Chapter 522: 35 Chapters Afeiya
Bologue found the board game uninteresting; he rolled the dice with a blank expression, acted according to Serey’s instructions, and then triggered random events, encountering strangers or getting involved in battles.
After a few rounds, the Dawn had sailed a considerable distance, crushing numerous demons.
The battles in the board game largely relied on luck, something beyond Bologue’s control, which gave him an odd sense of incongruity since he liked to hold everything in his grasp.
"Bologue is injured, adjudicated as a bleeding wound, and your actions in the next three rounds of random events will be affected."
Serey announced the result of the recent battle, tossing a Bleeding Card to Bologue.
Church, whose character used a crossbow, could battle from a safe distance, thus remained unscathed through several combat rounds.
As for Palmer... well, no surprise they’re unlucky.
"Palmer is injured. Roll the dice to determine the injury level; it’s a severe injury. In the next three rounds of random events, you’ll need to roll specific value ranges continuously, or the character will be deemed dead."
Serey threw a Severe Injury Card to Palmer, who looked bewildered, staring at the card in front of him and then the board. The Dawn had barely traveled a quarter of the distance, and he was severely injured?
Serey quietly said, "Palmer, your luck doesn’t match this game very well."
Palmer gritted his teeth, said, "I can win it back."
Church tried to suppress his laughter, but the corners of his mouth still curled up. The game was supposed to go on, but just as a new round of dice rolling began, a slightly unfamiliar female voice arose.
"Bologue? Palmer!"
The girl’s appearance interrupted the game. Bologue looked up and saw a familiar figure maneuvering a tray of glasses through the pub.
"Yo! Afeiya!"
Unlike Bologue, Palmer recognized the girl immediately, and upon hearing the name "Afeiya," Bologue’s dormant memories resurfaced completely.
He remembered now that Afeiya worked at this bar, and hadn’t encountered her upon arrival, so he hadn’t thought much of it.
Afeiya still remembered Bologue since he once helped her out of a jam, which left a deep impression on her. As for Palmer, they had met several times before since Palmer and Church used to meet at the flower shop weekly before splitting up.
"What a coincidence!"
Palmer greeted Afeiya, who, after delivering the glasses, walked over with a smile.
"And these two are...?"
Afeiya noticed the two unfamiliar faces of Serey and Church.
"Miss Afeiya, right? Hello, you can call me Serey."
Serey gracefully stood up, removed his mask, revealing those captivating ruby eyes, filled with an ancient mystery that struck Afeiya’s nerves, rendering her momentarily dazed.
"Nice to meet you, Serey."
Forget Serey’s comedic antics; when he was serious, he indeed was quite charming, with an ancient and mysterious aura, knowledgeable about the past and wealthy. No wonder Serey visited different women every day; he had the means to enjoy himself.
Serey’s elegance didn’t last long as he burst into exaggerated laughter, then returned to his seat, shouting loudly at the group.
"Roll the dice now! I can’t wait to see how you die!"
Afeiya gradually recovered her clarity; few could resist Serey’s charm, and Afeiya was no exception. Thankfully, Serey seemed to just want to tease her a bit. Though being a Night Race Lord for so long, he seemed to become more childish as time went on.
Blinking hard, Afeiya didn’t understand what just happened with her. Her gaze then fell on Church, curious and unfamiliar in her eyes.
"And this one...?"
Church said nothing, didn’t even look at Afeiya, but just stared at the board, seemingly avoiding her.
Bologue didn’t understand why. Church clearly knew Afeiya, but Afeiya didn’t recognize Church at the moment, and Church didn’t reveal his identity either.
Faceless Man.
Bologue vaguely sensed an inkling of why, noticing the painful struggle in Church’s lowered eyes with a glance.
"He is..."
Palmer was about to say something, but Church slightly raised his head, eyes filled with murderous intent, forcing Palmer to swallow his words back.
"Nothing much, our friend here is just a bit shy,"
Palmer, skilled at talking nonsense, could maintain a calm face no matter the lie, something that Bologue quite admired.
Bologue often couldn’t tell whether Palmer developed such a skill due to his lousy experiences or found himself in such messy situations because of the skill.
"Oh, oh, oh, sorry," Afeiya apologized, then looked around, "Where’s Church? Didn’t he come with you?"
Palmer, unfazed, replied, "Church, uh... he’s out on a business trip recently."
