Endless Debt

When Bologue returned to the base room, Palmer was already snoring on the single bed, as if he had completely made himself at home, showing no signs of vigilance.

Bologue glanced around the room, which was very full. His single bed was in another corner of the room, right next to the boxes. If Bologue lay down quietly, standing at the door, it would be hard to notice his presence.

He brought over a chair, sat down at the table, and laid out the documents he got from Teda. These were research materials left behind by Teda while studying the Alchemy Matrix of Overlord Xilin.

Bologue didn't immediately start reading the documents. He felt a bit muddled, possibly because of the events he experienced today. He was somewhat exhausted and needed to rest.

"Ah..."

Leaning back against the chair, Bologue pressed hard against his temples, hoping to alleviate the fatigue in his heart.

The strong sense of exhaustion spread from the inside out. According to Teda, the Philosopher's Stone contains echoes of humans from their lifetime. They call this phenomenon Mind Projection. It seems that when Adelle's Philosopher's Stone was distinguished from so many others, it was due to this technique.

Aimou was influenced by the Mind Projection, becoming increasingly like Teda's daughter, even though she was not Alice at all.

Belli's concerns were justified. Teda was in a dire state; he was already blurring the boundaries between Aimou and Alice. Even worse, besides keeping a close eye on Teda, Bologue had no solution to any of this.

Bologue excelled at solving problems with violence, but many things cannot be influenced by force. Even if you beat someone to a pulp, some thoughts won't change.

Like an unsolvable puzzle, it seemingly had no answer from the start.

This dilemma made Bologue very irritable. Fortunately, he was good at controlling his emotions and needed to do something else to divert his attention, like writing a report.

Bologue checked the door; it was tightly closed with no gaps. After making sure no one else was around except for the snoring Palmer, Bologue sat back down at the table, picked up a pen and paper, and began to write while pondering.

This wasn't a report for Lebius. Once work stabilized and there were no unexpected events, Bologue only needed to submit a report once a week to reduce workload pressure.

The current report was for Nesanel, documenting today's encounter with the Corruption Cult.

The Ninth Group had close ties with Nesanel, who might already know what happened in Qiushang Town today. Bologue needed to fill in a key piece of this puzzle.

In the report, Bologue withheld nothing, writing down the abnormalities he sensed through Mind Projection, the enigmatic woman, and speculations about the Devils.

This is a bizarre and frenetic world. Sometimes, Bologue alone cannot defeat all enemies; he needs allies... like a powerful Seeker of Glory.

After writing a whole page full, Bologue read it over several times, thinking it was detailed enough, but just as he was about to stop, he hesitated and continued writing.

"Interesting, the Devils can extend the existence of faith. Even if this faith is so insane, some still choose to plunge into the flames."

Upon writing this, Bologue stopped. He took a booklet from inside his jacket, its cover red with a strange greasy feel, like some skin smeared with oil.

This was found on Belli's body, filled with mad praises, but whenever a revered name was involved, the names were smeared with blood, as if they were a taboo, unable to be written, meant only to reside in memory.

Logically, Bologue didn't know the true name stained with blood, but under that weird influence, he instinctively called out the true name.

"Crimson Queen."

With his fingertips brushing against the coarse paper, Bologue spoke softly.

The true name of the Devil cannot be recorded on paper; thus, the Corruption Cult used another title to refer to the Devil they worshiped—the name being Crimson Queen.

"Faith is not fixed. Perhaps wandering paths may present another form of sect for the Tyrant, and the name Tyrant might just be a pseudonym, similar to Crimson Queen," Bologue analyzed, writing down this hypothesis.

From Bologue's peculiar network, he had currently interacted with three Devils. The one he traded his soul with, about which he had no knowledge, was completely enveloped in mist. Then there were the Crimson Queen and Tyrant.

Pulling down his collar, Bologue looked at his chest. A woman's handprint was clearly visible, neither painful nor itchy, without any strange sensation, like a tattoo etched on his skin, even Resurrection couldn't heal it.

