Arcane: The Gods Want Me to Pick a Route-Chapter 138: Cassiopeia Hates You

Singed opened his pocket watch and listened to the ticking. He sat quietly on a stool, head lowered, staring at the photo inside the watch—golden hair, a serene face, smiling gently.

"Just a little longer... Orianna. Just a little longer."

"Please... Logan."

He looked at Logan sitting on the edge of the bed with his eyes closed. Singed knew Logan had already gone to "that" world.

Because the two large bags Logan had been holding were gone. The instant Logan shut his eyes and murmured something, both bags vanished from his hands.

Singed waited in silence.

Logan had said it would only take a few minutes, but to Singed those minutes felt like years.

For the first time in his life, Singed desperately wanted time to move faster.

[Please choose a descent location — Blossom Valley / Purple Prison Woods / Stillwater Lake]

[Descent location confirmed. Descending... Blossom Valley]

Inside the Spirit Blossom realm, Logan stared at the system inventory panel and let out a long sigh.

The reason he’d hauled in a giant bag of snacks and a giant bag of books was simple: he’d wanted to bring everything in at once. Basically, he’d tried to exploit a loophole.

Because, technically speaking, a bag was also an "item," right?

One energy point could exchange one item from the material realm into Blossom Valley... so exchanging two bags should be fair, shouldn’t it?

But now that he looked...

He’d failed.

No—he hadn’t completely failed.

Because the snack loophole worked.

A whole bag of food made it in—chewable energy sticks, sweet low-proof fruit drinks, all kinds of baked cakes, and packs of jerky...

But the books didn’t.

Books were categorized as individual items. Logan could only choose one single book to bring into Spirit Blossom.

After thinking it over, he finally picked a history book.

Lamb wasn’t like Ahri. Lamb was short, and Logan already knew what her face looked like under the mask, but... even if Lamb was cute—even with that doll-like face—she felt intellectual.

Like... a "cute but composed" type.

That didn’t contradict itself.

After all, wasn’t Ahri basically a charming, confident type who still acted adorable half the time?

The outside was only the first impression.

What really mattered was the soul.

That was Logan’s takeaway after entering Spirit Blossom multiple times.

Standing in Blossom Valley, Logan looked around.

For a long time now, Ahri had felt like she’d planted a beacon on him. The moment Logan appeared in Spirit Blossom, she would show up near him almost immediately. Sometimes she’d be playful on purpose—refusing to announce herself—just watching him panic while he searched, then hiding in the grass and giggling to herself like an idiot.

But now?

Logan cleared his throat, sat cross-legged on the ground, lifted the snack bag, rummaged inside, and pulled out a piece of candy.

"Ahri? Ahri, are you not here? If you’re not here... then I’m eating it myself. Sigh, what a shame. I was going to give you everything, but I guess one piece won’t hurt, right?"

He tore open the wrapper, held the candy up, wiggled it a little, then opened his mouth, about to pop it in.

Over the past year, Zaun’s economy had taken off. Snack factories had popped up alongside it.

Snack factories were important to any nation—because a developed food industry was one of the clearest signs of a society moving forward.

Zaun was no exception. Even this lollipop was made in Zaun now.

"Stop!"

"Save some for me!"

A sharp voice snapped from behind him. Logan’s eyebrow lifted, a grin tugging at his mouth.

There you are.

In the next instant, something white and small flashed past his face. Logan even felt soft fur brush his cheek. When he focused—

A tiny white fox was sitting primly in front of him, candy clenched between her teeth, small sharp teeth crunching away, her bright fox eyes locked onto Logan.

"Wow!"

Ahri’s eyes curved into crescents. A blissfully human expression spread across her fox face as she swallowed the candy. Then, in a blink, she was right in front of Logan’s knees, poking her head toward the bag.

"That’s so much! Is it all mine?"

She looked up, her fluffy white tail spinning behind her like a propeller. It was like stars had appeared in her eyes as she stared at Logan. She was so cute it was ridiculous.

That puppy-like look hit Logan so hard his mind blanked for a second. Without thinking, he reached out and ruffled her head.

The moment his hand made contact, he snapped back to reality.

Oh, hell—

I... touched a demigod’s head?

And I petted her like she was a puppy?!

But Ahri didn’t get angry. She just kept wagging her tail and asked again, "It’s all mine, right, Logan? All of it?"

"Yeah. It’s all for you. So? I’m pretty generous, right?" Logan exhaled in relief when she didn’t react to his overstep.

He had to have been charmed just now.

"You’re the best, Logan!"

As she said it, the system prompt chimed in Logan’s head.

[Ahri’s affection for you +60]

Ahri cheered, shoved her chubby little paws into the bag, buried her head inside, and came out with a piece of cake clamped in her mouth.

She munched noisily, eyes squinting in happiness. "So good... it’s so good."

"So you humans really are amazing! I’ve read the memories of so many souls. In their memories, I felt how passionate they were about food—how much they loved it. I understood the feeling... but I never experienced it myself."

