Chapter 52
The chat logs collected over ten months of monitoring were extensive and complex, but fortunately, the system could search them in an instant.
After a brief burst of white noise, the audio started playing at double speed.
[...Ivan...headed to Tromsø...to find...]
[...it is necessary to...make the Blessed Land Cherry Blossom Obsessed...make him willingly become...]
[...no need to infect too many people...to cause panic...]
[...Mr. Fukuchi...perhaps I should come and remind you...forty-four years later...because...a world war will...]
[...You are...Why should I......It's just one side of the story...]
[...Please listen to me...It's necessary to remind my past self...of that vampire count...]
[...Amegami...The code from the future to the past...It matches what you said...]
[...If you become a sacrifice...willingly exchange it for...world peace...]
[...Will there be no more war...? We need...that holy sword...]
The sound flowed slowly and gently, but the amount of key information contained within it made Ye Yihe's brows furrow gradually.
He had indeed prepared himself for Fyodor to orchestrate all of this, but he hadn't expected that Fukuchi Sakura would be just as cunning; he readily believed Fyodor's series of deductions about the current situation, including the claim that a world war would break out in the future that would kill more than 100 million people.
Rather than saying that Fyodor was eloquent enough, it would be more accurate to say that he accurately grasped the psychological weaknesses of his opponents, and his words became the driving force of their will, leading them to willingly walk the path he had paved.
Fukuchi Sakura is a battle-hardened swordsman with a strong sense of justice. He participated in the last world war dominated by supernatural powers, witnessed the government's insane experiments that disregarded human life, and has a deep understanding of the countless lurking ambitions that still lurk beneath the seemingly peaceful surface.
Having faced hell countless times and witnessed the cruelty and ruthlessness of too many lives lost, he longed for peace in the world more than anyone else, and was also more desperate than anyone else that peace would never come.
Suddenly, Fyodor appeared, his words hitting Fyodor's weak spot with pinpoint accuracy. Using real-world information as a starting point, he predicted a world war would break out forty-four years later. At the same time, Fukuchi Sakura's Ame Gozen made the same prediction.
If only the divine sword of Fukuchi Sakura made the prophecy, Ye Yihe might have been able to believe it to some extent; but since Fyodor also uttered the words, their veracity would be questionable.
Who knows if Fyodor tricked the other party into making a prophecy to his past self in the near future? Just saying that a world war will break out forty-four years later doesn't necessarily mean that the prophecy was sent from forty-four years in the future to forty-four years in the past.
This will not happen a second time. In the past, the only result of the Blessed Land Cherry Blossom was that she received the prophecy; there was no act of transmitting the prophecy at all. That was something that happened in the future when she did not receive the prophecy, and it has been covered up by the future when she received the prophecy.
Facing Fyodor, Ye Yihe really wanted to advise this Lord Fudi to be more cautious, and more importantly, to maintain an attitude of questioning everything.
[Come and become a hero of the world, Mr. Fukuchi.]
This was the last sentence Fedor left in the records.
This concludes the audio recording related to the blessed land.
Ye Yihe discovered that the vampire count was the most innocent one. He was sleeping soundly when he was suddenly awakened, tricked into increasing his number of followers, and then a panic was created and spread, ultimately making him one of the "Ten Great Calamities," and subjecting him to the attack of the blessed land of Sakura, who was determined to corrupt herself.
The ideal is good, but it's clear that Fukuchi Sakura doesn't intend to take the right path to achieve it.
Judging from the audio recording, the vampire count who was tragically ambushed could still be saved; he was not completely killed.
Ye Yihe, who was leaning back in his chair, opened his eyes.
He remained inside the tower, imbued with a strong religious and ancient atmosphere. Countless slowly rotating stars adorned the ceiling, and apart from the slowly ascending spiral staircase outside the window, there was no distinction between day and night. Countless candles floating in the air illuminated this lonely palace.
This is Fyodor's mental imagery space, a microcosm of his life up to this point.
