Chapter 507 - 208: A Puppet Dancing with a God

’An Era Relic...’

’Wasn’t that Era Relic obtained from the Eternal Life Association?’

Wei’en took out the dark red leather-bound Era Relic from his Space Ring and placed it on the workbench.

"This?"

"Yes."

Clelia looked at the Hexagram pattern on the Era Relic’s cover, or to be precise, the black Gemstone inlaid in the center of the pattern. "A memory that just appeared tells me that to remove the seal later, I have to obtain the contents inside..."

"Oh?"

Wei’en glanced at the Era Relic and asked, "Are you sure that before this, um... back when we signed our contract, you had no idea how important this Era Relic was to you?"

"Yes." Clelia nodded affirmatively. "At the time, I just thought it was something I’d found by chance, that it might hide some secrets from a previous era. But..."

She hesitated for a moment, thought for a few seconds, and mumbled, "Actually, it’s been in my possession for several years... Looking back now, to think I chose you to translate it, and I didn’t even realize..."

’Hm?’

Wei’en’s expression shifted slightly. ’Is this a memory influence, or a cognitive one?’

Was this just like how he’d previously failed to realize the number of origin sub-bodies? Was Clelia feeling the same way now?

"Actually, I asked you for the reason back then. Do you remember what you said?"

"I... what did I say?" A flicker of confusion crossed Clelia’s eyes. It was obvious she’d forgotten what she had said.

"You said there were many people in the Eternal Life Association who understood the Gonzalez language, but it was your private treasure, and I was the most suitable person to translate it!"

Wei’en stared into her eyes and asked, "You have no memory of this?"

"Is that what I said?"

"Yes!"

Clelia’s gaze fell on the dark red Era Relic. "I... but I only remember saying at the time that your strength was very low, but you had something about you that was very compatible with the Gonzalez language, that you had the ability to translate..."

’Compatible with the Gonzalez language?’

Wei’en’s expression changed slightly again. ’Could it be that in Clelia’s subconscious, or through some mysterious influence, she was compelled to choose him to translate this Era Relic?’

In that instant, the image of the old man with the white beard surfaced in his mind.

’Was it because of that—because of the secrets he’d learned about Ancient God Gonzalez?’

"And?"

"No, that’s it. That’s what I remember saying. Also," Clelia shook her head, a strange expression on her face, "I remember we also signed a contract, and I even promised to do three things for you?"

Wei’en: "..."

’Three things?’

Ever since they signed the contract, he hadn’t used that promise even once.

He had originally planned to ask Clelia for help if he ran into danger while investigating a case for the Secret Investigation Department, but...

After that, she’d been seriously injured twice and died twice; she was a complete mess all on her own.

"What’s certain now is that you didn’t notice anything unusual when you asked me to translate the relic, nor did you realize how important this Era Relic was to you. So..."

At this, Wei’en looked again at the dark red Era Relic on the workbench. "All our questions can perhaps only be answered by its contents."

"Probably..." Clelia said, looking a little dejected. "I don’t understand how things ended up like this either. Anyway, I’ll have to trouble you with the translation. It’s very important to me."

"Mhm."

Wei’en nodded, reaching for the relic to open it.

"Wait!"

Seeing his action, Clelia first froze, then her expression changed as she quickly spoke up.

"What’s wrong?" Wei’en looked at her, puzzled.

Clelia’s hands moved unnaturally. Noticing his gaze, she quickly raised a hand to scratch her forehead and let out a dry laugh. "Don’t open it yet. Wait until I’ve left, then you can translate it."

"Hm?" Wei’en was taken aback. "What difference does it make? Don’t you want to know what’s recorded inside?"

"No, I do. I really want to know. But,"

Clelia’s tone was tinged with a rare fluster. "Maybe it’s because I just completed my breakthrough, I want to wait a bit longer... Yes, that’s it. You shouldn’t translate it for now either!"

"Uh, I can’t either? Why?"

"Right, just not for now!"

Clelia turned her head away, trying to hide the complex emotions in the depths of her eyes from Wei’en. "After I’ve sorted through the memories that just appeared, we can open it and translate the contents together. Is that okay?"

’Sort through memories?’

Wei’en frowned slightly as he looked at Clelia. Her reaction was truly suspicious.

’Could there be something else in her memories... a secret about this Era Relic?’

Thinking of this, he nodded. "I can agree to that. But when the time comes, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to translate everything in it completely."

Before this, he might have thought his expert-level Gonzalez language skills would be enough to translate the entire Era Relic. But after seeing Clelia’s strange behavior, he knew the contents likely involved so many secrets that he might need to raise his proficiency in the Gonzalez language even further to translate it all completely...

"That’s fine. That settles it, then. I’m going back to rest."

Clelia stood up and, with her head lowered, started to leave the workshop. The moment her hand touched the doorknob, she paused. Turning her head slightly, her voice held a hint of a plea as she said, "You promised me you wouldn’t open it for now, right?"

Wei’en watched her delicate profile, silent for a few seconds. He returned the Era Relic in his hand to his Space Ring and spread his hands open. "I promise. Unless you say so, I won’t open it."