Clank-

It was just as I opened the door that I stopped and looked behind.

"...Why are you following me?"

"I've got something to ask."

Leon stepped into the room before I could even say anything. Looking around, he made himself comfortable on the living room sofa.

There were so many things that I wanted to say at this very moment but held myself back. Tossing my blazer aside, I poured myself a cup of water.

"Do you want some?"

"....Sure."

"I was only asking."

Taking a sip of the glass, I sat down on the opposite sofa and leaned back.

"What is it that you want to talk about?"

Leon glanced at the cup in my hands for a brief moment before shifting his eyes away.

'...I'm actually thirsty, though.'

'Though luck.'

"Tsk."

"Did you just click your tongue?"

"Why did you tell them the information?"

"Hm?"

"Don't play dumb."

Leon's eyes narrowed.

"...You shared some pretty important information and you're not the type to do something like this."

"Eh?"

What did he take me as?

"Why do you think-"

"You're willing to sell me for forty million. Of course, you have no integrity."

Fuck, I couldn't argue back.

"See? What is your intention?"

Massaging the back of my neck, I put the glass cup down. I didn't like it when Leon saw right through my intentions.

"If I didn't tell them then things would've been quite troublesome. Although you guys may have not noticed that she was made out of energy, I'm sure others would've. When that happened, things would become rather troublesome."

"....You have a point."

Leon's brows knit as he eventually nodded his head.

"Still, if it was just that you would've just told Aoife. You must have another reason for telling everyone."

"Keum."

I brought my fist in front of my face and coughed.

This guy...

He was too perceptive.

"I'll be frank, I need some dummies."

"........"

I held my hand forward.

"Hear me out, even I am not entirely familiar with how 'Wills' work. I've only learned about them in the past year and I know there's a lot more that I don't know. So I was thinking of using them to learn a bit more about wills."

Leon's eyes narrowed further but I wasn't lying in this regard.

I truly was using them as testing dummies to learn more about wills. I wasn't forcing them to learn it and it was also a nice way to have them help me.

It had been a while since I had been with Pebble and Owl-Mighty and I had a feeling that I merely scratched the surface of what a 'Will' could do.

...I had a feeling that there was a bigger secret that I was yet aware of.

Sharing the information with others would help me learn more about this 'secret' that could

help me become stronger.

My only doubt was whether I had shared it with the right people.

"They are after all the ones who end up killing me in the future.'

...But then again, considering what I had seen in the future, my death was supposed to happen

and it was something that 'I' had planned.

At least, that was how it seemed to me.

Whether it was true or not I wasn't sure.

"Haa."

As Leon let out a long sigh, he reached out and grabbed my glass of water to take a sip.

By the time I realized this, it was already too late.

"That's..."

"How difficult is it to create a Will?"

Whatever.

"It's not that difficult. You just need to find the right bone. Oh, and it should be in accordance with your mental score. Don't choose a bone that you can't handle."

"I know that much."

Leon placed the cup down.

Pinching his brows, he stood up after a while.

"All I have to do is find the right bone, right?"

"Yes,"

"Okay."

Leon nodded. It looked like he had an idea of what he was going to do.

"I'll let you know once I get one, then."

Without waiting for me to say anything, he grabbed his stuff and waved his hand. He left right

after that.

"Hmm."

Seeing that the room had suddenly grown quiet, I stretched my back and closed my eyes.

'While I wait for the quest rewards to arrive, I'll just practice.'

EXP +0.01%

With the addition of the new manual given to me by Atlas, notifications started to flood my

vision.

It had been a while since I had seen this level of growth and it felt exhilarating.

'At the rate that I'm growing, I might reach the fifth tier before I even get the quest reward.'

The thought made me laugh.

***

Coming out of Julien's room, Leon headed for the stairs and walked back to the common

room.

"So?"

Greeting him there were Aoife, Kiera, and Evelyn.

The three were still there.

Leon's steps came to a sudden pause before he opened his mouth.

"That fucke-"

"Watch it."

Evelyn abruptly cut off Leon before he could get his words out. He was surprised at first but

when he saw her point at Theresa who was lying down with her back facing the ceiling.

She seemed to have lost all will to live.

"We can't use his nickname while she's here."

I don't think that's an issue at this moment... Leon mumbled inside of his mind while

nodding.

"Nickname?"

Kiera and Aoife both looked interested.

Leon didn't elaborate. He couldn't tell them that when it was just Evelyn and him they'd refer

to Julien as 'fucker' instead of his name.

