Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

  Having received Baiyi’s order, the depressed Attie had to feed Noirciel as normal people did, by directly raising the bear-shaped cookie to the angel’s lips.

  At first, Noirciel was visibly uncomfortable, but when the mouthwatering aroma of the cookie reached her nostrils, pleasant memories of good food, which was residing deep in her host’s mind, floated into Noirciel’s head. The human part of Noirciel’s psyche was suddenly triggered, and, with a strength reinforced by intense cravings, it began to fight off the angel’s insistence on observing proper decorum.

  It was easy to guess which side won, as Noirciel lips promptly parted, making way for the cookie. By the time her common sense kicked in, it was already too late; the cookie had already been chewed and swallowed, leaving behind a pleasant aftertaste on her tongue.

  To Noirciel’s surprise, she realized that she craved cookies even more, and she could not help staring wide-eyed at the next cookie. The memories of food from Noirciel’s host was already terrifying enough, but now, the angel had realized that savoring the pleasant taste of delicious snacks was a divine feeling. Not even an angel like her could maintain their composure after another taste.

  Attie did not see the longing in Noirciel’s eyes, as the angel was wearing a blindfold.

  Baiyi saw this as an opportunity to begin his ‘interrogation’. “Can you tell me what happened after we parted ways?”

  To prevent an awkward atmosphere from brewing, Baiyi made sure that Laeticia the Bouncer, and her holy flag, was out of earshot. He had sent the Saintess out of the room, saying that she was to oversee the choir’s accommodation and the aftermath of their welcome ceremony. Leaving the mess as it was was bound to attract unwanted attention.

  Baiyi decided not to ask about Mia or the Time God at the start; he felt it was wiser to play the waiting game. He planned to slowly coax the information he needed by bribing the angel with food and asking direct questions.

  “By removing you from the past, a time period that you do not belong to, I overstepped my role as the vassal and used the Time God’s power. This foolish action was the reason why I am now being punished,” Noirciel explained, looking at the oblivious Attie with disappointment. “I have spent thousands of years trying to atone for my sins, but my heart has become wayward. It is stopping me from becoming who I really am, stopping me from receiving my salvation.”

  ‘Whoops, looks like I ended this woman’s career. However, she treats me just fine even though I ruined her life. Is this because she is too stupid to realize that I am the problem, or is this Nehemiah fellow so terrifying that even she is scared of crossing his messenger?’ Baiyi wondered.

  He knew better than to ask this outright, though, so he said, “Is Lulu the cause?”

  “Indeed.” Noirciel nodded. “There is a reason why an angel cannot borrow a mortal’s body for any longer than three days. If an angel does engage in this taboo, their soul and the host’s soul would begin to fuse, corrupting the angel’s soul. This is what has happened to me.”

  As though intending to prove this, Noirciel once again looked longingly at Attie.

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  Baiyi also looked at Attie, but in his mind, he was lampooning the gods, who seemed to have a preference for young female angels. ‘So, angels do have to bear certain risks if the host’s soul isn’t destroyed instantly during possessions…… That means given enough time, even an automaton would start to act more human-like; is that really a crime?’ He wondered. ‘Isn’t it better to have a cute, spirited angel than a cold and indifferent one? You gods!’

  Attie picked up another bear-shaped cookie and made a show of raising it to Noirciel’s lips, prompting the angel to excitedly open her mouth in excitement.

  The cookie stopped right in front of the Angel’s lips. Anxious to get her fix, Noirciel let out a low whimper.

  “You can’t have it unless you give me a rub-rub!” Attie snickered.

  “What? What is a rub-rub?”

  Attie rose quickly and affectionately rubbed her cheek against the angel’s, after which she pulled away. “That was what I meant!” Attie chuckled and pushed the cookie into the angel’s mouth.

  Baiyi waited patiently for the angel to chow down the cookie, and when she was done, he continued, “Now that you mention it, what point in time did you leave to travel back to the past to meet me?”

  Noirciel eagerly waited for Attie to feed her another cookie, but when the latter did nothing, the angel reluctantly replied, “The present, of course.”

  “But, you did not meet me, a man from the present, before our encounter in the ancient Rohlserlian era! Besides, didn’t you then spend thousands of years to redeem yourself after that incident?”

  “There are no absolute concepts of time to Lord Tylemus.”

  “Well then, why did you send me back to the present in the first place? It was by Lord Nehemiah’s design that I returned to the past, you know,” Baiyi lied. It was quite risky to blame everything on a divine bigshot that he did not personally know, but such a move could coax more information from the angel.

