Chapter 245

EP.245 Something’s Wrong #2

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The next morning.

Silvia carefully opened Adeline’s door.

Adeline was asleep, her blanket thrown aside.

In her tightly clenched hand was a necklace, seemingly holding the fox necklace Jihyuk had given her.

‘Is she thinking of Jihyuk even in her sleep?’

At any rate, it’s clear she loves Jihyuk that much.

Silvia, holding the doorknob and staring at Adeline, recalled what had happened last night.

The two of them, walking through the garden with Adeline in her arms, sitting on a bench, expressing all sorts of affection.

At that time, Silvia had felt envy and jealousy toward Adeline, who was experiencing such sweet love.

She had always believed in and cared for Adeline, but at times, she had harbored ill feelings toward her, and it made her feel incredibly sorry.

Silvia sighed silently and cautiously approached the bed, sitting down and stroking Adeline’s head.

“Mmm…”

Adeline mumbled in her sleep and then giggled.

Seeing her so defenseless and pure, Silvia’s heart ached.

She didn’t want to ruin this innocent image.

‘I need to distance myself from Jihyuk…’

Before she falls deeper for him, she should cut off the relationship.

What happened at the Grand Canyon was just… a lapse in judgment during a chaotic time.

After all, they hadn’t even properly met, right? It’s strange to be so anxious about it.

As Silvia thought this and was about to wake Adeline,

Buzz—!

Silvia’s phone vibrated.

Startled, she glanced at Adeline.

Fortunately, Adeline didn’t wake up. She was still sound asleep.

Relieved, Silvia checked her phone.

[Let’s have lunch today.]

It was a text from Jihyuk.

Silvia clenched her phone tightly, feeling her heart sway. She closed her eyes tightly.

I just decided to distance myself! Why am I swaying like a reed?

Scolding herself, she replied.

[Sorry. Not today.]

[Come to Ilsan XX Restaurant at 12.]

[I said no? Eat with someone else.]

[I’ll wait. If you don’t want to come, you don’t have to.]

What the… he just says what he wants.

Silvia let out a hollow laugh and quickly typed.

[Don’t wait.]

Even after sending the message and seeing it read, Jihyuk didn’t reply.

Did he give up? At any rate, she had firmly refused… so she didn’t have to go.

Silvia deleted the chat as evidence and put her phone in her pocket, just as Adeline woke up at the perfect timing.

“…. Sis… when did you get here…? Is it time for exercise…? I’ll get up right away…”

“No. I just wanted to have breakfast with you… I made udon, want some?”

Adeline’s ears perked up.

“Udon…? Did you leave out the cilantro…?”

“Of course I did.”

“I’ll eat it.”

Adeline beamed and raised both arms.

Silvia grabbed Adeline’s arms and helped her up.

Watching Adeline rub the sleep from her eyes, Silvia burst into a silly laugh.

“Hurry and wash up.”

“Yes, sis…”

Adeline nodded slowly and, groaning, got up and headed to the bathroom.

Silvia watched her staggering figure and let out a shallow sigh before getting up.

**

At a high-end restaurant in Ilsan, I raised one corner of my mouth as I saw the waiter escort Silvia in.

Wearing a cap pulled low and a shabby tracksuit, she walked briskly toward me and sat down.

I sent the waiter away as he tried to pour water and said,

“You came.”

“I’m just here to eat and leave.”

Her expression and tone were filled with firm resolve.

She must have felt a lot of guilt after seeing Adeline.

Good thing. If we hadn’t met today, she might have completely left.

“Alright. I’ve already ordered. And about the device…”

“What about it?”

“It should be done by today.”

“Wait, really…?”

Silvia raised her voice but then bit her lip.

She must have been worried about others overhearing.

Looking around, she asked again in a small voice,

“Really?”

“Yes. So call me tonight or late, and come to the lab.”

“Ah, got it. But I heard from Adeline you were on a business trip…”

She was implying how I had time to make the device while being busy.

“I made time by cutting back on sleep.”

“…. Thank you… I mean it.”

She’s grateful now, but later she’ll be in trouble because of the Aiter charging, right?

And in the end, you’ll choose me.

When charging is urgent, is there any man who meets your standards? Aside from me, there’s not a single one.

So stop trying to stray. Dr. Cash was enough of a headache.

“People will look down on you if you thank them for something that’s only natural.”

“What’s wrong with being polite?”

“The world is scary these days. Polite people are easy prey.”

“You’re funny… I don’t think so.”

We exchanged trivial chatter for a while until the server brought the appetizer.

After a brief explanation of the dish made with rare ingredients, I smirked.

“The food here is good, so come often.”

“…. I can come with Adeline.”

“Adeline can’t eat this. She’s picky.”

“She is… she only likes noodles, chicken, and pizza.”

“So come with me. It’s hard when I want to eat this but can’t.”

Silvia paused with her fork in hand.

