Chapter 224
“…You’re saying you’ll send back?”
“Yes, of course.”
“…….”
Did I hear that wrong? I stared blankly at him, then glanced at the poster.
This stalker just said he’d send straight back ho.
No drawing my blood, no torture, no confinent. He didn’t make unreasonable demands or try to turn into a Pleroma. Not that I ever wished for any of that. But still…
‘Asking for a bare-handed handshake, stealing everything in the house, sending a thousand notes—that’s not the attitude you’d expect, is it?’
I had braced myself for the worst treatnt, like with Abraham, and even prepared to beco a blood supply, like with Asman.
Yet, I could be ho by 5 a.m.
Is that the ti when an escape opportunity arises? No, the enemy himself said he’d personally escort ho.
I was at a loss for words; this kind of treatnt was a first. Never had I t soone with such a stark contrast before and after eting them, leaving utterly speechless.
Reading sothing in my expression, he said in a bright voice,
“You want to stay with longer, don’t you!”
“No? Wake up from that dream.”
“Got it.”
I slowly looked into his blue eyes.
This is *that* guy? The one I swore I’d punch if we t—though, given his skill, neither of us landed a single effective hit earlier—and vowed to send to prison. Ironically, of all the enemies I’d faced, he was treating the most humanely.
Of course, that doesn’t erase his cris. If I see no way to use him, I’ll deal with him as originally planned.
But I just couldn’t understand.
“Why are you treating like this?”
It was a small question, almost a mutter to myself.
He blinked, seemingly caught off guard by my question.
“Then how should I treat you?”
“…….”
Well, yeah.
This makes feel like the crazy one.
I shook my head, about to wave him off, when he suddenly hardened his expression, stepped in front of , and said,
“I even sang for you. Don’t you know the title? You’re the one I love the most~ That’s the one.”
“…….”
“I sent you tons of notes, didn’t I? Said I wanted to hold your hand, didn’t I? Said I wanted to mix your magic power with mine, didn’t I? Said I wanted to have the sa eye color as you, didn’t I? I clearly said it’d be great if you could use my magic power too, didn’t I?”
His words pierced my ears rapidly, giving chills.
This guy’s definitely insane. His words made my earlier confusion seem laughable, leaving dumbfounded.
He grabbed my arm tightly, his voice growing increasingly sinister.
“From the start, I’ve always said I like you. What have you been hearing all this ti?”
At that mont, the other Pleromas in the room froze, staring at him with shocked eyes. He began emitting a Vitriol close to murderous intent.
Of course, it doesn’t make sense. To think he sent those with genuinely positive intentions?
Thanks for confirming once again that you’re a lunatic.
I looked at him with disdain and turned away.
Then he hurriedly ran up behind and grabbed my arm.
“Ah, sorry. Sorry… Where are you going when you don’t even know the layout here?”
I’d taken on the role of the weaker party, so why did it feel like *he* was the one groveling? Anyway, since the drug’s effects were kicking in, I looked at his face and sighed.
‘Fine.’
It was as I’d thought earlier. Not in the direction I expected, but I should consider this a fortunate turn.
There were still many unanswered questions, and until I figured out the location of his artifact or any connections he had with others, I had no intention of letting this opportunity slip.
It’d be great if he kept being this mild-mannered until then. I pulled out my pocket watch, opened it, and looked at him again.
“…So I have to stay with you until five, right? Where to next?”
“…!”
Blinking, he grasped my aning and opened his mouth wide.
* * *
I grimaced at the fork thrust in front of .
Leaning back, I shifted my gaze from the piece of at he was offering and took a sip of my drink.
“Let’s just go our separate ways.”
“To describe rely eating together like that…”
Is it really necessary to interrupt just to eat?
We were currently in a restaurant in the Pleroma world. The soft sound of an orchestra played in the background, and countless round tables covered with white tablecloths filled the space—a place frequented by the upper class of this era.
And yet, this guy was shalessly trying to feed directly in such a setting.
I set down my glass, smiled, and asked,
“You’ve never been in a relationship, have you?”
“No.”
“Thought so.”
“Oh~ How’d you know?”
“How could I not, when you’re acting like you’re trying to check off bucket list items 1 through 200 right here? Pace yourself.”
He rolled his eyes, perhaps feeling a bit guilty, and nodded. He didn’t know what a bucket list was but seed to grasp it intuitively.
I clicked my tongue softly and continued eating.
I was always the one pursuing others, so seeing soone try to pursue was… novel.
The problem was that while my heart raced, my mind was ice-cold.
It was similar to the chill I felt facing the Crown Prince. The fact that he was soone I had to deal with didn’t change.
Abraham was the type to leave on his own if you waited, occasionally moving in ways that benefited , so I could let that slide. But this guy still had too many unknowns, which made it worse.
