"Ah, big trouble."
Palr was completely sunk into the sofa, seemingly avoiding problems, and covered his face with a pillow.
"As you ntioned, Vasilina only has you; you’re her whole world, and she can no longer tolerate days without you, which is why she turned so peculiar."
While Bologue spoke, his pen in hand showed no sign of stopping. Clearly, he treated Palr as an observation sample.
"Didn’t you notice these things before?" Bologue hesitated for a mont, searching for the right word, "Vasilina’s excessive... possessiveness over you?"
Palr shook his head, "We never really had friends before, let alone infringing on possessiveness, so I’ve never felt it until this ti when I returned ho and realized sothing was off."
"Thinking about my engagent..." Palr said belatedly.
Hearing this, Bologue also realized the problem. He tentatively suggested, "Could it be that your engagent with her is also a manifestation of possession?"
Bologue was surprised by his analysis, "That makes sense; you go to work thousands of miles away, who knows who you’ll encounter, maybe you’ll be enchanted by won outside. Vasilina decided to legally capture you first."
Palr was nearly completely sunk into the sofa.
"Hmm... what exactly are you worried about?"
Seeing Palr like this, Bologue asked again, "You love her, she loves you, and you’re engaged. Is there a problem?"
"Yeah, is there a problem?"
A muffled voice sounded from under the pillow. Palr picked up the cushion and sat up, speaking seriously.
"I think I might not be ready yet."
"Ready to get married?"
"Probably, unlike that bastard Serey, I’m very faithful. When I think that my life is no longer my own but will be fully shared with another person, and I will also have to bear part of her... I’m not saying I’m afraid of bearing responsibility, but if I fail, then what?
Love is fun, but marriage is responsibility."
Palr mumbled to himself, "I barely crossed that hurdle, thinking I could face Vasilina, but after crossing it, the more profound connection is giving a headache."
"Indeed, since your connection with Vasilina is already so close, there’s no other direction but marriage." Bologue nodded, earnestly gathering sample data.
"By the way, what are you always writing?" Palr asked.
"Things you might find offensive; I suggest you don’t ask further." Bologue’s expression remained unchanged.
Palr sighed deeply and lay back down.
"Suddenly feels like growing up."
"Palr, you’ve been grown up for many years."
"I an ntally, from a boy to a man."
"It’s okay; your current ntal state seems to still be that of a boy. To transform into a man like Fuen, you have a long way to go."
"Or maybe not such a long way; perhaps a marriage is enough."
"Being tad into a real man?"
"Tad, tad, that word sounds so weird. It sounds like I’m a wild dog running freely," Palr lowered his voice, "then bound by a warm little nest."
"I saw that saying in a book," Bologue recalled, "I really liked that book."
Bologue continued, "You’re a wild dog, one day you t soone, fell in love with her, felt you couldn’t leave her. To be with her, you choose to give up your freedom, wear the shackles nad her, and travel alongside her."
"Sounds awful."
"It’s not awful. The dog’s freedom isn’t truly lost; he chose willingly to wear the shackles, expressing his commitnt and dedication to love, like a signature on a contract."
Palr gazed at the ceiling, sowhat lost in thought. Bologue knew, continuing to talk about such things with this boy is aningless; he’s still in a state of love, unprepared for marriage. Rather than pressuring his mind with future concerns, it’s better to help him resolve more imdiate issues.
Bologue scooted closer, "Vasilina will co sooner or later, right?"
"Correct, although she says she wants to die, I’m already helping her look for a house, letting her live closer to , or simply moving into the Cultivation Room. As for work arrangents, it depends on the Decision Room."
Bologue knew well, Palr is soone who likes to complain, but when it cos to actual situations, he is reliable.
"I can actually move out," Bologue looked around the living room, "or you could move out, but that might be more troubleso for you."
"Ha?" Palr’s voice rose, "We’re partners!"
"Adding one more roommate?" Bologue asked, "Then we might need a bigger place."
Palr sank completely, seemingly not wanting to discuss anything related to Vasilina for the mont. Understandably—over the years, he and Vasilina maintained a distance that suddenly closing might make him panic.
"I might be afraid of turning into my dad." Palr said in a low voice.
Palr was used to freedom, finding it hard to imagine becoming Fuen, soone entirely different.
"Why not talk about work, what’s the situation with the Night Race?" Palr asked.
"Not great; we kill one whenever one appears, kill two if two appear," through long-term hunting, Bologue had beco proficient at killing these bloodthirsty monsters, "Among the Undead I’ve faced, the Night Race is relatively easy to kill; with Silverware and sunlight, their undead traits are significantly curbed."
"Is our next task to continue hunting the Night Race?"
Bologue said, "No, according to Lebius, the Decision Room might want us to handle the Great Rift problem."
Palr was well aware of the issues lurking in the Great Rift; his expression instantly crumbled—the dying light, the ruins of the Holy City close to complete extinction, and the Calamity soon to break through the seal...
"It’s really a headache, I’m just a Prayer Believer."
Once upon a ti, the Tier of Prayer Believers could handle many challenges, but as the situation evolved, throwing Palr into any event randomly didn’t seem like he had the chance to survive.
Only hope for his luck to intervene.
"Regarding the Great Rift, we don’t need to concern ourselves; the Decision Room is preparing, and we just need to execute," Bologue said, "I’m still very concerned about the Night Race matters; I plan to visit Serey next."
"You might need to wait until tomorrow." Palr said.
"Why?"
"Haven’t you heard? Serey is sleeping, but not a long-term kind of sleep, literally sleeping," Palr explained Serey’s recent status to Bologue, "he goes out drinking at night, then cos back to sleep, thus signaling to everyone ’this has nothing to do with .’"
Palr checked the ti, "Which ans Serey is sleeping now, and unless he sleeps enough, no one can wake him up, not to ntion the endless corridors within the Undying Club, if he doesn’t voluntarily co out, few can reach his room."
"I also believe this isn’t Serey’s matter," Bologue said, "the Undying Club has its own rules, like completely detaching from the mortal world."
Palr said, "But as the Night Race Lord, he must know sothing."
"Yes, I have to find a way to pry sothing from his mouth."
"But he is Serey, not to ntion whether you can beat him, are you sure an interrogation will work?" Palr mimicked a choking gesture.
"Why fight him?" Bologue was puzzled.
"What else? Do you have other interrogation thods besides violent coercion?"
Palr never denied that Bologue is a master at turning violence into art, but he thought this master was sowhat overly reliant on that path.
Bologue’s thoughts froze for a mont; he also realized, if he directly asks, Serey would surely keep silent. Using violence? In that case, it’s uncertain who’ll exercise violence on whom; though Serey might be an old guy, he’s still a Night Race Lord, who knows what kind of power he possesses.
A figure nearly forgotten by Bologue suddenly appeared before his eyes. Bologue instinctively felt this person might be the key to open Serey.
"Do you rember the event before the ti axis disorder, the raid on Gray Trade Association’s transaction?" Bologue asked.
"Of course I rember." Palr nodded, that counted as his first experience in a large operation.
With Bologue’s reminder, a similar figure surfaced in Palr’s nearly forgotten mories.
"You encountered too?" Palr hesitated.
Bologue said, "Certainly, I regarded it as a coincidence, but it seems like this might indeed be the key to the problem."
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