Two golden pages floated before Senior Yulia... After neatly stacking them, she quickly tucked them against her chest, then looked thoughtfully at the six-winged youth Metatron beside her.
Half of the Book of Gaia was still in Metatron's hand, and he was gripping it especially tightly. Senior Yulia had tried earlier, but she simply could not pry his fingers apart, much less pull the Book of Gaia free.
She had no idea whether this fellow was truly unconscious or merely pretending.
She was, at any rate, a master of the performing arts, yet she still could not tell.
Should I... try again and see if I can slip away with half the book first?
She acted as soon as the thought occurred to her, with no hesitation. But just as Senior Yulia reached her guilty hand toward the unconscious beautiful youth, Metatron woke up.
His eyes flew open, and then his entire body sprang upright like a released spring.
Senior Yulia was startled, her face filled with uncertainty. "You... you're all right now?"
"What could possibly be wrong with me?" the six-winged Angel Youth asked in confusion.
Senior Yulia said, "But you... weren't you on the verge of blowing up your soul just now?"
"Oh, you mean that." Metatron shrugged. "Relax. It wasn't my soul that blew up. I don't have a soul."
"Not your soul..." Senior Yulia looked as if she had heard something unbelievable. "You don't have a soul?"
"Isn't it perfectly normal for someone traveling the world to carry a few spare souls for emergencies?" Metatron said solemnly. "As everyone knows, I run a faith-based pyramid scheme, so carrying a few souls around for pretending to be divine and playing tricks is perfectly normal."
"...Huh?"
She didn't believe him. At least, not for now!
Regardless, the