"Isn’t that enough?"
Outside the academy at a dessert shop downtown, Findenai was eating cake using a fork before she beca extrely annoyed and just picked it up with her hand. When I asked her this, she responded flatly.
"Well, I guess it's not as good as I thought, huh?"
Findenai possessed nurous talents.
Aside from her combat ability, she also excelled in leadership, possessing the charisma capable of commanding a revolutionary army.
Furthermore, her beast-like senses were sothing that could only be called a talent.
However, personally, I suspected that her greatest talent lay in her ability to get on my nerves.
"Do you know how many slices of cake you just stuffed into your mouth?"
"Of course, I don't know."
"Look at the number of plates next to you."
There were stacks of plates piled high.
I gazed at Findenai, who brought to mind a scene I could only have witnessed in a sushi conveyor belt restaurant in the past. She then took a bite of the chocolate cake that was in her hand before responding to my statent.
"Tsk, I think grilled at suits better."
"Huff, alright; it was my fault to expect common sense from a wolf."
As I sighed and rose from my seat, Findenai followed suit while smacking her lips.
After paying an amount that could hardly be considered the price for a al, we left with so take-out cakes, and Findenai giggled for no apparent reason.
No longer wanting to be swept along by her, I decided to change the subject.
"Honestly, I was surprised. I did not know you would choose to eat dessert."
"Huh? Actually, I didn't really want to."
Thud.
As I stopped in my tracks and stared at Findenai, she also stared back at patiently.
Given her sour mood after I requested her to leave alone in Marias Great Forest, I sought to appease her by asking what she wanted, to which she demanded dessert.
And now she said she actually didn’t really want to eat it?
Did she know how much money I just spent on her? If Deia found out, she would have imdiately thrown anything she could get her hands on at and called a crazy bastard.
"I just felt this was the most efficient way to empty your pocket, Master Bastard."
"..."
"Nevertheless, wow, Master Bastard, you really did spend that much on . I feel touched now. Should I do sothing for you in return?"
Findenai elbowed my side teasingly.
Yeah, she was actually this kind of woman from the start.
No, maybe I should just see her as a beast instead of a woman.
"Alright, let ask you to do one thing."
"Oh? What is it? Are you feeling pent-up? Do you need to help you out?"
"Just shut that mouth of yours for a bit."
When I spoke through my clenched teeth, Findenai imdiately pretended to zip her mouth shut.
I felt slightly relieved once she quieted down.
After stopping by the hotel where Illuania was staying at, to deliver the cakes, I headed back to the lab.
"Wow! Thank you!"
"I-isn’t this pâtisserie really expensive?"
[...It looks delicious.]
After also sharing the dessert with Owen and Professor Fel, I grabbed the remaining cake.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"I want to give this to soone. Also, did I not tell you to keep your mouth shut?"
"Shit, what a fucking narrow-minded jerk."
"..."
"Ah, right! I’m sorry! Should I put a gag in my mouth? I heard that's your thing."
I ignored Findenai's words and stepped out of the lab. My destination was Erica's lab.
Of course, I didn’t co here without reason; I had sothing to ask her.
After knocking, I stepped inside, causing Erica, who was working, to flinch slightly.
I cleared my throat and signaled the surrounding assistants, and they quickly abandoned their tasks and imdiately left.
"Excuse us."
"Have a good ti."
"We'll be back when called."
Although there was a strange consideration in each of their words as they left, I paid no heed to it.
"Ahem, what brings you here?"
Erica casually asked, pretending not to have heard the words of her assistants.
I held out the small box that contained the cake towards her desk.
"It is nothing. I just bought this."
"Oh, for ?"
"...Is there anyone else here other than you?"
Erica was surprised; she didn’t expect to bring her sothing like this out of the blue. However, she smiled softly and accepted it.
"Thank you."
Suddenly, a brief silence filled the room.
Since there was no need to waste ti, I got straight to the point.
"I heard that you have so dispute with the Bright Household."
"...Uh, uhm."
Seeing Erica awkwardly scratching her cheek before nodding, perhaps I got too straight to the point.
"When I told them I wouldn't marry Gideon, they imdiately kicked out of the household. But it's alright, I'm old enough to stand on my own, aren't I?"
Erica shrugged nonchalantly in response. Truthfully, she was indeed leading a more confident and independent life now than before.
This was the Erica Bright I knew; with her back straight alongside a confident gaze, a truly beautiful woman.
"However, their stance must have changed after the fall of the Zeronia Household, right?"
"..."
The financial blow the Zeronia Household suffered from after having to erect the morial monunt, as well as making donations to repent for the massacre of the Setima residents committed by them. On top of that, they also had to join the front lines against the Marias tribe, which had declared war in the na of Setima.
