Loki’s movements froze for a moment.
…Was this question a bit inappropriate for the situation?
But Loki could understand Ina’s thoughts. If their roles were reversed, he’d probably ask the same thing.
“If it’s inconvenient to answer, then never mind.”
Seeing Loki’s awkwardness, Ina quickly changed her tone.
“That’s not the case. It’s just… well, how should I put it, I’m actually quite curious about the answer.”
Loki answered casually.
There was no need to take the question too seriously or to overthink it. Ina probably just wanted to find a topic to chat about.
It was perfectly normal for a young academy girl, dressed in uniform and robe, to be interested in gossip.
After all, the combination of himself and Selulu was indeed intriguing.
If they were to bring up the dark history between him and Selulu, Loki didn’t see it as a problem. The worst that could happen was Ina looking at him like garbage.
…At this point, how could he still care about something like that?
What he hadn’t expected was that this ambiguous answer made the girl’s eyes shine.
“So, you really aren’t… a couple or something?”
“Do we look like one?”
“……”
Ina really wanted to say, “From Selulu’s side, it definitely looks that way,” but saying that would be tantamount to surrender, so she quickly swallowed the words back.
Such a thing was absolutely not to be admitted under any circumstances.
…That said.
Ina breathed a sigh of relief.
No matter what, at least she got the denial straight from him.
Heh, I knew that woman was just pretending.
“I see.”
She suppressed the twitch at the corner of her mouth and said,
“Considering how she’s always hugging you, and you live together… I thought your relationship was something special… but it’s just her throwing herself at you unilaterally?”
Wait.
They’re not even dating?
After saying this, Ina looked somewhat confused.
“But why don’t you just reject her? You could easily push her away, right?”
“I can’t do that.”
Loki slowly averted his gaze.
Of course, he knew this was strange, but besides the rare secret enjoyment, he had a vague feeling.
If he started showing Selulu a cold face or outright rejected her advances, unimaginable bad consequences might follow.
Therefore, accepting her sugar-coated attacks without showing any attitude was the best way to keep balance on a tightrope.
…Not knowing her true feelings was actually the most exhausting part.
For that reason, Loki found it hard to believe that all of Selulu’s behavior was genuine.
They should be “Avenger” and “Perpetrator,” let alone the completely opposing identities of “Saint” and “Sinner.”
“The reasons are complicated. But in short, I just can’t do it.”
“Have you and her known each other for a long time?”
“……”
“Because if you’ve only been together for two days, there’s no way it would be ‘complicated,’ right?”
Loki looked at Ina with a puzzled expression.
She was undoubtedly a perceptive girl, but…
“Ina, how do you know I’ve only been with her for two days?”
“Th-this… it’s divination! Yeah, it’s the answer I got from a previous divination!”
Ina answered nervously.
Phew, that was close. She almost let slip the secret that she’d been stalking him all along.
If Lord Loki found out, he’d definitely look at her with disgust, like she was a filthy bug.
Hmm…
Come to think of it, that’s not such a bad idea? I’ll try it tonight…
Fortunately, Loki didn’t pursue this trivial matter further.
“That’s right, I’ve actually known her for a long time. But the beginning wasn’t very pleasant.”
As the saying goes, know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated.
Besides, this was not only Selulu’s past but also Loki’s past, which naturally made Ina intensely curious about the latter.
“Would it be convenient… for you to tell me?”
Loki nodded first, then looked around.
They had entered the main structure of the Truth’s Hand base.
Silence reigned.
The expected ambush did not come.
Almost comparable to the vast underground chamber of the Council Square, the countless doors along the walls led to departments with different functions. If there was a sectional map, one would realize this place was essentially a complex and enormous ant colony.
At this moment, their location was the core part of the underground base.
This place was originally like a small town’s central marketplace, filled with simple stalls, taverns, restaurants, and shops… though now, no trace of those remained.
Loki had destroyed it thoroughly, and the people of Kaisarnia had cleaned it up meticulously.
Unlike the pitch-black corridors before, small lamps were installed everywhere here, their scattered light illuminating every passable area.
It was hard to say whether they were left by the cleanup team who originally cleared this place or installed by the remaining faction of Truth’s Hand that had reoccupied it.
To reach the most important place—the ritual site where the “Legacy” was held—they had to pass through the residential area, the prison zone, and the sacrifice zone.
Loki hadn’t forgotten the way.
They continued forward.
“She’s the child I stole from Truth’s Hand.”
That was an unforgivable crime.
Because he knew this, Loki’s heart was filled with guilt and remorse toward Selulu.
“Stole? You mean…”
“To be more precise, it was a trade… but stealing is basically the same.”
Loki felt that telling this story might be better with a cigarette in hand.
Unfortunately, he didn’t smoke.
“Truth’s Hand once raided all over the world to abduct gifted children, bringing them here to brand them and brainwash them.”
“‘Qualified ones’… children with considerable potential were trained into the organization’s new forces, while ‘unqualified ones’ were sent for experiments.”
Ina’s heart stirred slightly.
She had heard many tragic stories like this since childhood.
The witches’ intelligence network always collected and organized what happened everywhere, and even the Imperial royal family occasionally sought their help.
At the time, she only felt fear and sorrow.
But after actually walking through places where tragedies had occurred, she understood that only anger and hatred were the right emotions.
“Selulu was sold to Truth’s Hand by her parents.”
Loki said.
“At that time, I was working for Truth’s Hand, disguised as the manager of a brothel to negotiate with them. To those greedy nobles, a ‘worthless’ child was a stain on their bloodline and unnecessary at home, so selling her for a high price was the best option.”
“Unfortunately, their asking price was too high, so I took matters into my own hands and took Selulu.”
“So, have you done the same with other children?”
“No.”
Loki took a deep breath.
“Only Selulu. After all, this kind of ‘small matter’ wasn’t really my job; I just happened to cover for someone else this time.”