Chapter 348: Darling

Chapter 348 – Darling

Noah and Virgo looked at each other, eyes flickering with mild surprise as they realized they’d both earned the same number of points.

But only for a moment.

Understanding dawned between them like a silent chord.

The concept of existence... couldn’t possibly mean the same thing to everyone. Hell, even something as simple as ice might carry a thousand meanings for a thousand minds. So what of existence, something infinitely more unique, more sacred?

If Noah’s interpretation of existence was tied to Name, and by extension True Name, then Virgo’s was woven into something else entirely...

Dreams.

Noah took a moment to shift his thoughts, to imagine the world through her eyes, to see what could possibly lead her to such an understanding.

He couldn’t be certain.

But he had an inkling.

He glanced at Virgo, who was also looking back at him with that soft smile playing in her crimson eyes.

"Name, huh? You’re such a fancy man, Mr. I-Know-Everything," she said dryly, and Noah smirked.

"And dreams? Seriously? How old are you even? You look like you could be my great great ancestor." He teased.

The room fell cold.

Virgo was staring at him as though he’d committed some unforgivable cosmic blasphemy. Her red eyes no longer smiled. They didn’t move. They didn’t blink. They just stared like frozen coals behind a bloody mask.

Then she smiled, slow and empty.

"Didn’t you know it’s extremely rude to ask a woman her age?" she said sweetly, but the undertone was razor-sharp. She was genuinely upset.

Because Noah’s words were true. And that’s what made it cut.

"Really?" Noah lifted a brow, lips curving upward. "I thought that was just a thing from my tiny, backwards world."

"It’s universal. No, multiversal," she corrected flatly.

"Oh? And who decided that?"

"Everyone."

"Who’s everyone? I don’t remember voting on that, did I?"

"It’s a tacit agreement. One that all respectable people understand and respect."

"Of course..." Noah said with a shrug, earning himself a glare from her side of the room.

He smiled wider, ready to dive deeper into his taunt when...

"You have succeeded in answering two questions. You may now use the points you’ve earned."

The mechanical voice cut through their banter like a blade through silk.

Both of them straightened. The strange white clothes they still wore made them look like prisoners in an empty white void, but now the words of the mechanical voice were all they could think of.

"The points may be used to purchase anything and everything available within the store. They may also be exchanged for answers to any question."

Now that got their attention.

They had been wondering what the points were for. Now, they knew.

Noah tilted his head slightly, strands of his untied hair falling like silver silk across his cheek, lending him a strangely mystical air despite the simplicity of his white robe.

He parted his lips, his voice came calm and curious...

"What kind of questions can you answer?"

He half-expected silence.

Instead...

"Anything."

Noah paused. Even Virgo blinked, her red brows arching in visible disbelief.

"...Anything?" they both echoed at once, voices colored by suspicion.

But the mechanical voice didn’t elaborate.

Didn’t reassure.

Didn’t explain.

Their frustration flared, swelling inside like an overfilled balloon.

Noah hated this kind of situation. No control. That wasn’t his nature. There was a reason he had become the bearer of Providence.

He needed control.

He thrived in control.

And while this game, this little interlude, was amusing... it was also beginning to itch beneath his skin.

Still... his system-wife had told him this was good for him.

And when had Providence ever lied to him?

Never.

She made him who he was after all. She had his heart, his soul, his life...if she asked for it.

[So am I your favorite?]

’My love, don’t do this to me.’ he thought, chuckling internally before turning toward Virgo with a dazzling, snake-oil charlatan’s grin he had never offered anyone else.

"Darling... you heard what the voice said, right?"

Virgo visibly shivered at the smile. "Yes?" she replied hesitantly, tempted to say no just to protect herself.

"How about we test the theory?"

Immediately, her expression darkened. She understood what he meant.

"No," she said flatly.

Noah had expected that. He grinned wider. "Why not?"

"I don’t want to waste my points," she snapped back.

"Who said it’s a waste?" he countered, stepping closer. "That thing said it can answer any question. Don’t tell me you have nothing you want to know?"

"So what are you losing? You ask. You get your answer."

He smiled again. It was disarming and confident.

Virgo went quiet.

There was logic in his words, and it annoyed her.

"...Why don’t you ask first?" she said finally. "You just want to use me as your test subject."

’Aren’t you a damned genius, darling? How did you know?’ he thought, but swallowed the words, replacing them with his most trustworthy-looking expression.

"Who knows? Maybe there’s a bonus for whoever asks the first question?"

"Stop wasting time and just ask. You’re not losing anything."

Virgo stared at him, longer than he liked, then finally relented.

"...Fine."

She turned away from him, breathing deep. Her thoughts twisted and tangled, cycling endlessly before narrowing into a single, sharp question.

Not the most important. But one that mattered.

"Is my natural talent enough for me to surpass Law Creator rank?" she asked.

Noah tilted his head, quietly attentive.

The mechanical voice responded immediately:

"It will cost 2 points. Proceed?"

Virgo nodded. "Yes."

"You do not have the natural talent for it."

Simple. Brutal. Final.

Virgo didn’t flinch. Not really.

She had suspected as much. She knew how many years it took her just to reach the level she was at. She had never been someone blessed with divine talent. She had clawed her way up, inch by inch.

’What did I expect? That I’d hear something different?’

’It’s because of that lack of talent that Lord Ruin chose me for this mission. Because in the grand scheme... I’m expendable. I’m replaceable. There’s nothing unique about me.’

These thoughts weren’t new.

But this time... she didn’t flinch from them. She looked them in the eye and accepted. Since the beginning, she had always been... nothing.

A stretch to say that, after all reaching Law Creator was a miracle to most.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it?

Rare are the beings who are truly grateful for what they have. The more they possess, the more they desire. And the more they desire, the more they’re willing to sacrifice anything to reach further. It’s a vicious, gluttonous cycle.

Virgo exhaled slowly...wistful, but not defeated.

She wasn’t done.

"Can I find a way to increase my talent here?" she asked.

She just wanted a yes or no.

"Yes," the mechanical voice replied.

"-2 points."

She grinned and didn’t care about the cost.

Her eyes gleaming with renewed purpose, she turned toward Noah, ready to gloat, only to find him staring at something else.

At the void. As if he could see something she couldn’t.

She frowned. "...What are you looking at?"

Noah didn’t respond.

He was trying very, very hard not to let a devilish grin twist across his lips. Because what he was seeing—what he was now focused on—was the store.

The one the mechanical voice had mentioned.

And oh, sweet stars above...

Noah couldn’t suppress the grin anymore.

"You naughty little thing..." he whispered. "I didn’t know you were like this."

He laughed softly to himself.

"I think I will forgive you."

He murmured finally, eyes locked on the store...on the ’toys’ he had just discovered.

Virgo tilted her head.

"You—!"

"Shut up, darling. Let me admire this cutie I’m about to use to make you cry."

Virgo blinked.

"...What?"

—End of Chapter 348—