She is not an investigator.

It was impossible between them, and Igris would never accept a witch like her.

"..."

A faint sadness crept into her eyes, causing her vision to lose focus and become somewhat blurry.

Her witchcraft was warning her not to cry, as it would ruin her carefully constructed facade and expose her true self to Igris.

There was never any Tina; it was always Nolan who was by Igris's side.

But... so what?

Igris wouldn't feel particularly surprised or surprised by Nolan's true identity, nor would she develop any other feelings towards her because of it.

Because they are impossible...

"Ugh..."

"Tina?"

"Ah! No, it's nothing."

Nolan hurriedly rubbed his eyes, trying to make the tears welling up in his eyes disappear into thin air.

But as the feeling of moisture intensified, she couldn't stop the tears from welling up in her eyes.

Igris noticed her unusual behavior, stopped her hurried steps, and came up to her.

You don't look well.

"I...I think I got sand in my eye, it hurts...I..."

Nolan bit her lip to prevent her overwhelming sadness from escaping, which made her voice sound particularly strange.

However, Igris didn't care. She simply grabbed the wrist in front of her and pulled away from the woman's rubbing of her eyes.

Her red-rimmed eyes and tears were right in front of Igris, completely unprepared.

"It does look...very serious."

"Um…"

Nolan dared not say much, afraid that Igris would notice something, and also afraid that her true identity would be discovered here.

She wanted to spend more time with Igris as Tina and as a friend.

"Don't move around."

"Ok?"

Igris gently embraced her head, and as she made a somewhat frightened attempt to escape, a hand had already climbed up to her eye socket.

"wait…"

"Don't blink."

Igris leaned closer with a serious expression, carefully examining her eyes to make sure there was really something foreign inside.

Nolan became extremely cautious, even his earlier sadness vanished, and he could only silently watch as Igris leaned close to him, intently searching for something.

too close.

It seemed like if Nolan just leaned in a little closer, the two of them would kiss.

Of course, even if she had ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare to do that, so she could only stay quietly and pretend that there was something in her eyes.

In fact, she saw nothing but Igris.

This statement is true from any perspective.

"call--"

As Igris gently blew on his nose, Nolan couldn't help but blink his eyes, which were a little sore from being open for too long, and quickly distanced himself from Igris.

"It's all right now...! I'm all better."

Although Igris hadn't actually had a chance to do anything yet.

"That's it?"

Igris looked at Nolan with some suspicion, who seemed to be really alright but was inexplicably blushing. Suddenly, she thought of something and couldn't help but curl the corners of her lips into a smile.

"Tina?"

"...Um, what's wrong!"

Startled by Igris's call, Nolan looked at her, only to find Igris leaning closer again and, in her instinctively wide-eyed gaze, pinching her chin.

Are you shy?

"Shy...! Of course, of course not, I..."

Nolan knew that nothing she said would make a difference, since she didn't even need to look to know how unconvincing her expression was.

So she could only stubbornly close her eyes, adopting a submissive demeanor, and not even daring to look at Igris in front of her again.

Igris is actually a very strange person. She likes to bully people who seem easy to bully, such as the little witch and Nolan in front of her.

She also enjoys bullying people who seem tough, like Isabella and Alex.

Although Alex hasn't succeeded yet, she will eventually.

"Alright, enough joking around, open your eyes."

"…oh…"

Igris wouldn't do anything, because if she did something she shouldn't have, she would be the one who couldn't clean up the mess.

She was just joking.

Although Nolan looked a little disappointed.

The Fools of the Gods—Regret: Chapter Twenty-Five, Phobia

Their journey didn't last long. After Igris successfully returned home, Nolan, who clearly wanted to stay a little longer, had no reason to leave and had to leave somewhat reluctantly.

However, for her, today's gains were indeed greater than she had imagined. For example, she now knew Igris's attitude towards witches.

Although this isn't something to be happy about, it's okay, her lovely daughter will comfort her.

As for Igris, she had to consider something more important.

Those are the collections.

Clearly, these precious antiques were William's treasures and the most valuable possessions in his entire museum.

But intuition told Igris that those things were not collectibles worth keeping, or rather... those things should not be kept by humans.

This reminded Igris of many things, such as a noble collector in an ancient castle, or an incomparably precious aquamarine gem.

So now she's considering another possibility.

If she chooses to report all of this to the local Special Investigations Unit, they will likely get involved in the investigation, but it is more likely that she will inform William.

William's influence and background in the area are considerable, and he is also Olivia's uncle. At least on the surface, Iglesias doesn't want to get involved in any direct conflict with Olivia's family.

Of course, it is too early to say these things now, since she is not entirely sure whether those things are dangerous.

From any perspective, Igris is not the right person to investigate this kind of thing now; her mental state is no longer capable of withstanding any further stimulation.

Although she felt she might be being a little too fragile, the hallucinations that kept flashing before her eyes suggested that her problems hadn't changed much.

When she was still Aaron, she would choose to drink a little alcohol to relax her overly tired and chaotic mind. This would help her regain some rationality, though not much, but it was indeed effective.

But Igris didn't think her body could withstand the effects of alcohol, so naturally...

She needs to think of another way.

Emotional comfort is a relatively difficult and slow process, and hypnotherapists are probably the ones who can show the fastest results.

But Igris couldn't let her guard down against the hypnosis, especially when she learned that she might kill everything around her after losing consciousness.

Frankly, she really didn't know what to do: stay away from anything that might have a negative impact on her mental health, or completely ignore her current state and continue doing what she was supposed to do.

She can choose either one, but neither is the best solution.

“Igris, Igris.”

A familiar voice rang out in her small room. It wasn't her hallucination. Although she had indeed been frequently hallucinating things calling her name lately, she would never forget this voice.

Because it is her own voice, and also the voice of the Mirror Demon.

"You came out on your own again."

Igris rubbed her face, trying to make herself look better, but her expression couldn't hide anything.

The Mirror Demon could tell that it was naturally exceptionally sensitive to human emotions, perhaps it was a talent of itss. In any case, it could sense Igris's increasingly depressed mood.

"Yes, because you rarely ask me to come out."

The Mirror Demon still resembled Igris; it loved this body just as much as it loved Igris.

Igris, too, at least felt more at ease when facing her own appearance.

The Mirror Demon approached Igris and slowly opened its arms.

Igris ignored it, so it waved its arm again.

"Did you know that when you're feeling down, a hug can make you feel really warm?"

“But I don’t need it, to be honest… I don’t think my hugs would make any difference.”

“This is my hug.”

The Mirror Demon moved closer again and half-forced Igris into his arms.

Igris resisted somewhat, but didn't push him away. She just remained motionless, trying to experience the warmth the Mirror Demon had described.

"how do you feel?"

"I don't feel anything."

Perhaps because it was just a mirror, Igris couldn't truly feel that...human warmth.

But it never loses heart, because it knows who it is and what it wants to do.

"Chirp chirp."

The Mirror Demon's movements became somewhat strange. Igris looked down and saw a rabbit jump onto her lap.