Abstraction for a bad world

Chapter 172: The only past, sad and poisonous Caroline (4k)

"Rush?"

For some reason, An, with a little dust on his sleeves, looked at Yuan Qingzhuo who pushed the door open, supporting his chin as if thinking.

——It seems that Yuan Qingzhuo really knows nothing about the invitation letter from the royal court.

Rush didn't want him to know...that's fine.

If Yuan Qingzhuo went there, either himself or Flandel would have to go there with him.

God knows what attitude the Demon King’s Court has towards Yuan Qingzhuo.

Perhaps they have a friendly attitude towards Rush, but this is not necessarily the case for Yuan Qingzhuo, who has reached the peak of the mercury level and is recognized by Flandel.

Not to mention, what the royal court can give to Yuan Qingzhuo, Farandel will only give more.

An thought.

——That guy is never stingy with talent.

So Ann smiled and said, "Little Rush went to the big amusement park outside with some nuns."

Rush went to the amusement park?
Yuan Qingzhuo was stunned at first when he heard An's words, but he quickly remembered the amusement park tickets he had seen on the table before, and that Rush particularly liked playing with building blocks.

——Oh, that’s normal.

It was probably because I was not there that Rush had no chance to tell me.

Yuan Qingzhuo didn't think much about An's answer.

He felt relieved.

After the brief exchange between the two, Caroline, who had just had a fight with the kitten squatting at the door, came in late.

The girl showed her white teeth:
"Mom, Yuan Qingzhuo said he wants to talk to you about something."

Yuan Qingzhuo turned around and said, "It's over now."

"Oh, so soon?"

Caroline blinked - could it be that she had just fought with the cat for too long... Guh, could it be that that inconspicuous cheese kitten could actually slow down the flow of time!
“Because it’s just a small matter.”

Yuan Qingzhuo was about to say goodbye to An, but he couldn't help but think of Flandel's strange attitude before.

Without further ado, I might as well ask Sister An what's going on.

So Yuan Qingzhuo turned around again and looked at An with a serious expression: "Sister An, I have something else to ask you."

Ok……

"Then take a seat first." An put the Seven Plans for the Development of Infants and Young Children in the Eastern Theater in the Next Ten Years aside. "Caroline, go and get two chairs outside."

"Hey? Why is it me again?!"

Caroline pouted in dissatisfaction, but still skillfully moved two different chairs from the large reception room outside the door.

One is a plain upholstered seat, which was cleaned for Yuan.

The other one is a surgical intelligent recliner on which one can lie comfortably, which is naturally reserved for her.

After placing two chairs, Caroline closed the door, sat down on the smart chair, and selected the [Light Massage Mode].

An looked helpless as he saw Caroline, who was sitting with her legs crossed like an old man, not caring at all about the view under her skirt being exposed.

However, Yuan Qingzhuo didn't care much about such trivial matters.

He took a deep breath, recalled Farandel's words and actions in his mind again, organized his words, and finally said to An: "Sister An, I believe you also know that I have broken through the Mercury Stage."

An nodded gently: "I know this..."

"Huh??? Little teacher, how come you broke through the mercury level so quickly?" Caroline, who was lying comfortably on the recliner, stretched her neck to Yuan Qingzhuo's face and looked as if she had seen a ghost: "How come I didn't even notice it!"

This time, Yuan Qingzhuo asked back in confusion: "Why do you think you can find out?"

"Because... because I definitely couldn't contain the fluctuations of my spiritual essence when I just broke through..."

Caroline was a little speechless.

Yuan Qingzhuo wanted to explain, but when he saw Caroline's stupid look, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about this for now."

It’s hard to say how much time Caroline has for these things.

The key now is to understand with Sister An the reason for Flandel's mood changes.

So Yuan Qingzhuo stopped paying attention to Caroline and continued, "After I broke through the Mercury Stage, Sister Fa suddenly became very disappointed and her mood obviously became bad."

An looked at Yuan Qingzhuo and asked without hesitation, "Why?"

Yuan Qingzhuo did not hesitate and said:
"Because I received the blessing of the Scarlet Sun during my promotion."

As soon as these words were spoken, Yuan Qingzhuo could clearly see An standing there.

Of course, Caroline still had that unconvinced look on her face, with her tongue sticking out.

Soon, even Caroline noticed Ann's strangeness and waved her hand in front of her: "Huh? Since when did you like to daydream?"

