"Lee Xi"

Lee. Xi.

It had been a long time since Aurore had heard anyone call her that. For a moment, it felt as though a lifetime had passed, and she failed to answer in time.

-"Lee Xi" was the name Aurore had used in the old epoch.

Simply put, Nimrod had drawn on some of Sefirah Castle's power to create a deeper "dream" within Lumian's dream, one that even his subconscious could not detect.

To use an analogy, the place where Nimrod and Aurore's fragment now stood was like a "virtual machine" running on a computer.

Without Sefirah Castle's power to isolate his conversation with Aurore... in what was fundamentally Lumian's dream, the moment Nimrod spoke of secrets that could provoke Lumian, Lumian's mind would immediately trigger a stress response.

Whatever a cat under stress looked like, that was what Lumian would become.

Aurore's pupils trembled slightly. "You know my name from before I transmigrated... you, who exactly are you...?"

"You don't need to know so much. Knowing certain things wouldn't do you any good." Nimrod did not answer Aurore's question, continuing instead to guide her thoughts:

"Besides, once you leave this place, you'll forget our conversation. It will only leave a certain impression in your subconscious and Lumian's."

"I'm already... dead?" Aurore drew a deep breath.

"...I remember what happened to me now, Mr. Nimrod. I won't pry into your identity. I only want to know what you intend to do."

-As a soul fragment, Aurore still possessed some capacity for logical thought, but her actual condition was even worse than an evil spirit's.

"I can use certain powers to repair your soul." Following the method the Celestial Worthy had taught him for "repairing soul fragments with Sefirah Castle," Nimrod told Aurore:

"You should know that you're only a soul fragment trapped within a seal, at risk of fading away at any moment. You should know even better how your brother feels about you... he's like a moth drawn to a flame. He'll either burn to nothing in the flames of 'resurrection' or mutate into a monster so distorted that nothing remains but obsession."

"But I can offer you both an easier option."

"I'll use a special power to connect your soul to the seal, then use your soul fragment to reconstruct your past self, make your past self whole again, and truly bring your past self back to life."

"In return, I want your brother to call me Godfather. I'll need him to do certain things for me in the future-unfortunately, even if I told you what will happen, you might not believe me. But I'll make Lumian's future more 'fortunate'... than everything he would otherwise have gone through."

Nimrod opened his hand. "So, give me your answer. This space I've created can only last so long."

"...Do I have a choice?" Aurore lowered her gaze and gave a self-mocking laugh.

"My current condition is no different from death. Could anything possibly be worse than dying?"

Nimrod considered this, thinking of Stiano and his teacher, then of Medici and the future Lumian.

"Hard to say."

Aurore: "?"

Still, Aurore did not hesitate for long. She let out a breath, finding some measure of acceptance.

"I agree, Mr. Nimrod... no, Mr. Nim. That should be your surname, shouldn't it? I really envy you, being able to go through this world using your old name..."

As she spoke, profound regret filled Aurore's voice once more. This time, she fell into a long silence before saying softly:

"Since we come from the same place, I'd like to ask you for one thing... could you please try not to hurt my brother, not to hurt Lumian?"

"I have nothing to offer in exchange. This is only a request."

Nimrod did not hesitate.

"I'll do my best."

The gray fog around them gradually thinned. Aurore's eyes went from lively to bewildered once again. She opened her mouth, a smile appearing on her face.

"Where were we just now... ah, Mr. Nimrod, Lumian and the others will be here soon. Once the 'blessing procession' is over, we'll go ambush and kill the Father of the Parish?"

Nimrod quietly watched Aurore's transformation. An inexplicable trace of sorrow welled up in his heart, and he slowly nodded.

"All right."

-In his eyes, Aurore now seemed exactly like an NPC following a fixed route.

Watching a once-vibrant person become like this before his eyes stirred feelings in Nimrod that he could not quite put into words.

The two waited quietly inside the house as the Lent festivities progressed on their own. Before long, noisy voices drifted over from the distant path through the fields.

Aurore's gaze sharpened at once. She whispered to Nimrod, "Hide for..."

She was only halfway through speaking when she turned toward where Nimrod had been, and the corner of her mouth twitched-he had already vanished before she could finish. She had no idea where he had gone, but he had certainly been quick about it.

After handing the small jar of animal fat she had prepared earlier to Ava, the "Spring Elf," who seemed somewhat tired from the "blessing procession" and whose gaze wandered a little, Aurore asked with a smile, "Would you mind if I came along?"

Ava froze for a moment. Her face, which had been rather pale just now, as though she had lost blood, regained its rosy color. A trace of wariness crossed her expression, but it passed in an instant, and she smiled happily.

"Of course not."

She had initially worried that Aurore would be too dazzling and steal her place as the center of everyone's attention, but on second thought, she dismissed the idea.

She was already the "Spring Elf." There was no need at all to worry about whether this generous lady would take away the benefits she stood to gain during Lent!

It was a very simple country girl's way of thinking.

"Good, let's go together, then." Keeping the smile on her face, Aurore beckoned Lumian with a finger. He quickly walked over to her side and deliberately said in a loud voice:

"Didn't you say you weren't very interested in joining the 'blessing procession,' Aurore?"

As laughter suddenly erupted around them, Aurore rolled her eyes. "I changed my mind."

After that little interlude, the "blessing procession" continued-Aurore and Lumian had always interacted this way as siblings, so no one considered it anything remarkable.