Elias's molars were nearly crushed from how hard he was grinding them.
He saw through it completely now; this damned old sea dog never had any intention of giving him room to refuse from the very beginning!
It was a series of traps, one after another, pressing him into a corner.
However, Elias quickly reviewed the current situation in his mind.
Thinking about it calmly...
In truth, he didn't have much of a choice.
To put it bluntly, there were only two paths before him:
Either he could roll back to White Tower Island every month to clock in for work.
On that godforsaken rock where even birds didn't bother to shit, he would wait for death while enduring the mental devastation of the dream demon curse.
Or, he could sign this contract of servitude with the old man right now and take a gamble at the bottom of the sea in Moon Bay.
Furthermore...
There was an even more fatal logical loop staring him in the face.
Since the ultimate goal of those lunatics from the Mist Veil Society was to completely eliminate all the lighthouses and release the Divine Scion at the bottom of the sea...
That meant as long as he remained a keeper on a lighthouse, he would eventually have to face the main force of the Mist Veil Society head-on.
This was an irreconcilable conflict.
If he could sneak into the ruins with Old Crowley beforehand and weld the seal shut...
Then at the very least, the people from the Mist Veil Society wouldn't be able to easily target the lighthouses for a long time to come.
Because when the seal on that damned Divine Scion was strong...
The moment those Mist Veil Society members approached a lighthouse, the blessings of the evil god and their combat power would be completely weakened by the light of the Dawn Lady!
The home-field advantage was very real.
Even if it became inevitable to fight those cultists to the death on the island in the future...
With that natural "overwhelming suppression" aura protecting him...
The keepers, or rather he himself, shouldn't have much to worry about.
To take it a step further.
If he let his head get hot and just handed the pendulum over to the old man right now...
Setting aside whether this old sea dog would actually be willing to take the massive risk of being hunted across the city by the Storm Judges and the Seventh Agency after getting the item...
Just the act of the "pendulum changing hands" itself would throw all future variables into total chaos!
Even if the Seventh Agency and the Storm Inquisition could establish trust with the Resurrection Society...
What about the Mist Veil Society?
What about those big capitalists at Wayland Shipping?
Would they just stand by and watch the key fall into the hands of the Resurrection Society?
If two orthodox god factions had obtained the pendulum...
Elias would have accepted it; at worst, he'd just be a bystander.
But what if it was Wayland or the Mist Veil Society—two organizations with absolutely no bottom line—that got their hands on it?
Given his previous unpleasant encounters with those two factions...
From the bottom of his heart, he was a hundred percent unwilling to let them have their way.
If the Mist Veil Society released the Divine Scion, causing the entire Kingdom of Velen to become a desolate, lifeless wasteland like the world outside the islands...
Then his delusion of "perhaps one day finding a way back to his original world" wouldn't even have a bubble left of it.
In fact, forget about going home.
Even the small wish of finding a quiet countryside in this industrial age to live out the rest of his life in peace...
Would likely become impossible to achieve.
Therefore.
In summary, it was a dead end either way.
He might as well take a trip with the old man.
At least that way, he could keep a bit of the initiative in his own hands.
"Sigh..."
Elias let out a long sigh in his mind.
Although he had analyzed everything perfectly on a rational level, emotionally, this whole thing still lacked a sense of reality for him.
How did he go from just wanting to be a lighthouse security guard to earn some money for his sister's tuition...
To having the burden of saving the world somehow fall onto his shoulders?
Damn it!
This shitty fate!
Just as Elias was frantically complaining in his head, lost in thought...
Knock, knock, knock.
A small but clear knocking sound came from the heavy oak door behind him.
"Come in,"
Ms. Sophia said in a level voice, stopping her wine tasting.
Outside the door.
Ophelia gripped the hem of her skirt tightly and took a deep breath.
She looked up once more at the strange Resurrection serpent emblem carved into the heavy wooden door.
The unease in her heart grew like weeds.
But she gritted her teeth and pushed the door open with trepidation.
The first thing that caught her eye was the tall figure of "Mr. Wayne," wearing a black derby hat, with his back to the door.
