Fool's Library

Amise usually gets up before six o'clock every day. She will first cook a thick porridge, then take a small basket and wander around the town of Canaan to select some fresh ingredients. After that, she will go home to take a shower and change her clothes before preparing breakfast for the two of them.

This is a habit left behind by Amys long before the cataclysm of time-space collapse came and before Canaan was destroyed... It has continued into the later Night World illusion and into the newly reborn Canaan town, day after day, like a robot.

Last stretched and then sat up.

After washing up in the restroom, I changed my clothes and went downstairs.

Good morning, Xiao Ai.

The blonde girl poured milk into matching glasses for both of them and placed them on the table: "Good morning, Rust."

Today, Amy prepared a breakfast of milk and a sandwich with a fried egg and bacon. The bacon slices still had a faint smoky aroma, indicating that they had just been smoked.

“Actually, Xiao Ai, you are now the creator of your own inner world, the creator of this Canaan town.”

"There's absolutely no need to make breakfast yourself. You only need a thought to conjure up any kind of delicacy in your mind."

Last had brought up such conversations with Amys many times.

But each time, Amys would just listen to his suggestions silently and then obediently nod to indicate that she had heard them.

But every time it's mealtime, Amys still hums Canaan folk songs with great enthusiasm, busily cooking her own dishes in the kitchen.

She would show a rather satisfied expression after seeing that Rust had eaten all the food she had made.

It seems that for this young girl, cooking three meals a day for Rust and then watching Rust eat the dishes she had made herself was something she enjoyed very much.

As Rust drank his milk and ate his sandwich, he quietly emptied his mind.

Then, using the divine essence of the Deep Blue Harbor Evil God as a medium, through the faint connection between the Night World and the Western Continent of the present world, he sensed the movements on the Western Continent in real time.

Several days had passed since the secret meeting between the tomb keeper and cults from all over the Western Continent.

Originally, Rast only intended it as a half-joking gesture, impersonating the Lord of Twilight to issue the corresponding divine descent ritual requests to the Iron Cross Order and that traitor.

Unexpectedly, that traitor seemed to have taken the matter seriously.

Renowned chefs from all over the Western Continent, whether they were head chefs from various high-end restaurants within the Empire, or chefs from the Holy Kingdom of Fran, the Alliance of Lords, and other places, were all invited to the capital of the Granville Empire under various pretexts, including "chef seminars" and "exchanges between different culinary styles".

It was ostensibly a chef competition and a seminar on culinary techniques.

As for the work done behind the scenes, they actually used various methods to get those chefs with superb knife skills to chop meat and make meat sauce.

"Wow, it's really getting this lively."

Last took a bite of the sandwich and couldn't help but complain.

He felt that if things continued to develop this way, it wouldn't be long before the status of chefs within the empire would be greatly elevated.

Before long, a culinary school dedicated to training outstanding chefs, jointly run by the Elite Ten and the Commander-in-Chief, will appear, and the students there will begin to engage in food battles from morning till night.

"Now that I think about it, what I'm doing could be considered contributing to the culinary wasteland of the Granville Empire, right?"

Last recalled the so-called "delicacies" he had eaten in the capital.

His assessment of those so-called delicacies can be summed up in just one word—

"West Lake Fish With Vinegar Sauce"

"I hope that Your Highness will remember my good intentions by then... and please don't dwell on such trivial matters as me having to keep it from her even though I've already woken up."

Rast slowly withdrew his mental energy from the Western Continent and returned it to the world of his mind.

Then he saw that the blonde girl in front of him had finished her breakfast at some point.

At this moment, Amys was sitting at the dining table, resting her chin on her hand, quietly tilting her head and gazing at herself.

Under the girl's gaze, Last swallowed the last piece of his sandwich before slumping back in his chair with a touch of contentment.

Upon seeing this, a smile finally appeared on Amys's pretty face.

"So, what's your opinion on today's breakfast?"

"It's delicious, very tasty."

"That's all the evaluation you have?"

Amies tilted her head and looked at the boy: "Last, really, you always say the same two exact same things every day."

"Um……"

Last looked at the remaining wrapper of the sandwich in his hand and thought for a moment: "It's really, really delicious, extremely delicious."

"I've had sandwiches before, and the ones you made were already pretty good, but today's sandwich is going to be even more special."

"Extremely delicious."

puff-

Across the table came Amy's barely concealed laughter.

"I knew it! I used special spices today, the result of a whole week of experimentation... If you still say it's the same as usual, then you really have a loss of taste."

She smiled slightly like that.

“However, Rast, you really do have a limited vocabulary as always.”

"You used to always claim to be a male escort with zero negative reviews at the Deep Blue Harbor nightclub, saying that every female customer who visited you praised your service."

"In the end... even after thinking so hard, is this the only evaluation I can give?"

"You're nothing like the perfect gigolo you described. You haven't even learned the most basic smooth talk you use to please girls."

"Yeah?"

Last raised his head slightly, also pondering the same question.

