"Um..." The young Amon stopped wailing. After achieving his goal of calling for help, he chewed on the item in his mouth. The first sensation was a delightful sweetness that instantly pleased him, causing him not to spit out the candy right away. He continued to chew until, in the next second, he felt an overwhelming, sharp spiciness hit his throat and nose.
Amon's eyes instantly reddened, and this time it wasn't an act—he had truly been overwhelmed by the spiciness.
"Tasty, isn't it? I made this candy just for you, following your dad's (Adam) suggestion," Lynn said with a mischievous grin. If this were a comic, devil horns would have undoubtedly appeared atop his head at this moment.
"You! Ugh... Ah, I won't... forgive... ugh..." Amon, struggling to speak through the burning sensation, glared fiercely at Lynn with teary eyes. Unfortunately, due to his current state, his gaze lacked its usual intimidation.
"What a coincidence, you said something quite similar to me when you grew up," Lynn said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, showing no guilt for his mischievous act.
If it had been any ordinary child, Lynn certainly wouldn't have done this. But this was Amon—a mischievous little imp who barely reached his knees and had just tried to ambush him!
So, Lynn casually pinched Amon's cheek with his free hand, smiling as he said, "So, little Amon, let this be your first lesson—never parasitize others randomly."
Just moments ago, Amon had been sneakily preparing to parasitize him.
"Hmph..." The young Amon grunted. Being just a child, he was far more emotional than the mature Amon of the future.
"Don't be ungrateful. You might think I'm teasing you, but if you had truly succeeded in parasitizing me just now... Ha, the consequences would have been far worse than just eating a spicy candy," Lynn sighed, patting his chest as if his conscience weighed heavily on him. "Sigh, I'm too kind-hearted. I should've taught you a real lesson."
Medici: ...
Klein: ...
'Do you even hear yourself?'
Although both Medici and Klein felt the urge to complain, they both knew that Lynn's words carried a lot of truth. The failed attempt at parasitism had only cost Amon a spicy candy, which was no big deal. But had Amon actually succeeded in parasitizing Lynn...
Well, let's just say, Worms of Time would likely be crawling all over the place.
"Amon really needs to learn a lesson, at least enough to stop parasitizing his own followers."
A familiar voice echoed from outside the palace. Amon's eyes lit up as he looked toward the entrance, but before he could cry for help, his hopes were dashed.
Sasrir, who had just arrived, cast his gaze upon Lynn and smiled warmly. It wasn't the polite, formal smile one would give to a guest but rather a genuine one that Amon knew well—Sasrir's smile reserved for close friends.
"Long time no see, Lynn! I'm truly happy to see you in this era."
This was what Sasrir said upon his arrival.
And at that moment, even though Amon had been born not too long ago, he instantly realized a dreadful truth:
The demon currently holding him and feeding him spicy candy was someone extremely close to Sasrir.
And Sasrir, being an avatar of his father, the Creator, meant that this person likely had a very good relationship with his father as well.
'How could this be?'
For the first time in his short life, Amon, who had always acted high and mighty without opposition, felt the gravity of the situation.
"Long time no see, Sasrir. It seems your dark circles have gotten worse. The Sun God hasn't even given you any vacation time, has he?" Lynn greeted Sasrir warmly, then looked thoughtfully at the dark circles under his eyes.
For a King of Angels to be so exhausted that they had dark circles under their eyes—how long had Sasrir been working overtime?
"Ahem, it's just that the divine kingdom has only recently been unified, so there's a lot more work than usual. It'll get better soon..." Sasrir coughed lightly, recalling all the times Lynn had persuaded him to slack off, and his expression grew a bit awkward.
"Do you believe that yourself?" Lynn gave Sasrir a look of deep disappointment but refrained from commenting further on Sasrir's workaholic tendencies. Instead, he turned his attention to the mischievous troublemaker in his hands. "Amon is already parasitizing his own followers at such a young age?"
Wow, he's set on being a rascal from the start!
"I'm not sure if it's my method of education, but Amon seems to enjoy turning his followers into himself. Though we've managed to stop him every time, I'm genuinely worried about where this will lead," Sasrir sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration.
For most people, managing a busy workload would already be overwhelming. But Sasrir not only had to handle his official duties, he also had to watch over the mischievous Amon. The mental strain was truly enormous.
Now, looking at Lynn, Sasrir felt his headache intensify.
While he was genuinely happy to see Lynn again, both emotionally and rationally, the thought of Lynn's own troublemaking tendencies, which rivaled Amon's, made Sasrir worry.
"If that's your concern, I'm afraid it might have already come true. Amon certainly turned out a bit crooked. Not only did he devour most of the Beyonders on the Marauder Pathway, but even his followers are just extensions of himself," Lynn tattled without hesitation.
Immediately, Sasrir's gaze toward Amon became sharp.
As an angel deeply concerned with humanity, Sasrir could tolerate Amon's mischievousness. He had looked after both Lynn and Medici, after all. But accepting that Amon would grow into someone who viewed human life as trivial, using people for his amusement, was beyond Sasrir's limits.
Sasrir didn't expect Amon to love humanity, but at the very least...
"So, you're here to correct that, aren't you?" Sasrir asked, glancing at Lynn with a knowing look.
"Ah..." Lynn blinked and then, without missing a beat, nodded confidently. "Exactly, I'm here to fix that."
Klein, observing from the side: "..."
He envied Lynn's ability to lie so confidently. If it were him, he'd never be able to say something like that with such a straight face.
"Then I'll leave Amon in your care for a while," Sasrir said seriously.
"Leave it to me! Educating children is my specialty!" Lynn declared without even a hint of shame.
The Fool couldn't help but avert his gaze. While he was also intrigued by the idea of reshaping Amon's values, Klein found it hard to imagine what kind of result could come from Lynn educating the real Amon, 'Is this really okay?'
"Of course it's fine. After all, I have you as my teaching assistant!"
At that moment, Klein felt someone pat his shoulder. He turned to see Lynn looking at him with a serious expression. "While using myself as a role model might not produce a good kid, I believe that with you as an example, even Amon can be steered in the right direction."
Klein: "..."
Should he feel flattered by Lynn's trust or baffled by Lynn's self-awareness?
(End of chapter)