“What is he going to the Twenty-Fourth Floor for?”
Letia repeated Red’s words, then spread her hands and said helplessly, “About that, I’m not clear either, but there’s a high probability it’s nothing good.”
Red stared at Letia’s casual manner for a while before he continued to ask.
“But… why are you telling me this?”
Although Letia’s personality had changed somewhat during this period… possibly only towards him, she still maintained that same disposition when facing others.
Under normal circumstances, her attitude toward such matters was usually to stay out of things that didn’t concern her.
Even if she knew, she likely wouldn’t bother specifically delivering this intelligence.
In response, Letia simply gave Red a silent look.
“Should I call you foolish, or just dense… I’m telling you this specifically so you can be on guard against the possibility of him making a move on you. You really don’t have the slightest bit of self-awareness regarding the fact that you’re a hot commodity, do you?”
“Making a move on me?”
“Yeah…”
Letia sprawled out on the Sofa and said leisurely, “Though I don’t have any evidence at the moment, I suspect that this blonde man is very likely Otto.”
Hearing Letia say this, Red was quite surprised, but before he could argue, Letia continued.
“Satania told me that back then, she tried to kidnap Litt but was stopped by you. Afterward, she was taken to a Dungeon that didn’t belong to any organization or faction. At that time, she… also saw that blonde man wearing a Mask.”
At this, Red’s brow furrowed.
No wonder Tos had nearly turned the Black Church’s forces in Succubus Street upside down and still couldn’t find a single trace of that blonde man.
As expected… it matched his initial guess; this person didn’t belong to the Black Church at all.
But if Letia’s analysis was correct and this mysterious blonde man was Otto… why would he do such a thing?
The Black Church coveted the White Church’s Litt and sought to harm her; in Red’s eyes, that was a logical power struggle.
But Otto himself was the Archbishop who held the authority of the White Church.
If he wanted to move against Litt… the motive behind it, no matter how one deduced it, leaked a sense of inexplicable bizarreness.
Thinking of this, Red asked Letia.
“In your opinion… would Otto actually kill Litt?”
Red gave Letia a general account of the things Tos had investigated.
“Huh?”
After listening, Letia was instead stunned.
She analyzed it carefully.
The possibility of Otto making a move against her was minuscule.
After all, she was the executioner Otto had painstakingly raised, the blade belonging to the Holy Tribunal, and the cold tool used to execute his will.
If he really wanted to clean house, with Otto’s methods, he wouldn’t have needed to wait until today.
Since the probability of Otto moving against her, the fake Litt, was low, did that mean it was highly likely he would take action against The Real Litt?
To pursue the goal of becoming a god, Otto was indeed capable of doing such a thing.
Consequently, Letia nodded.
“That possibility cannot be ruled out.”
Red fell silent for a moment.
He was now faced with a quite a headache of a choice.
Whether to believe Otto or Letia.
The former had given him immense help.
Logically speaking, if Litt was a necessary sacrifice in the Demon Godification Plan, why would Otto try to bring Red and Litt together?
Wouldn’t that be like taking off one’s pants just to fart—a completely redundant move?
The latter was his former good Team member, someone with whom he had a life-and-death bond.
Although she was usually unreliable and often teased him, her words carried significant weight in the face of such major matters.
However, whether the source of the intelligence was actually true… was a question.
It wasn’t that Red doubted Letia, but rather whether the information and analysis Letia obtained could be a Smoke Bomb released by the other party.
He couldn’t jump to conclusions…
Red cautioned himself in his heart.
What he needed to do now was remain vigilant; everything must be based on what he saw with his own eyes and heard with his own ears.
After all, Letia herself had been honest in saying she had no concrete evidence to prove Otto was that blonde man.
Everything before him was shrouded in a fog of speculation and suspicion.
Perhaps only by going to the Twenty-Fourth Floor personally could he catch a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg regarding the other person’s identity.
***
After thinking for a long time, Red finally let out a slow, heavy breath of pent-up air.
“I… will keep an eye out.”
“Anyway~”
Letia rose lazily from the Sofa and stretched, instantly returning to that indifferent, leisurely posture of staying out of trouble.
“As for what should and shouldn’t be said, I can only point you in the right direction.”
She walked toward the bathroom with light, bare footsteps.
With her back to Red, her voice drifted over airily.
“Next… it’s up to you how you choose~ I’m going to take a bath first, see you later.”
Red was still immersed in his chaotic thoughts, only responding absentmindedly.
“Mhm… remember to leave me some hot water.”
Not knowing how much time had passed, he temporarily decided on his next plan.
Entering the Twenty-Fourth Floor relying solely on himself was clearly unrealistic; he would have to ask others for help.
Because Brian had to handle the affairs of the Scarlet Legion, he wouldn’t be able to help.
Tos had to help him monitor the Black Church, so he naturally wouldn’t have time either.
So the only person left to ask for help, and who had the strength to reach the Twenty-Fourth Floor, was Mason.
Oh, that’s not right, there’s also Satania’s… dog.
A powerful combatant for single targets, a The 20th Floor Lord capable of handling a Monster Tide, plus the information about the Twenty-Fourth Floor he had previously secured for Letia.
These conditions should be enough to deal with what might happen on the Twenty-Fourth Floor.
“I just don’t know if this girl Letia is willing to come along…”
Red snapped back to reality.
Just as he was about to ask, he found that Letia, who had been sprawling on the Sofa, had long since disappeared.
Recalling, he realized Letia had gone to shower.
But the problem was, if she went to shower, why were her change of clothes still here?
“Seriously… I have to be the one to bring them to her.”
Red sighed and took the clothes out of her bag.
However, Red’s gaze landed on a certain piece of undergarment…
Wasn’t that the style he had helped her pick out?
He didn’t expect this girl to actually wear it?
In that brief moment of idle thoughts, Red picked up the organized clothes and walked toward the bathroom door, which was misty with steam.
“Letia, your clothes…”
He was just about to lean over to place the clothes on the floor mat by the door, while simultaneously raising his hand to knock, when the bathroom door opened from the inside without warning.
Surging steam drifted out like a thin veil, carrying the warm fragrance of Bath Lotion.
Inside the door, Letia was wearing only a large towel.
Her damp silver hair clung to her smooth neck and shoulders, and several translucent water droplets were sliding down her exquisite collarbone.
She seemingly hadn’t expected Red to be standing right at the door.
A flash of perfectly timed “amazement” crossed her face, followed by her eyes quickly being dyed with a layer of “shyness.”
Her hands subconsciously moved to cover her chest, and she let out a precisely calculated soft cry.
“Ah—!”
Red looked at the “beautiful woman emerging from the bath” scene before him, but there wasn’t a hint of admiration or panic on his face.
All that remained was a sense of seeing through everything—a deep, almost palpable helplessness.
He didn’t even bother to lift an eyebrow, exposing her in a flat tone.
“Stop acting. You definitely timed this perfectly with a stopwatch before opening the door, didn’t you?”
He extended a finger, pointing at the towel on Letia’s body.
“Also… that towel is mine!”