Chapter 24 Hug

Percy Brody left in a trance. Before leaving, he took out all the change he had on him like a possessed person, leaving not a single cent in his pocket.

Nova counted the spoils with satisfaction, estimating in his mind that the money was probably enough to cover the expenses for the return trip, and then he met a pair of beautiful and strange blue eyes.

Azuka leaned lazily against a nearby window. The light filtered through the gauze, blurring his figure. Only a clear smile was in his eyes, and it seemed as if he had witnessed the whole process.

"Why don't you keep some pearls for yourself?" he asked with some amusement.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone around robbing children.

He had no idea that this body of his was not much older than a "child".

The professor put away the purse and glanced at him. "It's a blessing from the god of luck for a fisherman to find pearls. But what's the point of a shipwreck survivor pulling out a handful of pearls? Did they pull them out of that ostentatious fountain at the entrance of the mansion?"

The God-Favored One was successfully amused by him, and his face became even more dazzling as he smiled. Unfortunately, the other person present didn't appreciate it at all. He was looking at the other person with a frown, and asked hesitantly, "You went to see Bishop Miller and then went back to Fishtail Street?"

"uh-huh."

Azuka stood up straight and lightly hugged the professor's shoulders. The black-haired young man subconsciously followed his momentum and walked into the room, only to find that their luggage had inexplicably appeared in the corner of the room.

"Miller is a very cautious man. I went to his place and didn't find any written information." The God-Favored One locked the door and spoke in a relaxed tone, giving no sign that he was so decisive as to directly search the residence of a cardinal. "He had a two-way crystal ball. I deciphered the spell circuit a little. Miller had communicated with a light sorcerer in the royal city several times. However, getting more information would risk destroying the crystal ball and alerting the other party, so the harvest this time was not great. I should take you to see it."

"Given the ostentatious and extravagant style of the Glorious Church, it's quite illogical that they would choose a border city as the venue for this Dawn Celebration." The professor lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. "Can I see the other party's call frequency?"

"Hmm, it seems the crystal ball consumes quite a lot of mana, maybe six or seven times?"

"Same person?"

"Same person."

The black-haired young man stood there, lost in thought. "Almost once a day—excluding the possibility that Bishop Miller is a double-faced, home-loving person with a strong desire to confide in others, he's probably reporting to someone. There's a 50% chance it's the Pope of the Glorious Church, and a 50% chance it's anyone else. That person is taking this matter so seriously that they can't wait for the celebration to end, or maybe it's because this matter requires constant follow-up... Is he searching for something that's constantly changing, uncertain, or appears periodically?"

Azuka reluctantly pushed the man still standing in the doorway onto a chair and, with two fingers, untied the man's filthy, tattered cloak. His nemesis, lost in thought, was perfectly obedient, practically letting him do whatever he wanted.

"I can't narrow it down any further. The information is really limited." The professor put his finger to his lips irritably until he accidentally licked some hair, then he came to his senses and took it away.

Just as Azuka was about to offer some words of comfort, he had already adjusted his mindset and completely changed the subject: "What is the method by which the 'reliable priests' you mentioned earlier discover the unbelievers?"

"Look at the soul." The God-Favored One leaned over, supporting the back of his chair with one hand, and showed the professor his eyes, which were turning golden. "Like this—those who are Saints and above can see the essence of others."

"...Your so-called 'reliable priest' needs to be a saint? He has to be at least a pope." Nova couldn't help but glare at him.

What the hell is this combat power comparison system? The numbers are so exaggerated.

This bastard simply deceives people without blinking an eye.

The other person looked at him innocently with his eyes, which had turned blue again. "However, sorcerers above the Lord's Prayer level can also faintly sense the essence of others. However, this feeling is generally only slightly stronger when facing people with the same or similar philosophies, just like intuition. The rest of the time, it is mostly very weak, and many people simply regard it as an illusion."

This kind of information closely related to spiritual practice is strictly monopolized and blocked by major forces. It is something that cannot be obtained even at the cost of one's life. Only the savior himself said it so lightly.

Nova thought for a moment, "I've certainly never seen a warlock above the Lord's Prayer level before."

The cardinal looked like the other party's definition of a "reliable priest", but the God-favored One himself was very calm and composed at the time, so he believed that the man had a backup plan.

As expected, another person continued, "At this point in time, Miller should be at the intermediate level of Lord's Prayer—but don't worry, you and I are very close, and you are full of my aura. You can't tell Lord's Prayer's level."

