Super Righteous Player
Chapter 702 - 243 Another World Line’s Amos_1

Chapter 702: Chapter 243 Another World Line’s Amos_1

"Awake, Elle?"

A somewhat familiar voice came from beside "Elle".

Annan immediately noticed Elle was under the covers.

So he didn’t directly flip the covers to sit up but instead shrank further in while opening his eyes and looking towards the source of the voice.

It was Amos.

A young man in his early thirties, with chestnut-brown short hair and deep blue pupils, was carefully grooming his beard with an electric razor in front of the mirror. When he heard Elle’s voice, he casually stopped the razor.

Amos turned around to look with a relaxed and cheerful smile.

— That was a demeanor utterly different from the Amos in the gallery nightmare.

In the nightmare, the painter Amos radiated an aura that screamed ’keep away.’ Even when facing his own daughter Elle, there were no kind words; instead, he sighed continuously, with an expression of pain and entanglement, a face full of stubble and messy hair... just feeling very depressed.

But the current Amos not only had a face full of smiles but also sported a rather fashionable haircut, even happily humming a tune.

It seemed to be a snippet from an opera he had recently heard somewhere. He had completely forgotten the lyrics, arbitrarily humming off-key. But even from this, it was clear he was in high spirits.

"You shouldn’t stay up late, Elle. Your schedule is really unhealthy."

After shaving, Amos, while patting aftershave on his face, walked over and stood in front of the bunched-up covers, speaking discontentedly, "If you want to watch the cartoon at eight-thirty in the morning, then you should go to bed early.

"It’s eight-thirty, not six-thirty, five-thirty. If you go to bed and wake up early, and watch it after breakfast, wouldn’t that be the same... Are you listening, Elle?"

"Oh..."

"Elle" curled up under the covers, letting out a groggy, tired voice without responding directly.

Amos sighed helplessly but didn’t get angry.

He just gave a reminder, "Your mom’s world tour ended yesterday, she said she’d be home tonight... I have to go away on business, and it will probably take me two or three days to get back. If you don’t go to bed too late tonight, just don’t go out and stay at home to wait for her.

"She should be back around midnight... Did you hear that?"

"Mmm."

A low moan came from the covers.

"So I’ll take that as a yes, shall I?"

Amos smiled good-naturedly, patted the bunched-up covers, and said cheerfully, "I’ll bring you a present when I come back... some tasty treats, okay? And some records... Anything else you want?"

"...Whatever."

"’Whatever’ is the hardest kind of gift to give."

The man pondered seriously for a moment as if he had just had an idea, "Ah, I remember now—you mentioned it on your birthday, didn’t you? You wanted a portrait painted by dad?

"Sorry about that, actually, I wanted to paint it for you too. But that day, I waited at home for you half the day, and you went out to play. By the time you got home, I had already left on a business trip... So I thought since your birthday had passed, it would be better to wait until Yawen’s holy day to paint it for you.

"I was thinking... since it’s a portrait painted by your dad, it’s bound to contain feelings; it’s an irreplaceable treasure. I’ll make the process of painting this picture a sacrifice to Yawen, who will surely be delighted by it. It will be the best sacrifice.

"But if you want it, I’ll paint it for you once I get back."

Amos smiled gently and patted the cover that was shaped like a ball: "When compared to Yawen’s reward, Elle is indeed a bit more important.

"Alright then, I’m heading out. Bye-bye—"

With that said... he picked up his packed suitcase and headed for the door.

Long after he had left, Elle slowly crawled out from under the covers.

Her golden hair was fluffy and disordered, with very clear tear stains on her face.

She cried silently and quietly.

— While Annan was controlling Elle’s body now, Elle could still hear and see.

"Is this your wish, Elle?"

Annan’s voice rose in a low tone.

It was a voice emitted from Elle’s body, low and soft... as gentle as a mother’s.

[...Yes. I’m sorry...]

"...What’s there to be sorry for?"

[I don’t know, but I just felt compelled to say it... and also, thank you.]

Hearing the pitiful voice from the bottom of her heart, "Elle" raised her eyebrows.

"What did you say last cycle?"

[...I quarreled with Amos.]

"What were you arguing about with him..."

[I, I also... I don’t know... But when I suddenly felt Amos return, I became flustered... I actually didn’t want to argue with him, but I also didn’t know what to say, my emotions were a mess, so... in the end, he didn’t understand what I meant, but he still apologized to me and quietly left... I, I just...]

In her heart, Elle’s voice was fragmented, gradually filling with sobs.

Alas...

Annan sighed deeply.

She’s still a little girl.

Because the emotions in her heart were too complex—joy, panic, adoration, remembrance, worry... all these emotions intertwined together, Elle, lacking in sufficient expressive abilities, ended up lashing out without any clear reason.

"...Rather, the fact that Amos didn’t start an argument with you shows that he really has a good temperament here."

[Amos actually... he used to have a good temperament too...]

Elle’s weak voice, still carrying a bit of grievance, emerged from the depths.

[It’s just that after his progress suddenly halted, he gradually became irritable... He was still fine towards me and mom, but he started losing his temper more easily with others... And it was picking fights without any reason...]

That’s because a genius who had always had it easy encountered for the first time a threshold he couldn’t cross with his talent alone.

And you father and daughter are indeed similar—even with absolutely no blood relation.

But at least the bit about getting emotional and starting an argument with someone... that does run in the family.

After pondering for a moment, Annan said softly:

"Then you could think of it this way... since Amos used to have such a good temperament and was very talented, why did he suddenly encounter a threshold to his abilities?"

[...Why?]

"Think about it, the Skeleton Lord had already appeared at Frostwater Harbor by then—His destination was very clear from the start. That is Frostwater Harbor, where you and Amos lived... So, can we attribute the stalling of Amos’s talents to the Skeleton Lord?"

[Could there really be such a reason... Is it true?]

Of course it’s not true.

There’s no evidence at all, merely associating it on the surface and pinning the cause onto one point—this is classic imposition of causality, akin to the deductions of Detective Kogoro Mouri.

Annan was of course aware of this.

But what of it?

The blame on the old skeleton, he could surely take one more... Since He was going to die anyway, rather than letting Elle, an altogether innocent girl, weep alone over the injustice of fate, sinking into the shadows of the past and unable to free herself, it’s better to let her understand—it’s all the Skeleton Lord’s fault.

When the Skeleton Lord bites the dust, "The enemy is dead, the great vengeance fulfilled"... the shadows that had always haunted her heart would then be released.

This could also be counted as one of the few contributions the Skeleton Lord could make.

And besides...

Annan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Who could say for certain that this was just "baseless speculation"?