How much time had passed?
The fact that just hearing his voice made my emotions flutter like some cheap trick was clear proof I hadn't taken the antidote.
Moreover, I felt inexplicably drained.
It was a familiar sensation. The magic-suppressing restraints placed on me when I was bound with Elias gave exactly this feeling.
"That's too much."
I muttered, staring at the ceiling.
I only managed to break free when dealing with Kaufman, and now they've brought out the same thing, just with different materials.
Someone answered from a place outside my line of sight.
"Compared to deceiving someone all this time, disguising your true intentions and following them around, which side do you think is more excessive?"
"Let's call them both formidable. More importantly..."
I turned my head to look at Geldar.
"Your abilities are better than I thought. I hadn't heard you could directly use mental manipulation magic."
"Shouldn't I have at least one weapon of my own?"
So he was hiding it?
I definitely don't regret using the drug on my emotions to break down his guard.
I'd thought before that he smelled like a kindred spirit, and seeing this now, I seemed to be right.
'First, I need to think properly.'
Like Strauch, everyone seems generous in this regard—they don't immobilize your limbs.
But the strange thing to note is that Geldar Asman is at least 15cm shorter than me.
'He must have something to rely on.'
Is he planning to keep using that ability from earlier?
If he uses it before throwing a punch, it's true there'd be no fight—I'd just keep sleeping.
'The exit...'
It'll be a miracle if I don't fall asleep before even reaching the exit.
And without Geldar Asman's pendant, even if I open the door, our world won't unfold.
Then, Geldar's expression finally came into view.
His complexion was frighteningly dark. His standing posture seemed half-dazed.
Meeting my eyes, Geldar asked in a cool voice.
"Since when?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"The Vettelsbach drug."
Now I understood clearly why Geldar looked more shocked than before.
There was no need to make the person who had deliberately taken the drug and met me more miserable by saying it out loud.
"..."
"Fine, you don't have to answer. It's meaningless now. What could I possibly expect after you used me to try to kill Mr. Kaufman?"
Even if I said it was unavoidable, it wouldn't be convincing to Geldar Asman. I don't expect understanding from the person I used either.
Geldar Asman Favorability +9
*'...Why did his favorability rise this much?'
Clearly, until just before the flu, wasn't I just an amusing distraction for Asman?
Or did I misjudge from the very beginning?
'...How nice would it be if a trait kicked in here and made it +6.'
Anyway, to get out of this, it's quicker to play along with the other person's mood.
Holding my throbbing head, I let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize."
Geldar cut me off.
"..."
I can guess why he says not to.
Just as the 25-year-old Geldar Asman was a convenient, two-dimensional villain for me to eliminate, for Geldar Asman, I need to be a thorough fraud for him to attack me easily.
And, if I apologize, it would be admitting with my own mouth that I used him.
'First, placate him.'
That way, even if he feeds me a negative emotion-inducing drug, the process might be unpleasant, but the result could be peace.
I opened my mouth.
"...Regardless of how it started, my feelings weren't false. If it were you, Asman, you'd know exactly what state I'm in right now."
"They might not be false, but they are fake. What else are feelings that appear with one potion and disappear with another, if not fake?"
Geldar shook a bottle containing a transparent liquid.
'...'
The antidote.
I definitely put it in my inner jacket pocket. It seems he took everything I had while blocking my magic. Looking again, my jacket is gone too.
I didn't react, and Geldar immediately opened the cap and overturned the bottle.
Splash—
"..."
"Sorry. I can't give it to you."
Geldar stood up and wiped the moisture away with his shoe.
Geldar sat down beside me again.
In the continuing silence, I turned my head to look at my body. I saw a hemostatic tape on my arm.
Before I could ask, the other person spoke.
"It was quite effective. I didn't want to drink until Mr. Vaitchel was ready... but, well, I already know everything, so I'll skip saying I'm sorry. Is that okay?"
"No. Drinking blood in a church is beyond common sense."
Of course, I didn't mention that doing it anywhere is beyond common sense. Because he should already know that without me saying it.
I expected some retort about my actions being even more beyond common sense, but Asman surprisingly asked calmly.
"Is that so?"
"..."
"Before the revival, I think I thought that way too. No, come to think of it, the very idea of drinking human blood... it wasn't even an option in my thoughts. It's a story from fairy tales or folklore."
He knows well.
More than that, has his ideological education unraveled? Why is he thinking so sanely?
"You think Pleroma is a crazy cult, right?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Vaitchel isn't part of Pleroma. You never received preliminary believer training either. You came to stop Pleroma's plan through me. Right?"
"Exactly."
I didn't say sorry as Asman wished.
From the start, regarding stopping Pleroma's plan, I was absolutely not sorry.
"I thought it was sincere."
"..."
