Chapter 405: Chapter 338 It Turns Out What They Said Was All True_2

The Necromancer’s laughter was laced with a twisted and alienated mire of negative emotions–anger, resentment, loathing, fear–entangling into a pitch-black desire for destruction, half aimed at the world’s throat and half at his own heart.

Liss felt an almost palpable malice of humanity; disregarding the possibility that she would be severely spanked by Ash, she stealthily hid by his side, shivering.

Ash wasn’t too surprised by Harvey’s mental state.

Harvey’s coffin was never intended for Alice.

Designing death scripts was a Necromancer’s task, and Harvey had always been crafting his own script.

“Oh.”

Harvey glanced at him, “You’re just going to brush me off with an ‘oh’?”

“Oh~~oh oh~~~oh oh oh oh~~”

Ash started, and Liss joined in, the big and the small “oh-ing” to the rhythm of 124 beats for a good dozen seconds. Even Harvey, whose face was nearly as rigid as a corpse, couldn’t help but crack a smile–he initially had hopes of Ash coming to him to discuss patterns of livor mortis, but now it seemed unlikely.

“Stop ‘oh-ing.’ I was intentionally accumulating some negative emotions for casting later, and now you two have ‘oh-ed’ them all away–haven’t you thought about how difficult it is to accumulate negative emotions in Vatican Mura?”

“Then let’s talk about the girl you met in your dreams,” said Ash. “Did you fall in love with her?”

“How could that…” Harvey began but suddenly stopped and stared at Ash.

Ash blinked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just realized she kind of resembles you.”

“Harvey, don’t do this, I’m scared,” Ash said, hugging Liss and shivering together.

Harvey had said it offhand and hadn’t given it much thought, “Of course, I didn’t fall in love with her. A Necromancer’s love is ‘engraved in the bone, etched in the heart’–literally carving bones and inscribing hearts–but…”

“But what?”

“Consider it just a dream,” Harvey said, taking his last puff of tobacco. “In the dream, she persuades me to quit smoking, so I might as well give it a try.”

The atmosphere grew tense, and Ash steered the conversation back, “Okay, last topic. Why does my room have cake every day?”

“Dad, are you not pleased?” Liss retorted. “I wish I could wake up and see cake every day!”

“But you guys don’t have them, it’s only me. Of course, I find that strange!” Ash pondered with his chin propped up. “It feels like a prelude to some dangerous event. Is this some kind of murder forewarning?”

Harvey replied, “When the second list comes out, we’ll be leaving soon anyway. Why do you care about this?”

Ash thought it made sense, “Then you guys come over every morning and help me eat the cake.”

“Why?”

“I can’t finish it by myself.”

“Why not just leave what you can’t eat?”

“No,” Ash shook his head. “I have a strong feeling that if I don’t finish the cake, something terrible might happen.”

“How come you have so many premonitions…”

After finishing the cake, everybody disbanded. Liss left with a Substitute, Harvey went back to his room to dress up as Alice, and Ash donned his black robe to continue being incarcerated in the game–unable to get through the dungeons, plus getting beaten up, he had to spend the entire day locked up honing his skills, which was no different from actual imprisonment, even the conditions in Shattered Lake Prison were better.

“Don’t get close to the sovereign of the Extreme Cutting Carp, it will bring misfortune.”

However, while riding the guest elevator to the gaming floor, Ash encountered the very person he least wanted to meet–Qinna!

She was still dressed in the Red Hat uniform, standing tall and conspicuous like a crane amongst chickens, her expression cold and her eyes stern, she could still command what little presence there was in the crowded elevator. Seeing this, Ash couldn’t help but lament once more that the family system of Vatican Mura truly did not differentiate between superior and inferior, with people like him, who wouldn’t dare to ride the same elevator as the boss to work, unable to imagine why ordinary clan members would dare to share an elevator with the Clan Leader.

In the Senheiser area, Clan Leader Qinna was essentially a dictator. Not to mention the Red Hats that she personally commanded, while other departments were set up strictly following the rules of the Kingdom of Gospel, Qinna could govern any department directly and appoint or dismiss any position. In fact, this is exactly what she did, only she governed according to the recommendations of the Gospel Book instead of her own whims.

Even if she didn’t hold the power of life and death, Qinna in Senheiser, at least, was considered all-powerful.

But from his interactions these past few days, Ash had found that the people of Senheiser seemingly didn’t fear their Clan Leader, nor did they respect her very much. If anything, Qinna was just another ordinary clan member in their eyes.

Hanna dared to be so assertive in front of Qinna, perhaps not just because she prided herself on being the daughter but also possibly due to an egalitarian consciousness instilled from childhood. Living in this family, with physical desires drastically reduced, the reality of hierarchy also lost its meaning, so people wouldn’t revere the powerful Clan Leader, nor would they despise the common maids who did physical labor; both Clan Leader and maid were merely clan members fulfilling their roles.

So don’t be afraid, Ash, you’re also an ordinary clan member now, just pretend Qinna doesn’t exist!

Then Ash ducked into a corner of the elevator, his eyes glued to the floor buttons.

You can’t see me; you can’t see me…

However, it was as if she could hear his inner voice, as she actually squeezed through the crowd to stand behind him, her tall shadow covering his back. Ash watched his nose and his nose watched his heart, he dared not even breathe too hard, for fear of alarming the monster behind him.

The elevator doors opened, and a few more clan members came in, squeezing out the already limited space. Qinna seemed to be pushed slightly by someone, her body pressing against Ash’s. Ash shivered and turned his head to look back, just in time to meet Qinna’s cold, noble golden eyes.

Ash wished he knew a shrinking spell to escape the penetrating gaze of the Holy Sanctuary Mage; but it was peak hour, and the elevator was congested, so even as Ash almost turned himself two-dimensional, he couldn’t avoid touching the Clan Leader’s clothes, he could even feel Qinna’s breath on his hood.

The seemingly endless elevator ride finally ended on the dining hall floor, and the others filtered out one by one, with Qinna apparently also there to have breakfast. Just when Ash breathed a sigh of relief, Qinna suddenly patted his shoulder, expressionless, and said, “Your mouth corner.”

Startled, Ash touched his right mouth corner, but Qinna shook her head and reached out to wipe away the cream from the left corner of his mouth.

“Thank… thank you?”

Qinna gave him a slight nod and quickly left the elevator, leaving a dumbfounded Ash behind.

Their interaction didn’t attract any attention; the desires of this city’s people were all satisfied by the Beauty Mist, including their curiosity–they had no interest in the gossip of others.

Unless it was a sensational piece of gossip that could surpass the joy of Beauty Mist.

Lucy, who had been hiding in the crowd, was closely watching the Clan Leader and Ash. She recalled the secrets Ash had shared with her, and now seeing the interaction between Ash and Qinna, her curiosity, which had laid dormant for over a dozen years, began to thump uncontrollably.

She was also leaving this floor, following behind Qinna, and quickly noticed a shocking scene–the Clan Leader actually put the cream-tainted fingertip into her mouth!

Lucy had started to doubt, after a few days’ cool down, whether she was being conned by Ash and Igula, even considering turning them in, but right now, all her doubts dissipated.

Everything they had told her was true!