"Logan, you’re a good person. If you need anything from me, just say it!"

She held the cake in her paws and ate with shameless joy.

And seeing there was still so much more in the bag only made her happier.

[Ahri’s affection for you +10]

"I really do need your help with something," Logan said, looking at her with a strange expression, scratching his cheek.

Seriously... why was Ahri’s affection so easy to raise?

A random bag of food he bought in Zaun and she’d gained almost a hundred points?!

This was affection from a spirit.

And now Logan’s relationship level with Ahri was already pushing toward the "close" stage.

What Logan didn’t realize was—

Ahri had guarded Spirit Blossom for countless ages. She’d even forgotten when she had first come into being. From the moment she existed, kind-hearted and lively, she’d guided souls—becoming a savior spirit of Spirit Blossom.

She had read endless memories, but they didn’t confuse her. In her mind, they were like books on shelves—only appearing when she wanted to open them.

So naturally, she picked the ones she liked.

Spirit Blossom was boring. Those memories were one of her few sources of entertainment.

And over time, she’d learned all about "food."

Which was exactly why, back then, when Logan’s thoughts wandered into some truly questionable territory, Ahri understood immediately.

Yeah... she’d definitely read a few memories that weren’t exactly kid-friendly.

"Alright, tell me," Ahri declared, completely unaware of Logan’s internal chaos. "Who are we fighting this time?"

Logan blinked, then waved his hands frantically. "No, no, no—nobody. We’re not fighting."

"Huh? But don’t you hate Noxus?" Ahri puffed up. "Honestly, Logan, I hate them too! They invaded Ionia and killed so many people. Lately, all the souls coming into Spirit Blossom are filled with anger and resentment. Seriously—because of them, I’ve been working myself to death!"

As Ahri complained, Logan lowered his head, pulled out a bottle of fruit wine, and handed it to her.

Time was tight, and Logan hadn’t been sure he could bring everything in, so he bought a bit of each kind of snack. And in Zaun, alcohol was everywhere. Even kids drank it. So the "drinks" he bought...

Were all booze.

Ahri tilted her head. "What’s this?"

"Fruit wine. Low-proof," Logan said, popping the cap and offering it to her.

Ahri gripped the bottle with both paws, lifted her head, stuffed the opening into her little mouth, and started chugging.

"This is so good! Logan, this is what humans mean by ’sweet,’ right?"

"It’s really sweet!" she said, beaming.

"Now tell me—what do you want me to do? I’ll agree to anything, Logan. I swear on this whole bag of snacks!"

Logan smiled and tapped a finger against his forehead.

Ahri understood immediately. She huffed, carefully set the half-finished bottle aside—she didn’t want to knock it over. There was still more than half left, and if it spilled onto the ground she’d be miserable.

Only then did she trot over to Logan, talking as she went.

"Later you need to go see Kindred. If Wolf finds out you came back and didn’t visit, it’ll get angry. Lamb won’t blame you... but she’ll stop liking you, Logan."

"Kindred cares about promises. If you agree to something, you have to do it. No backing out."

When she reached him, Ahri hopped lightly and sat on his leg, lifting a paw and waving it at him.

Logan lowered his head and said softly, "I remember. Ahri, I also brought Lamb’s book."

Ahri let out a mischievous little laugh.

Why?

Because she could borrow that book too.

Which meant she’d be able to devour all the food she’d been dreaming about from other people’s memories...

And then read a new book as well.

I’m a genius, she thought, delighted.

Ahri placed her soft paw on Logan’s head. Her paw pads pressed gently to his forehead as she began searching through his recent memories.

"Hey! You kissed her?!"

"Ugh—why are you touching her like that, Logan? You aren’t even married!"

"No, this isn’t right. A proper human man and woman don’t sleep in the same bed!"

Ahri had found the moments Logan remembered most vividly lately—his private interactions with Jinxie.

Late-night touches, kisses, that sort of thing.

Hearing Ahri mutter like this, Logan coughed awkwardly and hurried, "Not those. Look at what just happened."

"Don’t interrupt me. I’m curious, okay?" Ahri huffed and kept watching.

Then her eyes went wide and watery.

Because she saw two naked humans in a bathroom.

Why—why are you touching each other like that with no clothes on?! Shameless!

The shock hit Ahri hard. At her core, she was simple-minded and pure. Her age was ancient, but her mental age wasn’t.

That was why she was so mischievous—

Like a kid.

She forced herself to stop looking at the embarrassing stuff and focused on the important part.

After a while, Ahri cut the link and looked at Logan, shaking her head.

Logan’s heart jumped, and he was about to speak—then Ahri nodded instead.

"Orianna, right? Her situation is... complicated."

Ahri looked at Logan and explained seriously:

"She’s dead. And she’s been dead for a while. But the interesting part is—her soul hasn’t been taken by the reapers. Her soul is still there, inside the body."