Ye Yihe suddenly realized that these objects, formed from the subconscious, might be the true metaphors for the other party's thoughts.
Perhaps... some of what he said in Tromsø was true, as the religious ornaments and decor clearly outlined the palace's structure.
Fyodor lay in bed with his eyes still closed. He buried himself even deeper into the blankets, his face completely hidden by his hair and the blankets. Even his breathing, caused by the high fever, was extremely soft, as if he was subconsciously hiding himself.
Even if it doesn't snow when you're watching the aurora, standing in the cold wind on the mountaintop for too long can still cause you to catch a cold, and Ye Yihe doesn't believe that Fyodor is unaware of this.
Even he, an outsider, was almost fully aware of the terrible condition of this body. How could Fyodor, a native, not know how bad his body was?
However, Fyodor did not make any spoilsporting gestures at the time, indulging him to watch the aurora for as long as he wanted.
It's this kind of behavior—using sweet words to deceive him while genuinely treating him well without any limits—that makes people so angry they want to grind their teeth.
Ye Yihe almost let out another angry groan, but in the end he didn't.
Fyodor, who was lying in bed with a high fever, gently rubbed his face against the pillow and let out a muffled murmur.
I don’t know what he’s saying… When Ye Yihe bent down to listen, he reached out to brush away the few strands of sweaty, sticky hair that were scattered on his cheeks.
The moment her fingertips touched his burning skin, he grabbed her wrist.
"Those who cherish their lives will surely lose them..."
Fyodor spoke softly and haltingly.
His dark red eyes, which usually exuded an air of ease, were now half-open, gazing at Ye Yihe with a hazy look; and under the reflection of countless flickering candlelight, his irises took on a mysterious color that was so intense it was almost crimson.
But Ye Yihe didn't find it strange. He just felt that Fyodor might have gone mad from the fever, and that it was largely his fault.
Judging from the pronunciation, he was speaking Greek, and Fyodor seemed to be reciting verses from the Bible.
"Those who hate their own lives...will preserve them for eternal life..."
The syllables were disjointed, occasionally accompanied by low, short breaths. The other person's hand, which was holding his wrist, was burning hot, probably from a fever that left them only with unconscious babbling.
"May you glorify your name...may the glory of your beloved surpass the glory of the god of love..."
Ye Yihe, who is not an Orthodox Christian: "…………"
I barely understood what Fyodor was trying to say. This villain, who is intelligent, witty, and religious, makes even revealing his innermost thoughts seem mysterious.
"...Do you still recognize who I am?"
Yeikh, who was speaking to him in Russian, brushed aside his sweaty hair with his other hand, pressed the back of his hand against his forehead to feel the temperature, which was still shockingly hot.
While doing this, Fyodor also made a noticeable move of pressing his hand against the back of his hand, probably because the temperature was low and he felt cool.
There were no cold towels or similar items in the consciousness space to put on his forehead—besides, how could a cold towel possibly work on a consciousness? He would have to go out and call Ivan.
“My… Messiah…”
The whisper that escaped was barely audible, and then the five fingers that were holding his wrist loosened.
The other person fell into a deep sleep or coma again.
After a long silence, Ye Yihe finally tucked the hand that was sticking out of the blanket back into the quilt and tucked the blanket back in.
"...I'm not like that."
He stood up and looked down at the radical idealist.
"I am just an ordinary person, an ordinary person who is neither despicable nor noble."
Ye Yihe closed his eyes and left the palace of consciousness.
————
Within the consciousness space, he is not affected by the body's debuffs, but when Ye Yihe tries to take control of his body, the intense dizziness and vertigo caused by the high fever quickly overwhelm him.
This feeling was really unbearable; Ye Yihe opened his eyes entirely through willpower.
My vision blurred, but I could barely make out that Ivan was beside me.
He seemed to be holding a cup or something, about to pour it into his hand...
