Anbers diligently sorted his potions. He took a document off the desk, wiped the lenses of his beaked mask with a cloth, then bent over and held the document outside the lampshade to examine it closely.
"They're ill. Their faces are too pale, and their platelets aren't active enough. Do you know what she reminds me of? A person with only half a heart."
"Ah, what was this condition called again? Why don't I give it another name? Half-heart disease!"
The room had neither windows nor lights, making it particularly dim. Anbers had lit several candles and scattered them haphazardly over the cabinets, desk, and chairs.
Xie De examined a jar of pale blue liquid with a human head soaking inside. He barely listened to Anbers's rambling and seemed somewhat distracted, his gaze drifting from the liquid to the enormous dried spider corpse beside it.
Anbers sighed and wiped his lenses again, then rummaged through a cabinet for a magnifying glass. It had a very long handle, thin where his fingers gripped it.
"Anbers."
Xie De straightened up, examining a human finger bone in his hand. He looked at Anbers. "What kind of existence is 730 to you?"
"You want to discuss existence and nothingness with me?" Anbers put down the document and paced around the room, his tall frame moving back and forth. "730's existence? It's a tool. Nothing but a tool."
"From the perspective of an S-rank NPC, you think 730 is just a tool?"
Anbers's voice was hoarse, and he treated the answer as self-evident. "From any perspective, it's a tool. Management, assistance, calculations, supplying goods, materials, information... oh, heavens, I see. You think of it as a person?"
Xie De slipped in a timely joke, the corners of his mouth curling up. "As my immediate superior."