Roselle, You Bastard

"Luther, does your head hurt? Here's some medicine."

"I'm fine. I'm doing quite well."

"Then are you thirsty? Do you want some water?"

"I'm not thirsty either."

Luther watched Cecilia fuss over him nonstop like an old mother and smiled helplessly. "All right, Cecilia. Sit down and relax for a while. I'm perfectly fine."

He forcibly pulled his sister by the arm and pressed her onto the sofa. Even after sitting down, she still could not settle down, staring at Luther every moment.

Luther knew why Cecilia was so concerned about him. Based on the usual pattern, his time awake was almost over. The old Luther could remain normal for only a dozen or so hours at most before falling into terrifying hallucinations, screaming and going mad beyond his own control. At times like that, he needed Cecilia to help fasten straps all over his body and lie still like a psychiatric patient in a straitjacket, preventing him from injuring himself or others.

But now, he felt that he probably would not go mad again.

That Phantom Tide, something akin to a cheat, could shield him from the ravings of an evil god. Naturally, hallucinations and auditory hallucinations related to the True Creator could no longer form in his mind. In other words, from the moment he transmigrated, Luther Rondal had escaped his mental illness and become a normal person.

All he had to do next was live a good life with his sister and work hard to make money.

He was not worried about that.

Hehe, the transmigrator's three-piece set: inventions, copying literature, and a new order. Activate!

...Wait, what the hell was Roselle?

Luther's grand ambitions had barely brewed in his mind for a minute before related memories surfaced and interrupted his fantasies. In this world, it seemed that someone suspected of being a transmigrator had already beaten him to it.

Roselle Gustav, a towering figure from more than one hundred seventy years ago and an emperor of the neighboring powerhouse Intis. He had "improved" the steam engine, "invented" all kinds of items, and "created" a vast number of poems, plays, and novels... Nearly every literary classic Luther knew had already been published by him first and distributed widely throughout this world.

His transmigrator predecessor had already shown off everything there was to show off. What was he supposed to do now?

The key was that Roselle was not even short on money. His reason for copying literature had actually been to pick up girls... How was someone who merely wanted to earn money and support his family supposed to feel about that?

Roselle, you bastard!

Luther felt as though he had fallen from the heavens to the ground in an instant, his expression stiffening.

"Luther, are you all right?"

Cecilia immediately noticed something was wrong and quickly grabbed his hand, asking worriedly.

"I'm fine."

Luther came back to his senses and patted his sister's hand. He quickly adjusted his mood. It was all right. Roselle had not copied every novel in existence. As long as he investigated properly and chose the right genre, he could still make something of himself. At the very least, he could guarantee a moderately comfortable life.

Just as his thoughts began to wander, the lounge door opened, and Leonard walked in carrying a tray in each hand.

"Breakfast time~"

Looking at the siblings, he flashed a brilliant smile from his handsome face and set the trays on the table. "The captain is still busy. He has something to discuss with you two later, so please have something to eat and wait for him."

Luther lowered his gaze and saw white bread, toast, and bacon on the trays. A steaming cup of coffee and a small dish of butter sat in a recess at the side. The white bread looked soft and tempting, the bacon was fried just right, and the coffee continuously gave off a rich aroma.

His stomach immediately felt hollow. After a night of turmoil and fear, he was genuinely starving. He glanced at Cecilia and noticed her throat bob slightly, but she did not reach for the food. Instead, she looked up at him.

"Thank you." Luther smiled at Leonard. "We don't have to pay for the food, right?"

"Hahaha, of course not. This can all be reimbursed."

Leonard seemed amused by his words and winked at Cecilia, but she lowered her head warily. Seeing that he had failed to tease the little girl, he did not mind and merely shrugged before turning to leave. "Just leave them to the side after you finish. Someone will collect them."

Only then did Luther pull the trays over in front of them and take out the coffee. "He said so, so let's eat. Be careful, the coffee's a little hot."

"Luther, you should eat it all. I'm not hungry..."

"All right, all right. Hurry up and eat."

Urged on by him, Cecilia carefully picked up a slice of white bread, examined it for a few seconds, and only then brought it to her mouth. After taking just a small bite, her eyes sparkled.

"Dip it in some butter. It'll taste even better."

Luther smiled. It made sense. Even when their parents were alive and the family was at its best, they could only eat white bread a few times during holidays, let alone in the years afterward when they had struggled merely to survive.

After settling Cecilia, Luther lowered his head and began eating as well. He dipped white bread in butter, sandwiched bacon between toast, and occasionally took a sip of coffee to wash it down. As a transmigrator accustomed to good food, he felt this meal was merely decent. Besides, he did not actually like coffee; he thought it had a greasy, fragrant oil taste. He finished everything simply because he was hungry.

By the time he washed down the last bite of bread with coffee, Cecilia across from him had already cleaned her breakfast plate. She let out a soft burp, looking a little embarrassed.

Luther smiled at her, stacked the two trays to one side, then leaned back in his chair to rest.

Cecilia was only embarrassed for a moment before she began worrying about the future.

"Brother, when do you think they'll let us go?"

"The captain will tell us when he comes."

"That Sirius is dead. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

His sister had hidden in the lounge last night, so she still did not know that Luther had killed a second person.

"Self-defense. Self-defense."

After eating their fill, the siblings were chatting idly when Dunn Smith knocked on the door and entered.

"I'm truly sorry to have kept you two waiting so long." He apologized politely. "A mole in the police station was exposed last night, so we lost some time capturing and interrogating them."

"That's all right. I'd like to ask, did the interrogation produce any results?"

Luther asked.

"Yes. We contacted the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind in Tingen City and launched a full-scale pursuit of the Aurora Order following the clues," Dunn said. "As things stand, the Aurora Order's forces in Tingen have already been completely cleared out."

Luther's heart stirred.

"In other words..."

"The incident can be considered over."

Dunn knew what he wanted to ask.

Hearing him say that so firmly, Luther relaxed slightly, but his heart immediately tensed again. The next matter would be how they planned to deal with him. Cecilia also grew nervous, like a frightened kitten.

In the quiet atmosphere, Dunn's gray eyes rested on him for a moment before he said, "Mr. Luther and Ms. Cecilia, you now have two choices."

There were choices?

Luther thought.

"Survivors like you, especially in cases involving an evil god, are generally advised to sever all social ties, conceal your identities, and move to another city to start anew, with protection provided by our organization. In particular, Mr. Luther, you unexpectedly became a Beyonder of a dangerous pathway, so the supervision imposed on you may be even stricter."

"How strict?"

Luther asked instinctively.

Dunn merely looked at him without answering, as though he had already answered.

Damn.

Luther licked his lips and waited for Dunn to offer the second choice.

Seeing how composed he remained, Dunn Smith could not help but smile faintly. Then he spoke solemnly. "As for the second choice, it is the one I personally recommend. That is, join us and become a Nighthawk."

"...Huh?"

Luther froze.