Damn You, Roselle

"Luther, do you have a headache? I have medicine here."

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

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

"I'm not thirsty either."

Luther looked at Cecilia, who was fussing over him like a mother hen, and gave a helpless smile. "Alright, Cecilia, just sit down and relax. There is absolutely nothing wrong with me."

He firmly took his sister by the arm and pressed her down onto the sofa. Even after sitting, she remained restless, keeping her eyes fixed on Luther every single second.

Luther knew why Cecilia was so concerned about him; according to the usual pattern, his time of clarity was coming to an end. In the past, Luther could only maintain a normal state for a dozen hours at most before falling into terrifying hallucinations, screaming and going mad beyond his own control. During those times, he needed Cecilia to help him, locking straps around his entire body so he would lie still like a mentally ill person in a straitjacket, preventing him from hurting himself or others.

But now, he felt that he shouldn't go mad ever again.

Because that Illusory Tide, which acted like a Golden Finger, could block the Whispers of the Evil God for him, making it impossible for hallucinations and auditory hallucinations related to the True Creator to form in his mind. In other words, from the moment he transmigrated, Luther Rondal had shed 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.

Luther wasn't worried about that at all.

Hehe, the three essentials for a transmigrator: inventions, plagiarizing literature, and new orders—activate!

...Wait a minute, what the hell is Roselle?

Luther's grand plan had only been brewing in his mind for a minute when relevant memories popped up to interrupt his delusions. In this world, it seemed that someone suspected of being a transmigrator had already gotten there first.

Roselle Gustav, a legendary figure from over 170 years ago, the Great Emperor of the neighboring powerhouse, Intis. He "improved" the steam engine, "invented" various items, and "created" a vast amount of poetry, plays, and novels... Basically, every literary classic Luther knew had already been published by him first and widely distributed across this world.

The predecessor transmigrator had already shown off everything there was to show off; what was he supposed to do?

The key was that Roselle wasn't even short on money. The reason he plagiarized literature was actually to pick up girls... How was he, someone who just wanted to earn money to support his family, supposed to compete with that?

Damn you, Roselle!

Luther felt as if he had suddenly fallen from the sky to the ground, his expression turning stiff.

"Luther, are you alright?"

Cecilia immediately noticed his abnormality and hurriedly grabbed his hand, asking with concern.

"I'm fine."

Luther came back to his senses and patted his sister's hand. He quickly adjusted his emotions; it didn't matter, Roselle hadn't plagiarized every single novel. As long as he investigated carefully and chose the right subject matter, he could still make something of himself. At the very least, a comfortable life could be guaranteed.

Just as his thoughts were running wild, the lounge door opened, and Leonard walked in carrying a tray in each hand.

"Breakfast time~"

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

Luther looked down to see white bread, toast, and bacon on the tray, with a steaming cup of coffee and a small dish of butter in the side grooves. The white bread was soft and tempting, the bacon was fried to perfection, and the coffee continuously emitted a rich, mellow aroma.

He suddenly felt a void in his stomach; after tossing and turning all night, filled with fear and anxiety, he was truly hungry. He glanced at Cecilia and noticed his sister's throat bob, but she didn't reach out to take anything, looking up at him instead.

"Thank you."

Luther smiled and said to Leonard, "We don't have to pay for the meal, right?"

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

Leonard seemed amused by his words and winked at Cecilia, though she lowered her head in defense. Seeing that teasing the little girl didn't work, he didn't mind, just shrugged and turned to leave. "Just leave them to the side when you're done; someone will come to collect them."

Only then did Luther pull the tray over in front of them and pick up the coffee. "Since he said so, let's eat. Be careful, the coffee is a bit hot."

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

"Alright, alright, hurry up and eat."

Under his urging, Cecilia carefully picked up a slice of white bread, examined it for a few seconds, and then put it in her mouth. Her eyes lit up after just one small bite.

"It'll taste even better with some butter."

Luther smiled. It was true; even when their parents were alive and their family was at its best, they could only occasionally eat white bread on holidays, let alone the years of struggling to survive that followed.

After settling Cecilia, Luther lowered his head and began to eat, dipping the white bread in butter, making a bacon sandwich with the toast, and taking sips of coffee to wash it down. As a transmigrator used to good food, he felt this meal could only be described as mediocre. Furthermore, he didn't actually like coffee, finding it had a strange oily scent; he finished it all simply because he was hungry.

By the time he washed down the last bite of bread with coffee, Cecilia across from him had already finished her breakfast completely. She let out a small, quiet burp, her face turning a bit embarrassed.

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

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

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

"The captain will tell us when he comes later."

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

His sister had been hiding in the lounge last night and didn't yet know that Luther had killed a second person.

"Self-defense, it was self-defense."

After eating their fill, the siblings were chatting idly when they saw Dunn Smith knock on the door and enter.

"I'm truly sorry for keeping you two waiting for so long," he apologized very politely. "A mole was exposed at the police station last night, and we spent some time catching and interrogating them."

"That doesn't matter. I'd like to ask, have you gotten any results from the interrogation?"

Luther said.

"Yes, we contacted the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Heart in Tingen City. Following the leads, we launched a comprehensive manhunt against the Aurora Society." Dunn said, "As for the results, the Aurora Society's influence in Tingen has been completely wiped out."

Luther's heart stirred.

"In other words..."

"You can consider the incident over."

Dunn knew what he wanted to say.

Hearing such a definitive answer, Luther felt his heart lighten, but it immediately tightened again. Because next, they would have to discuss how to deal with him. Cecilia was also nervous, looking just like a frightened kitten.

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

There's actually a choice?

Luther thought to himself.

"For survivors like you, especially when it involves an Evil God, the general recommendation is to sever all social ties, change your names, and move to another city to start a new life, with protection provided by our organization. Especially since you, Mr. Luther, have accidentally become a Beyonder of a dangerous pathway, the supervision over you might be even stricter."

"How strict?"

Luther asked subconsciously.

But Dunn only looked at him without answering, as if he had already answered.

Damn it.

Luther thought to himself, licking his lips as he waited for Dunn to provide the second option.

Seeing him remain composed, Dunn Smith couldn't help but smile slightly, then spoke solemnly, "As for the second choice, it is the one I personally recommend. That is, join us and become a Night Watcher."

"...Huh?"

Luther was stunned.