Asho let go of her hand, his expression seemed a little uncomfortable.
“But you don’t have a lover or a family, so aren’t you just alone?”
“We’ve always been… Oh, right!”
Furia suddenly remembered something and took out her homework paper from her bag and started writing frantically: “The benefits of social upbringing system and also… cultivating independent consciousness from a young age… getting used to solo combat… having an advantage in exploring the virtual realm… ‘Every Blood Moon citizen is a qualified sorcerer reserve’… Alright, the professor won’t give me a passing grade if I don’t get full marks this time!”
Asho watched her write her paper and continued to ask, “Don’t you want to have a perfect blend of love and intimacy with a lover? Don’t you want to share your joy and talk about your stress with your loved ones? Don’t you want someone to care about you?”
“Why are you asking so many strange questions… Are you trying to become my lover and live with me?!”
“I already said that I can only stay here for seven days at most.”
Furia shrugged and replied, “I don’t need to find a lover. I can just spend some money at a spa and have a perfect blend of love and intimacy. If I want to share my joy, I can show off my grades to my classmates behind the curtain. If I want to talk about my stress, I should go to a therapist. As for care, isn’t that just another form of ‘investment’? If someone cares about me, it means they want to gain more benefits from me.”
“If I have great value, everyone will care about me. If I have no value, no one will care about me, even a lover would leave me. This is a simple understanding of human nature.”
Asho said softly, “But human nature is not just about weighing interests, it also includes truth, goodness, and beauty.”
“But why should I rely on others for hope instead of investing all my resources in myself?” Furia laughed, “If I’m hungry, I can go to a restaurant. If I have needs, I can go to a spa. If my room is dirty, I can hire a cleaner. If I have stress, I can go to a therapist – being a therapist is actually one of my future career options. It’s the 17th century, you can fulfill any desire with money. Why should I gamble on human nature?”
“Even my gambling-addicted friend Adra wouldn’t dare to participate in a gamble where the initiative is completely in someone else’s hands. The risks of entering an intimate relationship are just too great.”
“But don’t you feel lonely?”
Furia finished writing the last sentence, put her homework back in her bag, and turned to look at Asho.
“Everyone is the same,” she said.
Then she reached out and picked up Little Xian, affectionately rubbing her face against Little Xian’s cheek. Little Xian, on the other hand, pushed her away with her paw, showing a look of disgust. “And I have Little Xian, how can I be lonely?”
Facing Veela’s pure and happy eyes, Asho suddenly realized that the ogre mayor Fenanche had not really touched the core of the Blood Moon Kingdom.
Because he was an orphan too, he had no family, and he didn’t know how to love.
Just like how Furia didn’t realize the sour smell of her clothes, most people living in the Blood Moon Kingdom didn’t realize that they had lost the ability to love.
How could someone who had never seen the sun know the warmth of sunlight? How could someone who had never felt the care of family believe in selfless love?
Perhaps they believed that there would be selfless love in this world, and they longed for it, but they firmly believed that this kind of love would not come to them.
Just like how Fenanche believed that the Blood Moon Kingdom did not deserve a savior, they also believed that they did not deserve to embrace love.
Fenanche thought that the Blood Moon Kingdom isolated everyone by sowing seeds of suspicion and building walls of discrimination. But in reality, the Blood Moon Kingdom was taking away the seed of love from everyone’s hearts through education, making everyone naturally resist entering into intimate relationships. Discrimination and suspicion were just the rotten stench of this loveless soil.
Asho suddenly remembered Lorna – the reason why this werewolf was considered a traitor to the Moon Shadow, could it be because his desire for love was too strong?
Furia saw that Asho had been silent for a long time and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong with you?”
Asho snapped back to reality and smiled, “Nothing, I was just thinking about where I can earn some money.”
“If you’re willing to show your face, I suggest you work part-time at a spa. With your looks, although you may not be the highest-level masseur, you would still be considered mid-level, and you should have many clients. Should I introduce a spa to you? Even if you don’t want to do it long-term, you can still experience it. Many decent-looking men would work as a masseur for a night to assess their market positioning.”
“Thank you, but my skills are not good enough to earn that kind of money.”
“Being a beginner is actually a selling point. Many wealthy women especially like virgins. And if you want to practice your skills, I can accompany you…”
“Didn’t you say you have class at 2 p.m.? It’s already 1:50.”
Furia glanced at the time and hastily picked up her backpack. “Oh no, I almost forgot the time. This bowl and plate…”
“I’ll wash them,” Asho offered. “Will you join me for dinner tonight?”
Here it comes again.
Furia felt that strange emotion stirring within her once more.
It had nothing to do with lust or greed. It made Furia both loathe and like Asho, made her want to both distance herself from and get closer to him.
Could it be a curse from the Four Pillar God? Or was it the polluting aura unconsciously emitted by the demonic saint?
While she pondered this, she replied, “Mm.”
“Any particular dish you’d like to eat?”
“Can we have Red Flame Lalafell Fish Roe Rice?”
“No problem.” Asho waved his hand. “Be careful on your way.”
The strange feeling in her heart grew stronger. Furia nodded hastily, put down her violin, and hurriedly left the house.
Asho promptly turned off the shop exploration video and opened “Killing Virtual Realm Creatures with Just Hands: The Fish Dragon Chapter”. After watching the video, he got dressed, put on his mask, and summoned his stand-in.
“Wash the dishes, clean up, and if there’s extra time, play with the cat. If anything unexpected happens, immediately dismiss the stand-in. Got it?”
The stand-in nodded.
Asho opened a worksheet named “4.29 All School Class Schedule” on the Knowledge Screen. This was a file that could only be downloaded from the internal screen of Camon Comprehensive University, and Furia happened to be a student there.
He didn’t just randomly choose a house to stay in; he came prepared.
His gaze rested on a line in the class schedule.
“16:00~18:00, ‘Ancient Ritualistic Sects’, Xilin Karl, Classroom 108.”
After confirming his target, Asho was about to leave when he saw the little cat sitting on the floor like a fat otaku, listless and languid.
A thought struck Asho, and he activated his Sympathy Sorcery Spirit towards the little cat, immediately receiving waves of pain in return.
Although it was painful and uncomfortable, it didn’t seem unhappy. Its mood was as calm as if it had grown accustomed to living with pain. Looking at the Sympathy Sorcery Spirit in Asho’s hand, it tilted its head, seemingly curious.
“Congenital cartilage disease, huh…” Asho gently stroked the little cat’s head. “From birth, only those who meet aesthetic standards and have utilitarian value are allowed to survive. They live in cages, undergo castration and sterilization, and are exploited for their value as soon as they leave the cage…”
“Because they’ve been living with pain since they were young, they don’t see it as misfortune, but as a natural fate; because everyone else is the same, they don’t see it as pain, and naturally, they have no worries.”
He reached out to scratch the fold-ear cat’s chin, and it showed a contented smile.
“Being an observer is really hard.”