Endless Debt

"Through films, a farmer sees a story he could never touch in his lifetime, another life, a bigger world..."

"It's like an illusory experience, feeling what we can't feel through this medium, becoming what we can't be." Aimou said with half-understanding.

"Perhaps, and what's even better is that when you immerse yourself in the story, you can forget the chaos of reality and enjoy a moment of peace in that fictional world."

Bologue's tone softened, "Some experiences you may never get, but through these mediums, you can somehow touch its texture vaguely, which is a kind of inner comfort."

"Sounds wonderful."

"It's very wonderful." Bologue confirmed again.

"Yes, very wonderful." Aimou nodded in agreement.

The topic ended, and the two fell silent at the same time, not knowing what to say next.

"Will you be here all day today?" Aimou broke the silence first.

"Yes, on duty here, it's also a way to find a place to hide for a while, I don't want to join the lunatics' drinking party." Bologue joked.

The guys from the Undying Club may be lunatics, but they never forced Bologue to do anything. The greatest influence they had on Bologue was making some flashy moves beside him, trying to amuse themselves, while Bologue sat seriously at the bar.

These bored guys often make bets on boring things, besides betting on which door they would come out from, they also bet on how to make themselves laugh.

Wei'Er would perform a backflip, while Serey would do a pole dance... Bologue wanted to maintain his serious and cold image, but holding back laughter was truly uncomfortable.

"The teacher usually comes back the afternoon of the next day," Aimou said, "It's been like this for the last few Vow Festivals."

"Hmm?" Bologue thought of something and asked, "Aimou, when did you become aware?"

"Are you asking about my birthday?"

"Birthday?"

"The date of birth? According to you humans, when I became self-aware, it counts as a birth, right?"

Bologue nodded in affirmation. Aimou is an Alchemy Puppet, but she is deeply influenced by humans, even her actions and thoughts resemble those of humans.

"Approximately two years ago? I gained self-awareness two years ago, celebrated two Vow Festivals since then, and after today, it will be the third year." Aimou calculated.

"So, you are barely... three years old?"

Bologue felt it strange to say it out loud, since by human standards, three years old is still in infancy... but Aimou is an Alchemy Puppet, and common sense doesn't apply to her.

"Uh-huh." Aimou nodded.

"Alright, alright."

Bologue said as he got up, and before leaving, he told Aimou, "I'll be in the little house at the outpost, call me if you need anything."

With Teda gone, the reliable one in the Alchemy Workshop was only himself. If anything unexpected happens, it would be up to him to resolve.

But hearing Aimou saying she is here alone every year, Bologue believed there shouldn't be any issue.

Back in the outpost house, sitting on a chair, Bologue wanted to find something to busy himself, but he had been busy for so long, and many things were already handled. Thinking it over, Bologue still didn't know what to do.

He leaned back in the chair, squinting his eyes, and was attracted by a cluster of hazy color blocks.

It was a poster on the wall, depicting a detective in a brown trench coat and a hound beside him.

This was a movie poster, put up by Palmer. Palmer had mentioned this movie to him, trying to describe the plot, but after a few sentences, the guy broke into laughter... at least from his reaction, the movie seemed pretty good.

Bologue had considered watching it but never found the time due to work and other reasons.

"A day off..."

Staring at the poster, Bologue murmured softly.

...

The Alchemy Workshop is completely sealed, with no windows to observe the outside scenery, and the Great Rift is shrouded in thick fog, making day and night indistinct, rendering it impossible to judge the passage of time.

Therefore, everyone in the Great Rift is accustomed to wearing a watch, to perceive the passing of time in this area where time flow is not apparent.

Bologue put down the "Golden Thesis," glanced at the time; it was nearing evening, and he had spent the whole day reading. The prolonged reading made his eyes sore, but it deepened his understanding of Alchemy and its nuances.

If not for Belli being hard to deal with, Bologue would have applied to learn at the Sublimation Furnace Core for a while.

Many people spend all their lives refining a single skill, but Bologue, as an Undead, has a long lifespan, granting him the time to refine these skills one by one.

As long as he didn't turn into someone like Serey, a boring Undead who spent endless time learning trivial things, like his current pride in pole dancing.

Leaning back in the chair, Bologue tilted his head back, pondering over the knowledge he had read in the book.

In this world, the source of all things Extraordinary, the mysterious "Secret Source" seems to have existed alongside the world from the very beginning, and those deceitful Devils, too, appeared around the same time.