She is not an investigator.

She looked at Isabella again, and seeing her pressing closer, asked with some wariness.

"But there's nothing here, so why did you bring me here?"

"The scenery here is beautiful."

Isabella shrugged and continued.

"Besides, it's also a good opportunity for the two of us to settle our personal grievances."

Igris frowned, looked at the less-than-ideal security measures around her, and shook her head slightly.

“We’re not at that point of no return. If you just want a fight, I’m willing to go with you, but not in this… dangerous place.”

In such a place, the perimeter of the clock tower was surrounded by railings that were only waist-high to Igris. If she were to fall, even Isabella, Igris felt, would not survive.

She didn't want to kill Isabella, nor did she want to see anything happen to her, even though their relationship wasn't actually that good.

However, the relationship between them is far from being described as hatred.

"Who said I was going to fight you?"

Surprisingly, Isabella's purpose did not seem to be that.

Knowing she had no chance of gaining an advantage over Igris in close combat, she hadn't come here to fight.

But Igris couldn't imagine what else could happen besides fighting if she wrote a letter to invite someone out, even arranging a time and place?

It can't be a confession of love, can it?

"First of all, I must remind you that you were already tricked the moment you showed up here."

"?"

Isabella smiled and looked at the slowly setting sun and the sky that had turned a bluish-green.

"Do you still have your pocket watch? The one the watchmaker tried to take from you?"

"Take it with you."

Igris took the pocket watch out of her pocket, but before she could even look up, Isabella suddenly pressed herself against her and pulled her into her arms.

As the sun gradually set and the sky slowly darkened, time seemed to stand still, freezing the two people's actions at this moment.

The Gods' Fool - The Rainstorm: Chapter Thirty-Nine, I Will Be Here, a Hero

Igris froze in place, while Isabella had already grabbed her arm, trapping her firmly in her embrace, and reached towards her neck.

She could even feel Isabella's breath on the skin of her neck, tickling her and making her want to push Isabella away.

But slowly, she grabbed Igris's waist, almost lifting her entire body as she leaned back unconsciously, and pressed her face against Igris's.

At this distance, if the other person isn't planning to bite Igris, they're most likely planning to kiss her.

Although Igris felt it was the former.

"…What are you doing."

Igris' knee was pressed against Isabella's stomach, which is why Isabella remained in this strange position but couldn't get any closer to Igris.

She looked at Igris with some disappointment at her strong sense of self-preservation and tried to press her legs down, but her actions were likely to be misunderstood by Igris, causing Igris to break free from her embrace without hesitation and press her pistol against Igris's forehead.

"...You'd better explain yourself clearly."

Igris's face flushed, and her breathing became a little heavy, but compared to the strange atmosphere just now, Igris was more willing to believe that the other person was teasing her and that it was full of malice.

This is why, although she looks flushed, she is so angry that she has even pulled out a gun.

"Don't get agitated..."

Isabella raised her hands, looking at Igris with amusement. Even though a gun was pointed at her, the corners of her mouth still couldn't help but curve into a smile, even though she seemed to be trying very hard to suppress it.

Do you remember what I said?

Igris frowned, lowering the muzzle of her gun slightly to avoid accidentally firing and harming the person in front of her, while recalling everything she had ever said to her.

"...What are you saying?"

But she said too much.

"You forgot... but it's okay."

Isabella chuckled softly, looking at the setting sun, and deliberately lowered her voice, speaking seductively.

“I will steal all the treasures you cherish… until you are willing to beg me for mercy.”

"..."

Her words did not clearly explain the reason for her abrupt behavior, but they gave Igris a bad feeling.

You wouldn't...

"Ah, that's right."

Isabella snapped her fingers, as if showing off her spoils, and bowed slightly to Igris.

"I just stole your most important thing."

"Give me back my wallet!"

"..."

Isabella paused, looking at the seemingly genuinely angry Igris before her, and hesitated before touching her chin.

"I thought you would think for a moment about what you value most."

Logically speaking... or rather, most people with a normal brain would assume, based on her behavior and what Isabella said, that she was planning to steal Igris's heart, right?