  Noirciel was startled at first, but she patiently replied, “I suppose we should first clarify what ‘history’ really means. To mortals, history is a record of what has transpired, immortalized by written accounts and memories. But, we know what history truly is — it is a cluster of unfathomable chaos.”

  “Chaos?” Baiyi asked in surprise. He had not expected to hear such a comparison.

  “Yes. Since history is always something that has passed, no one in the current present can truly observe it themselves. Even if one’s memories or other forms of records survived, these things are mere localized fragments of the ever-expansive history. The world today will always be distinct from what it was yesterday; the differences are fundamental. For example, can you describe what the entire Isythre was like back in the time period you’ve visited?”

  “Um, no,” Baiyi admitted as he began to understand Noirciel a little.

  “Were it not for historical accounts that have survived till now, the past is and will always be a complete mystery. To a modern man, it will remain as an expanse of indecipherable chaos. Yet, you, a being of matter, had traveled back in time and meddled in the past, thus forcing changes to the disorder. Your action has caused time and history to deviate and endangered Lord Tylemus’ control, and so I must send you back to when you belong, even if it meant going against Lord Nehemiah’s wishes.”

  Noirciel’s words carried so much weight, Baiyi wondered if she had returned to her old, no-nonsense vassal self.

  “That’s the reason, huh? And here I thought you were just upset that I’d used a taboo power,” Baiyi said in an attempt to work out the angel’s attitude towards Void Energy. “Seriously, aren’t you a little worried about allying yourself with me?”

  Noirciel shook her head. “Powers, including the forbidden one, is under the purview of the God of Power, Dalos. Ergo, only Fredericka, his vassal, has the authority to mete out punishment in his name. Even as a vassal of Time, I am not allowed to punish anyone for using forbidden power in his stead; now that I’m considered a sinner, I have no right to judge. Be that as it may, I believe even Fredericka has no right to judge the actions of Lord Nehemiah’s chosen one.”

  ‘So, these divine folks observe some kinda strict boundaries for each of their domains, huh? Seems pretty outdated to me — do the gods really prefer it this way?’ Baiyi thought. ‘Now that I think about it — they run this deity business like the mafia. In fact, Noirciel did what would benefit her don the most, and then she was sacrificed like a pawn. Damn, these gods are a little too obstinate in their thinking……’

  Satisfied with Noirciel’s cooperation, Baiyi nodded at Attie to signal the Kitty Cat Maid to award her with another cookie.

  The Angel showed that she had learned from her previous experience by asking gingerly instead of opening her mouth widely, “Am I required to do a rub-rub first?”

  “No, silly! We did that already. Now, I want a lick-lick!” Attie lurched abruptly and brushed the Angel’s cheek with her tongue for a second.

  “W-what?! Why…… How…… ***Why?!***” Noirciel stammered. The unexpected action seemed to have forced her to return to her moe self; the girl was pressing her hands on her cheeks as she squirmed bashfully.

  Attie giggled contently and stuffed the cookie into Noirciel’s mouth to mollify her embarrassment.

  That was when Baiyi finally got to his real question. “If stopping us from changing history is the goal, then why did you send only me while leaving Mia in the past?”

  Noirciel had not even fully explored the great chocolatey goodness in her mouth when she froze in mid-chew. “Are you telling me…… Are you saying she isn’t here with you?!”

  She sank into a quiet but panicked contemplation before thinking out loud, “Oh no, both her body and soul had gone back in time altogether! She isn’t just an observer like you; she had joined the past wholly! This is why even though I’d erased every change your travel had made to history through my Lord’s power, she…… she had remained in the past!”

  “There’s a difference between ‘joining’ the past and ‘observing’ the past?” Baiyi hurried asked.

  “Yes! Only a small chunk of your soul had returned to the past, but Mia’s entire being has been transported there! She has become one with history!” Noirciel exclaimed, her voice quaking in fear and tears. “What shall I do now? I…… I can’t see her at all…… Tsk……”

  Baiyi dismissed the tearful Angel and reflected on her outburst. Her words implicated that if one had traveled back in time with their entire being, they would not change the course of history; it was Baiyi — who went back in the past via a small chunk of his spirit while his true body laid in the Void — who was the anomaly.

  ‘What sort of stupid universe rule is this? It’s fine and dandy for Mia to change history as she pleased as long as her “entire body and soul” is in there, even though she might be changing the world so much that she could end up in an alternate universe?’ Baiyi grouched in his head. ‘Worse, doesn’t this just mean I’m never seeing her again?!’

  Judging from how visibly Noirciel showed her panic, Baiyi was not the only one who came to this grave conclusion. Suddenly, what was previously a lively atmosphere was weighed down by a deluge of dread.