"Alright, if you need anything, just call me while I’m still on the clock," Afeiya lowered her voice, covering her mouth with her hand as she whispered, "If you order food, I can slip in some extra for you."
"Okay!"
Palmer gave a thumbs-up, watching Afeiya hop and skip away, busy among the tables.
"Wow, this boss really hired a good employee. Seeing someone so young and energetic lifts even my spirits."
Palmer mumbled to himself. As he returned his attention to the board game, a pair of eyes filled with hidden anger stared directly at him.
Church’s voice was emotionless, "Did you do it on purpose, Palmer?"
Palmer didn’t understand, "What on purpose?"
"Meeting here, at Afeiya’s workplace, are you deliberately taunting me?"
Listening to their conversation, the smile on Serey’s face froze and faded. He shifted his chair, moving a little closer to Bologue.
Palmer said, "After all, she didn’t recognize you."
Just as Bologue had guessed, Church was using a different appearance with Afeiya. Under the influence of Secret Energy·Faceless Man, Afeiya didn’t notice anything.
Church remained silent, but everyone could sense his anger. Church was being manipulated by Palmer, and Bologue and Serey were as well.
Bologue could even guess the reason he and Serey were here: one, to play board games with this guy, and two, if Church couldn’t control himself and decided to punch Palmer, they could hold him back or take Palmer to the hospital.
Church let out a deep sigh. As an intelligence officer, he was very adept at controlling his emotions; it’s just that his interest in playing board games had completely vanished.
"Church, I just think your progress is too slow," Palmer nonchalantly opened a bottle of wine, "Look at Afeiya, how cute she is, if you don’t make an effort, others might take her away."
"I..."
Church wanted to say something to retort Palmer, but as soon as he started, he couldn’t continue. Whether due to a reluctance to argue or a lack of strength to argue, he left it unsaid.
"Have you been the Faceless Man for so long that you don’t dare to show your true face anymore?"
Palmer had always been concerned about this part regarding Church’s true appearance, even though Church always said that the plain appearance he had when meeting Palmer, like now, was his true form. Palmer didn’t believe it.
He had also been an intelligence officer. Palmer knew too well that very few words from Church’s mouth could be trusted.
"What do you think I should do then?"
Church controlled his anger and looked very tired as he leaned back in his chair, his gaze wandering through the gaps between ice cubes in his glass.
"Tell her I am actually a person with countless faces, and the one she knows is just one of them, or directly say to her some things..." Church trailed off, his voice low, "After all, the relationship between us is merely that of a frequent flower-buyer, a customer relationships."
"That’s true. Any suggestions, anyone?"
Surprisingly, Palmer seriously nodded and asked for opinions from Bologue and Serey.
Bologue decisively shook his head, handling emotional matters was not within an expert’s responsibilities, and Serey vigorously waved his hand, righteously saying, "I’m not interested in young girls, I only play with seasoned veterans."
"Wow, we’re screwed then!"
Palmer’s face fell, "I don’t have much experience either. I’m just childhood sweethearts turned fiancée, you know."
"It’s troublesome, Church, none of us can help you here!"
Palmer exclaimed exaggeratedly, leaving it unclear whether he was sincerely trying to help Church resolve his problem or deliberately mocking him.
Church had a hard time tolerating it. He didn’t like this atmosphere and didn’t like openly discussing these issues. Church was a person who could be easily satisfied. He just wanted to buy a bouquet of flowers every weekend; as for when this would end, he never thought about these matters.
Now Palmer laid these problems bare, making a mess of tonight’s board game session.
Church could understand Palmer’s good intentions, but he didn’t want to accept them. Church was preparing to leave, but just then, a familiar silhouette came hopping over.
"Your eyes look very similar to those of a friend of mine."
Afeiya suddenly appeared behind Church, leaning over so closely that Church, who had known Afeiya for a long time, had never been this close before. He could clearly see the outline of Afeiya’s body, the slenderness and youthfulness of the girl were within reach.
"That friend of mine is called Church, you should know him, right?"
Faced with the girl’s inquiry, Church stiffly nodded, unable to utter a single word.
Afeiya gently patted Church on the back and placed a drink and fries in front of him.
"I’m getting off work now, this is on me, stranger."
Afeiya said her piece and left like a graceful deer disappearing into the dense forest.
Church belatedly turned back, only to see a slowly closing door.