I! Cleaner!-Chapter 1220 - 1110: Have They Been Found...?
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
After hearing Leon's "original hypothesis," the mermaid statue sneered:
"I think you're just overthinking! The reason I feel good about you is probably because you brought me back to life, not some influence from the original... Let's not even talk about anything else, your hypothesis doesn't even match up in terms of time!"
Leon was slightly taken aback by these words.
"What time doesn't match up?"
"The time I was killed and the time when that Evangelin you mentioned appeared."
The mermaid statue blinked and said:
"Although I am technically a trace left from when the original was killed, and theoretically belong to the original, judging by the degree of weathering around here, I was probably nailed here long before you were even born, who knows how many years ago.
Besides, until the time I was killed, there's no memory of your world in my mind, no mention of a Clearing Bureau or any third-generation director or anything like that... If your story were true and someone was strong enough to hunt down more than one Pillar Deity, I would've heard something about it, right?
So when I was taken out, your so-called 'humankind,' was probably not even on that migration you mentioned! The time difference is so significant between the two sides, and given that I was killed, how could I have possibly gone to your present reality and become a little mermaid after who knows how many years?
I don't deny your hypothesis makes some sense, but its likelihood is nearly as low as the probability of the sun being extinguished by bubbles spat out by a goldfish, almost impossible."
"..."
The temporal discrepancy is indeed quite large... but the badge never made mistakes, and with this almost identical face, she must have some connection with Evangelin.
After pondering for a moment, Leon suddenly thought of something, turned around, and pointed to the elderly merman knocked unconscious in the pit behind him.
"Then what about him? How do you explain him?"
"Huh?"
"You're extraordinarily fond of me, maybe because I awakened you, but it's your first meeting with him, so why couldn't you resist wanting to slap him? Maybe you should seriously consider whether these emotions are truly your own?"
This... seems a bit off...
After glancing at the old-fashioned man who obviously deserved a beating, a deep confusion filled the mermaid statue's eyes.
Indeed... my "hostility" toward this person is a bit strange, clearly without any memories of him, yet I can't help but want to give him a smack... could my "original" truly still exist? And has it even traveled to the reality where No. 3 resides?
"If you can't figure it out, don't think about it for now."
After a moment of silence with the mermaid statue, Leon was the first to break the silence with a suggestion:
"Whether or not you are the Evangelin I know, you certainly have some connection with her, so let's cooperate."
"Cooperate?"
"Yes."
Leon nodded and said:
"If you can help me, find the two directors who arrived in this world ahead of us, and then send us all back, I will find a way to understand the relationship between you and Evangelin.
If I determine there is no danger to her, and she agrees, I could try to bring her to meet you... What do you say? Interested in cooperating with me?"
"That might work..."
After hesitating a bit, the mermaid statue slightly nodded and said:
"I am somewhat curious about that Evangelin who may be related to me, but after being dead for who knows how long, all my original roots have been extracted. It was only with that little root of color you just transferred that I could come back to life and speak with you.
And this world is vast, so if you want me to help you find someone, you'll need to transfer much more root of color to me, several times more than what you used when you resurrected me... Are you willing to trust me with that much root of color?"
"..."
Asking if I'm willing to trust you... certainly, I'm not, but it's worth a try.
Though the mermaid statue before me lacks a Heart Lake and soul, her own small portion of "root of color" exudes a persistently lively and warm sense of intimacy. After a brief hesitation, Leon decisively raised his right hand.
"Then I won't be polite~"
Seeing Leon's palm glow slightly, again radiating the colorful light unique to the root of color, the mermaid statue's eyes brightened as she bent down and bit Leon's arm.
Not... why are you biting it?
Leon, feeling like a bone being gnawed on, looked at his arm steadily "fading" as the mermaid statue sucked on it and couldn't help but open his mouth to complain:
"Can't you find a more civilized way to absorb my root?"
"This way is the fastest!"
The mermaid statue, still sucking, blinked her eyes and said:
"If you're not used to it, I can choose another spot, directly sucking on your head works too."
"..."
Then just stick with the arm...
Imagining the abstract scene of his head being intensely sucked on, Leon couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and firmly refuted the mermaid statue's suggestion.
And after assessing the speed and situation of the root of color's loss, confirming it's still within his tolerance and that he can interrupt at any moment, Leon slightly relaxed some control, actively cooperating with the mermaid statue's absorption of the root of color.
When the colorful light on Leon's right hand had nearly faded to the elbow, the mermaid statue finally halted the sucking, released his right arm from her mouth, and with a slightly disdainful expression, said:
"Do you not like bathing regularly? Sucking it tastes a bit salty."
"..."
You really have come to pick a fight... plus, who in the sea wouldn't taste salty after nearly a week?
"Alright, the taste isn't important!"
Noticing the mermaid statue seemed about to comment on the flavor, Leon quickly interrupted:
"Hurry and help me find the people! They..."
"The people have already been found, they're lying behind you."
"Hmm?"
Leon was momentarily taken aback by the words, then turned back to look, finding that unbeknownst to him, two more old Sea Race members had appeared in the pit with the old merman, turning what was once a solitary burial into a triple interment...
Wait! Old Sea Race members?
"That's wrong!"
Leon couldn't help but exclaim and then shook his head:
"Not these two! They came with us. I want you to help find the people who came several days before us. Those two emerged from the sea eye like us, but they share similar physical traits with me, not these membrane-winged, snake-haired Sea Race types." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
"Oh."
After a nod indicating understanding, the mermaid statue waved a hand behind Leon. Numerous dark blue shadows emerged from the old merman, tracing their way backward out of the ruins, off the island, sinking with despair into the sea, only to frantically resurface again...
It's as if time had rewound, and through these vague traces, the mermaid statue clearly witnessed the trail of the old merman, prompting her to furrow her brow in confusion as she looked over at Leon.
"That's not right, is it? I looked almost two months back, but no one else had been to the place where you emerged."
"?!!!"
