Riddle's nerves were fragile yet sensitive.
He was full of inner drama.
But the fact that Ian didn't answer him directly, even going so far as to pretend they hadn't heard him at all, showed that Riddle's turmoil wasn't just due to a fit of paranoia.
"We'll talk about your matter after we deal with Herpo." Ian tried to use words to calm Riddle down for the moment after seeing the suspicious uncertainty on Riddle's face. However, as a seasoned player of such games, Riddle wasn't fooled.
"I need you to swear on magic! You must promise to bring me back to Hogwarts alive and intact, so I can face trial by Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic!"
"You're just a student! You have no right to dispose of me privately! That violates the law! Violates justice and morality!" It was hard to believe such lofty, Diadem-worthy words could ever come from Riddle's mouth.
But he really was growing less and less confident in Ian' credibility. Becoming bird feed or becoming part of Herpo were not endings Riddle wanted.
Compared to those two kinds of endings, being locked up in Azkaban almost sounded pleasant!
"Sorry, I have neither justice nor morality." Faced with Riddle's persistent nagging, Ian dropped the pretense, shook his head, and outright refused Riddle's proposal.
"…"
Riddle hadn't expected such a blunt answer from Ian.
"I want to see Dumbledore! I have a secret to tell him! It concerns the safety of the entire world!" With no other choice, Riddle pushed his chips onto the table.
"It's about why you and another fragment of soul betrayed Voldemort, isn't it?" Ian could more or less guess Riddle's secret, he had already learned bits of information from the other soul fragment.
"Yes, exactly. That's also why I fled to this era." Riddle did not deny it, instead explaining with a serious face the reason behind his theft of the time-turner.
"He became a servant, a servant of the Death God, and was given a mission by the Death God. This is absolutely no less a crisis than Herpo."
"It will happen, happen in our time."
At this point, Riddle's expression grew even more grave. But he still did not reveal what mission the Death God had given Voldemort, nor why it had led him and the other soul fragment to betray him.
This secret was clearly Riddle's biggest bargaining chip.
In response, Ian only gave a noncommittal nod, turning his head toward the "priestess." "You've read his memories, I suppose you can tell me what this secret is?"
Truth be told, Ian really didn't want to make any sort of deal with Riddle. If he agreed, wouldn't that make him the sort of person who colludes with the Dark Lord?
"There's nothing about that in his memories." The goddess, still nibbling on a walnut, shook her head at Ian, giving an answer that caught him somewhat off guard.
"You hid the memory?" Ian looked at Riddle with surprise.
"How could I possibly have that ability?" Riddle rolled his eyes.
"Exactly. If he could deceive me, he wouldn't have needed to seek your help against Herpo's curse," The "priestess" added, defending Riddle's 'innocence', and, more importantly, boasting that her own power was beyond Riddle's influence.
"Only when I'm linked to that fragment of soul can I know the answer, and once the link is broken, I immediately forget. But both I and the fragment you killed could sense that it wasn't a situation we wanted, it would lead to our complete ruin. The only solution was to sever ties with the fragment that betrayed us."
That Riddle dared to use such a matter as a bargaining chip showed he had weighed his options. Only by taking him back to the future could Ian, Dumbledore, and the others learn about the altered Voldemort's condition through him.
"Perhaps you could send me back first, this way, you wouldn't have to worry about me pulling any tricks." Riddle once again spoke longingly of returning to Hogwarts.
Of course, he had his own thoughts and calculations in mind.
After all, The ancient era was far too hard to survive in.
Returning to the future was by far the best option for him. No matter what, he was now a complete individual. Although he was Voldemort's past self, he was only the sixteen-year-old Voldemort, at this point, he hadn't yet borne the weight of so many crimes. He could absolutely use his abilities to fight for a chance at "turning over a new leaf."
And even if he couldn't get that chance, It would still be far more dignified than staying in the ancient era. In Riddle's view, at most he would only be held accountable for the death of that crying Myrtle. All the other murders were Voldemort's doing, what did they have to do with him, Tom Riddle? With such calculations in mind, of course he didn't want to linger here a moment longer.
"Looks like you really are homesick," Ian teased.
He could clearly sense Riddle's emotions and thoughts, and hadn't expected that the infamous Dark Lord would actually have a time when he couldn't fit into his surroundings.
"The future is Heaven compared to this place!" Riddle didn't hide his discomfort with this era, not just because there were gods here, but also evil legendary wizard.
"I've been hiding in the city this whole time, can you believe that an ordinary little shop openly sells soul-stripping services? They strip the soul out of a slave and put it into tireless puppets so they can work nonstop, twenty-four hours a day. The owner of that shop sells this service at least three to five thousand times a year."
"Compared to wizards like that, what am I? That shopkeeper is the real Dark Lord! And the person who invented this magic, that's the Dark Lord among Dark Lords!"
Maybe Riddle was trying to whitewash himself, or maybe he was genuinely astonished. Either way, he had indeed broadened his horizons and knowledge in this ancient timeline.
"You should respect the different paths of civilization," Ian said. He actually admired this sort of magical creation, putting ethics and morality aside, at least it boosted productivity, didn't it?
"By the way, have you learned this magic? I think you could use it as a bargaining chip to convince me. Don't get me wrong, I just think that only by understanding this magic can one truly prevent it from being used where it shouldn't be. And if I don't research it, how will the world know how to guard against it?"
"The advancement of magic, as well as the prevention and breaking of dark magic, requires someone to make sacrifices. I'm willing to sacrifice for the sake of progress. So, why don't you write this magic down for me to have a look at?"
Ian revealed his curiosity toward magic.
He firmly believed, There was no such thing as bad magic, only bad wizard(s). If this kind of magic were used on those who truly deserved it, wouldn't it be a form of civilization and fairness?
"…"
Seeing Ian's gaze, Riddle's emotions became too tangled for words. He felt that perhaps he now understood why Voldemort was hunted by all, yet Ian could still thrive in Hogwarts.
Voldemort, himself, was just too honest. Whatever evil thing he was doing, he would openly tell others that it was evil, that it was underhanded and shameful.
(To Be Continued…)
You can read ahead up to 110 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395