Only then did An come out of his shock and stupor.

She and Flandre were silent for a long time, then she frowned and asked, "Didn't Flandre take you to the Fourth Abyss to be promoted?"

Yuan Qingzhuo nodded: "Yes."

"If that's the case, how could she allow you to..."

An stopped talking halfway, as if he had thought of something, so he kept silent.

Yuan Qingzhuo could see An's expression of surprise and helplessness.

After a while, she slowly asked, "Xiao Yuan Qingzhuo...how long did it take you to accept this from the time you sensed it?"

Three seconds?

Two seconds?

still is……

"Just a moment."

Yuan Qingzhuo thought about it - maybe a lot of his subjective time had passed at that time.

But that was during the promotion ceremony, and he was concentrating fully on feeling the promotion, so he made the decision on the choice between the two blessings in an instant.

This is also due to his extremely sharp intuition.

Otherwise, Yuan Qingzhuo would have hesitated before making a choice between the two.

"Just a moment."

An lowered his eyes and smiled bitterly: "If this happens, even Farandel can't do anything."

Again.

It's the Riddler again.

Yuan Qingzhuo placed his fist on the table, stared at An, and asked word by word, "So Sister An, after I accept the blessing of the scarlet sun, will there be any serious consequences?"

"——Please don't fool me without saying anything like Sister Fa did."

Seeing Yuan Qingzhuo's serious look, An couldn't help but think of what he had said to himself and Caroline before.

Therefore, I sighed with nostalgia:

“Very similar.”

——Yuan Qingzhuo's words were indeed very similar to hers. I guess their compatibility was so high that I couldn't even imagine it. No wonder Yuan Qingzhuo chose to accept her blessing in an instant.

"Sister An, could you please explain it more clearly..."

"I mean you look a lot like Scarlet Sun, Yuan Qingzhuo."

An reached out and gently touched Yuan Qingzhuo's cheek, smiling helplessly: "Even though I have only seen her corrosive form, I feel that what you said to her is as if they were cast in the same mold."

——Ann didn’t seem to intend to keep it a secret from me like Flandre did.

After realizing this, Yuan Qingzhuo couldn't help but say: "She is..."

As the two looked on in astonishment, An pointed to the warm blood-red sun that hung in the sky every day outside the window:
"Scarlet Sun."

Then, Yuan Qingzhuo and Caroline actually saw An openly showing a look of yearning and admiration:

"——He is also [Brilliant Sun], the former chief of the knights, the youngest person in history to reach the sublime level, the paladin pursued and admired by everyone."

An uttered the name with a complicated expression: "Carloste Salivia."

Bright and blazing sun?
Yuan Qingzhuo was stunned.

Wait, I seem to have heard or seen this name somewhere?
He was silent for a moment and began to search his memory.

So the fragments of past memories surfaced to the surface of the sea of ​​memory.

First, there was the owner of the inheritance that the golden-haired child received at the baptism ceremony.

Secondly, in the introduction of the Obsidian Grand Duke’s Heart, we saw that “the legendary-level Obsidian Grand Duke severely injured the sublime-level Carloste.”

Finally, there is the character "Carloste" who was seen in a book and who must be mentioned in the sublimation stage.

Including this time, this is his fourth time having come into contact with this name.

Yuan Qingzhuo recalled the pillar of light that brought warmth and peace to him during the baptism ceremony, then glanced back and saw the blood-red sun.

——Even such a dazzling knight would become like this after being corrupted.

After a brief shock, Yuan Qingzhuo calmed down a little. He didn't notice Caroline's frozen expression and continued to ask An:
"Then Sister An, what does the fact that Scarlet Sun is this knight have to do with Sister Fa's change in attitude towards me?"

Ann looked at Caroline with some concern, but did not say anything to remind her.

She shook her head:

"That's a very big relationship... Strictly speaking, Flandre and Carlosette are of the same generation."

An stretched out his hands. "When Flandre was the inquisitor, Carloste was a knight. When Flandre became the bishop, Carloste became the chief knight. And on the day when Flandre massacred the Faith Department, only Carloste stood in front of everyone and drew the sword for her."

"——Although they cannot be called friends due to their different philosophies, they are the best colleagues and comrades-in-arms."

"for example?"

"For example, if an ascended villain holds the Saint of the cult hostage, Carloste will think about how to subdue the villain without hurting the Saint, or simply replace the Saint herself."

