Why can't humans do it too?

Chapter 165 Keenness and Suspicion

Suer had long since lost all confidence in this forest elf's personal hygiene; she would even lie and cheat in order to be lazy, her obsession truly remaining in a strange place.

"...Tch," Xin Ke stared at Su Er for a moment, then finally lowered her head and clicked her tongue softly.

So—you really did touch something weird and were trying to cover it up, huh?!

Suer was almost unable to control his urge to make sarcastic remarks, and his eyes had completely evolved into dead fish eyes.

After washing her hands thoroughly under Suer's supervision, Xinke finally picked up the baked cake as she wished, and took a bite, biting off most of it along with the blueberry jam on top.

"How come the allowance is being subsidized with hot pot?"

"...Huh? Swallow your food before you speak."

Xin Ke's voice was muffled because her mouth was stuffed with something. Su Er squinted and complained, then handed her a glass of water.

"...I mean, why aren't you making cream puffs today?" Xin Ke asked, somewhat puzzled, as she swallowed the cake with the water Su Er handed her and patted her chest.

"You get tired of eating the same thing all the time, right? It's nice to change things up once in a while. How was it this time?" Su Er asked casually, picking up a piece of blueberry cake and taking a bite.

The sweet and sour taste effectively neutralized the greasy feeling. I don't know if it's because of the milk from some unknown species that Xinke got from the forest spirits, but there's a lingering fishy smell.

Chef Sue gave the cake a low score.

"Ha, to declare something you like as something you're already tired of just like that, are all humans this fickle?"

"It's just eating cake, don't drag it into a matter of morality and character, okay?!"

Upon hearing Xin Ke's unexpected comment, Su Er nearly choked on his own saliva and coughed violently.

"It's good that you're here now, so I don't need to bring the pastries in for you. Just take these with you," Sue said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. After leaving Jibril's portion, he simply stuffed all the remaining cakes into Xinke's hands.

Holding a white porcelain plate, Xin Ke took a light sniff of the lingering fragrance, but she remained seated on the edge of the kitchen counter, instead of returning to her research lab as usual.

"...Is there anything else?" Finally noticing that the forest elf with the pale golden hair seemed to have something to say, Suer felt his heart rise and fall with trepidation, and he didn't even know why he felt this way.

It has nothing to do with feelings like love.

"Rather than saying I have something to do, it's more like Mr. Monkey has something to do, right?" Xin Ke said, raising an eyebrow as she casually picked up a small piece of cake and put it in her mouth.

"Huh? Me?" Slightly amused, Su'er shook his head and said, "What could possibly be wrong with me—"

“I’ll be a little direct with you… Mr. Monkey, are you troubled by those humans?” Skipping over the annoying steps, Xin Ke interrupted Su Er’s denial and asked directly, “Today… no, I should say this has been going on for several days now, your strange behavior.”

Her words were so unequivocally certain.

Mori Seijin had complete faith in his judgment.

“Mr. Monkey is really bad at concealing his emotions. Well, maybe it was just an unintentional display? You should know that for our race, many of your subtle expressions and movements can reveal your true thoughts,” Xinke continued without giving Suer a chance to defend himself. “If you’re worried about those humans, then why don’t you accept my proposal?”

"Or wouldn't it be better to just present them with the best offer and let them choose for themselves?" The tray had already been placed aside. Xin Ke crossed her arms and tapped her fingers impatiently on her elbows. "Haven't you thought about this? Mr. Monkey, you unilaterally rejected my offer on their behalf—an opportunity for them to escape their dangerous lives and live a life without worrying about food and safety—but will they really thank you?"

"..."

His breath seemed to be caught in his throat, and Suer was unable to answer such a question.

Surely someone will agree... Suer was certain that as long as Xinke appeared and presented the wonderful option to everyone in the settlement, someone would agree.

There may be hesitation, there may be worry, but it will definitely happen eventually.