But Igris is most likely not a normal person... at least her thought process is very different from that of ordinary people.

"You didn't steal my wallet?"

Igris frowned, touched her pocket, and only after confirming that her wallet was indeed still there did she feel relieved.

But then, her expression changed again, and she looked at Isabella in front of her with a strange expression.

"you…"

"Yes."

Isabella raised her hand and gently shook the object in it.

"Now, I've won."

That was Igris' pocket watch, something she had written a note to Igris about to steal, and something the missing watchmaker had asked her to take there.

But now, the watchmaker has disappeared, and the commission should have ended long ago, so there's no point in her taking the watch.

Aside from… a mental victory.

"If this makes you happy, then go ahead... at least you did take it when I wasn't looking, but I expect you to give it back to me afterward, since it's mine."

Igris flicked her pistol; she was happy to play this little game with Isabella, provided she wouldn't suffer any real loss.

But Isabella grabbed the pocket watch and slowly backed away.

“You know what? I’ve never really told you the truth. Back at the watchmaker, I lied to you. I knew where he was and what he was doing.”

She retreated to the edge of the clock tower, leaning against it, looking as if she might fall at any moment, yet she still chuckled to herself, watching Igris.

“I lied to you, and I hope you won’t blame me. Even if you do, it’s okay, because I won’t mind… Anyway, I do need to borrow your pocket watch to do something more meaningful to me.”

She turned her head and looked down at the street that was gradually being shrouded in darkness, watching the fewer and fewer pedestrians on the street and the buildings that had turned on their lights at the same time.

“I’ve said it before, I need to be a hero, to be the most basic hope in people’s lives, to be a virtual symbol that everyone is more willing to believe in… but that’s ultimately false. I’m not a hero, I’m just a thief.”

Dark clouds began to gather, and under the gradually darkening sky, the ancient dust on the clock tower slowly began to recede, the moonlight was obscured, and the air began to become heavy and unbearable, making it difficult to breathe.

"But now, at least now, there is such an opportunity in front of me to become a real hero."

The rain began to fall, and from the very first drop, it flew toward the ground and the streets.

The rain was light, but it still fell on Igris and into her golden hair.

"Watchmakers have glimpsed the secrets of time; every one of them has, but few can resist the temptation to transcend time itself."

The rain intensified, its dense patter echoing across the top of the clock tower. Even the ravens nearby began to caw uneasily and retreated back inside.

"So... he went back to the past, through the crack he kept widening... back to the past, and the crack is still widening, because of him, because of this anomaly in time... Have you ever seen a real rainstorm? That kind of rainstorm that's like the sky being torn apart, washing everything away, it devours cities, swallows up all dreams and life, splits buildings, buries the present... So, so."

She shook the pocket watch in her hand, as if bidding a final farewell to the world, or perhaps expressing her reluctance to leave.

Finally, she looked at Igris and gave a slight smile.

"I will carry your pocket watch, transcend time, and become a hero."

"..."

The rain grew heavier and heavier, relentlessly drenching her, as if it might make her disappear at any moment.

Igris silently walked into the rain, saying nothing, but opening her arms wide.

Isabella looked surprised, but quickly relaxed and stepped forward to hug Igris tightly.

"I know you're still a little reluctant to let me go, but I'm sorry, I've made my choice."

"You may have misunderstood something."

Igris abruptly handcuffed her hands and, to her astonishment, shoved her into the clock tower, locking the other handcuff to the railing of the stairs.

Rainwater slid down her incredulous expression, running down her chin and dripping onto the ground.

Igris, however, faced her, letting the downpour soak her, and raised the pocket watch that she had somehow retrieved.

“I’ve already said, this pocket watch belongs to me… so whatever hero you’re planning to do with it, step aside for now.”

"At least, wait until I fail before you try to find a solution."

Boom!

The clock tower, which had not rung for a century, has now resumed its function.

As the bell tolled, Igris's figure slowly melted into the rain, disappearing without a trace.

This rain won't last long, and the losses won't be too great.

"idiot…"

Isabella looked at her locked arms and tugged hard, but still couldn't break free.