I heard that even before I arrived, the soldiers of the Zeronia Household had nearly been wiped out, and Gideon Zeronia was hospitalized due to injuries.
"That's right. Because of that, my household has been trying to take back. I received a letter a few days ago."
Erica opened a drawer and took out a letter with the insignia of the Bright Household.
"But it's not because they genuinely need ."
She was initially only seen as a daughter to be used for political gain. Therefore, this was not because they felt gratitude towards her for preventing the irreversible mistake of marrying her into the Zeronia Household.
"It’s more like because right now, I am engaged with you, no, to be precise, it is because they need you."
My position as the Soul Whisperer had beco even more solidified through this war. So, in short, the Bright Household sought to ride on the coattails of the Soul Whisperer.
“I see.”
Knowing this was coming, I responded calmly.
"Set a ti, let us go together."
"...Huh?"
Erica had a puzzled expression as she couldn't understand what I was saying. For her sake, I explained it once again.
"Let us go to the Bright Household together. I also need sothing from them."
“N-no, wait. Huh? Really?"
"But if it is just the two of us, it would raise suspicions, right? How about disguising it as a formal eting between families? I will also call Darius to co with us."
Erica's cold expression crumbled in an instant, replaced by shyness. She couldn't keep her hands still.
"T-then, what about the annulnt letter?"
She asked cautiously.
"I am sorry, but we need to put it on hold for a while. However, you can hand it back anyti after we return from your place.”
"...Ah."
Erica's expression turned cold. I pretended not to see the bitterness on her face as I spoke calmly.
"Please understand."
"Alright, I got it. I don't really want to go back to my family's main house, but I do want to see those nobles groveling before you."
After that, I simply said goodbye and left the lab. I felt sorry for the dejected Erica, however…
I don't want to tie her up in this life as well.
From what I heard from Aria, I ended up marrying Erica in the first round.
It was not out of love, but simply because I needed her. When I was sick, she took care of and eventually proceeded with the marriage.
This ti, I could at least do sothing for her, right?
Of course, it wasn't just for Erica's sake.
It’s also because Dante's movents are highly suspicious.
They instigated incidents earlier than expected. In the ga's original storyline, Dante's na wasn’t even supposed to appear during this period.
Their activity seed to have increased due to my presence, so I also had to make thorough plans and prepare accordingly.
What a headache.
There was only one reason why Dante was giving a major headache.
It was because their ultimate plan might truly be the way to save this continent.
In fact, during the first round, Aria failed to prevent Dante’s leader from dying. As a result, we couldn't prevent the boundary between life and death on the continent from collapsing.
I need to find a way to replace their plan.
Until I found a recourse, I had no choice but to leave Dante as a bunch of variables.
When I returned to my lab with such thoughts, I found that it was quite noisy compared to when I left.
Findenai and Professor Fel held a paper that resembled a notice and were engaged in a discussion while Owen attempted to interject his opinion.
It was sowhat of an unexpected scene.
As soon as I arrived, the attention of the three people were imdiately drawn to , and they rushed over.
"Uh-huh-uh-blah!"
"..."
"Uh-blah-blah-blah!”
Findenai was the first to reach . She had actually grabbed sothing from sowhere to gag her mouth, and that gag caused her to drool when she tried to explain sothing to .
“Sigh, take that thing out first.”
"Puha! Master Bastard! Look at this! They're having a festival at the academy!"
"P-Professor Deus. They say each lab is allowed to set up one stand or display their achievents!"
“Soul Whisperer! How about we do sothing like a performance?"
Each of them spouted things they wanted to say. I quickly reached out and grabbed the notice that Findenai was holding and read it.
It was a paper that read 'Loberne Sumr Festival.' It was almost the end of sumr now.
Now, this reminded that there were festive periods in [Retry], and every ti it was held, there would be various events where users could obtain abilities or items.
"Hmm."
It was a notice asking each professor's lab to submit a work related to their achievents or set up a stand. It wasn't a very interesting event since I wasn't planning on raising Aria as a hero anymore, but everyone seed to have slightly different opinions.
"How about having a dueling arena? You know, the kind of place where we can all gather and have a big brawl!"
Findenai suggested sothing absurd.
"I-it's a chance to showcase my research items! I've co up with an incredible imitation body! It goes swoosh-swoosh when you stab, and then blood cos out, too!"
Professor Fel wanted to turn the student festival into a gory scene.
“Can I… also perform?"
Even Owen joined in, seemingly eager for a chance to play on stage.
Hearing them talk, I sighed and replied.
"Just do what you want."
I didn't have the luxury to care about it that /genesisforsaken
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