The professor paused, then looked up at him and asked, "You knew Bishop Miller in your previous life, very well?"

"Not really. We've only dealt with each other a few times." The God-Favored One spoke calmly. "He was a highly popular candidate for Pope, a reformist. He wasn't as unbearable as the other old guard in the Glorious Church. It's a shame you killed him just as I was about to deepen my cooperation with Miller."

Then Azuka found it amusing that the black-haired young man was obviously stunned for a moment - it was really rare to see such an expression on the professor's face.

The other party frowned in disbelief: "Why would I kill him?"

The Savior gazed deeply at his old enemy: "...Believe me, I was even more confused then than you are now."

——Or it could be said to be extreme shock, annoyance and even frustration.

He is not a fragile child who would cry and make a fuss and completely collapse after experiencing failure, but how could a person who can become the male protagonist not be a child of destiny who has survived desperate situations time and time again?

Trapped time and again by the same person at the center of a spider's web, all his clever struggles were a joke, all his desperate resistance was hopeless. He was like a hound in a state of panic, sniffing and chasing the pale, cold moon, biting and biting, but the only outcome was to dance with the chain tied to his neck. This humiliation of being completely controlled by someone who had never even shown his face left a deep impression on Azuka, and he was stunned even when the other person's head hit the ground.

He was dead? His nemesis, his chains, the moon he couldn't escape... just died so easily?

At that moment, the young savior felt an inexplicable rage, and a grief so immense it threatened to crush him. He hadn't defeated the man fairly; he had merely destroyed a tired, weakened body, while the man's soul still hung high above him, staring coldly and calmly into the distance he didn't know.

"……What are you doing."

Azuka blinked in confusion, only to be met with a pair of penetrating, icy gray eyes, reflecting two small versions of himself. The God's Chosen One then realized that he had once again grasped the back of his nemesis's neck with his palm, unconsciously applying enough force that it left red marks on the fragile flesh.

He let go of his hand suddenly as if he had been electrocuted.

"...I'm sorry." The Savior's voice lowered - this time he was truly sorry.

The other person didn't respond, but just rubbed the back of his neck and looked at him thoughtfully.

"...Do you have skin craving? You just love skin contact, crave hugs and touches from others, and it makes you feel relaxed," Nova asked cautiously. As a fellow psychopath, he was much more tolerant of such pathological offenses.

Azuka swore that the expression on his face must have been very stiff: "...I have never had such a need before."

"So you only have needs for me?" The other party frowned slowly, looking very troubled.

...Wasn't this person embarrassed? The Savior rubbed his brow with a headache, then simply leaned over, ignoring the other's shrinking pupils, and gently hugged his nemesis.

It wasn't even a hug; he didn't tighten his arms, merely resting them on the back of the chair, carefully and restrainedly creating a space between them. His nemesis was visibly stunned, but he didn't resist or struggle. He simply sat there, sinking into a gentle, almost indulgent silence within his chest. Azuka couldn't help but tentatively move closer to the other's neck, but when he felt the body instinctively flinch, he paused, maintaining the blurred line between intimacy and violation.

The nightmare-like clamor in his mind seemed to truly vanish in the other person's breath. He felt a strange sense of peace and contentment. If the God-Favored One were an Earthling, perhaps he could describe the current situation in one word: cat-loving and san-loving.

"Are the experimental results out?" The professor was almost unable to bear it anymore.

His tolerance was limited. Although the other party was always restrained and polite, he still felt very strange and uneasy because the other party kept getting too close to him and the strange breath and body temperature invaded his territory.

"...It seems to be having some effect," he muttered vaguely, slowly releasing his grip. Perhaps it was an illusion, but he even seemed a little reluctant.

The professor gave him a look that said, "I told you you were sick" - it turns out that Nova Brody is always right.

"Are you hungry?" the confirmed patient nonchalantly changed the subject. "We can go to the Golden Anchor Restaurant at the harbor. It's said to be cheap, generous, and delicious, and it's very popular around here."

As expected, the other party immediately understood his subtext: "Mercenary group."

The legend of the "Dragon's Nest Treasure" came from the mercenaries in the port.

Then the professor pulled up the tattered cloak and put it on himself, which made the God-favored One's mouth twitch. He thought that buying new clothes should be put on the agenda - at least he couldn't let his nemesis run around in a patched rag.