"You sure made a huge splash this time."
At Lex's castle, Dilos drank from the giant cup of frozen orange juice in his arms and replied, "What could I do? That bastard went way too far."
Savoring the icy kick of the orange juice, Dilos rolled his eyes at Lex and said:
"Besides, shouldn't you be the one benefiting from this? Not only did your meteorite collection grow, you also got the Fountain of Youth—and a seventy-year-old man who proved it existed."
Dilos crossed his legs and shot Lex a smug look. "I think you should be thanking me. Just look at how valuable the treasure I brought you is."
At that, Lex's face darkened. He looked at Dilos and gritted out, "The Fountain of Youth you're talking about was completely useless. It only worked on that old man."
"Really?" Dilos asked in disbelief. "Was there something special about him?"
"He's a Mutant."
That one sentence explained everything. Mutant genes were simply too unusual. Mutants possessed tremendous power, but their genes also rejected other mutant abilities. There were so many mysteries surrounding them that, even now, no one had managed to solve them.
Although countries around the world were researching Mutant genes, the only person who truly understood them was General William Stryker, who worked for the United States government.
"That's not all." Lex sighed. "The old man had been in the lab for only a short while when he went from being a young man back to his elderly state. His organs rapidly deteriorated, and we couldn't figure out why. Within minutes, he was dead. We drew blood from him, but it was no use. The blood had lost its vitality."
"I see." Dilos stroked his chin. Now he understood why Lex looked so conflicted. The greatest treasure humanity could hope for had been right in front of him, yet some unknown cause had snatched it away.
"Come on, come on." Dilos walked over and patted Lex on the shoulder. "It's really not a big deal. You missed your chance, that's all. The important thing is that you're still alive. Besides, you're still so young. Aging is a problem that's a long way off for you."
Lex couldn't help but smile wryly. "You really are open-minded. You did most of the work in this whole affair. Don't you have any thoughts about it?"
"Once something's over, it's best not to dwell on it," Dilos said with a shrug. "Getting something this wonderful is a stroke of luck, but there's nothing wrong with not getting it, either. Besides, there's no point in getting too hung up on it, right? I'd rather do what I'm doing and enjoy a good meal to reward myself."
As he spoke, Dilos drank his orange juice, his expression so blissful that anyone would have thought he was savoring some rare delicacy.
"All right, you win." Lex watched him with amusement, and some of the gloom in his heart lifted.
"By the way." Lex suddenly gave him a meaningful smile. "There's something you should know. Guess what it is?"
Dilos glanced back at him. "Good news or bad news?"
Lex didn't answer. Instead, he picked up the wineglass on the table and took a sip of the red wine. "Why don't you guess?"
"Someone wants to buy the rights to film Harry Potter, right?"
"?!" Lex stared at Dilos, his face full of disbelief.
"How did you know?" Lex asked, staring in shock at Dilos's utterly calm face. "Did they come straight to you?"
Dilos shook his head. That only left Lex even more confused. He then asked, sounding doubtful, "Don't tell me you can read minds."
Dilos shook his head helplessly and explained, "Lex, I have a lot of confidence in Harry Potter. Besides, those people have seen how well the Harry Potter books are selling. Do you think they wouldn't be tempted to cash in on them?"
"It's obviously bound to happen. Why even guess?" Dilos's smug expression made Lex want to stomp on his face, but he was far too well-mannered to do so.
But Lex had never considered one thing: even if he weren't so well-mannered, could he really match Dilos in a fight?
After talking with Lex, Dilos went home.
But... Dilos didn't lecture Chloe again. He knew her well enough to understand that whenever her family—or anything involving Clark—was at stake, Chloe would throw herself into the fray without hesitation.
The next day, Dilos left without saying goodbye to Chloe. He packed his things, boarded a plane, and abruptly left Smallville. Chloe received only a box secured with a combination lock from Gabe, along with a disc Dilos had specifically asked Gabe to deliver to her.
