My Glasses Will Be Able to Conquer the Whole World, I Suppose

Chapter 195 – Glasses Boy’s Direct Inquiry. Uncovering the Shocking Truth – Florentine Arc

For the time being, Cherry was fine.

With that sorted, let’s get to the main issue.

“So, what’s the plan for the Taboo Child? Are you going to take her directly to the tower now?”

Chace is straightforward with the conversation, getting straight to the point.

I think that’s the fastest and easiest way, but…  I still prefer her to search for it herself.

“No, similar to my situation, there might be a chance of her finding it unexpectedly. Surprisingly and unexpectedly. In terms of possibilities. It could be a plausible hypothesis… Really unexpectedly.”

Don’t emphasize it too much. It’s impolite. … I get the sentiment though.

“Well, anyway, the first step is to confirm.”

…Hmm.

Though Cherry’s words make sense, there’s a hesitancy in asking, as if it’s a foolish question…

Does that truly resemble someone who has accomplished their goal?

To me, she appeared to have regressed into complete infancy.

“I mean, there’s a slightly older kid mixed in, but it doesn’t feel too out of place.”

I can perceive it that way because she integrates so well with the kids.

After spending six months together, sharing the same roof, and hunting together, she’s markedly different from the Florentine I’m familiar with.

That’s why I’m even more worried.

How did she manage to find it in that condition… Oh.

“Yeah, that’s true. She might unexpectedly have a talent for finding things.”

Cherry, with the Gift of Magic Circles, discovered the Tower of Bryne.

It wasn’t a conclusion or reasoning connecting scattered hints, she found it using her unique talent.

And Florentine has a second gift that she might not even be aware of, apart from the Anomalous Ogre.

Perhaps she has already discovered it with her second gift.

“Forget the details, it’s a hassle! We’re all here, let’s call her and ask directly! Bring her here!”

Ah, he’s gone.

Without giving us time to stop him, Chace rushed out of the room.

Well, he’s right.

What’s needed now might be to confront the situation head-on rather than getting lost in lengthy reasoning.

“…By the way, how is Lisse doing?”

Cherry interjects the conversation with such a question.

Lisse, huh.

Come to think of it, Lisse was also concerned about Florentine. Or rather, she appeared quite attached to Florentine. Well, I’m likely in the same boat from an outsider’s standpoint.

“I haven’t seen her, so I’m not sure. Maybe Lisse doesn’t have the luxury to think about others right now.”

Since Lisse doesn’t currently live here, I’m not sure.

She’s probably running around the town, maybe even doing hunter’s work. Given her expertise, it wouldn’t be surprising.

…

Depending on the circumstances, I might need to assist Lisse as well.

“Is the relationship with Lisse still complex?”

If I remember correctly, the two were childhood friends, both raised in the same assassin training facility.

So, with Cherry chosen as an adoptive child by Weiss Leavant and Lisse not selected but desiring to be, there’s a bit of a barrier between them due to their circumstances.

“Um, well… living together in the village has helped us reconcile quite a bit, but there’s still some fundamental tension, I’d say yes. And since coming here, we haven’t had many interactions, so yes.”

It appears their relationship remains subtly strained and complex.

“That must be tough.”

“Eil, you might also face some challenges with Flo in the future.”

…Yeah.

…And then they discuss Florentine and the Tower of Bryne.

…There, a surprising truth awaited.

Taking a bath with Cherry, Florentine was about to sleep when Chace forcefully dragged her over.

With her appearing a bit sleepy, she was made to sit between Cherry and Chace, right in front of me.

And just like Cherry, without any preamble, I straightforwardly asked her.

“Have you found the Tower of Bryne?”

“Yeah, we finally found it. I’ve been waiting for this.”

Huh.

… Huh.

………… Huh.

Well, unexpected or not, perhaps it’s more fitting to say surprising. Is this the “I already knew, but do you have a problem with that?” scenario?

“We noticed you’ve been acting strange lately. Like a child.”