As Xinke said, he rejected her proposal because he was worried that humans would lose their will to move forward if they were kept in captivity by the forest elves—would the people in the settlement really thank him?

torment.

He didn't know when these emotions and thoughts appeared, but by the time Suer realized them, they had already filled his heart like a creeping shadow, never to disappear as the light appeared.

Whenever he ate delicious food, whenever he slept in the deepest part of his body in a comfortable temperature, and when he didn't have to be too vigilant about potential dangers, these thoughts would uncontrollably flash through his mind.

A sense of betrayal and self-loathing.

He was betrayed by everyone who saved him and allowed him to survive until now.

The more comfortable he lived, the more his physical desires were satisfied, the more tormented Sull became... The thought of Credo, Lennie, and... Nona...

The thought that they were still shivering from the cold, struggling with danger, and constantly moving their settlements because of the unknown crisis that might come at any time made Suer even more tormented.

Was his decision correct?

Is it right for him to live like this?

He yearned for a correct answer that would never appear.

Therefore, silence is the only option.

Even the eyes of the Mori Sei-seed could not be looked at directly.

“It’s not just me, I’m afraid even that Skywing species has discovered it, right?” Xin Ke’s voice carried a barely perceptible hint of pity. She pitied Su Er, pitied his fragility as a human. Her fair palm pressed against Su Er’s cheek, slightly cool.

"It started from that time, right?" Xin Ke slowly lifted Su Er's head so she could see his eyes. "That... when you couldn't recall any new knowledge anymore..."

Unconsciously, I clenched my fists, but they felt empty and aimless.

The forest elf with long, light blonde hair was right once again.

She was always like that, able to see right through herself—Suer hated this, yet couldn't find any way to refute it.

He was just an ordinary person, an ordinary college student, an ordinary office worker, with no extraordinary memory abilities.

More than two years had completely drained all the remaining knowledge in his mind, and no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't recall anything more.

Xin Ke understood all of this.

Chapter 166 Determination

"...Phew, if this level of insight were used to become a police officer, there probably wouldn't be any case he couldn't solve, right?" Su Er sighed and said with a wry smile.

His reaction undoubtedly proved that everything Xin Ke had said was correct, without a single mistake.

"Hmm~, I think it's better to call me Sherlock Holmes than a policeman, okay?" Xin Ke said with a smile, as she withdrew her hand and made a pipe-smoking gesture.

"I can let the first one go, but how did you figure out the second one?" Su Er asked weakly. She reached for a small cake again, but when she got close to it, she found it tasteless and put it back.

“Because Mr. Monkey has been trying to create new things all this time,” Xin Ke said candidly. “New flavors of food, new decorating styles, new tools… To be honest, those clumsy innovations were even kind of cute~, which made me clearly understand what it means to struggle in the ordinary?”

"Alright, alright, you don't need to say anymore," Su Er hurriedly raised his hands to stop her. He felt his cheeks burning uncontrollably. He hadn't expected that Xin Ke had seen everything he was doing. He thought that this woman usually stayed in her research lab and wouldn't think about anything unnecessary.

He was clearly just a useless person who couldn't even take a bath by himself.

Even so, the predicament that Suer faces will not change in the slightest.

He was worried, fearful, and troubled by the value he had lost.

It's only been a little over two years now, but what if we extend that timeframe to twenty years?

He was already forty years old at that time. How could he maintain his thoughts on the Forest Elf and Skywing races and his interest in the unknown over the past twenty years?

In just two years, he had already reached the point of exhaustion. Twenty years later, he would still be in his prime. Suer's rationality told him that the resources he had consumed were extremely small for Xin Ke. Even if you included the humans in the settlement, there weren't many, and they didn't have enough to make Xin Ke break his promise.

But Suer's emotions kept refuting all of this, refusing to believe in things that hadn't even happened yet—it kept clamoring, yearning to find its own value, a value that could prove its existence and give it peace of mind.

Unable to accept everything before them and enjoy it all.