Completely baffled, Chloe returned to her house and used her laptop to play the disc. Before opening it, she followed the instructions on the note Dilos had left: she drew the curtains, connected headphones to her laptop, and started the video.
The next second, Chloe's pupils contracted. The disc opened to a video, and its star was none other than the Clark she had longed for night and day.
If that had been all, it wouldn't have been a big deal. But when Clark picked up a tractor beside him as easily as if he were slinging a backpack over his shoulder, Chloe couldn't stay calm.
Then she saw Clark working in the farm's barn at ten times a normal person's speed.
It wasn't pleasant to have everything she'd known for years turned upside down. It took Chloe quite a while to slowly understand what was going on.
"Chloe."
A familiar voice came from behind her ears. Chloe lifted her head abruptly and realized that, at some point, the video of Clark had been replaced by a selfie video of Dilos.
"By the time you see this, I'll already be in New York. And I'm sure you understand why I've been so against you and Clark being together. I secretly filmed all of these videos while Clark wasn't paying attention."
"Clark can be a real handful, and he often acts without thinking. He could easily hurt the people around him. You're not invulnerable like he is. If you're not careful, his reckless behavior could get you killed."
Chloe felt a jumble of emotions. She was touched that her cousin cared about her, but also troubled by the difference between her and Clark.
On-screen, Dilos's expression softened. "But, Chloe, if you still want to pursue Clark after all this, I'll support you with everything I've got. So, have you made up your mind?"
Apparently not expecting Dilos to say that, Chloe parted her lips several times, but didn't know what to say. At last, she looked at the figure on the screen. The uncertainty in her eyes gave way to resolve, and she slowly nodded.
"All right. I knew you'd feel that way. When you were little, you were always clinging to me. Now that you've grown up, you're thinking about other men." Dilos knew Chloe so well that the moment she nodded, his rueful voice came from the screen.
Chloe couldn't help laughing in exasperation. Then Dilos pursed his lips, looking reluctant. "In that case, as your brother, I can only do everything I can to help you. See the box with the combination lock? The code is your birthday. Open it and take a look. It contains the help I'm giving you."
Only then did Chloe look at the box beside her. It was about the size of her palm and didn't look special at all. But when she opened the combination lock, she couldn't help twitching her mouth at what was inside.
Clark Kent's Guide to Winning Him Over
A little red book with that title sat in the box, along with a note beside it.
A Dilos original—guaranteed quality. If you've gotten your hands on this peerless guide and still can't win Clark over within two months, then you deserve to be single for the rest of your life! Don't tell people you're my sister—that would insult my character!
"Damn it!" Chloe blurted out, an uncharacteristically crude curse. "What kind of person curses his own sister to be single for the rest of her life?!"
Chloe stared in disbelief and shook her fist at Dilos on the screen.
"Oh, right, there's something you don't know yet, Chloe." Dilos suddenly flashed a mischievous grin. "Besides shooting fire, Clark's eyes can see through things."
"What?!" Chloe cried out, clutching her clothes tighter. As if he'd anticipated that reaction, Dilos burst out laughing on the video.
"Ha ha ha ha! Your face is priceless. You know Clark's a good-hearted, blockheaded idiot, and he's never even spied on Lana. What makes you think he'd spy on you? You think pretty highly of yourself, don't you?"
"Dilos!!"
Hearing Chloe's furious roar from upstairs, Gabe, who was cooking, sighed in helpless amusement.
New York...
"Achoo!" Dilos had just gotten off the plane. He looked up at the sky in confusion.
"That's strange. The weather's so nice. How could someone as strong as me be sneezing?" Dilos thought, then suddenly gave a mischievous grin. "At this hour, cute little Chloe must have found what I left for her. Too bad I'm not there now. Otherwise, I'd definitely take a picture of her to remember the moment."
Preview of the next volume:
"Hello, Mr. Sullivan. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Peter, Peter Parker."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Spider-Man."
"Sorry, what did you just say?"
"Nothing, I just misspoke." Dilos smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Peter Parker."
Before you continue