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He said… no, He said…
Azik's brows furrowed. He raised his right hand to cover his forehead, looking troubled, but his eyes remained on Lin Ruo, though his gaze was unfocused.
Figures seemed to overlap. He saw the teacher's smile and heard His casual words.
Azik's lips moved, and he murmured:
"He said… the agreement is reached. In the future, I will help you break free from Salinger's influence, and help you stabilize your humanity and maintain your self while regaining your completeness. As for the price…"
"The price…" Azik's expression grew more pained. He covered his forehead with both hands, his face pale.
"I can't remember… What exactly was the price…?"
"Calm down!" Seeing Azik suddenly become erratic, Lin Ruo quickly switched to spectator mode and manually cast a soothing effect on Azik.
"Mr. Azik, if you can't remember, don't think about it," Klein also stood up, his expression anxious and worried.
As for Medici, He certainly didn't care about Azik's state, merely looking thoughtfully between Lin Ruo and Azik.
"Hoo…" Azik took a breath. After receiving the soothing effect, his condition had improved significantly. He calmed himself down before looking at Klein and saying, "Don't worry, I'm fine…"
Then he looked at Lin Ruo, his expression slightly complex, and said, "I just remembered something, and it's related to you."
"It seems I once made an agreement with you. You promised to help me break free from Salinger's influence, help me regain my completeness, and stabilize my humanity… but I can't remember what the price was."
"Tsk…" Lin Ruo curled his lips. To be honest, when Azik was murmuring to himself while looking at him just now, he had already guessed this, and even had some guesses about the price.
What could a mere Sequence 2 Azik pay Him? The most likely thing was Death uniqueness connected to his other half of the Soul, wasn't it?
As for why he wanted Death uniqueness… Lin Ruo himself indeed had no need for Death uniqueness, but the Evernight Goddess did.
This was, after all, a world he had interfered with. In this world, it was very reasonable for him to preemptively seize Death uniqueness and make a deal with the Evernight Goddess, wasn't it?
Although it was just a guess, Lin Ruo, who felt this guess was very reliable, suppressed all the thoughts in his heart, looked at Azik, and said:
"Although I also don't know what kind of deal I once made with you, don't worry, you'll remember eventually. Even if you don't remember, I'll remember one day."
Saying this, Lin Ruo revealed his usual mischievous smile and said, "Moreover, Azik, you have to believe in my character. Since I once promised you, I must have made arrangements. Just be patient and wait."
"Mm, I believe you…" Azik nodded. He suddenly extended his hand to Lin Ruo and said, "Should I say, 'Pleasure working with you'?"
The cooperation here obviously didn't refer to the past agreement Azik had mentioned, but rather the cooperation they had just discussed.
"Pleasure working with you!" Lin Ruo curled his lips, shook Azik's hand, released it a few seconds later, and said, "Then, let's discuss the details of the cooperation."
Azik immediately sat up straight, waiting for Lin Ruo to speak.
Though he called them details, they were actually just the points Lin Ruo had discussed with Medici earlier, including how to use the upcoming major event the Numinous Episcopate was planning as an opportunity to contact them, who to cooperate with first after successfully joining the Numinous Episcopate, who to suppress, and so on.
Lin Ruo also gave Azik and Klein a rundown of the Numinous Episcopate' situation, such as the factions within the Teachings: the Royal Faction, the Artificial Death Faction, the Slumber Faction, the Netherworld Faction, etc., and their respective strengths, and so on.
Lin Ruo gave a detailed introduction, while Medici corrected and supplemented from the side.
After they had discussed most of the matters, Lin Ruo picked up his cup, took a sip of black tea, and said, "That's pretty much it. For now, the plan is just a rough outline. More details will need to be decided later based on specific circumstances and further analysis…"
"But no matter what, your safety will always be the top priority. We won't do anything that puts the cart before the horse."
Azik nodded thoughtfully. He glanced at Medici, who, though not speaking much, clearly indulged Lin Ruo greatly, then looked back at Lin Ruo. Suddenly remembering something, he asked, "Aren't you afraid I'll kick you out after I gain control of the Numinous Episcopate?"
"I trust you," Lin Ruo said without blinking, appearing to have one hundred percent trust in Azik.
In reality, Lin Ruo indeed trusted Mr. Azik's character, but the reason he dared to do so was not only because he trusted the other party's character, but also because Lin Ruo understood Mr. Azik's state.
Given the schemes involving Death and the Evernight Goddess that Azik bore, and even His own past schemes, there were ultimately three possible outcomes He would face in the future—the first was to give up half of His Soul, choose humanity, and continue Reincarnation, as in the original work. An Azik in this state clearly wouldn't have the ability to lead the Numinous Episcopate alone.
The second is if Lin Ruo's previous unknown arrangements take effect, Azik regains his other half of the Soul, and maintains his humanity. This result can be discussed together with the third possibility, which is Azik regaining his other half of the Soul and becoming the former Death Consul.
An Azik whose Soul has been fully restored could indeed try to advance further and would have the ability to lead the Numinous Episcopate independently, and could choose to turn against them.
But once He truly chose to do so, it would undoubtedly be equivalent to betrayal, equivalent to becoming an enemy of Lin Ruo and others. At that time, He would not only have to face the Evernight Goddess, who wields Death uniqueness, and Her Church—the Evernight Goddess could tolerate Azik and the Numinous Episcopate leaning towards their side and becoming allies, but would never allow a Death Consul who is not close to the Church and not an ally to control the Numinous Episcopate and cause trouble.
—He would also have to face at least Sequence 1 Medici, as well as Lin Ruo, Klein, and Lin Ruo's friends. At that point, it would be hard to say if He would even live long enough to control the Numinous Episcopate.
Lin Ruo believed that the Death Consul would not be an idiot, and also believed that Azik knew how to choose, and even more so, believed that with Medici's ability, there would be no situation within the Numinous Episcopate where only the Death Consul was known and not the Red Angel.
Even if the Death Consul truly chose to be stubborn, it might be a bit troublesome, but it wouldn't be an insurmountable problem.
Of course, if the Death Consul chose to lead the Numinous Episcopate to pledge allegiance to the Evernight Goddess, Lin Ruo would still be troubled; at that time, he might truly have to lose his tool-person. However, the Evernight Goddess is also an ally, so such an outcome is not unacceptable, and the possibility of it happening is very small.
Based on the above, Lin Ruo was indeed not too worried about problems arising from Azik's side. Compared to the potential risks, the benefits of a successful plan were undoubtedly greater, making Lin Ruo willing to give it a try.
After all, there's no plan in this world that's one hundred percent risk-free.
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