An gave an easy-to-understand example: "Farlandel was thinking about how to perfectly kill the villain and the saint together - because she wanted to be a saint at that time."

Yuan Qingzhuo couldn't hold back his laughter this time.

——But anyway, it sounds like a very twisted and entangled story, and I feel like it could be written into a million-word novel.

Yuan Qingzhuo listened to these old stories, and then couldn't help but have doubts again - according to what Flandel said when introducing the Martial God Festival, An was obviously her junior.

But how does Sister An know so many secrets of the past?
But he was not a curious baby like Caroline, so he kept this simple doubt in his heart.

Yuan Qingzhuo did not interrupt An and continued listening.

"So, although they often have the same goal, their concepts and ideas are completely different..."

When An said this, he looked at Yuan Qingzhuo as if to say, "You understand, right?"

Maybe, understand?
Yuan Qingzhuo fell into deep thought - even if the ideas were different, Sister Fa didn't have to act like a riddle teller and show such a disappointed expression.

It seems that there are deeper reasons.

However, what I gained today was indeed a lot... I also heard some top-secret stories from Sister An.

"Then Sister An, if it were you, whose idea would you support more?"

Before leaving, Yuan Qingzhuo couldn't help but ask.

"Ohara Kiyoshige, do you even need to ask?" An tilted his head with an inexplicable expression, "Of course it's Ms. Farandel."

This is a bit too decisive.

Yuan Qingzhuo originally thought that Sister An, who admired the brilliant sun so much, would support her, but she was forced to follow Flandel due to reality.

At the very least, I will hesitate for a while.

As if he could see the doubt hidden in Yuan Qingzhuo's face, An pursed his lips and sighed:
"Because the abyss has no room for such dazzling ideals."

After walking out of the office building where An was with Caroline, Yuan Qingzhuo watched the girl follow him for a long time with an expressionless face.

It was not until he reached a deserted path that he turned his head and looked to the side.

Yuan Qingzhuo watched her look around like a stone statue for several times, and after confirming that there was no one around...

She burst into tears with a "wow" sound, half squatted down and threw herself into his arms with a face full of question marks.

“Uooaaaaaaaa——!”

Yuan Qingzhuo swore that this was the first time in his life that he saw Caroline cry so sadly.

What's worse is that he has no idea why Caroline is crying.

The girl hugged him tightly, her tears and snot all flowing out, mixed together and rubbed on his clothes.

"Woooooooo..."

Caroline sobbed loudly until her lungs ran out of air. She collapsed to the ground, almost out of breath. She looked up with great sadness at Yuan Qingzhuo, who was hesitant to speak.

"Kalost was actually corrupted, little teacher... Did you know that Kalost was corrupted... How could it be Kalost..."

"When I was a child, my mother would tell me stories about Carlosette every night..."

Tears as big as beans kept rolling down the corners of the girl's eyes. She looked sadly at the bloody sun that was still hanging in the sky: "How could such a dazzling, handsome, and uncompromising paladin be corrupted by this damn abyss...?"

Ah, so he’s the toxic fan of Brilliant Sun… maybe Sister An is too?

Yuan Qingzhuo recalled the few seconds after he chose to accept the blessing, and recalled the figure's hearty laughter.

So he reached out and wiped away the tears from Caroline's eyes and smiled: "Maybe the Brilliant Sun was not eroded by the abyss, but chose to embrace the abyss?"

"So what if she's really been corrupted?" Yuan Qingzhuo picked up Caroline, who had cried like a piece of mud, from the ground, patted her cheek, and said to her forehead, "Caroline, you like her so much, so why don't you just go and save her?"

"But...but little teacher...my mother said that once you are corrupted, you can never go back to the way it was before..."

Caroline sniffed her nose, but sadness and grievance could not cover up the hot blush on her cheeks.

Yuan Qingzhuo stared at the pair of trembling vertical pupils and said, "There has never been one before, so Caroline, you should be the first one."

The boy stretched out his hands and pinched Caroline's face, forcing her to pout, and said with a smile:

"If you don't even have this kind of awareness of creating a precedent, how can you compete with me for the position of Martial God?"

Under the scarlet sunset, the red-haired girl maintained this somewhat funny posture, staring blankly at the boy in front of her, pursing her lips to stop the tears from flowing.

Then he hugged the boy tightly and nodded vigorously:

"Ok!"

(End of this chapter)