"Ah-ah, my master, you have finally awakened...!"
Ivan's voice sounded particularly excited, but to Ye Yihe's ears, it was just a buzzing sound.
Even speaking made my throat feel incredibly dry. "What are you holding up...?"
Medicine would be best.
"It's hot raspberry tea with vodka, which is very effective in treating fever,"
Ivan stood ramrod straight, holding a tray gracefully in one hand, and introduced it to Ye Yihe with impeccable manners, “This is a folk remedy commonly used in my hometown.”
Ye Yihe: "…………"
Is it true that drinking vodka can cure a high fever?
You should just take your medicine, right?
"Fever reducer... medicine..." Ye Yihe struggled to believe in science.
"Don't worry, I've already fed you."
Ivan bowed politely. "Just an hour ago. Even the closed pharmacy couldn't stop the rock's advance..."
Ye Yihe: "…………"
It sounds like he just smashed the door open. Ivan clearly has a melancholic beauty reminiscent of Russian aristocracy, but his behavior is basically that of an outlaw fanatic, similar to a nun who can pull out two guns from a tactical holster strapped to her thigh and start shooting indiscriminately by simply lifting her skirt...
"Thank you,"
Ye Yihe took a deep breath and, with his remaining consciousness, dissuaded Ivan from feeding him vodka.
"...But, just wring out an ice-cold towel and put it on my forehead...please."
Ivan reluctantly agreed to the request.
“Also,” Ye Yihe instructed, “book me a flight to Japan… as soon as possible.”
While Fyodor is still unconscious, we should fly to Japan as soon as possible. If we wait until he recovers, who knows which country he might go to and cause trouble.
"Aren't you going to France to contact Verlaine?"
Ivan smiled and agreed to his master's request, only adding a slight reminder—after all, the body was currently running a high fever, and it was hard to say whether his master had forgotten about it.
“I’m not going,” Ye Yihe sighed. “Let Verlaine wait a little longer.”
He couldn't tell Verlaine those details, otherwise Fyodor would overhear and he didn't know how Fyodor would use them.
—Those family relationships are fine, the key is that the intelligence contains the release phrase for controlling Verlaine to enter the second form stage. What if Fyodor happens to need this?
He hadn't forgotten that when he woke up in France, Fyodor had deliberately staged a bank robbery with the kidnappers.
Fortunately, he killed N quickly at the time, and now only he and Oda Sakunosuke know this information.
"That's settled then. You buy the tickets first."
Ye Yihe closed his eyes drowsily, feeling the cool touch of the damp towel on his forehead.
"I'm going to take a nap first..."
He slept until the early morning of the next day—or perhaps noon, since it was still pitch black outside and he couldn’t tell the time without looking at a clock.
With the help of antipyretics and physical cooling methods, Ye Yihe felt much better.
Although my forehead still feels a bit warm to the touch, at least it's not as difficult as yesterday when I could barely get up.
After carefully washing up and changing into the new clothes Ivan had bought, Ye Yihe boarded a passenger plane bound for Japan.
Even if Fukuchi Sakura might still be in Norway attending a government-sponsored celebration, Ye Yihe did not try to find him and tell him the truth.
The other party is convinced of what he is going to do and has already started the plan, so it is no longer possible to persuade him with words alone.
Moreover, the voice recordings reveal that Fukuchi Sakura was already aware of Fyodor's nickname "Demon," and was quite wary of him when they first met.
If Ye Yihe were to run over now and tell Fukudi Sakura that he felt there might be something wrong with the conversation and that he needed to think about it more carefully, and also ask if the vampire count was still alive, could he please let him go?
The other party will most likely think that Fyodor is playing a trick on them and will simply eliminate him.
He couldn't provide any evidence, and only judged that Fyodor hadn't done anything good this time based on the settlement of Xiao Ai's incident.
Therefore, it would be better to go directly to Japan to find Oda Sakunosuke, at least he would have one more real helper by his side.