“I didn’t particularly feel any discomfort—ouch!”

Florentine smacked me. My leg hurts.

“You blended in so well. It was kind of scary—ouch, you bastard!”

Chace got smacked too. His arm looks painful.

“You looked cute like a child.”

Florentine, with her hand raised, slowly lowered it. Cherry seemed to be safe.

“… I ‘borrowed’ her body for a bit. It pulled her personality a bit.”

…?

I had no idea what the words meant, but… I soon understood.

No, understanding is not the right word. It’s more like I was shown…

The room temperature dropped suddenly, sending a shiver down my spine.

It’s as if my spine is turning to ice… no, this feeling is akin to the instinctive fear one experiences when confronted with intense hostility.

Suddenly, an unusually heavy and oppressive atmosphere engulfed the room, making it impossible for anyone to speak. At that very moment, numerous translucent entities emerged from Florentine’s body.

“Huh!?”

Cherry screamed.

What came out of Florentine’s body were translucent skeletons, numbering over dozens.

… Ghosts.

And the fear that instinctively appealed to me might be something akin to evil spirits.

“These are the souls of the children who died at the orphanage. It seems like they were bound and couldn’t move. By being together, we slowly resolved their lingering regrets.”

Several skeletal spirits surrounded the petite Florentine’s body.

Embracing from behind, flying around, silently laughing… I see, judging by the size of the skeletons, they might be children.

“Well, that’s enough. Hurry up and leave, or the gods might dislike you.”

In response to Florentine’s words, the skeletal figures disappeared with a gentle whoosh.

“…! …!”

The last remaining skeleton, shaking violently, gleefully circled around the startled Cherry and vanished in a swirling motion.

“That child seemed to like Cherry, because she is kind and takes care of others. …Sorry, Cherry. Was it scary? Should I have told you beforehand? But those kids wanted to surprise you.”

“N-no, it’s just that I was surprised. It’s not scary at all… really!”

…She looks really pale and can’t seem to stop shaking, but well, if she says so, I guess I should go with that.

“Eil, are you okay? You truly are something.”

No, I was extremely surprised. Spirits and evil spirits were never really part of my experience. I reflexively set Shadow Hunter Warrior mode just in case. If they came at me, I would have mercilessly unleashed my power to purify them.

“What about the ruffian? …Hey, ruffian? Chace?”

Calling out to Chace, who remained motionless beside me, shaking his shoulders, but still no response.

“…Huh!? He’s, he’s dead…!”

No, he’s just unconscious. He’s just passed out.

I was surprised too, but Cherry and Chace, who were on both sides and closer to Florentine, must have been even more shocked.

The heavy and eerie atmosphere suddenly disappeared.

Perhaps the spirits were gone.

“Sorry about that. When you put another person’s soul in, it seems their personality pulls on you.”

It seems I appeared childish because they were influencing me. I might have caused some inconvenience. I apologize.

No, I didn’t find it that odd for you to appear childish. If anything, I was more concerned that it felt too natural. But I won’t mention that, as I might get smacked again.

“We can talk about Chace’s condition in detail another day. Those kids taught us. The entrance to the Tower of Bryne is underground, right?”

Yeah, well, that’s true.

“You could do that? Manipulate souls?”

“It seems regular people can’t do it. We, on the other hand, always saw things normally from birth, so we thought it was natural.”

With that, Florentine lifted the unconscious Chace onto her shoulders.

“I wonder what it is. Perhaps it’s something only a Taboo Child can do. Well, I’ve given up trying to figure it out!”

Florentine laughed heartily and exited my room.

“Now, I’ll also… go to sleep…”

Cherry, still a bit shaky and resembling a newborn deer, also left my room.

……

Yeah.

It’s probably not because of being a Taboo Child, but rather, it’s likely her unique gift.

Manipulating spirits? Controlling souls?

It seems like something along those lines.

…I don’t have it, that’s why I can’t see it. The Taboo Child herself doesn’t seem to be aware of it either.

What kind of gift is it, I wonder.