Libra had many questions now. They had just decided to listen in on the conversation but now they wanted answers to questions they had never had before.They went and sat on the sofa across of Steward and took Cole"s place.
〔You probably have a lot of questions right now, don"t you?〕
「Uh huh.」
〔Do I have to answer them?〕
「I mean, you don"t have to...」
「But it"d be nice if you did.」
Libra was basically saying "You don"t HAVE to tell me, but I might just pester you endlessly if you don"t." This left Steward in a bit of an awkward position.
He started wishing he could just boot Libra out of Cole"s subconscious but he had learned that he couldn"t do that. Why? Contract Spirits stay in their Contractor"s mind to ease living expense burdens and because it"s easier.
〔Since I can"t boot you out, what"s your first question?〕
「Hmm... How about...」
「How did you get in my Master"s head?」
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"Oh, the sky looks normal today."
Cole had already cleaned himself up and was casually sitting on the porch outside. He was watching the sunrise up from the east since he had nothing better to do. He had made himself a cup of coffee.
He wasn"t able to cook but that didn"t mean he couldn"t boil water and stir something.
"Now, I have some free time since Igor and Mikhail will be arriving either later today or tomorrow..."
He put a hand to his chin and thought about what he could today. Cole had already prepared most of the framework for Black Hollow quite fast so he didn"t have anything urgent on his schedule. He could play a bit with Eva or he could go on and ask his great Ancestor.
"Well, I might as well do something productive. I can see if Eva wants to come as well. I could get her some stuff from the〈Demon Realm〉while I"m at it.
So, Cole stood up and brought his coffee mug and left it in the sink. He would wash it later. He went up to the second floor where Felicia"s bedroom was and knocked on her door. She would usually be awake already at this hour so he didn"t think that she was still asleep.
"Ugh... Couldn"t I have like... five more f.u.c.king minutes--"
Felicia opened the door with a very grump tone but then became fully awake once she realized that it was Cole on the other side of the door.
Well, not like it could be anyone else.
Cole was about to get straight to the point when he noticed what Felicia was wearing.
"You sleep in your underwear?"
"Got a problem?"
"None really, but I advise wearing something comfier in the night. Nights here are quite cold after all."
"Well, I"m used to it..."
Her words trailed off as she moved her gaze from Cole"s face to the ground. Or at least that"s what it looked like since her bangs were covering her face a bit. Cole, knowing what she was probably thinking of sighed and asked her.
"Do you think I"m that easy of a target?"
"No, but it"d be funny."
"I"m starting to wonder if I should
"No, please don"t."
"I was joking. I know that you can control your tongue when need be."
"Anyway, get dressed up first, there"s something I need to talk to you about."
"Hm? Well, okay."
Cole went down ahead and a few moments later, Felicia soon followed after. But surprisingly, she wasn"t wearing her usual maid uniform anymore.
"You aren"t wearing your maid uniform today."
"They"re all in washing. It"s what I get for being lazy and pushing it back a day."
"Why do you wear them anyway? You don"t have to anymore. You probably know that already though."
Felicia shrugged. She went to the kitchen to make some hot coffee and milk and answered Cole from there.
"Yeah, I do. But it"s mostly out of habit and because they"re super comfortable."
"Really? They don"t look like it."
"I know, but that isn"t what you wanted to talk about, right?"
"Felicia, while you were still in the〈Avant Zone〉, I was still seen as a hero, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Then..."
Cole intentionally paused for a bit. Partly so he could gather his thoughts, give a bit more time for Felicia to finish making her coffee, and a bit for dramatic effect.
"...How did I die?"
She finished quite quickly and plopped herself down on the sofa seat across of Cole in the living room. Side thought: Cole was thinking that he will probably find himself in this position many times more in the future.
"〈January 3, 2059〉, a day that is known for the double catastrophes that occurred. The death of the galaxy"s saviour and the day when the〈Collapse〉happened."
"He..."
"Hm? Cole?"
"Ah? It"s nothing. I still find it funny about how I"m still the galaxy"s saviour even though I was
"Wait, you were?"
