[She answered when I prevented her from hearing me, but not when I prevented the hostage from hearing me. Do you know if you're definitely proof against that?]

[Proof against her listening through me? ...I don't know. It's hard to do magic to champions, especially without them noticing, but not impossible.]

[You're mostly physical superpowers, right? Nothing for tracking her down or breaking her enchantments or anything?]

[Just physical power and normal champion resistance to magic. I have better senses than humans?]

[Don't especially think that'll cut it.

As written, this contract would leave me my esper powers. They don't spend down mana. But that doesn't do me a whole lot of good if she can keep us separated.]

Nod nod.

[It feels like it should be the foundation of some cunning trick but maybe it just isn't.]

[It doesn't prevent you from resisting her during the week, right?]

[No, but she could threaten you.]

[I can deal with whatever she thinks up.]

[Well, don't tell her that, it gives her more trauma leeway.]

Nod.

[What do you know about magical contracts? Will she have to be there in person? Will you or would I be signing on your behalf?]

[Both you and her would have to sign in person I think? I haven't heard too much about that sort of magic... Maybe you could sign for me? It would make sense for that to be an option.]

[Is it magically plausible that she's got a deadman switch on the hostages, where if I just kill her at the signing then bad things happen to them?]

[Maybe? I don't know that much about what magic exists.]

[And I bet she's got the other candidate "leashed" instead of dead specifically so they and I will have to fight if I interfere with her before she's done.]

[Sounds possible?]

Does the contract specify anything about the process of releasing the hostages.

It says they have to be released once the contract is signed, but nothing else.

May's gonna take a while to write about this. Sorry, hostages, slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

Lianelle can keep her company while she writes.

[Okay. So, she can - restrain people, qua the leash, and might do that once we're contracted, which might prevent me from killing her or even being obstinately invisible. I can maybe kill her before signing, if she has to show up in person, unless showing up in person lets her leash me. She can borrow other people's senses, but hopefully it's just senses and she's not outright reading your mind. I really don't want to agree to resurrect her! There's no particular reason to expect that this is the last time she'll ever want something badly enough to kidnap a ton of people about it! She's acting like a dungeon. I don't let dungeons get away.]

[You could try getting her to agree to more conditions, like not kidnapping a ton of people later?]

[I don't want her to be inspired to creativity! I guess I could resurrect her without her magic if she doesn't think of writing that in.]