Seeing her fist clench, it seemed she was deep in thought.

Finally, Silvia spoke.

“Sometimes… as colleagues, sometimes is fine.”

See, you can’t escape me, right?

“Yes. As colleagues, sometimes. Let’s eat now. This appetizer is best eaten before it gets cold.”

“Got it…”

**

With a loud *pushik!*, the lab door opened, and Silvia entered.

She had light makeup on.

Her hair was tied in a ponytail with a slight twist on the side, and her eyeliner was sharp, well-drawn.

She had on a red tint that suited her, making her already sexy face stand out even more.

Her clothes were just jeans and a gray long coat you could see anywhere, but with a face like that, anything would look good, so let’s move on.

Silvia’s eyes were filled with anticipation.

The long-awaited device was complete, so it was only natural.

I deliberately stayed silent, smiling meaningfully.

Silvia, growing impatient, approached and tapped my shoulder.

“Show me quickly.”

I responded with a soft smile, placing a slightly indented square device on my palm.

Then, I pressed a button to make a tube pop out for transferring Aiter.

“Take out the storage.”

“Ah, yes…!”

Silvia, who had been watching blankly, quickly took out the Aiter storage.

I stood up from the chair and brought the tube to the top of the storage.

“Open it.”

“N-now…?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. We did this with Adeline too.”

“Okay…”

It had been a while since Silvia looked this nervous.

Was it the first time since that incident in the cave? Probably.

With trembling hands, Silvia operated the storage, watching as I inserted the tube into the small opening at the top, swallowing hard.

As the Aiter in the storage was slowly sucked into the tube, she even held her breath.

I thought she’d be calm, but she surprised me.

It was kind of cute. Not as much as Adeline, though.

The Aiter soon settled in the center of the device.

After moving around a bit, it emitted colorful lights in all directions, illuminating the lab before calming down.

*Click!*

I pressed the button to remove the tube and fastened the device to Silvia’s right wrist.

“You’ve heard the操作方法 from Adeline, right?”

“Ah… yes… I’ve memorized it.”

“Want to try? First, check the Aiter charge.”

“Uh, sure… just a second…”

Silvia raised her wrist, examining the device closely, and pressed the button in the lower center.

With a *click*, translucent white numbers appeared in the air above the device.

The energy was almost at the bottom.

Seeing the single-digit number, Silvia’s face fell but quickly recovered.

I spoke to her in an apologetic tone.

“It’s my fault it’s so low. If I hadn’t asked you to come to the Grand Canyon…”

“What… if I hadn’t gone with you, you’d be dead. I helped you willingly, so stop worrying.”

“Thank you.”

“Didn’t you say people look down on you if you thank them for something natural? Polite people are easy prey, you gave a whole speech… you’re the same, huh?”

“No… that was limited to naive people like you, Silvia. I’ve adapted to this world long ago, so I’m an exception.”

At that, Silvia let out a small laugh and lightly kicked my butt.

The tension had completely eased. We really do get along when we bicker like this.

Overacting the pain, I matched Silvia’s rhythm and said,

“Your activity name… after deep consideration, I’ve decided on Caroline. I’ll call you Carol for short.”

“Caroline…? Carol?”

“Yes. Doesn’t it suit your image?”

“What’s my image?”

“Cold but warm?”

“What kind of nonsense is that…”

Silvia, finding it absurd, giggled.

She continued,

“Do I not get a choice?”

“Do you have a name in mind?”

“No, I don’t. I’ll go with Caroline.”

Silvia kept repeating ‘Carol’ with a smile on her lips.

She seemed to like the name.

“The suit isn’t ready yet… but I’ll make it soon with Adeline.”

“I don’t need it…”

Her tone was confident in her movements.

Even veterans make mistakes sometimes! Do as I say!

“I admit you’re fast, but what if there’s a demon spreading miasma everywhere? If you get hit by a blind attack, it’s dangerous. Yuria and Sehwa have been hurt before, so listen to me.”

“Really…? Okay… if you say so.”

“Use your current weapon until the polymer one is ready.”

“Okay.”

“Can I take a quick look at your weapon? I want to make a similar design…”

“Of course.”

Silvia took out two palm-sized objects from her pocket.

They were similar to the communicator I’d seen before.

She pressed the center, and with a *clank!*, it transformed into a 40-centimeter scabbard.

I gasped at the sight and asked,

“That’s convenient. Is that also a storage?”

“Yes. You can take it and research it if you want.”

I felt pleased that Silvia trusted me completely.

Being kind and righteous really is the best.

“I’ll do that.”

As I was about to examine the twin swords from Silvia,

Beep—! Beep—!

[Warning, Evil Energy detected.]

A tense but emotionless warning sound came from the lab’s speakers.

Startled by the loud sound echoing through the lab, I turned my head.

My first thought as I stared at the situation board was, ‘Something’s wrong.’

Because I had no plans to release any demons today.

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