..

I sat in silence for what felt like an hour, but when I checked the time, only a few minutes had elapsed. With a small sigh, I licked my teeth and stood up.

Ueh

The sweetness from the chocolate was still lingering in my taste buds and I winched slightly.

It had helped me suppress the pain, but at the same time, feeling how sweet my mouth had become, I started to feel regret.

How in the world can she eat something this sweet without a problem?

I was growing more and more concerned for Delilahs health.

She was a superhuman. One of the strongest at that, but surely it wasnt good for her to eat stuff that was this sweet.

Not that Im any better

I was the one feeding that addiction of hers.

Shaaa

Rising my mouth in the sink, I took a deep breath and stared at my reflection.

Even now, I found it hard to get used to what I saw in the reflection. The sharply defined jawline and the intense, piercing hazel eyes that seemed to look straight through me were still unfamiliar.

Not that I wasnt sure how I looked, but this look seemed a little bit too perfect?

Haha.

The thought made me laugh a little.

As I stared at my reflection, I was suddenly reminded of something.

A certain vision.

The Angel

With everything that had happened, I had no time to think about the Angel. All my thoughts had been on what I had seen in the Tomb, and when I came back into the Plaza the Second Phase had already started.

It was only now that I had time to rest that I was reminded of the quest, and my eyes squinted.

Things have been a little quiet.

By now, I had half-expected something to happen to me. Especially when I was reminded of the vision I had seen, and yet Nothing of the sort occurred.

Rather, things were strangely calm.

Too calm for my own comfort.

I knew that something was brewing, but what exactly? And could I do anything about it?

Can I just directly destroy the statue?

I discarded the thought rather quickly. Though I didnt know much about the statue, I could tell that it held some sort of significance to the city of Grimspire. If I were to destroy it like that then Id be in a whole world of trouble.

Then?

To Tok

A sudden knock broke me out of my thoughts. I looked at the door in both confusion and concern.

Nobody should be aware of where Im staying

Neither Leon nor the Professors knew where I was. I had left abruptly and didnt explain a single thing. The sudden knock made me somewhat wary, but of course, it could also just be room service.

.

I approached the door with caution.

To Tok

Who could it be?

Clank!

I ended up opening the door and opened my eyes wide.

Uh?

A weird sound accompanied my shock as a figure I was all too familiar with appeared at the entrance of the door. With long flowing black hair, a face that could only be described with the word alien, and a stiff expression, Delilah appeared on the other side of the door.

I blinked several times, unable to hide my shock.

The shock didnt stem from her appearance. By now I had grown used to her antics and was always prepared for her to show up unannounced.

.The shock came from the fact that she knocked on the door.

Since when do you knock?

.?

Delilah tilted her head, allowing her black hair to gently fall to the side of her shoulder and exposing the nape of her neck. As her eyes fluttered in confusion, she looked around the room for a brief moment before her eyes settled over a certain spot.

Toward a certain wrapper.

Her pursed lips and for the faintest of moments I thought I saw a smile.

What?

Nothing.

Delilah entered the room and sat down, folding her legs as she did so. She then glanced around the room.

.Youre as messy as me.

About that

I closed the door behind me and sighed.

Without worrying about anyone overhearing our conversation, I told her the truth. From how I was developing a domain to how I had overexerted my mind in the process.

Oh.

Delilah nodded in understanding.

.It happened to me as well.

Not satisfied with what she said, her brows squirmed for a second before she added,

My room was like this too.

..Your room is like this regardless of whether you overexert your mind or not.

I held my comment back. Though I didnt think Delilah would hit me for a comment like that, I wasnt too keen on finding out. It was hard to read a woman like her.

Looking around, I started to clean up while Delilah quietly watched from the side.

I wasnt too bothered by this since I was used to it.

Her presence.

Right, since shes here I can take this time to ask her about my Domain.

Surely shed know of a way to help me.

Picking up one of the torn sheets, I casually looked her way and asked,

Is there a way to develop my concept faster?

.?

Delilah cocked her head before shaking her head.

I dont know.

..

Talk about useful.

As if she could read my thoughts, Delilah continued.

