As evening approached, the sun had begun to set, casting golden rays that shimmered throughout the room.
Ren pushed open the door to his room, and the aroma of cooking wafted into his nostrils. His expression was a little strange. There were indeed several steaming dishes laid out on the table, and in the kitchen, Murata Himeko was busying about, as if preparing dinner.
Is she planning to poison me?
This absurd thought flashed through his mind, but he maintained a composed expression and sat down at the chair, observing the situation.
"Oh? Little guy, you've finally decided to leave your room," Himeko said, walking out of the kitchen carrying a plate of stir-fried vegetables. Aside from the somewhat unappealing appearance of the dish, it actually smelled pretty good.
"Hmph," Ren snorted, seemingly still angry about Himeko rummaging through his things in the afternoon. Himeko, on the other hand, waved at him as if they were old friends.
"Oh, don't be angry, I was just curious about you. Isn't this a lavish dinner as an apology?" After placing the plate, Himeko turned and took out two bottles of sake from a plastic bag on the side of the table.
Unfortunately, her words didn't dispel Ren's doubts, but made him even more wary. "Are you saying you made all this yourself?"
"Ahaha…" Himeko chuckled awkwardly under Ren's scrutiny, eventually yielding to the pressure and revealing the truth. "Actually, I just bought them from outside, I only put them on the plates."
No wonder the plating was so ugly.
However, the dishes were decent, not something you'd find at a roadside stall, but "Where did you get the money? Did you take it from my cabinet?"
His medical records were in the cabinet, along with a large amount of loose change, money he had been saving for a long time—props, he was an old actor, it was a shame if Himeko had taken them.
"Of course not. As a Schicksal Valkyrie, I have my own source of income, okay?" The two sat down, and before Himeko had even taken two bites of her meal, she opened the bottle caps.
She placed one of the bottles in front of Ren, who frowned but didn't refuse. Himeko smiled at this and took a huge gulp from her own bottle.
"Didn't I tell you not to go out? You're supposed to be dead, if there are any changes to the funds in the account, Schicksal will trace it back to me immediately. You should be very aware of the consequences," Ren said, tapping his fingers on the table, clearly unhappy with Himeko's unauthorized actions.
Murata Himeko naturally knew this, but she wasn't stupid enough to leak information to Schicksal.
Not to mention that as Ren's puppet, she would immediately be sensed if she did anything detrimental to him. Just considering that Otto used Kiana as the vessel for the Herrscher of the Void, her attitude towards Schicksal had already plummeted. She was even secretly hoping that the Herrscher brat would beat the crap out of Otto later.
"Don't worry. When I went out, I used a puppet body, my appearance is totally different from my own. And the money I spent wasn't from any public accounts, it was my dowry I've been saving for years." Thinking about this, Himeko suddenly looked dejected. "I haven't even found a husband by the time I'm dead…"
Ren glanced at the self-pitying Himeko and ignored her. Compared to the tense probing of earlier, the two were clearly more comfortable now.
Picking up his chopsticks, Ren placed some food in his mouth, chewing quietly and eating with a cold look. Himeko, on the other hand, started talking more, not eating the fragrant dinner and instead constantly drinking from her sake bottle.
"Hey, Herrscher, tell me about what you were like before you became a Herrscher. Isn't it a leader's duty to introduce themselves to their subordinates?"
"None of your business."
The smell of alcohol washed over him, and before he knew it, Himeko was leaning in close. "How can it be none of my business? Only by understanding my superior's preferences can we subordinates better follow orders."
Ren's eyes flashed with impatience, and he instantly stripped her of control over her body. Himeko could only watch as she was forced to sit back in her chair obediently.
"Okay, okay, I won't ask anymore." After her control was released, Himeko didn't dare to say anything more. There was plenty of time to ask later, as long as Ren didn't explicitly refuse, she would eventually be able to figure him out. Although Ren's attitude had been cold ever since the afternoon, he hadn't made any move to punish her, which showed that he didn't completely view his puppets as tools.
This was a good weakness, Himeko realized, and next, she only needed to slowly probe his limits.
This dinner was surprisingly harmonious. Although the dishes had been bought outside, it was better than anything she could make herself. Ren couldn't really find anything wrong with it. In fact, he even drank a fair amount of sake at Himeko's encouragement.
Sake wasn't very strong, but Ren rarely drank, and after a full bottle, he felt quite light-headed.
Looking at Ren, whose face was slightly flushed, but who still maintained a cold attitude even in his drunken state, Murata Himeko felt a sense of guilt, like a middle-aged woman seducing a young boy. She hadn't intended to get Ren drunk, she simply hadn't expected his alcohol tolerance to be so low.
Though she felt a bit guilty, she wouldn't let this opportunity slip. While Ren was still dazed, she quietly moved closer to him.
"Ren?" she asked tentatively, ready to be controlled at any moment. However, Ren didn't seem to realize that someone was close to him. Instead, he collapsed onto the table, murmuring softly.
Himeko lowered herself to hear the boy's mumbles clearly.
"Mom…"
So, something bad had happened in the past?
She sighed inwardly. But Ren in this state had the least amount of guard. She had to take the opportunity to ask him for some useful information.
"As the Herrscher of Dominance, what are your plans?"
"..." Such a direct question naturally received no response. Himeko had already prepared for failure, but she hadn't expected Ren to suddenly raise his head, staring at her with hazy eyes.
"The Herrscher of the Void's accomplices will be in ARC City tomorrow. As my puppet, I want you to kill them, kill them, understand? Hic… kill…"
Thump. As if he had finished giving his orders, Ren collapsed on the table and fell asleep. He was sleeping peacefully, but Himeko's heart was far from calm.
Theresa and the others are coming to ARC City? Himeko's heart sank at this news. ARC City was not peaceful. Not only were there many forces vying for power, but a Herrscher had already begun to show their fangs.
This trip was bound to be dangerous. She had to stop them.
However, the moment this thought surfaced, golden threads suddenly tightened, as if trying to burrow into her soul. As the threads tightened, the intense pain nearly blanked her mind. Even someone as resolute as Himeko felt a sense of despair. She felt like she would be shredded by these threads in the next second.
Ren, who had just fallen over, was also jolted awake, the golden light in his eyes extremely intense.
"You're planning to betray me?"