OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 355: Fifth Step

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"What should he do~? Oh, what should he do~?"

Emir sang happily, moving his arms around as if he were a conductor leading an orchestra.

"Tell me~ tell me~, what should this pitiful BASTARD do~?"

Raising his right arm, he smashed it into the table, his face stone cold.

"Warning me of death?! ME? THIS FUCKER THINKS HE CAN KILL ME?!"

Judal frowned in annoyance.

"Stop acting like you're angry. You're not too good at it."

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"..."

Shrugging his shoulders, Emir admitted:

"Heh~ you've caught me."

Exacerbated, Judal sighed and stood up from his chair.

"I won't ask how you've found that out; it'd be a waste of time. I won't tell you to keep this secret; I know most of your people already know. But I will tell you this..."

Emir tilted his head innocently.

"What?"

"Don't think that you're safe because of the binding contract. If this story ever goes public, I'll kill you, even if death is my ending."

"Isn't it everyone's?"

Rolling his eyes, Judal turned around, and headed out of the office, passing by a white-haired beauty that was waiting just by the door.

He didn't bother looking at her, as he knew her to be his quote-unquote secretary, Amanda, still unaware of her true identity, as it was known only to the top Elite and Amon, their principal.

[Welcome back... again.]

Emir kindly smiled at her. It was a smile only seen by those he considered family, quite rarely at that.

[I'm back.]

As she got close, reaching his desk, he was about to stand up to welcome her, but she stopped him, lightly pushing his shoulders down, not allowing him to get up from his seat.

[Oh- do I sense a rebellion?]

Lyra giggled and kissed his forehead.

[Maybe~.]

Their relationship had certainly advanced. It reached a point where jokes about betrayal and the like were commonplace, usually met with laughter rather than suspicion.

This showed that Emir's trust in Lyra grew and was continuing to grow as time passed, making her happier than ever.

But that happiness took pause when she saw a certain memory as she stepped back from the kiss.

"...Phoenix... you agreed!"

Emir face palmed and leaned back on his chair.

"Ahh, not again."

Lyra let out a soft giggle.

"Just kidding."

With eyes that showed suspicion, he asked:

"Are you really?"

And she answered immediately, her face completely serious:

"Yes. If I acted on my jealousy, then no nonfamilial woman near you would be alive today. So know that despite what I feel, you take precedence and always will."

Emir scoffed.

"Thanks for not killing my family."

She shrugged her shoulders and sat on the desk.

"You're welcome~."

Shaking his head, Emir's face matched Lyra's as he took out his terminal.

A hologram materialized, showing a long line of text that described much of what Emir had done since the day he returned from Setrenc.

{Emir didn't begin eating and left to clean up the coordinated mess. He didn't want to leave it to the machine as it would take long-well, long compared to his hands, at least.}

{They moved quickly, and when he was done, he uniformly put everything back exactly to where they belonged.}

{Time went by, and soon she was done, happy with the result, looking at Emir's baby face with a grin while he cleaned the place.}

{Emir slowed down his perception of time, then looked at the students, still uniformly standing, awaiting the result.}

{Clicking his tongue, Emir followed after him, wobbling through the grime as he patted himself clean.}

"Look. You see a pattern, no? I bet you've noticed this immediately."

Lyra didn't show surprise at being caught, but complete and utter happiness. Her smile screamed at how excited she was that he had finally caught on.

"Of course! Who else but me? If I didn't, I'd be a failure of an assistant."

Emir, expecting such a reaction, followed along with her joke:

"Indeed, you would've been. But what now? Have I become a cleaning freak?"

She shook her head.

"No, well, technically yes-"

"Just say it."

At Emir's urging, she revealed:

"You've developed Mild OCD. I've confirmed it during your daily diagnosis; there's no

doubt."

His eyes widened slightly, and he couldn't help but ask:

"I, a Celestial, have a disorder?"

She repeated:

"Yes. But it's nothing to worry about."

"Huh, that's..."

Emir looked around his office for a moment, and when his eyes returned to Lyra, he asked:

"Is this why your face makes me feel calm?"

Lyra blushed at once but then quickly snapped her head away in shame.

"S-Sorry, for a second, I thought that you were confessing."

He didn't react and urged her once more:

"Tell me, is that why?"

She nodded.

"My face is perfectly symmetrical. It's only natural that your eyes find me pleasant."

There was also another reason they both silently acknowledged.

Emir's favorite color was blood red-the same color as her ruby-like eyes.

He hadn't had a favorite color before his 'immersion' at Setrenc, but since then, he had come

to see it as the most beautiful, the most vibrant.

This coincidence only highlighted their unnatural connection.

"...I see."

Emir chuckled and leaned back on his chair, closing his real eyes to focus on his mind's eye.

He felt the paths within and noticed a difference, now understanding why Lyra was so happy that he had realized the change.

After all, that realization had brought this 'difference' to life as his being, his soul, grew more intertwined with Aether due to him successfully embodying a puppeteer. A man so obsessed with control that his brain couldn't handle anything out of his chosen order.

Even though it would've been fair to call him a control freak before Setrenc, this here was on another level, as his OCD was control manifest. The result of his perfectionist mindset. Now all of this led his Aether Core to react and grow, matching the status of his being within Aether's metaphorical eyes.

His network of veins and arteries were altered. They became slightly bigger, denser than a mortal's bones, and more numerous at their ends, allowing for better absorption

capabilities.

This was a massive step forward towards reaching the next sub-rank and becoming an Exarch.

The fifth one in his path. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

It seemed that Lyra's estimation was correct; he truly was on course to do the impossible

within a year.

'That future isn't so far it looks like.'

Excited, Emir stood up from his chair, about to go train with the Aether Core that he stole from Arthur, but was interrupted as his terminal rang out.