Chapter 224

“…You’re saying you’ll send me 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 me straight back home.

No drawing my blood, no torture, no confinement. He didn’t make unreasonable demands or try to turn me 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 treatment, like with Abraham, and even prepared to become a blood supply, like with Asman.

Yet, I could be home by 5 a.m.

Is that the time when an escape opportunity arises? No, the enemy himself said he’d personally escort me home.

I was at a loss for words; this kind of treatment was a first. Never had I met someone with such a stark contrast before and after meeting them, leaving me utterly speechless.

Reading something in my expression, he said in a bright voice,

“You want to stay with me 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 met—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 me the most humanely.

Of course, that doesn’t erase his crimes. 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 me 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 me feel like the crazy one.

I shook my head, about to wave him off, when he suddenly hardened his expression, stepped in front of me, 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 same 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 me chills.

This guy’s definitely insane. His words made my earlier confusion seem laughable, leaving me 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 time?”

At that moment, 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 me 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 meaning and opened his mouth wide.

*  *  *

I grimaced at the fork thrust in front of me.

Leaning back, I shifted my gaze from the piece of meat he was offering and took a sip of my drink.

“Let’s just go our separate ways.”

“To describe merely 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 shamelessly trying to feed me 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 seemed to grasp it intuitively.

I clicked my tongue softly and continued eating.

I was always the one pursuing others, so seeing someone try to pursue me 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 someone 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 me, so I could let that slide. But this guy still had too many unknowns, which made it worse.

Of course, compared to Abraham, his crimes weren’t as heinous. Did he beat me until I passed out? Hammer 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.

Something felt off from earlier. It was as if my standards had somehow warped, and that feeling wouldn’t go away.

Just then, the stalker snapped his fingers in front of me.

“What’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not doing anything.”

He pointed at my knife and fork.

I shrugged and put a piece of meat 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 remember 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 meeting hub of our world. One day here is one hour outside. At least, for now.”

“…….”

“When time stretches like this, we perform more, play more. You never know when it’ll change again.”

He looked at me 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—time 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 time difference?”

“Our power is lacking. But it’ll be resolved soon.”

“Resolved?”

He smiled at my question.

He stabbed a piece of meat with his fork. Blood pooled on the plate.

“…Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant whom you delight in.”

“…….”

“It’s a revelation given to our world. The Lord who will come 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 messenger of the covenant you’re waiting for will arrive here soon… Based on what? ‘The Lord who will come anew in the new era’? That the Messiah will soon come 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 messenger of the covenant we’ve awaited has already arrived, so the Lord we seek will soon come to His temple.”

“…….”

He’s already here?

His unshakable faith and absurd words left me dizzy.

Fine. What did I expect from people who twist scripture to justify killing and blood-draining?

The meal continued more quietly than expected.

When the cognac digestif was placed before me, I asked the guy, who was now pondering what to do next for fun,

“What’s your rank?”

He must hold some position, like a bishop or monsignor, in some 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 me later? Who’s he taking for a fool?

He’s too strong to subdue alone. He’s around Ainsidel’s level, isn’t he?

Meeting guys like this repeatedly feels strange. Is the era of dealing with small fry over?

After the meal, he dragged me to a café by the river.

It was called a café, but it was actually an outdoor ballroom with light refreshments, a place frequented by slightly affluent commoners. That’s why neither Luca nor I had ever set foot in one.

Still, as someone not from this era, I didn’t feel any aversion. Instead…

“We should’ve come here before eating.”

Dancing right after a meal?

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 meal if we did that. A bit of liquor seemed 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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