"That's why I answered your questions without suspicion."
I know.
I know what he must be feeling now.
I knew what means I chose, and I knew it would lead to this result.
"When I was reborn, I found I had nothing left. One day I opened my eyes and I had moved 40 years into the future. In fact, I'm someone who died and came back to life, right?"
Telling his own story in this situation...
It will only make both our hearts uncomfortable.
Still, I listened quietly for now. I didn't want to incur more resentment here.
"In a world where I was left alone, I thought I'd found someone I could believe in, but it seems I made the wrong choice from the start."
I had nothing to say to that.
Persuade him that this was the best method to stop a crime?
'That would go over really well.'
Even so, I don't regret it.
Even if I went back, I'd make the same choice.
To me, Geldar Asman's life is more important than his feelings. That fact doesn't change even if I took the drug.
"Well, Mr. Vaitchel might not care about the circumstances of a child kidnapper... I'd probably be the same. I understand that you were trying to stop Pleroma's plan."
"Now you understand?"
He should have thought that before kidnapping people.
But, at the same time, I wondered why Geldar Asman had been speaking so 'normally' all along.
"Earlier, after the connection with Mr. Kaufman was severed, I could feel something was rolling strangely. I remember wanting something and bringing the children because of it, but I can't recall what I wanted. In that situation, how could I continue to believe in Pleroma?"
"Since the topic came up, let me say this: send them back right now, before things get bigger."
"I already sent everyone back to where they were."
My tension drained away.
He sent them back that easily?
Is this a joke?
'No... of course it's a welcome thing.'
Perhaps sensing my bewilderment, Geldar smiled faintly.
"You were by my side to stop my actions, right?"
"...Yes."
"My head is still a mess about what's what, but I clearly know one of your goals. So... what if I no longer stand on that side?"
Geldar Asman took my hand and clasped it, just as I usually did.
"So, what do you think? Will your thoughts change a little? Or am I still just a means and a target?"
"..."
So... to see my reaction, he sent them back because of me.
Thinking that if he removed the cause that used him as a tool, I might see him properly?
He feels confused by Pleroma's brainwashing, but he hasn't fully returned yet.
"No."
"...Then."
"Even so, it's true we can't continue a relationship. I'm sorry. It was my fault for thinking too simplistically."
I admit it.
I was too focused on the goal and ran straight for it, without deeply considering the feelings of the person involved.
It was an unavoidable situation, but it's natural for the other person to feel deep betrayal.
Geldar Asman shrugged as if he expected this. Then, with a cold face, he opened his mouth.
"That's too bad. Sorry, but I need blood."
Look at him, finally showing his true colors.
I similarly removed emotion from my voice.
"If you're thinking of returning to society, you should withdraw from such activities."
"No."
Geldar continued with a cold face.
"Even if I wanted to go back, I probably can't."
With those words, my consciousness cut off again.
* * *
'Really... how absurd.'
Should I consider Strauch a gentleman since he didn't drink blood?
A day passed in this place's time, and now I'm seeing stars.
This body already has no stamina; if you're going to do this, you might as well wring me dry.
During this time, I tried using force just in case, but failed repeatedly. Whether he grew stronger from drinking my blood or not, his skills keep improving.
I also tried using Retry, but it wouldn't even activate.
That makes sense. To rewind so this doesn't happen, I'd have to go back two weeks and not meet Geldar Asman...
I shook my left arm, which had turned blue, and opened my mouth.
"Stop and let's negotiate."
"Speak. I'll listen once."
"If I get out, I'll draw blood for you every day. As long as you respect the recovery period, you can decide the amount."
"Based on what trust?"
"Don't you trust me?"
Geldar burst out laughing.
"I trust you."
Then he immediately continued.
"That is, if all the trust you've shown so far wasn't entirely fabricated by drugs. Of course, I think it worked out well. Since you've already taken drugs targeting me several times, you probably won't feel repulsed even if you take more."
"Scary words."
From what I understand now, it seems he's saying he'll draw blood while feeding me drugs.
Geldar sat in front of me holding an unfamiliar medicine bottle.
"You must be tired, so let's take it easy."
"What stage?"
I asked, looking at the bottle he held.
"If you know so well, you know it'll hurt, right?"
"What now?"
"Double the 10th stage. Have you ever taken it?"
No way. If I took that, it would be the absolute end.
I checked my status window.
Six hours had passed in real time.
'Leo and Elias...'
They must be unable to find the location to destroy the coordinates. Narké too, probably.
What to do.
To execute the strategy, I need to release my magic first.
I looked down at the floor, lost in thought.
'A method...'
There is one. The risk is big, but... it's about time to go home.
It's just fortunate he brought the perfect ingredients.
I raised my head and opened my mouth.
"...Fine, give it to me."
—-----------
T/N:
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