Ch.48 Highs and Lows
“I’m not… an Abyss follower…”
As he fell backward, Luo Nan uttered these words with a touch of helplessness.
Clang—
Both of them toppled over.
Luo Nan sucked in a sharp breath—his entire back was now pressed against shards of broken glass scattered across the floor. Had it not been for the high-quality material of his cloak and the protective barrier of his Thousand-Scale Radiant Armor, he would already be bleeding profusely from his back.
Even with the dual protection of cloak and armor, Luo Nan still winced in pain, gritting his teeth.
Because he wasn’t the only one falling backward—he was pinned underneath soone else!
This damn bandage-faced man had the nerve to use him as a cushion—probably feeling nothing at all. anwhile, Luo Nan was suffering excruciating pain from the combined weight pressing down on him.
Hmm… although this guy didn’t feel particularly heavy when touched—he was surprisingly light?
Which matched his short, slender build.
“You bastard… get off
right now!”
At this mont, Luo Nan’s entire back was glued to the ground, his legs spread wide, his right hand holding the Silent Hamr suspended midair, his left arm shielding his chest—which was being crushed rcilessly by the bandage-faced man’s pectoral muscles.
He hadn’t noticed before, but this bandage-faced man actually had remarkably developed pecs—more defined than his own!
anwhile, Anya, lying atop Luo Nan, was frozen in shock.
‘What did he just say? He’s not an Abyss follower? Then what is that dangerous thing in his hand?’
The girl was too stunned to process the words properly—she hadn’t even heard Luo Nan’s complaint.
‘If he’s not an Abyss follower, then why did he ask about possessing a glorious, venerable lineage?’
“Bandage-face! How much longer are you going to keep crushing ? I’m about to die of pain!”
“Ahh… oh!”
Only after Luo Nan yelled directly into her ear did Anya snap out of her chaotic thoughts.
When she ca to, she realized how scandalous her current position was.
Her entire body was sprawled completely atop the crow mask. Due to their size difference, she looked like a small bird nestled in his arms.
Her legs were pressed together, her hips pressed firmly against his waist—she could even feel a distinct bulge beneath his beltline pressed directly against her thigh…
The upper-body contact was even more intimate. Her breasts, tightly bound by her chest wrap, were now squashed flat against his forearm. An odd sensation spread from the point of contact, making her involuntarily squirm.
Her right hand rested on his left shoulder, and her face, wrapped in white cloth, had just lifted off his collarbone.
“Ugh… good, the cloth hasn’t co loose.”
Anya propped herself up by pressing her palm against Luo Nan’s chest, opened her legs, and straddled him. Without thinking, she rubbed her chest, trying to calm her suddenly accelerated heartbeat.
“This feeling… is so strange.”
“Get up quickly—I’m lying on a pile of glass shards under !”
“Oh! Oh! S-sorry!”
Coming to her senses, Anya scrambled to rise, smoothing out the wrinkles on her fitted combat pants caused by pressing against Luo Nan, then stepped back to create distance.
Pushing aside the unfamiliar sensation stirring in her chest, the girl tapped her face through the cloth, took a deep breath, and asked: “Crow Mask, what did you just say? You’re not an Abyss follower?”
Luo Nan pushed himself up with his arms, shook his cloak vigorously, and flung off the glass fragnts clinging to it.
He temporarily holstered the Silent Hamr at his waist, adjusted his disheveled shirt—especially the collar—and fastened the button that had co undone, revealing half his chest.
Once his appearance was restored, he replied calmly: “Though I don’t know what led you to mistake
for an Abyss follower, why do you assu the weapon in my hand is a cursed artifact of an Evil God?”
He pointed to the pistol at his hip.
Anya paused briefly, still unwilling to believe the crow mask wasn’t an Abyss follower, and gave her reasoning: “Of course—I deduced it from your third question!”
“Third question?”
Anya didn’t reply directly. Instead, she pointed to the pistol at Luo Nan’s waist and asked: “Forget that for now—what proof do you have that you aren’t an Abyss follower? Especially considering this cursed-looking weapon of yours?”
Hearing the bandage-faced man’s response and questioning, Luo Nan thought: This guy clearly has no idea about modern developnts—he’s never seen a new-style magical weapon before, and got himself tangled in a massive misunderstanding.
Just as he was about to exploit his informational superiority to crush the bandage-faced man’s ignorance, another thought struck him.
‘Wait… when he attacked , I hadn’t even drawn the Silent Hamr yet. And just now, he said he concluded I was an Abyss follower based on my third question… What’s the logical connection here…?’
‘Never mind. Not enough information to determine his basis for judgnt.’
Thinking this, Luo Nan said: “This weapon at my hip is a new-style portable magical firearm. Though it’s a custom model, you must have seen similar ones before, right?”
“What?”
“…Like the kind the military has recently begun replacing their old gear with…”
At that mont, Luo Nan suddenly stopped. He rembered—he, as a son of the dillion family, had access to firsthand observation of these new weapons. Others didn’t have such privileges.
“In short, this is definitely a new weapon—not so demonic cursed artifact.”
He added one final statent: “I swear it by the Goddess of Dawn.”
Though the Church’s influence had faded across imperial territory, devotion to the Goddess of Dawn remained the dominant faith in the empire. Swearing by the goddess was an extrely solemn and sacred vow—no ordinary Abyss follower would ever utter such words.
Anya picked up the rented longsword, frowning slightly. “If that’s the case… I’ll temporarily believe you.”
“I have many questions for you—especially regarding why you think I’m an Abyss follower.”
With that, Luo Nan pulled over an undamaged chair and sat down, beginning his explanation.
“…”
“…”
“So… you thought my phrasing of the third question was abnormal, ntally unstable, and matched the profile of an Abyss follower, which is why you attacked first?” Behind his mask, Luo Nan stared in disbelief.
Granted, so nobles were indeed despicable—but objectively speaking, their ancestral lineages and histories were genuinely worthy of praise.
Wait… if I flip the perspective…
Luo Nan suddenly understood the misunderstanding.
If the other party had already assud he was referring to cultist groups as a whole category, then everything made perfect sense!
So the two of them had been talking past each other from the very beginning—each interpreting the conversation according to their own assumptions. Had his third question not been quite so blunt, this cross-frequency exchange might have lasted even longer.
‘If that’s true… then the intelligence this bandage-faced man wanted to sell —about the shadowy force behind the assassination attempt on —isn’t it the ‘Nature’ followers?’
Now that he finally understood, Luo Nan slowly tilted his head back, feeling utterly absurd.
I knew it… There’s no way I’d get crucial intelligence just by handing over a scale I didn’t even need!
How many tis am I supposed to keep refusing to accept reality, Luo Nan?
His emotions were rising and falling chaotically.
Calmly regaining his composure, Luo Nan turned to look at the figure seated across from him.
“Bandage-face… the intelligence you ntioned—wasn’t it about the ‘Nature’ followers organizing the assassination of Luo Nan von dillion?”
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