Letia’s questioning gaze fixed on Otto, but after hearing the question, he didn’t rush to answer.
He simply stood up slowly and walked over to the window to look at the world outside.
At this time, Nightbright Town was at its liveliest.
The streets bustled with endless streams of carriages and people coming and going.
Letia frowned slightly and also went to the window, standing shoulder to shoulder with him as her gaze swept across the street view.
“What are you looking at?”
Otto didn’t turn around.
He just reached for a lavishly packaged bottle of red wine from the gilded wine rack beside him.
He uncorked the bottle, and the deep red, blood-like liquid gurgled into a goblet, releasing a rich aroma of fruit and oak.
After pouring himself a glass, he turned to Letia and asked,
“Would you like a glass?”
“No need,” Letia refused crisply and decisively.
“I’d rather you answer my question first.”
“Letia, you…”
Otto swirled the wine glass and said softly, “You really ought to change that impatient temper of yours. Life has so many beautiful things—if you slow your pace a little, perhaps you’ll savor them more deeply, don’t you think?”
“Sorry, I’m just a salted fish. As long as I can live comfortably, that’s enough for me. As for enjoying life, that’s not really something I care about.”
“Heh…”
Otto let out a low, ambiguous chuckle.
“That does suit your personality.”
Otto raised his glass again, tasting the wine.
The fragrant aroma drifted into the room with the wind from the window, and as if reminiscing about something, he spoke to Letia.
“Before I answer your question, I’d like to ask you one… What do you think happens after death?”
Faced with Otto’s question, Letia naturally answered from a religious perspective, not taking it seriously.
“What else? You go to Heaven, of course. If your sins are heavy, then Hell. What else could it be? Isn’t it all spelled out clearly in the Holy Scripture?”
Otto nodded, his gaze as if seeing through everything as he stared at Letia.
“Mhm, very proper—enough to deal with the Church’s inquiries. But… this isn’t what you truly believe in your heart, is it?”
Letia clicked her tongue and continued,
“What else could it be? Death is just the complete disappearance of consciousness. As for reincarnation and all that… fine, I’ll believe in it for now.”
As someone educated in the twenty-first century, Letia certainly didn’t buy into all the religious rhetoric, but since she’d actually been reincarnated into this world, some things just couldn’t be denied so completely.
“Indeed, after death there is only a void, consciousness utterly dissipates, and the body gradually decays. But… if one falls into eternal darkness, until World Collapse and disappearance—if consciousness truly vanishes after death, and the dead can no longer perceive, then how would they know the world has collapsed?”
“Let me put it another way. Losing consciousness is like being anesthetized. For the anesthetized, it’s just the blink of an eye and hours pass. But for the dead?”
“Their consciousness is gone, they can’t sense time or space—so for them, the moment they close their eyes, the world has already collapsed and been destroyed…”
“Stop, stop, stop!!”
Letia quickly cut off Otto’s endless philosophical lecture.
She’d come to question him, not to sit through a philosophy class.
“Can you just get to the point? Forcing a salted fish like me to think about this stuff—isn’t that just making things difficult for me?”
“And besides, you’re a Bishop! The representative of Divine Authority. Saying things like this, you could be dragged out and burned as a Heretic!”
“…Sigh,”
Otto downed his glass of red wine in one gulp, then continued to Letia, “For the sake of your rusty brain, I’ll put it plainly.”
“I believe that after death, people don’t go to so-called Heaven or Hell. They’re still here, right beside us—just existing in some other consciousness or form.”
After hearing Otto’s words, Letia couldn’t help but say with some exasperation,
“Then just say it—you think people become ghosts or spirits after death… Going in circles like a riddle-monger, you almost confused me. But what’s this got to do with your pursuit of becoming a god?”
At this, Letia seemed to recall something.
She looked Otto up and down for a moment before continuing.
“With your position and status… don’t tell me you’re seeking godhood for immortality?”
“Heh heh~ Do I seem like the type to want that?”
“No, you don’t look like someone chasing immortality.”
Letia shook her head, and Otto went on.
“My interest in gods is simple. I want to figure out what life and death are all about… After death, in what form does one exist? Even if it becomes the Eternal Void, I need to understand—what exactly is this so-called void…”
As Otto spoke, he turned around, his back to Letia.
“Are you satisfied with that answer?”
“Is that how you truly feel?”
“Of course. I never lie to you.”
After a moment of silence, Letia took a deep breath.
“Alright, I’ll believe you for now…”
Letia compromised, knowing that even if she pressed on, Otto probably wouldn’t answer her question.
“That’s for the best, then.”
“But you won’t try to use Red, will you?”
Letia narrowed her eyes, seemingly questioning Otto, but he didn’t respond directly.
Instead, he offered a faint smile.
“I see in Red a potential that’s nearly limitless. Rather than using him, it’s more like I’m investing in him.”
“Tch…”
Letia clicked her tongue, while Otto, from who knows where, produced a pure white, exquisitely crafted Gift Box and handed it to Letia.
“That little gift I promised you before—it’s not quite finished yet. Want to take a look now?”
“No need.”
Letia was in no mood to look at the clothes Otto had made for her.
She waved her hand and said,
“I’ll check it out once you’re done.”
With that, the girl put on the Disguise Mask and transformed into Litt.
She turned and walked toward the door.
“I’m going home to cook. See you.”
“See you. Be safe on the way.”
Otto smiled as he watched Litt leave the house.
After she had gone far, he put the unfinished gift away.
Then he sat down on the sofa, poured out the cold black tea, and brewed a fresh pot.
In the now peaceful room, only the sound of water slowly boiling remained.
Otto looked out at the azure sky and seemed to sigh with feeling.
“Her personality… really is quite a bit like yours…”
Am right so!e thing was definitely missed.
So he actually IS her father? I always felt he acted a bit like it, but I thought it was just in an adopted/guardian sense. Could be that he love her mom in an unrequited way too I guess, but iy makes a lot of sense.
They are quite similar in many ways anyway.