"These differences that have appeared in me..."

"I think it's probably the difference between whether or not you wear a persona in everyday life."

He silently gazed out the window at the beautiful town that was now bathed in the morning light, radiating vitality.

"If it were during those three hundred years of time looping in Deep Blue Harbor, or right after leaving the Echoes of History and joining Star University... then I wouldn't mind wearing a mask of pretense and disguising myself as someone else—"

"That flawless gigolo who always manages to stun the audience with his appearance, eliciting joy and tips from female customers."

"After all, while flattery and flowery praise may be old-fashioned, it is indeed the sound that women love to hear the most... Even if they know it is a lie, even if they know that there is an element of perfunctoriness in it, no woman would dislike hearing praise from others."

"By wearing that hypocritical mask of personality and becoming a perfect actor, I can also become more likable, more harmless, more charming, and more popular."

"From the perspective of choosing between interests alone, it is undoubtedly the best option."

"but--"

Last shifted his gaze from the window back to the blonde girl in front of him.

A slightly more serious look appeared in those dark eyes.

"I am here, in this Canaan town... unwilling to wear that mask."

"Xiao Ai, what you saw was me wearing a fake mask, disguised—"

"This is the one thing I absolutely refuse to do."

Chapter 266 This affection is in no way inferior to theirs.

The morning breeze blowing in from the window was very gentle.

Last gently reached out, feeling the breeze brush against his fingertips.

"Even if you know it's an illusion, a mental landscape that's been projected, it doesn't matter."

"For me, Canaan is such a special place."

The boy spoke softly like that.

His figure was bathed in the soft morning sunlight, reflected in Amys's eyes, his profile sharp and deep.

“Throughout my life, I have always worn various different personas.”

"A seemingly harmless, indistinguishable passerby; a charming and polite gigolo who always attracts the opposite sex and makes those who see him feel like they're basking in a spring breeze; a cold-blooded, ruthless demon, cruel enough to be a killing machine..."

"In the echoes of history in the Night World, and in the eyes of others in the Western Continent of the present... the person named 'Last' possesses so many contradictory aspects."

His voice paused slightly.

"However, I know that those were just disguises I used in different situations to gain the greatest benefit for myself and achieve my predetermined goals."

“They are just aspects of a character I play on stage as an actor, not the real me.”

Last smiled slightly.

He looked up at the window, his gaze seemingly crossing the mountains and reaching the cave at the end.

"Beneath the mask of disguise, the real me... is nothing more than that reckless, hot-blooded, and naive little boy from the town of Canaan."

"Because I admire the knight stories in fairy tales, I casually talk about my ideal of becoming a champion of justice."

"Because he wanted to find the little girl who had gone missing in the same town, he recklessly rushed into the cave alone, completely ignoring that he was only a six or seven-year-old child himself... to the point that the rescuer almost died in the cave along with the girl he was trying to save."

He turned his gaze away from the distant mountains outside the window and back to the blonde girl in front of him.

"So, in that case, I have to apologize to you, Xiao Ai."

Last looked at the breakfast utensils that the two of them had already eaten clean.

“Back in that dark cave, I promised you that I would take on the responsibilities of a father from now on... to prepare your three meals a day and take care of your daily needs.”

"But in the end, it was I who forgot everything that happened in Canaan..."

“When I was trapped in the time loop of Deep Blue Harbor, during those days when I lost my memory and was most distraught, it was you who took care of me.”

He gave an apologetic smile.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me, Xiao Ai."

……

Listening to Last's voice.

Not far away, the girl with light golden hair couldn't help but show a slightly surprised expression.

After a long while, she silently turned her head away, not letting Rust see her expression.

"What is this, apologizing like this without any explanation..."

"and--"

Amys paused slightly.

"You say you're always disguised and wearing a mask in front of others... but you only reveal your true self in front of me."

"To say something like that so suddenly."

"That's such a shameless confession..."

Amys's murmur was so soft that even Raste, who was standing right next to her, couldn't hear it.

However, she quickly calmed down again.

The girl stood up and began tidying up the tableware.

"So that's how it is..."

She composed herself and spoke again in a voice that betrayed no sign of her distress: "Tomorrow is the day Miss Hiltina is scheduled to hold her coronation ceremony, isn't it?"

"Ah."

Rastian nodded.

"The angels who have remained among the tomb guardians since the ancient eras... and all the ancient gods who still covet the present world, will probably take this opportunity to come out in full force."

Originally, this was just a feud between the shore keepers, the Granville Empire, and the tomb keepers.

However, as time went on, undercurrents surged among various forces, forming alliances and counter-alliances... The impact of this war extended far beyond a mere secret organization or the future of a nation.

Rather, it may very well determine the future direction of the present world, that is, the entire Seventh Age civilization.

Thinking this, Last looked up slightly and saw the girl in front of him, who was full of energy, humming a Canaan folk song as she tidied up the tableware with light steps.

"Xiao Ai, how are you feeling right now?"

"Very good."

Amys answered in a light voice: