Cipher walked out of the door, startling Amélie, who had been listening in at the door.
Cipher glanced around, wondering where the security was, before sighing internally. Well, it was difficult for normal soldiers to talk back to people like Amélie. Not everyone was as bold as Selene, after all.
It was a good thing that the Chairman’s room, just like the conference room, was fitted with sound blocking spells so she probably hadn’t heard anything.
"Miss Amélie," Cipher greeted her with a polite nod. "I apologize for not being a great host earlier."
She just observed him without saying a word.
Cipher wondered if there was something wrong with him. Why was she scrutinizing him so deeply? He gave a slight bow. "Thank you for earlier. If it weren’t for you, I really might have hurt Selene."
She still just observed him without saying a thing, her gaze unwavering.
The intensity made him feel self-conscious. "Well, I should get going. Excuse me," he said, stepping past her.
"What’s her deal?" Cipher wondered as he walked away.
"Do you feel anything strange from her?" he asked internally.
[Nothing,] the Heavenly Demon responded.
Well, at least she wasn’t also related to a god. Speaking of...
A while later, Cipher was in Iris’s lab.
"Where is Elaine?" he asked. Iris was busy welding some strange machine, sparks flying.
She removed her protective glasses. "Right where you left her. She hasn’t come out since."
"Thanks. I’ll go talk to her," Cipher said. "By the way, there’s something I need to talk to you about, so don’t leave."
"Sure. I never leave my lab anyway," she responded.
With that, Cipher moved to the other room where Elaine and Elara were. The two sisters sat together next to a table and turned around in unison. Elara’s expression brightened.
"It’s Brother Cipher!" she said as she rushed toward him. She took his hand. "Cipher, little Elaine talk about you."
"Really? She did?" Cipher asked as they walked together back to Elaine.
Though Elara didn’t have any brain damage, she had clearly experienced severe trauma that affected both her speech and reasoning. Elaine had examined her and, while she hadn’t found a cure, believed Elara would recover on her own with time. As for her speech difficulties, they were temporary - she just needed exposure and practice to regain her fluency.
"Yes," Elara said as she sat down next to Elaine.
Cipher took the seat opposite them. "What did you say about me?" he asked with a smile.
"Nothing. She brought it up," Elaine replied, waving her hand dismissively.
[Hmmm. This is troublesome,] the Heavenly Demon spoke suddenly.
"~What? Did you find something?" he asked internally.
[No, ignore that,] she replied.
Cipher turned his gaze to Elara. She was actually the older of the two - that’s why she called Elaine "little," though it probably didn’t matter much since they were twins.
"Elara, did you remember anything?" Cipher asked.
Since she’d been in the Immortal King’s hideout, he was particularly interested in what she might recall. If she could remember anything the Immortal King or any of his followers had said around her, it could be useful in figuring out his secret.
Elara shook her head. "Me just..." She gestured with her hands, trying to find the words but failing. "Bad place, want out." She then pointed at him. "Cipher call me, go out."
Cipher nodded. He understood what she was trying to say. She had probably closed herself off mentally and only managed to come out when he had asked her to choose.
Elaine placed her hands over Elara’s as her sister continued gesturing, trying to find words. She looked at Cipher. "Stop asking her those things. She doesn’t remember them for a reason. I want to help you, but..."
Cipher nodded. "I understand."
"Then let’s talk about you," he said.
"Me?" Elaine asked.
"That’s right. More precisely, I want to talk to the Love Goddess. Do you have some mana to spare?"
...
"Yeah. Do you want to ask something from the Love Goddess?" she asked. "Just so you know, I can’t afford anything big. If you want to know how the Immortal King comes back, I’ll need to be at least S-rank."
"It’s alright. I just want to ask a few things," Cipher said.
"Alright. Ask away."
"Do you know the God of Light?" Cipher asked.
Elaine clasped her hands together in prayer. A few seconds later, she opened them. "Yes."
Cipher was surprised by the response. He wondered how the Love Goddess calculated the price of a prayer. Wasn’t this a bigger question than asking about the Immortal King’s immortality?
Maybe it was all about perspective. To her, she didn’t lose much by answering about her knowledge of someone else. But would a goddess really lose anything by telling them about the Immortal King, who was a mortal? Could it be that he really had support from another god?
This was looking more and more likely now.
"Is the Time God alive?" he asked.
Elaine did the same gesture, but she responded much quicker this time. "Too expensive."
Cipher nodded. "Hmm, I understand now. I don’t." It seemed there was no consistency at all for how big a request was. It could best be attributed to the goddess’s whims.
"Do you know what’s happening to the apocalypse worlds?" Cipher asked.
Elaine prayed again, then responded. "Yes."
"Is there a way to save the worlds?" he asked.
"No," Elaine responded.
The worlds were really dead. Even the Time God could only preserve them for a bit.
"Can the people be saved?" he asked.
"Yes."
Cipher sighed in relief. He had sensed the Heavenly Demon’s restlessness after the first question and asked this one to reassure her.
Now, for the real question.
"Do you know my secret?" he asked.
Elaine prayed, and prayed, and prayed. After almost a full minute, she responded. "Yes."
Cipher wasn’t surprised by this. It would be strange if a god didn’t know. But did this apply to every god? If the Immortal King was really getting help from a god, would that god tell him about Cipher’s secrets? And more importantly, which secret exactly?
He had two of them - his regression and his cheat system. Which secret did the Love Goddess know about? He couldn’t just directly ask, as he would have to reveal it. What if the Love Goddess didn’t know and was actually interested in it? Cipher decided not to risk it for now.
"Do you know the Goddess of Light?" Cipher asked.
This was the goddess the Church of Eternal Brilliance worshiped. If the goddess really existed, then it would increase the validity of his suspicion that the Immortal King had a god’s support. Of course, there was always the chance that the goddess was real but the Immortal King didn’t actually worship her and made the whole thing up, but...