"But because she’s been dead too long, that soul has started to lose itself. If I can’t go out there, I can’t wake her up."

Ahri spoke carefully.

Orianna was dead, but the man named Singed had done something—altered Orianna’s state, sealed her body so the soul couldn’t leave the vessel. That was why her soul was still inside.

That was good news. Because if the soul was still there, then a spirit like Ahri could bring her back.

But...

Still the same problem.

Too far away.

Either Logan needed to bring Orianna’s body to Ionia—where the veil between realms was thinner and Ahri’s power could reach the outside—

Or Logan needed to take Orianna out and act as a physical anchor again, so Ahri could work through him.

Otherwise, she couldn’t do it.

After all, she was a savior spirit—but the "saving" in her title meant guiding souls toward a path.

Not reviving them.

But if Ahri couldn’t...

Lamb could.

Seeing Logan thinking, Ahri smiled and cut in, "Don’t worry. This is actually easy. Go find Lamb. Lamb is much better at waking a soul up and calling it back, Logan."

"My job is guiding souls onto the right path—helping them find where they belong in Spirit Blossom, letting go of the past, no longer blinded by hatred and memory."

"But Lamb and Wolf are the reapers of this world. They have the right to grant a soul life... and the right to kill souls they judge guilty. That’s why Spirit Blossom stays balanced~"

"Then let’s go now?" Logan finally let out the breath he’d been holding.

As long as it could be done, that was enough.

Logan had been stringing Singed along, making him wait, and he genuinely felt guilty about it.

Because Singed had been working for Zaun nonstop. And because Logan had promised he could help bring Orianna back, Singed had devoted himself completely to Zaun ever since.

Ekko and Jinxie had learned a lot from him. Zaun’s chemtech disciplines had advanced because of him.

Singed... really was one of Zaun’s pillars.

In just a year, he’d given Zaun so much. So if Logan returned with bad news, even if Singed said it was fine, Logan would still blame himself.

That was just the kind of person Logan was.

When someone treated him well, he doubled it back. He didn’t forget kindness.

But that didn’t mean he walked around tallying every grudge.

"That won’t work!" Ahri said, rejecting the idea immediately.

She hopped down, grabbed the snack bag in her mouth, lifted a paw, and summoned a small cloud in front of her. She glanced back at Logan and said, "I need to hide the good stuff first. Then I’ll take you to Lamb."

"Otherwise Wolf will eat all of it!"

Logan couldn’t help laughing.

See? She really was a kid at heart.

Ahri vanished from his sight, and Logan waited quietly.

About two minutes later, Ahri returned. A cloud floated in front of Logan. Ahri’s little head poked out, and she waved a paw at him.

"Come on! Let’s go find Lamb~"

Logan stared at the opening in the cloud.

It was only about the size of his head. And with Ahri’s fox head sticking out...

It looked like a dog door.

Logan’s mouth twitched. "Can I even fit through that?"

"What do you think?" Ahri snapped, grinding her teeth.

She lifted a paw—and Logan immediately felt his body lose control, drifting straight toward the tiny dog-door opening.

Then—

Logan found himself in a strange place.

He wasn’t in Blossom Valley anymore.

He was in a void.

No blue sky. No clouds. No forest. No river.

Just countless thin white strands of light, densely woven and tangled together.

With Ahri’s help, Logan floated above those strands.

He saw an enormous bright mass in the distance—no, it wasn’t a strand. It was a sphere. The strands covered it like a web, and the sphere alone took up nearly a ninth of the entire space.

It was huge.

And as Logan stared at it, his eyes gradually went unfocused. His expression turned blank, stupid.

"Smack!"

Something warm and chubby pressed against his cheek. Logan’s eyes cleared instantly.

He snapped back to himself.

"Ahri... what was that?" Logan asked, looking at her.

He’d been staring at the strands, then noticed a massive dark-purple sphere. The longer he looked, the more his awareness blurred. It felt like his senses were sealed away, dropping him into darkness.

"That was Cassiopeia," Ahri said cheerfully. "You’re done for, Logan. After Thresh, now you’ve gone and gotten Cassiopeia’s attention too~"

"...What does that mean?"

"It means you were being rude." Ahri explained. "This is the core of Spirit Blossom. Only I’m allowed to come here. From here, I can see souls that need my help."

"That’s also why, back when Thresh grabbed you, I could appear by your side so suddenly."

"And what you did just now..." Ahri giggled. "In human terms—you were peeping on Cassiopeia?"

Then she scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Honestly, it’s kind of my fault too. I should’ve warned you not to look around."

Logan: "..."

Fine. Thresh already had it out for him—so if Cassiopeia noticed him too...

Maybe it wasn’t that big of a deal.

He tried to talk himself down.

Then a system window popped up in his mind.

[Cassiopeia’s affection for you -20]

[Cassiopeia hates you and believes you are a shameless scoundrel.]

"..."

"...What the hell?"

//Check out my P@tre0n for 10 extra free Chapters //[email protected]/Razeil0810.