"Kevin, what are you thinking about?"
On the rooftop, Su glanced at Phainon, who was lying on the railing and staring at Kevin's back. He could tell Kevin had been reminded of those old school days.
They really were days worth remembering.
"Nothing."
Kevin shook his head.
Phainon was Phainon, and Kevin was just Kevin. The three of them were not the same person.
"You look a lot like you did back when you were in school," Su said with a smile.
Kevin could no longer show that kind of smile. Things had changed; people had changed. At most, when he looked at Phainon, he could see faint traces of his younger self.
"The cruelty of reality is destined to grind innocence away," Kevin said, shaking his head again.
If you want to save the world, how could you possibly keep smiling the whole way through? You're bound to keep losing things. It's a journey built on constant loss.
Su glanced at Koji. The real Kevin had been through far more than his memory self. It was already nearly impossible for him to go back to who he used to be.
"Come on. Didn't Koji say he was going to tell us the truth about this world?" Kevin looked toward Koji's receding figure.
…
"I'm that Fire-Stealing Wanderer?"
"That's impossible…"
When Phainon learned Khaslana's true identity, it felt as if a hammer had slammed into his heart, nearly stopping it altogether.
He didn't dare believe it. If Khaslana really was him, then Aedes Elysiae had been destroyed by his hand, and Cyrene had been killed by him too.
If that was true, it would mean fate had played the cruelest joke on him—an enormous, absurd joke.
"Little White…"
Tribbie anxiously watched the dazed Phainon. She understood how he felt. Anyone faced with something like this would crumble. That kind of truth was simply too heavy.
"Oi, Savior, you're going to let something like this knock you flat?" Mydei slapped Phainon hard on the shoulder and spoke heavily.
"I'm fine, it's just…"
Phainon looked up, forcing out a bitter, twisted smile.
He really didn't want to accept it. The executioner turned out to be him—or rather, another version of him from a different timeline.
"Phainon, those were sacrifices he was forced to make," Cyrene sighed softly.
If there had been any other choice, who would willingly keep doing something that tormented them like that, again and again?
"Hahaha, how interesting. So this is Amphoreus's so-called ultimate truth?"
Anaxa covered his face and let out an unrestrained laugh.
"Shut up, Anaxa. Your laugh is grating," Aglaea frowned.
"Aglaea, don't call me Anaxa. And I don't take orders from you," Anaxa replied coolly, his tone as barbed as hers.
"I heard the previous Titans of Romance and Reason were lovers. What about this generation?"
Elysia turned and asked Castorice with bright, curious eyes.
"Uh… that's… a bit complicated…"
Castorice scratched her head, clearly unsure how to explain.
"Elysia-sama, please don't stand so close. If you get near me, it will…"
Elysia simply took Castorice's hand.
Death's power?
She could let it go argue with the Authority of Origin.
The tips of Castorice's long ears flushed red. She had never really touched other people before, and she had absolutely no idea how to deal with this kind of situation.
But Elysia's hand felt so warm. She found herself instinctively craving that warmth.
Koji glanced over.
The Elysian girl squad was going all out again.
"Castorice, there's something I've been dying to know. Can you tell me?" Koji looked at her with a face full of "pure intellectual curiosity."
"Please go ahead, Koji-sama," Castorice said softly.
"Any living thing that gets too close to you dies, right?"
"Yes."
"So if microbes and bacteria get close to you… they die too?"
"They should."
"In that case, Castorice… your feet never smell, do they?"
"Eh?"
The last question stunned Castorice. Her face turned red at a speed that could almost be seen with the naked eye.
What kind of question was that? It was way too embarrassing.
"When the feet sweat, the bacteria on the skin's surface break down the organic compounds in the sweat and produce smelly substances," Mobius said with total seriousness.
"If the bacteria all die, then you really wouldn't get foot odor."
"Mobius, this is really not the time for a science lecture," Vill-V complained.
Castorice felt like she was going to faint. What on earth were they even talking about anymore?
Tribbie and the others twitched at the corners of their mouths. What a… uniquely flavored question.
Still, it was the first time they'd realized Castorice's jade-like feet couldn't possibly smell. They couldn't help imagining that they must be fragrant instead.
You couldn't blame them. Those kinds of thoughts just forced their way in.
"Koji-sama, please don't ask that kind of question," Castorice said, trying to stay calm, but her bright red face gave her away completely.
She hadn't thought about it before, but now that he'd brought it up, she realized that, yes—her feet really didn't smell.
This was mortifying. The sheer social-death level of it all made her want to curl up and dig a hole in the ground.
Elysia, though, was genuinely curious whether they really had no smell.
Her own feet didn't smell either.
As a Herrscher, she could suppress the Honkai energy in her body, but that energy was still enough to kill the bacteria on her skin.
"Elysia-sama, what are you staring at?"
Castorice felt Elysia's gaze drop to her feet, making her even more uncomfortable.
"Ahem, nothing," Elysia coughed, pretending nothing had happened. There would be other chances—no need to rush.
Eden shook her head helplessly.
She knew Elysia too well. Once Elysia's curiosity was piqued, who knew what she might decide to do. It wouldn't even be surprising if she tried personally smelling Castorice's feet someday.
"Castorice, do you want a hug?" Elysia asked with a smile.
Castorice froze for a moment, clearly tempted. Could she really hug someone else?
Just as she was hesitating, Elysia wrapped her in her arms, their two pointed pairs of ears brushing lightly together.
So warm…
Castorice closed her eyes. This was the embrace she had been longing for, and for the first time in her life, she was truly feeling it.
Koji covered his face.
As expected of you, Elysia. You're the real expert here.
"Why isn't Death's power doing anything?" Anaxa asked in confusion.
Even half-god Goldenborn could only endure death's divine power for a short while; staying in contact with it for too long would make them extremely uncomfortable. But judging by Elysia's expression, she was clearly enjoying herself.
"Elysia's own Authority completely crushes Castorice's power," Koji said.
The origin of the Herrscher of Origin was extremely mysterious—she might have come straight from the Imaginary Tree itself.
The Twelve Titans' Authorities, the so-called Emperor's Scepters, existed precisely to imitate that kind of power. How could they possibly compare to Elysia?
If Elysia really wanted to become an Aeon, it would be child's play. She was a daughter of the gods. They didn't know which god, but whoever it was definitely wasn't weaker than an Aeon.
"Thank you," Castorice whispered as she let go of Elysia.
Being able to hug someone like that, without killing them, filled her with wild joy.
"Heehee, Castorice is really comfy to hug. If you ever feel like hugging someone again, Elysia is available anytime, okay?" Elysia laughed.
Castorice nodded gently. Mobius shook her head. That pure, naïve girl had clearly fallen right into Elysia's trap.
Koji wanted to say: anyone who can write so many wildly explicit novels is absolutely not a pure, dumb airhead.
(End of Chapter)
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