Demon Bible

Chapter 169: Seasoning

"Let us go. If we linger any longer, he will discover us." Nemus narrowed his eyes, watching Rhine temporarily suppress everything, before leaving the area with Krew.

Rhine possessed formidable strength, and his perception was truly terrifying. If Nemus did not possess multiple concealment traits, he might not have been able to interfere with Rhine's senses.

However, given enough time, Rhine would still notice that something was amiss.

'So, is Rhine the Demon Warlock?' Nemus could not help but ponder this question.

During the previous meeting, Nemus had used an excuse to press Rhine for answers, only to find Rhine's responses excessively formulaic. That had actually caused him to drop his suspicions against the Bishop.

After all, the behavior and demeanor of that Demon Warlock were vastly different from Rhine's.

But now, this originally abandoned Estate was being utilized by Rhine once again, making the situation entirely murky.

After all, Nemus had barely sealed the Estate before the other party seized it for redevelopment.

It gave the distinct impression that there was a close connection between the two events.

'No, there are still major discrepancies here.' Nemus did not rush to conclusions.There had to be some underlying factor he had yet to discover.

'And I can leave this to Isabella.' Nemus immediately made the corresponding arrangements.

Isabella possessed a natural empathy for the people at the bottom of society; she would never overlook the issues hidden within.

Serving as the vanguard, she was perfectly capable of facing the first wave of impact head-on.

Moreover, Isabella possessed a charm entirely different from his own, one that naturally earned the affection of many.

Thus, in many situations, doors that remained firmly shut to Nemus could be pried open by Isabella.

Nemus could use his actions and mutual interests to make many people favor him. However, against those with keen perception—people who could see through external facades, remain unbeguiled by superficial actions, and strike straight at one's true nature—his extreme charm, which was only effective on his "own kind," struggled to take effect.

For now, Isabella would serve as an excellent pawn.

Just like when they dealt with the old pastor back in Finback Village.

'Of course, the prerequisite is that I do not suffer a backlash from this tool in the end.' Nemus was well aware of one fact: his schemes were absolutely not seamless.

The only reason everything remained stable now was that his power possessed an extremely high level of concealment, and his true motives had not been exposed.

But once things progressed to the later stages, certain flaws in his schemes would inevitably surface.

At that time, Isabella would undoubtedly target him, just as she was targeting Rhine today.

'Let us hope it makes for a brilliant match when the time comes!' Nemus was not worried about this; on the contrary, he looked forward to it.

At their core, Fass and Nemus were the same kind of people.

Both clearly had much safer and more stable options. If he simply chose to give up, with his capabilities, Nemus could easily start enjoying life, reveling in power, wealth, and beautiful women.

But just as Fass was unwilling to surrender and chose to keep walking his path...

Nemus was exactly the same. He would not abandon his chosen path, even if he did not know whether it led to a dead end.

Even if he reached the very end only to find death, he would face it with calm acceptance.

Shortly after, Nemus met with Isabella, who had returned bearing Fass's corpse.

Isabella and her group reported Al's sacrifice, the multiple anomalies found on Fass's body, and shared intelligence regarding Rhine and the Covert Forces.

Nemus nodded, ordered someone to examine Fass's body, and stated that he would report the matter concerning Rhine to his superiors.

Following that, Nemus also shared what he knew about the Estate with Isabella.

Upon learning that the Estate had once been used by the Floating World Society to refine the Golden Elixir and had subsequently been sealed by a team led by Nemus, Isabella could not help but suspect that Rhine was also using the old alchemy wells to brew the Golden Elixir. After all, the Golden Elixir was the only thing standing between Rhine and the Golden Rank.

From a motivational standpoint, this was entirely logical.

"If you intend to investigate this," Nemus paused for a moment before handing a slip of paper to Isabella.

It was the very same financial information he had received earlier.

"There are people within the Church investigating these matters as well. You are not alone, Isabella," Nemus stated solemnly. "Furthermore, although my position prevents me from acting rashly, I will always support you."

Taking the note, Isabella was taken aback by his words. She began to observe Nemus seriously for the first time.

Initially, Isabella's understanding of Nemus had come entirely from Jacques, leading her to view him as a traitor to their family and nothing more.

As she got to know him better, she constantly felt that he harbored some sort of secret, making him difficult to read clearly, which kept her suspicions alive.

Even after arriving in Tail Fin Town, this lingering doubt had not faded.

However, after the smuggling incident exposed his underlying actions, those suspicions had inevitably faded.

Because at this moment, a dark corner of Nemus's secrets seemed to have been pulled back. This very imperfection made him feel more like a living, breathing human being rather than some sort of monster.

Looking closely at him now, she realized that Nemus was indeed one of the rare individuals who could make her heart flutter.

At such a young age, he had already reached the Iron Rank, become the local Great Knight, and held every aspect of the town firmly in the palm of his hand.

He possessed formidable capabilities and immense strength. He understood her stubbornness, yet maintained his own convictions.

These thoughts compelled Isabella to gaze into Nemus's eyes, finding what seemed to be a deep, genuine sincerity swirling within them.

Hastily shaking away these chaotic thoughts, Isabella bid Nemus farewell and practically fled the scene with rapid, tiny steps.

On her way out, she ran into Nemus's attendant priest, Krew.

Krew pushed up his glasses and nodded in greeting.

With Isabella's swift departure, the lingering ambiguity in the air instantly vanished.

Nemus opened the Book of Ages, observing the contents written within.

"Has My Lord developed feelings for her?" Krew inquired.

"She is beautiful, and she has an abundance of charm," Nemus praised Isabella, before abruptly shifting his tone. "Unfortunately for me, romance is nothing more than an insignificant seasoning."

"Relationships that are too intimate only create vulnerabilities."

"And Isabella excels at exploiting such vulnerabilities."

"This ambiguous affection might deceive her for a time, but she will eventually realize that I am not the individual she currently perceives me to be." Nemus had long since seen through the illusion of love.

It was merely a sensation born from the loneliness of the soul and the solitude of the flesh.

For some people, true love might be a profound and magnificent thing.

But now that his ideals had taken root deep within his soul, all of these things were merely bargaining chips he could exploit.

"Ultimately, people will never be entirely in sync."

"Things that deviate from their path will only cause everything to crumble apart in the end." Nemus cautioned Krew, imparting the lessons of his past experiences.