"You were about to say fucker, weren't-"

Everyone glared at Kiera who struggled to read the room.

Clicking her tongue, Kiera stopped speaking.

'Fine, fine.'

"So? What did he say?"

Aoife asked, taking a scoop of what looked like plain yogurt. Her eyes squinted and she let out

a 'uwa' of the light. She clearly enjoyed the yogurt.

Kiera looked at her weirdly but Aoife promptly ignored her.

"It's as he said. So long as you find a bone you can create a will. Of course, you must first

convince the will to follow you in order for that to happen."

"Is that it?"

"....That is it."

Leon's face twitched. He couldn't quite tell them the truth. It would make things rather

awkward if he said that Julien was trying to use them as guinea pigs.

"Keum."

He unconsciously coughed.

"Why do I feel like you're hiding something?"

Kiera's eyes narrowed.

Leon kept a straight face.

"What can I be hiding?"

Kiera's eyes narrowed further.

Fortunately, Leon was able to keep his face straight. No matter how hard she stared at him,

his face didn't change at all.

She eventually relented.

"Whatever. I'll trust your words for now. Not that I can try it right now since I don't have any

bones that I can use."

"...Same."

Evelyn replied, her head lowering.

"Our house has got a few but none of them fit what I want. I can only wait until I find the right

one."

"I just can't afford one."

Kiera shrugged while mumbling, 'My house is in shambles and shit.' Only for Aoife to look at

her weirdly.

"It's not because you spend all your money on useless stuff, right?"

"What are you on about?"

Kiera's head flicked to face Aoife.

Aoife didn't flinch under her stare and shrugged.

"No, seriously. You buy a lot of unecessary stuff. From those sticks to all those cleaning

supplies and extra clothes, since you end up tossing a new one each time you wear them. It's

no wonder you can't afford a bone. If all of my budget goes on them I'd also not be able to get -one."

"Nah, nu-"

Kiera pursed her lips mid-sentence. Her thoughts probably drifted towards her unnecessary

expenses.

Frowning, she looked down at her hands.

That was when she noticed they were trembling.

"W,wait, it can't be..."

***

Late at night.

Delilah sat in her office seat while sorting through several documents that her assistant,

Jennifer had given her in advance.

The chaos that ensued after the assault had quickly died down with them blocking all news

but the sudden delay of the Confessional hearing was giving her a headache.

If it were up to her then she would've allowed the hearing to start already but given how

sensitive the matter was for the Churches, it still had to be delayed for a few more days. At

least, until it was confirmed that the priests weren't being targeted.

'Who was it that you were testing? Me? Julien? Or... Him?'

Tak-

Delilah dropped the pen as it rolled over the wooden desk.

Her obsidian black eyes turned murky as she looked at the pen.

The silence surrounding her felt stifling.

Almost suffocating as her entire presence seemed to blend with the darkness around the

room.

Her thoughts couldn't help but drift towards the Keeper.

'He's dangerous.'

While she could deal with him with power alone, she felt like he could see through everything.

Not only did he figure out her intentions but she was also sure that he highly suspected Julien.

In fact, Delilah knew that he wasn't done with him.

Perhaps he wouldn't touch Julien for now but who was to say he wouldn't do so later?

So long as he found the right leeway...

Brrr-

At that moment, Delilah's communication device vibrated.

The sender was her assistant.

It first started with a;

-Where is your other assistant? I can't do this anymore. I'm dying. Help me. You cruel bitch. Evil

monster.

It was a lot of curses.

Curses that Delilah promptly ignored as she shifted her attention toward the second part of

the message.

-The Churches have agreed to move the Confessional hearings but the Cardinals will have no choice

but to leave tomorrow due to prior schedules. The Confessionals will be done by the Priests.

The piece of news didn't shock Delilah very much.

She somewhat expected this considering how busy she was as well. Had she been in their

position she would've also left.

And yet...

'Why do I feel so uneasy?' Delilah's lips pressed together. Staring at the message, her unease grew.

Why...

Did this feel like the calm before the storm?

"Huu."

Delilah's chest deflated as air escaped her thin lips. Leaning back on her chair, she reached out

for her drawer where her stash of chocolate bars was.

That would at least calm her unease.

"...?"

Or so she thought.

"Eh?"

Leaning forward once more, Delilah opened the drawer and rummaged through it.

To her utter dismay, she realized,

"Gone."

All her bars were gone.

"Where co-"

Her thoughts paused after a brief moment as realization dawned on her.

Her bars...

Julien had kidnapped them!