Ivan isn't entirely against it... but he still trusts Oda Sakunosuke a bit more.
Ye Yihe silently apologized to Ivan in his heart.
This flight requires a two-and-a-half-hour transfer in Helsinki-Vantaa, followed by a thirteen-and-a-half-hour flight to land in Tokyo.
Ivan's first-class seat was spacious and could be reclined, allowing Ye Yihe to sleep comfortably for the rest of the second leg of the journey, barely eating anything except for his medication.
Fyodor was probably still fast asleep in his palace of consciousness, and no sound came from him.
When Ye Yihe was woken up and ready to get off the plane, he felt much better.
While waiting to collect his checked luggage, Ye Yihe finally heard a confused "[Hmm?]" in his mind.
"You're awake,"
With everything settled, Ye Yihe was in a good mood and whispered to Fyodor in Japanese, "This is Tokyo."
After a moment, he heard a low, soft, faint laugh in his mind.
[Are you no longer planning to hide Oda-kun from me?]
Fyodor readily answered him in Japanese, "[Is there other business to attend to in Japan?]"
When he said this in the palace of consciousness, he was lying on his bed, which he rarely slept in, with the back of his hand gently resting on his forehead.
"There's no point in hiding it anymore,"
Ye Yihe shook his head, deliberately ignoring the second half of the question, "Our consciousnesses can coexist, and I can't hide it from you no matter where I go—we can't never see Oda Sakunosuke again."
Besides, the reason he was wary of Fyodor before was because he was worried that Fyodor would take advantage of him while he was asleep. Now that he can stay awake, he can keep an eye on Fyodor in real time.
That was last time when he fooled me completely; don't expect him to work for free again!
[That's true.]
Fyodor's voice did not sound low or gloomy—even though his fever had not yet subsided and his voice was still slightly hoarse, it still had a slightly upturned, almost smiling tone at the end.
Please rest assured about Oda-kun's safety.
After switching to Japanese, which has a strict honorific system, Ye Yihe could clearly hear that Fyodor used honorifics very well, adding standard polite verbs at the end of sentences, making him sound exceptionally docile and harmless.
But in reality, this little mouse, who always dressed in fluffy clothes, was incredibly cunning. He had a hard time distinguishing between sincerity and pretense in the other person's words, so he had to constantly remind himself that no matter how soft-hearted he was, he could not compromise.
In particular, we must not relax our skeptical attitude!
“You don’t seem surprised at all, nor do you object to my coming to Japan.”
Compared to Fyodor, who used honorifics correctly, Yeikh, who was taught by Oda Sakunosuke, didn't use honorifics much. He watched Ivan go to retrieve the finally delivered checked luggage, but asked Fyodor the same question again, "Do you have something to do here?"
[Yes,]
Unexpectedly, Fyodor answered the question directly: "[I do have that plan, but I don't know the other party's whereabouts.]"
"What do you mean?" Ye Yihe frowned. "Who are you looking for? Let me see if I know them."
[A Japanese government-affiliated supernatural being named Natsume Soseki.]
Even to Ye Yihe, this person's name was incredibly famous, so much so that he almost choked on his saliva.
So... in this world, it's true that famous historical writers have all become figures living in the same period?
Could he go back to his homeland and see if he could... cough... ask the other party to sign his name for him?
Ye Yihe momentarily drifted off into thought, then pulled back to listen to Fyodor. "[But he's a timid and cautious man, his whereabouts shrouded in mystery. Even finding traces of him is extremely difficult; I don't hold out much hope.]"
"Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit difficult."
Ye Yihe hummed in agreement, completely unaware that the gentleman with the three-colored hair he had met at the teahouse was Natsume Soseki.
[Also, I'd like to make contact with another person with superpowers.]
Perhaps knowing that no matter what he did, he couldn't completely avoid Ye Yihe's influence, he didn't try to conceal the general direction of his plan.
According to official information, his name is Tatsuhiko Shibusawa.
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