Bologue also wrote about this in hopes that Nesanel might know something. The deputy director always gave Bologue the impression of a Devil expert, seemingly knowing everything.

Sometimes you have to admit that among the Devils Bologue has encountered, the Tyrant is actually the easiest to deal with. Though bizarre and mysterious, the rules he follows are extremely rational, creating a unique sense of order even in wandering paths.

From behind came the sound of snoring again, Palmer turned over, holding the quilt, and continued to sleep.

On the first day of moving in, Palmer was like this. If time goes on, Bologue is not sure if Palmer will make this place like his home, piled with various personal belongings, completely unlike a workplace.

Hmm... it feels okay, when dealing with his own people, Bologue is a very tolerant person, and his expert requirements are only directed at himself.

Turning his attention back to the report in front of him, Bologue's expression became serious.

"Gluttonous... Beelzebub."

Bologue silently mouthed the name, almost calling it to the void. Then every muscle in Bologue's body tensed, remaining vigilant of his surroundings. Fortunately, nothing abnormal happened.

"I'm not a believer, but through Adelle's words, I somewhat understand the content of those beliefs, like how in the eyes of these believers, humans are inherently sinful.

I don't know what kind of connection exists between them, but that bizarre woman is given the prefix of Gluttony... Does this mean the Devils name themselves after such original sins?

Seven deadly sins, seven madly howling Devils."

Bologue stopped writing, gazing at his text. The more he understood this world, the more he realized its grandeur and the insignificance of individuals.

He's searching for the truth bit by bit, believing that in this world, there are others on the same path, who surely know something, but all remain silent, as if they've compromised.

The figures of Serey and Wei'Er flashed before his eyes. These Undead are witnesses of history, and compared to their long years, Bologue finds himself particularly young.

He stuffed the papers into a file bag, picked it up, and then woke the sleeping Palmer.

"It's time to clock out, Palmer."

Bologue said to the bleary-eyed Palmer.

"Huh?" Palmer rubbed his eyes, sitting up from bed with a look of confusion.

Bologue waited a few minutes, and while tidying up his things, Palmer cleared his head.

"How does it feel to be here?" Bologue asked.

"At least I slept pretty well," Palmer suggested, "We can live here long term in the future, there's no need for rent, and it's close to our workstations. More accurately, we sleep right at the workstations."

About this, Palmer was very serious, as he weighed the pros and cons.

"The only bad thing is, the environment here isn't great. The room is a bit narrow, and we two have to be roommates... are you interested in being my roommate?"

"Are you referring to when the faucet suddenly bursts while brushing teeth, or the bed suddenly collapses?" Bologue was well aware of Palmer's misfortune, and he firmly refused, "Work is work, life is life, don't mix the two."

"Alright, alright, alright."

Palmer waved his hand. He's the kind of person who, if conditions permit, would live in the Field Operations Department's activity room, and the Order Bureau wisely forbade having beds in the activity room.

"Did you finish writing the report?" Palmer saw the file bag in Bologue's hand.

"Yes, I need to head back to the Order Bureau to submit this," Bologue said, "If you're in a hurry, you can go ahead."

"I don't have anything urgent."

Palmer looked at the tightly closed door, then stretched his body lazily.

"How are things, like with Teda, and Aimou?" Palmer asked again.

This time Palmer was serious, and it's rare for this guy to be serious, but often, when Palmer is serious, he's talking about important matters.

"There are some anomalies, but all within expectations." Bologue said.

"That's not too bad, I wouldn't want to live in the same building as a potential enemy." Palmer said as he pulled out a Flying Knife from under his pillow and put it back into the knife pouch he wore.

Bologue looked at Palmer with a peculiar gaze, while Palmer did not understand and said.

"Didn't your family teach you? When sleeping at someone else's place, you must remain vigilant."