"Well, you wouldn"t know. The Council would definitely receive backlash if the people were to find out."
Felicia wanted to know more, but right now probably wasn"t a good time. She also didn"t think she had the right to know just yet. She"d wait until Cole willingly told her about it.
Anyway, Cole was able to confirm that the dates were indeed the same. He knew that he could confirm the dates with Felicia, but he wanted to know the exact details about what happened that day.
It would be a lot easier for Cole if he just went to the〈Avant Zone〉and he would usually make the easiest and most efficient option but...
"That is really something for another time..."
"If we"re done here, should I start making breakfast?"
She stood up and went to the kitchen and asked as she tied her long, black hair. Felicia had already started to bring out the few things she"d probably need.
"What do you want?"
"No, I"m fine. I made myself a sandwich and some coffee."
*KLING*
*KLANG*
*BONK(?)*
The sound of metal making contact with the floor reverberated throughout the first floor. Cole was a bit surprised by how loud it was. He was also surprised but the fact that the frying pan falling had made a weird "bonk" sound but that didn"t really matter.
He looked over to where Felicia was and she was staring at him with a jaw that had hit the floor along with her cooking utensils.
"What? I keep on making ovens and stoves self-destruct but that doesn"t mean I can"t boil water or use a b.u.t.ter knife."
"...Are you cursed or something?"
"Maybe, actually."
"I mean, there"s that but eating only a sandwich for breakfast is bad! You"re probably going to go somewhere today as well so that"s not allowed!"
Felicia stomped her way all over back to Cole with an expression that was as unmovable as Mt. Everest.
"Ha? I"m telling you it"s fine--"
"Do you not like my cooking?"
Surprisingly, Cole"s face, usually cold or emotionless had turned into one of utter despair. It wasn"t a formulated one but something that was done in reaction to Felicia"s words.
Felicia said her question in a pleading tone, her eyes watered and her eyelashes were downcast. But that played not a single part in Cole"s reactions. Remember, Cole had once aspired to be a chef, and that desire was mostly born out of loving food.
Very much.
Cole fixed his expression and explained.
"It"s not that. It"s so delicious that I sometimes wonder where have you been during my past life, and I"m being sincere with that. But I think that there"s no--"
"Choose."
"...I"ll eat..."`
Cole resigned to his fate and ate breakfast. He didn"t regret it a single bit.
Yes, Felicia had done that purely due to her knowledge of how bad people feel from being hungry and her concern for Cole. It may have been partly because Cole"s face slightly slackens when he eats nice food.
Maybe.
Sometime later, Eva had come down and eaten breakfast together with Cole and Felicia. Zhujiao and Libra were asleep because they had spent the night preparing for their journey and would probably eat later.
As Felicia was finishing up with the dishes, Cole asked Eva.
"Eva, do you want to come with me to the〈Demon Realm〉?"
"〈Demon Realm〉?"
Eva tilted her head in confusion. Cole clarified realizing that she wasn"t told the place"s name yet/
"The place where you first met Lucille."
"Lucille? You mean that weird woman!"
"Yes, I do mean that weird woman."
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For a quick short, in the〈Demon Realm〉
"Achoo!"
"Your Majesty, are you alright?!"
"Yes, I"m fine. Strange though, I haven"t sneezed in well over a hundred years."
"Maybe someone is talking about you. I"ve heard that it"s a common belief in some easter regions."
"Huh? Then wouldn"t I be sneezing all the time?"
"Yes, you"re right."
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"Hmmm..."
Eva contemplated very deeply. On one hand, she was still a bit frightened over her sudden separation. But on another, her tiny little heart burned with the thirst of wanting to get some form of revenge on that woman.
"I will, but on one condition."
She gestured for Cole to come closer and she whispered her demands. Cole thought it over and shook hands with her to seal the agreement.
"My daughter is only 5 yet she knows the taste for revenge and the importance of deals. How is such a kid born again? Well, it"s fine. I"ll love her either way."
"Then, I"ll be visiting Lala and Val like as usual."
"Now that I think about it, I wonder what Val has been up to these days."