Chapter 188: Love Is A Form Of Death"Because no matter the answer you give me, I hope you will be happy."


    The moment I heard those words, I was left speechless, my mind went blank, and all I could do was just stare at her.


    As I stared at her, the woman cared more about me than herself, I felt something inside me being fulfilled.


    The warmth that spread within me was similar to what I felt when I spoke with Stella.


    It felt foreign to me, but once more, I realized that I longed for it.


    In a situation where we couldn''t give any specific answer, all we did was simply lean against each other.


    "Oh my, how shameful."


    "They’re like a fairy tale couple."


    "They must be newlyweds. They''re certainly in their honeymoon phase."


    For a moment, we forgot that we were in the middle of downtown. Hearing the people whispering around us, Erica was unable to stand it any longer and eventually turned around.


    "Let''s go, we''re almost there."


    "Alright."


    I followed Erica, and indeed, we reached the dessert shop in almost no time.


    I mean, considering the location of the dessert shop and the route we had taken, it was easy to notice that she had deliberately wandered around.


    "..."


    Realizing that I was staring intently at her, Erica seemed to deliberately avoid my gaze as she stood in line in front of the dessert shop.


    "I will just think of it as a cute prank."


    We just wasted some time, but it was not that important.


    I tried to lightly dismiss it as just a prank, but Erica subtly glanced back at me while turning her body.


    "Was it cute?"


    "It was just a figure of speech."


    "..."


    As I watched her return to her original posture, I couldn''t help but let a slight smile creep up, but I suppressed it immediately so that she wouldn''t notice it.


    "The line here is pretty long."


    Indeed, perhaps because it was just past lunch, there was a pretty long line of people waiting for dessert in front of the shop.


    I thought I''d have to wait for a while. However...


    "B-by any chance, a-are you the Soul Whisperer?"


    A man wearing armor approached me cautiously. It was the captain of the Loberne guards, a familiar face I had seen in the passing several times.


    His thick mustache made him especially memorable.


    "Yes."


    "Ah! S-Soul Whisperer! I am Paul, the captain of the Loberne guards."


    Trying to prevent him from showing excessive courtesy to the extent of kneeling on one knee, I grabbed his shoulders and helped him up.


    I didn''t want to attract unnecessary attention.


    "State your business."


    Thinking there must be a reason he came to see me, I got straight to the point. Paul''s expression darkened immediately, and he occasionally sent wary glances at Erica beside me.


    "Well, you see, someone died in an apartment1 on Glass Avenue yesterday."


    "..."


    "But you see... There are many strange aspects concerning the suspect. Actually, I was considering requesting for the Academy’s cooperation and bringing you, Soul Whisperer."


    "Strange aspects?"


    If he had planned on calling me over, it must have been because he suspected that an evil spirit was involved in that case.


    "Yes, it might be a bit difficult to provide an explanation here, but if it''s fine with you, would you like to accompany me...?"


    If we had to go to Glass Avenue, even though it was still a part of Loberne, it was located near the outskirts, so it would take a while to get there.


    When I glanced at Erica, she already had her arms crossed and glared at the captain with the same icy expression she used when dealing with students.


    "We were just having such a good time now."


    Erica muttered while chewing on her lips.


    She whispered softly, so the captain wouldn’t hear it, but standing right beside her, I was able to.


    "Well, it can''t be helped then. It seems like there’s something you need to do. I''ll get the dessert myself."


    "Thank you for your help."


    After leaving Erica behind, I followed the captain to Glass Avenue.


    Glass Avenue.


    The dark side of Loberne, known otherwise for its good security; yet some called it a place that contained the necessary evil.


    Some aggressive parents labeled it a dumpster and called for the abolition of Glass Avenue.


    It was the place that was persistently the subject of debates about how abolishing it would only cause the trash to spill out onto the other side of the street.


    It was a restricted area where students were not allowed to enter, and professors patrolled it constantly.


    Upon hearing the name ''Glass,'' one might think of ceramics or works of art, but it actually simply referred to a street full of glass mugs of beer.


    Although this place was relatively smaller compared to the other cities, it was still the most bustling area in Loberne, with bars, gambling dens, and brothels operating all over.


    And in an apartment located there, was the scene of a death.


    "Soul Whisperer, Ms. Ophelia..."


    Perhaps because my reaction was too intense, Paul was unable to speak properly. And even Ophelia, who walked in stiffly, had her mouth tightened at the corners.