All concepts are different. I dont know your concept. How should I know? I learned mine quickly. Its something that you need to figure out on your own.

That makes sense.

It was a bit of a bummer but when I thought about it, she had a point.

A concept was based on someones visualization and mind. It was created after ones experiences and desires which was what Delilah was trying to explain.

I guess Im being impatient.

I needed to stop overthinking and just quietly ponder over the domain. It would eventually come with time. That much I was sure. I couldnt rush it.

As my thoughts cleared up, I tossed all the ripped-up sheets on the bed and patted my hands.

Im done.

Ill have to pay for this later but it probably shouldnt be too much.

Oh.

I suddenly recalled something and looked at Delilah. Entering the world within the ring, I rushed to the back of the building where all my items were stored and reached for a black bone which I took out and showed to her.

Can you help me sell this?

A Wraith bone?

With her sharp eyes, Delilah was able to easily tell what the bone was. She took it from my hand and closely examined it.

You do not want it?

No.

I shook my head after a little bit of thought. I only had two slots left and I wanted to make the best out of them. Perhaps I was greedy, but I wanted them to belong to unique monsters that would also serve as potential wills like Pebble and Owl-Mighty.

The reason why I asked Delilah to sell this was because she had connections and I wasnt afraid theyd scam her.

.or maybe they would?

Taking a look at her, I pursed my lips.

She wont get scammed, right?

Here.

Contrary to my expectations, she didnt take the bone directly and just tossed me a small bag of coins. I caught the bag, which weighed pretty heavily with a dumbfounded expression.

This is?

Money.

But

Im buying it.

I didnt know how to answer that. Looking down and seeing the hefty bag of coins, I could only flick my head between her and the sack. In the end, I didnt ask any questions and just kept the money. Delilah appeared satisfied by that as she brushed her hair behind her ear.

With a thoughtful look on her face, she changed the topic of conversation,

Do you remember the reason why you learned your intent?

The reason? I do.

How could I not? It was right after the play and I had locked the [Love] emotion. Ever since reaching the late stage of Tier 3, a nagging feeling crept up at the back of my mind, hinting at something. I hadnt been so sure of the reason, but it all became clear to me once I unlocked the last Emotion.

Coming into full circle, I was able to unlock my Intent which was closely tied to my emotions.

In that sense, it also fitted very well with what I had come up with so far with my concept. It was just that it was taking a lot of time for me to properly create a concept.

Each orb had its own properties, representing the corresponding emotion. I had yet to fully figure out how it worked, but I could more or less guess.

I told most of this to Delilah whose face turned slightly stiff.

You unlocked your intent after learning about love?

Yes.

In the play?

Uh, yes

With the Princess?

Right.

Where was she getting at?

Delilahs face gradually returned back to normal as she pursed her lips. Her black eyes reached out for me as I looked back at her. Our eyes locked for a few seconds, finding myself unconsciously wandering over her features. I had always known this, but Delilah was truly very beautiful.

So beautiful that she looked alien to me.

In the midst of my thoughts, Delilah brought her hand forward.

Use it.

Um?

Snapping out of it, I looked down at her hand and tilted my head. Use what?

Love.

Delilah said with a straight face.

Try using it on me.

..

I felt my brows jump.

What did she say? This came out of nowhere and I had a hard time figuring out her intentions. But in the end, seeing how serious her expression was, I nodded my head.

Perhaps she can help me.

I reached down to grab her hand. And just as I did, I noticed something.

?

It was on her finger, and it looked oddly familiar. That was when I looked at my hand. No wonder I raised my brow in surprise as my head flicked up to look at Delilah.

What?

Delilahs expression remained the same despite noticing where I was looking at.

Ba Thump!

I felt my heart beat drum inside of my mind as I alternated my gaze between the two identical rings in our hands. Then, a dangerous thought crossed my mind.

It was so dangerous that I felt my breath leave my body.

However, when I thought about her past behavior, the idea ran wildly inside my mind. Perhaps I was overthinking, but I wasnt sure.

Raising my head to meet her gaze, my mouth opened as I asked,

You, you cant possibly like me?