“...I want to return to the settlement,” his voice became incredibly low. Sur was astonished to hear such words come out of his own mouth; it was as if he were asking for death.

"Ah~, and then?" However, Xin Ke didn't seem surprised at all. She just calmly asked, knowing that Su Er didn't mean to return to that precarious life.

“Then…then I went to the island in the east…the place that Okan told me about last,” Suer said slowly. “This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision; in fact, what I was saying now was part of a pre-planned strategy. You should remember, right?”

I want to know the answer.

The words left by the forging god Okan when he threw himself and Xinke out of that small world were never forgotten by Sul, and he didn't even intend to pass this crucial message on to the settlement.

As the leader of the settlement, Sull believed that Riku needed to know about the agreement between himself and the forest elves. With Riku's cooperation and cover-up, many things would be much easier to handle in the future. If Sull hadn't personally appeared and explained things to Riku, the man would never have believed it.

Even though it was agonizing, even though it made her conscience uncomfortable, Suer still insisted on her own ideas... The fact that she was unknowingly accepting the favors of the forest elves must never be known to all humans.

Sull believed that Liku could arrange everything once he had enough information.

Of all the things Okan said, this was the only message that Sur never intended to tell Liku.

If that man knew, he would surely go on the adventure alone... seeking an answer that would allow humanity to stand up, free from the stigma of being called beasts, and to live on this planet like other races.

But he will die.

Sur sadly foresaw all of this.

Because he was still alive, the man would be delighted to entrust him with the responsibility of the settlement again, and then gladly go to the most dangerous place—that is what Riku would do.

Then he will die.

Not only are there dangers on land, but he also has to face dangers from the races that exist in the sea, such as wind and waves, sea monsters... The man cannot overcome those difficulties and dangers with his fragile human body.

This is something only I can do.

On a quiet night, these words once again echoed in Suer's mind, resounding like a bell, just as they had on that night before, driving him forward.

But Suer showed no sign of rejection; in fact, he was surprisingly calm and accepted it all with equanimity.

Liku will not succeed. Even if he manages to reach the place Okan described after going through countless hardships, he will not get the answer he wants—no matter how much he gives, he will not succeed.

Because the one with the soul and flesh of another world is not him.

"...Is Mr. Monkey planning to leave quietly when no one knows?" Xin Ke pressed her temples as if she had a headache. "With just those toys?"

"Haha, it's not quite at the level of a toy, is it?" Su'er chuckled twice in response. To be honest, in the eyes of this forest elf and that winged creature, there were far too many things that were toys.

“Look, the backpack that lets me fly temporarily, the shoes that increase my jumping ability, the weapon with penetrating power… these are already very powerful,” Suer said, counting on his fingers the gadgets the three of them had made out of curiosity over the past two years. He truly believed in their quality and effectiveness. “As long as I’m as careful as I used to be, nothing bad is likely to happen.”

"And then they took all those miniature bombs too?" Suer's words left Xin Ke speechless. She sighed dramatically as she spoke.

"It was just firecrackers, huh? Wait, how did you know?" Slightly taken aback, Su'er suddenly realized something, "...You sneaked into my room?"

“It was just an inspection,” Xin Ke said, as if she were a queen, showing no remorse for intruding on someone else’s private territory.

"You should have been a little embarrassed to be pointed out to your face," Su Er complained, squinting. "Anyway, you guys don't need those toys, so I just took them with me."

Chapter 167 Starting Again

Sull must retract his statement that Jibril's firecrackers were useless; those little cuties are quite effective as self-defense weapons.

"You think you can cross this continent with just these toys?" Xin Ke sighed even more deeply. "I thought you really enjoyed this stable life—didn't you always crave this kind of life? You always seemed so happy before."

"Uh, of course I like it," Su Er scratched his head awkwardly, feeling particularly embarrassed to say these words himself. "...I just feel that I have to do it. You see, only I can do it, right? If I don't go, wouldn't it be a pity that humanity misses the opportunity to rise?"