The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 1146 Ch.1145 Misplaced
"...What were you saying to her, Roland?"

The worried girl finally couldn't help but interrupt the 'conversation'—which was actually just her talking to herself.

Rose believed that whatever it was, it was Roland's fantasy, the 'price' that the road brought.

“It’s ‘them,’ Rose. The ones I introduced to you. Miss Nina, Cherry, and the sculptor you don’t like… He seems quite busy today.”

Rose saw him raise one arm and point at the air.

on the street.

It attracted frequent glances from passersby.

"...Put your hand down! That's so stupid!"

“No, I feel just right, Rose.” His amber eyes lit up again. Like the darkness that inevitably gives way to dawn. “Clearer than ever before…”

“Look at me, Roland…look at me! I know you have a way of looking! Look at me!”

Ignoring the strange looks around them, the girl forcefully grabbed Roland's hand and turned him to face her:

"look at me."

she says.

“Tell me, what did you see again—and with whom? A rabbit? A deformed bird? Your sister…or that widow?”

She was eager to know what they had talked about.

Roland never hid anything from her.

"…What did you say?"

Rose was extremely surprised:

"They're harming you! You idiot! That's all your 'fantasy'—didn't your big, dumb captain warn you that ritual practitioners on different paths have to face their own 'prices'?!"

"Actually, the line between 'true' and 'false' isn't so clear, Miss Thief. It depends on how different people feel..." Cherry rubbed her cheek, the bruises on her neck and wrists slowly surfacing amidst the blood: "I think, as Roland continues to rise, we'll get closer and closer to 'truth'...right?"

Rose glanced at the air and frowned: "What did 'she' say this time?!"

Roland shrugged.

"Do you know what she's trying to seduce you into doing?! You idiot! She's trying to seduce you into killing your own friend, family, and lover—Roland! Tell me, you would never do that!"

Roland said of course not.

He wasn't that foolish—just as having an endless supply of gold pounds doesn't mean he had to spend it endlessly everywhere.

"Of course I can distinguish between the world I'm awake in and the world I'm asleep in, just as I know what 'fantasy' and 'memory' represent..."

Rose looked him over suspiciously.

But just as she became fanatically obsessed with those unspeakable filth.

She tried to resist, but undoubtedly failed.

Every single time.

If ritual practitioners could easily break free from the thorny ropes of "qualification," there wouldn't be so many fanatical madmen in the world—in her view, mortals haven't done much better in this regard either.

Scars are unavoidable.

Different ritual practitioners have different methods to try to control their 'distortion'... or they enjoy it.

Unfortunately, as far as Rose knows, there are currently no other pioneers on the path of "fantasy" besides Roland.

No one could help Roland in any way he did on the road.

“I’m going to tell Kratofer about this.” She instinctively reached for her cane—for these kinds of troubles, she usually turned to Shandel Kratofer for help: that bitch was no good, ugly, and had a terrible figure…

He's at least educated and has a bishop as a relative.

"I'm fine, Rose."

Roland made a face: "It's just that there are always some unnecessary problems bothering me..."

…………

……

Rose did indeed tell on her.

When they arrived at the sanatorium, they were approaching a bench on the side of Fernandez's ward.

Miss Thief caught Miss Cinder just as she was about to speak—and tattled on her like a chattering bird.

In front of Roland.

—It has a similar feel to a daughter complaining to her mother about her father.

At least Shandel seemed pleasantly surprised, showing no sign of worry about Rose catching fire.

"...So, if I die, I can be by your side forever...right?" Not only that, but Shandel continued Roland's train of thought with unusual excitement: "Maybe, we can—"

"Shandel Kratofer! If you can't control yourself, you might as well stay here for six months!"

The gray-haired girl looked sorrowful: "I thought you were going to ask me for a solution...?" Rose snorted and turned away, a few seconds later...

It turned back again.

With a reluctant expression, he said, "...You can tell me if you want."

Roland: Pfft.

"What a huge fool! Do you even know who we're worried about?!"

“‘A giant fool’… I’m a little curious about how your teacher usually teaches, Shelley,” Sandel’s smile deepened. “The answer… is not difficult at all.”

She raised her index finger and pointed at herself.

He then pointed to Rose.

"As long as we keep our lives at all times."

Rose gave a forced smile: "Yes, it's that simple. As long as the poor work hard to earn money, they'll have money. And if the sick try to live, they'll have a few more years to breathe—is that all the Holy Cross people have to say besides nonsense?"

Shandel glanced at Roland, then unusually walked over to Rose, grabbed the reluctant girl's wrist, and led her away from the bench.

Move to the other end of the grape trellis in the flowerbed.

They stood behind the trellis covered in green vines, and Sender would occasionally brush the leaves with her fingertips.

It made a rustling sound.

“That way Roland won’t be able to hear what we’re talking about, Shelley,” Sender said softly.

sound…?
No.

Roland described the world as he saw it.

It is a…

good idea.

Rose's eyes lit up, and she followed Sandel's movements.

The two girls spoke as if playing a harp that hadn't yet been filled into a barrel, their hands gesturing left and right.

"...So, what's your idea?" Rose asked quietly, her face serious.

Shandel shook his head solemnly: "No."

Rose: ...

"Do you want me to slap your face hard on Holy Cross territory?"

"Roland is right that you have no sense of humor, Shelley."

"I'll fucking rip your hair out one by one from your scalp and you'll see if I have a sense of humor."

Sender frowned: "You actually know about 'scalp'?"

Rose took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at her quietly.

“Roland’s stored potential…or rather, the place where storing potential comes at a cost is incorrect…no, it should be said that his potential is too great.” Xander twirled a strand of hair and said casually.

Too long.

Rose didn't understand.

But she couldn't say that she didn't understand.

That would be stupid.

—Just like in class, the teacher told her several times that she shouldn't look back or touch the back of the chair to confirm its position when she sat down.

That's stupid.

She naturally didn't know the reason. But as her surname became more and more secure, she finally understood: a truly respectable person doesn't need to pull out their own chair.

I would never have such a habit.

Shandel glanced at the silent girl: "You didn't understand."

"I fucking understand! Continue!"

Sender revealed a perfectly timed sarcasm: "If you really understood, you would know that this is the end."

Rose: ...

Roland, who was waiting not far away, was really bored.

After he tried to dig a third small hole in the mud with the toe of his shoe…

Swearing came from behind the grape trellis.

"Your Rose is trying to strangle your Sender with a grapevine."

(End of this chapter)