    "Let us talk separately."


    I led Ophelia to the victim''s room on the left. Despite being wary, she followed behind, albeit being pushed by Paul from behind.


    Thud.


    Click.


    As I locked the door, the confusion in her eyes deepened.


    However, there was no room for consideration, nor did I plan on doing so either.


    "How dare you."


    I gritted my teeth and glared at Ophelia.


    The reason I was swept up in a whirlpool of intense emotions was none other than because this woman had provided a strong answer to what the affection I had been diligently seeking truly was.


    "Is it fun? Playing with the emotions of others."


    "N-no, it''s just..."


    "The moment I saw you, I felt a surge of affection towards you."


    Even though I was unable to precisely understand the emotion called love, the moment I saw her, I felt compelled to label it as such.


    Someone might say they fell in love at first sight.


    However, due to my shallow emotional range, I was able to immediately recognize it as false and contrived.


    And especially because I had just had a conversation with Erica regarding this before coming here.


    It was a compelling urge that seemed to dismiss all the emotions I held, not only towards Erica but the others as well, as false.


    The anger that flared up like a wildfire showed no signs of subsiding.


    "Since you have soured my mood considerably, you should answer me carefully and precisely."


    "Th-there''s no way..."


    Bewildered, Ophelia observed me cautiously. Since her intentions were very clear, I reached out and grabbed her chin, exerting force.


    "Uoghhhh!"


    Ophelia was unable to articulate her words properly because my grip on her chin hindered her. Trying to confirm if I was indeed a male, she lowered her gaze towards my lower part, an act that was frankly disgusting and repulsive.


    "Do not try to play silly games with me."


    Even now, the desire to save this woman, who was still suffering in my hands, surged up within me.


    Struggling to restrain the strong urge to release the strength in my hands immediately, I exerted more force, as if to crush Ophelia''s chin, and slam her against the wall.


    Thump!


    "Tell me what trickery you are up to and how you killed Hansen. Do not leave anything out."


    When I let go, Ophelia, who hit the back of her head against the wall, looked at me with teary eyes.


    Upon seeing her expression, which clearly indicated that she couldn’t believe I had taken such actions towards her, I was about to warn her again.


    However, seeing me reaching out to her, Ophelia hurriedly kneeled and prostrated herself.


    "I-It''s a tattoo! The tattoo on my chest has an enchanting effect on men!”


    The tattoo she spoke about was not visible now as she threw herself flat on the floor. However, when I had grabbed her chin earlier, I definitely saw a heart-shaped tattoo.


    "A-and! I''m not the one who killed Hansen! Really!"


    "Do you really think I will believe that?"


    With killing intent strong enough to stir the mana in my entire body surging with me, I warned Ophelia. However, she shouted back, insisting it was real while lying face down.


    "My-My daughter! It’s my dead daughter! She’s killed all the men I loved!"


    Not only odd, but several parts of her story bothered me to the point where they became annoying.


    First, the fact that she mentioned her deceased daughter was going around and killing people could be considered a sign that her daughter had become an evil spirit.


    However, what I found more annoying than that was...


    "Loved?"


    The fact that she was speaking in the past tense.


    If the deceased daughter was going around killing her mother''s lovers, shouldn''t she have done it when her mother was still in love with those men? Why did she do it after her mother’s emotions had cooled?


    Filled with doubts, I asked such questions, but Ophelia was too flustered to even listen to my questions and continued speaking.


    "She has been killing the people I once loved! And my husband too! My lover too! They were all killed by that child!"


    The woman suddenly raised her head, shouting with a tear-streaked face, as if venting her resentment towards me.


    "Clair''s General Store! It all began after I visited that store!"


    "...Clair''s General Store?"


    The mere mention of that name made the woman tremble with fear, but I couldn''t help but have some doubts because I was a bit familiar with Clair''s General Store.


    It was more commonly known as the secret shop that appeared in [Retry].


    In [Retry], you could only visit that place if you were lucky enough, and there was a helper in the shop from whom you could obtain rare items.


    That shop was run by Clair, who was always lively and cheerful, and loved antiques.


    Something seems off.


    It seemed like, once again, the story of the continent was unfolding differently from the game I knew.


    1. Although the term used in the raws means villa, a villa in Korea doesn''t have the same meaning as a villa in America or English. In Korea, villas are apartment buildings with at most five floors. Also, villas are found away from city centers, as this is where larger buildings containing apartments and offices are located.