"Oh, haha. Feels pretty good. Not bad."
Klein said with a forced smile, as though he had better equipment. Lynch nearly burst out laughing.
"Oh, I forgot to mention: the Goddess helped me seal away the side effects of Creeping Hunger. Now it just hurts a little when I use it. All the other problems are gone. Honestly, Qilingus really wasted this mystical item."
Lynch looked aggrieved.
Klein gritted his teeth. Lynch was really rubbing it in.
Of course, he was also sure Lynch was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth.
Mr. Azik had retrieved Creeping Hunger. He was probably the one who had dealt with its side effects.
But Lynch could use it openly among the Nighthawks, which meant the Evernight Goddess had clearly vouched for him.
Why did Lynch have so many powerful figures backing him?
Senior Stephanie had said that the Evernight Goddess had always watched over Klein, and that he was the protagonist. Compared with Lynch, though, he felt like nothing more than a clown.
"By the way, Detective Moriarty, is there anything else you'd like to know? I'll tell you anything I can. You may only be an associate member, but I'm still very fond of you. Not in the way you and Leonard are fond of each other, of course."
Lynch spoke with a grin.
Klein said flatly that he didn't want to know anything else.
"Let's get into the ruins! I can't wait!"
"All right! What a shame. I wanted to talk to you about Leonard's secret. I thought you liked him and wanted to know him better!"
Klein: ...
He regretted it a little. He also felt a little sick.
He didn't like Leonard, but he really did want to know his secret. How frustrating!
But Lynch had only