Of course, compared to Abraham, his cris weren’t as heinous. Did he beat until I passed out? Hamr my hands? Pull out my fingernails? Dunk my head in water?
“…….”
He didn’t do any of that…
My vision was getting hazy. Thinking that far, I frowned slightly.
Sothing felt off from earlier. It was as if my standards had sohow warped, and that feeling wouldn’t go away.
Just then, the stalker snapped his fingers in front of .
“What’s wrong?”
“What do you an?”
“You’re not doing anything.”
He pointed at my knife and fork.
I shrugged and put a piece of at in my mouth.
Glancing around, the stalker whispered,
“Lots of people here, huh.”
“Yeah.”
“Wish there was a quieter place… Too bad this is the only spot for us.”
The Pleroma world shouldn’t be *that* small, so why was this the only place?
To gather information, I asked,
“Speaking of which, I rember there were quite a few opera schedules earlier. What’s up with that? It’s unusual to hold so many performances across multiple theaters.”
In an era where reviews of plays and operas by renowned playwrights and singers appeared in the next day’s papers, and salons and clubs buzzed with critiques, the arts were popular. But even so, that packed performance schedule was surprising.
In short, it was odd enough to warrant a closer look.
“Oh, we hold them more often than outside. Not always, though, and not in every region.”
He took a sip of wine, smiled, and continued,
“This area is the eting hub of our world. One day here is one hour outside. At least, for now.”
“…….”
“When ti stretches like this, we perform more, play more. You never know when it’ll change again.”
He looked at with expectant eyes, so I averted my gaze and thought,
‘He’s spilling this much even knowing I’m Nicolaus.’
Nicolaus is currently Pleroma’s top target. I couldn’t even guess how much my head was worth.
Yet, blinded by love, he didn’t care about that? Or maybe because I wasn’t in Nicolaus’s form, it didn’t fully register?
Whatever the case, thanks for the info.
As Strauch and Catacom had indicated, this was evidence of cracks in their world. For one day here to equal one hour outside—ti was flowing that slowly.
‘Nothing’s improved since last year.’
Their world was in bad shape, which explained why they were so desperately causing chaos outside.
Separately, it was a problematic situation, yet the people here were enjoying themselves just fine.
“Why’s there such a ti difference?”
“Our power is lacking. But it’ll be resolved soon.”
“Resolved?”
He smiled at my question.
He stabbed a piece of at with his fork. Blood pooled on the plate.
“…Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Behold, I will send my ssenger, and he shall prepare the way before , and the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly co to his temple, even the ssenger of the covenant whom you delight in.”
“…….”
“It’s a revelation given to our world. The Lord who will co anew in the new era will save our world.”
A passage from Malachi.
I almost let out a hollow laugh but smiled and asked,
“The ssenger of the covenant you’re waiting for will arrive here soon… Based on what? ‘The Lord who will co anew in the new era’? That the ssiah will soon co and save all who are loyal to your cult? You know that’s the kind of talk any cult, regardless of religion, loves to spout, right?”
“It’s understandable to see it that way. We’ve been branded heretics, after all.”
He didn’t seem bothered by terms like “heretic,” his blue eyes gleaming as he spoke.
“The Vatican is wrong. The ssenger of the covenant we’ve awaited has already arrived, so the Lord we seek will soon co to His temple.”
“…….”
He’s already here?
His unshakable faith and absurd words left dizzy.
Fine. What did I expect from people who twist scripture to justify killing and blood-draining?
The al continued more quietly than expected.
When the cognac digestif was placed before , I asked the guy, who was now pondering what to do next for fun,
“What’s your rank?”
He must hold so position, like a bishop or monsignor, in so diocese.
Caught off guard by the sudden question, he hesitated, then smiled and said,
“I’ll tell you later.”
‘Probably a bishop.’
I just smiled.
Tell later? Who’s he taking for a fool?
He’s too strong to subdue alone. He’s around Ainsidel’s level, isn’t he?
eting guys like this repeatedly feels strange. Is the era of dealing with small fry over?
After the al, he dragged to a café by the river.
It was called a café, but it was actually an outdoor ballroom with light refreshnts, a place frequented by slightly affluent commoners. That’s why neither Luca nor I had ever set foot in one.
Still, as soone not from this era, I didn’t feel any aversion. Instead…
“We should’ve co here before eating.”
Dancing right after a al?
I let out a hollow laugh, and he grinned back.
“The mood was too stiff~ I thought dancing together might loosen things up, but I figured I’d end up choking before the al if we did that. A bit of liquor seed better to warm things up.”
Just then, the song ended, and a new one began.
He extended his hand.
“Wanna dance?”
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