Although she couldn't see his face, that "do not approach" aura still made her feel a little more at ease.
At least he was an acquaintance.
Looking further back...
Sitting on either side of the long mahogany table were an older man and woman.
When Ophelia's gaze passed through the glow of the crystal chandelier and landed on the old sea captain with a white beard and a pipe in his mouth...
Her pupils suddenly constricted.
In an instant, Ophelia's eyes lit up.
Her pale little face even flushed with an unnatural crimson.
At this thrilling moment...
How could she care about the fear that had nearly scared her soul away when she saw the real demon downstairs?
Even if a dragon were sitting in the room right now, she would walk in without hesitation.
Because the truth behind her brother's death was literally sitting right before her eyes!
This was no time to worry about anything else.
"H-Hello, sir."
Ophelia stepped forward quickly.
Because of extreme nervousness, or perhaps the excitement of finding a lead, even her voice was trembling slightly.
It made the beautiful girl look like a lark shivering in the wind and rain.
Old Crowley took the pipe from his mouth.
He looked the young girl up and down with those clouded eyes that had seen the world.
"I am Edward,"
Old Crowley spoke slowly.
"Edward Crowley."
He deliberately emphasized his words, stating his full name again.
It was as if his name itself carried some kind of magic that had to be remembered clearly by others.
"Mr. Crowley."
Ophelia took a deep breath, trying to make her voice sound more stable.
"I am Ryan Moore's sister."
"Do you... do you remember him?"
She stared fixedly at every tiny change in the old man's expression.
"Three years ago, through the Wayland Company, he became a lighthouse keeper in Moon Bay."
Ophelia's speech grew faster and faster, fearing he might interrupt her.
"I don't know what your relationship with him was."
"But since you took a photo with him..."
"Do you know his whereabouts?"
"Ryan?"
Hearing the name...
A look of contemplation clearly appeared in Crowley's clouded old eyes.
He frowned, as if searching through the vast archives of his memory for this insignificant name.
However...
After only a moment.
His white eyebrows smoothed out, and he shook his head with a certainty that brought despair.
"I don't remember,"
Old Crowley replied very bluntly.
"Little girl, I've spent my life drifting at sea. I've seen more keepers than you've seen seagulls."
He stuffed the pipe back into his mouth.
"Three years ago is simply too long ago for me."
Hearing this heartless answer...
Ophelia's eyes turned red instantly, but she didn't lose heart and cry like an ordinary fragile girl.
Instead, she bit her lower lip and plucked up the courage to step forward again.
As she passed Mr. Wayne, she didn't forget to give a small, fearful nod of apology to Ms. Sophia sitting across the table.
Then, she quickly reached into the faded canvas pouch at her waist.
She pulled out the old photo that she cherished like a treasure, its edges already yellowed.
"Please look again."
Ophelia held the photo out to Old Crowley with both hands.
"This is him."
There was a hint of pleading in her voice.
"Maybe if you see the photo, you'll remember something?"
Crowley took the photo.
He squinted his eyes, bringing it close to the dim light to carefully discern the smiling young man standing beside him in the black-and-white image.
"Oh..."
After looking for a long while...
The old man let out a long, realization-filled drawl.
"So it's this kid,"
he muttered to himself.
Then, he looked up and handed the photo back to the expectant Ophelia.
"So his name was Ryan."
"..."
Hearing those words...
Elias, sitting nearby, rolled his eyes hard.
This old bastard!
You were literally standing with your arm around the guy in the photo, smiling like a blooming chrysanthemum, and yet you didn't even know his name?!
So you really are just a heartless photo-taking machine, aren't you?
When he was theorizing earlier, he actually thought there was some touching, multi-generational friendship or some special connection between this guy and Ophelia's brother!
He had clearly overthought it!
"A pity,"
Old Crowley smacked his lips and let out a heart-wrenching sigh.
"The kid had good talent; he almost crossed that chasm."
The old man shook his head.
"A pity he went missing."
Missing?!
The moment those two words came out...
Elias's brow instantly furrowed into a deep scowl.
Then wasn't asking you a complete waste of time?!
Rate on N.U.
