warning him that if he does that, he will lose this "client". Something he definitely doesn't want to happen, especially now that he's so close to getting what he wants!

When faced with this, Icarus is silent and after a little internal struggle he gives up and in a grumpy tone he responds

"Okay, Okay! You got me! Jesus Christ, you don't have to be so serious about this! To be honest, there really is something I didn't tell you, but it's not as serious as you think!"

Hearing this, Echidna just snorts and with a resolute voice responds

[It doesn't matter, how irrelevant it is! I still want to know! So stop postponing the inevitable and tell me right away!]

With that, the last thread of hope that Icarus had disappeared.

He clicks his tongue and dissatisfied begins to whisper to himself:

"Tsk! Damn it! This is the worst possible situation... now things are certainly not going to work, as I wanted… However, how the hell did she realize? This don't make any sense... I swore I had taken all the precautions... I explained calmly... I changed the subject several times, so that it didn't look like I was in a hurry... and I even gave more than one explanation and they were all completely plausible... Honestly, this time I don't know what gave me away... Sigh! Well, since we got to that, so be it!"

Having finally resigned himself to his destiny, Icarus gives up trying to find out where he went wrong.

Then he lets out a long breath and without trying to hide his frustration he responds in an apathetic tone

"Sigh! Okay, first of all I want to make one thing clear, I didn't lie when I said I was doing it out of curiosity! In fact, in the beginning this was really my only motivation! However, while I reflected on how to make you give up your anonymity. A certain thought crossed my mind and that changed!"

[Ohh... and what exactly is it?]

"To explain this to you, first I need to tell you a certain story... Once upon a time-"

Even before Icarus starts, Echidna in an impatient voice interrupts, scolding him:

[No, no, let's stop here! I don't want to hear a story at all! I just want to know what you are hiding! So stop making excuses!]

Echidna says this, while simultaneously thinking: 'If I don't stop him here, he'll start changing the subject again! Being firm, it is probably the best move given the situation'

However, things do not go exactly as she expected, and instead of responding in his usual cheerful tone, Icarus responds full of anger.

"What the hell? Do you want to know or not? Stop ruining my fucking mood! Not only you are a lousy negotiator, but also were rude enough to cut any escape route that I could take! Furthermore, if that wasn't enough, now you also want to interfere with the way in which I give you the information! You know what... Fuck it! If it is to be treated like this, I don't think I want to cooperate with you anymore!"

Seeing that Icarus is really angry, and that he doesn't seem to be kidding, Echidna realizes that maybe she has gone a bit too far, and quickly apologizes.

[Arghhh... sorry...]

"I'm not seeing enough sincerity... you hurt my feelings!"

[Okay, I'm sorry for hurting your feelings! Please continue to tell the story!]

Echidna is embarrassed and apologizes.

After receiving this most sincere request, Icarus nods in satisfaction and in a calm tone says:

"Yeah, this is much better! Respect is essential! Remember, you have to treat others exactly as you want to be treated"

[Okay, I'll keep that in mind!]

She responds politely, although for some reason she feels a little awkward having to do this: 'Hmm? Why do I get the impression that something is out in this situation? Well, whatever!'

Not giving her time to find out the reason for her discomfort, Icarus continues

"Anyway, don't worry, unlike what you think, the story I'm going to tell you is not to change the subject! Instead, after listening to her, you will be able to understand what my other motivations are and why I wanted to keep them a secret!"

[Ohh... this is a relief!]

Seeing that she didn't notice Icarus internally clicks his tongue, as he thinks maliciously: 'Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! You're still have wet ears! If Do you really think you can trick me as you want, easy like that? Huehue... only in your dreams my dear! I will cooperate this time... but it is only because you have apologized! Huehuehue!'

That way even though she didn't realize, Echidna once again fell into one of Icarus' tricks, and ended up having to apologize, even though she wasn't exactly wrong.

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