The Acolyte of Spirits and Curses

"I just want to live peacefully... and spend time with you in this life."

Klein remained silent for a moment, looking into her eyes.

The fear in Elfaria’s expression was something he rarely saw, especially from someone who once stood beside him through countless battles and never hesitated to face danger herself.

His expression softened "I know."

Elfaria’s fingers tightened slightly against his cheeks.

"No, you don’t. You say you know, but then you keep walking toward the same things that destroyed us before."

Klein’s gaze lowered for a moment.

She swallowed softly before continuing, "Back then, you were always like this. You carried everything yourself and never told anyone what you were planning until it was already too late."

"You thought that if you kept everyone away from the danger, then we wouldn’t have to suffer because of your choices."

A bitter smile appeared on her lips "But we still suffered."

Klein looked back at her, and Elfaria’s eyes had already begun to glisten.

"I watched everyone around us die, one after another, while you kept fighting those monsters that called themselves gods."

She shook her head slowly "And when everything finally ended... you weren’t even there anymore."

Her fingers slowly moved from his cheeks to his shoulders as she leaned closer "I spent so long thinking about what I would say if I ever saw you again."

"I thought I would be angry and hit you... and ask why you left me behind."

A faint, trembling laugh escaped her "But now that you’re actually here..."

She pressed her forehead against his "...I don’t want any of that."

"I don’t care about those gods, their schemes, their stupid wars, or whatever unfinished business you carried over from our previous lives."

Her arms slowly wrapped around his neck "I just want you."

For a moment, Klein said nothing as he felt a lump in his throat.

Her grip tightened "I finally found you again, Irakiel."

"Please don’t make me lose you again... Please, I beg you."

Klein slowly raised his arms and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her closer.

"I won’t."

Elfaria opened her eyes slightly "You promise?"

"I promise."

Her fingers slowly moved upward until they reached his forehead, and she gently caressed it with her thumb.

"Stupid Irakiel..."

Klein let out a quiet breath "Why am I stupid?"

"Because you always make me worry. You were born troublesome."

He raised an eyebrow "That doesn’t sound like something you can blame me for."

"It is."

A faint smile appeared on her lips "You were troublesome back then too."

Klein’s expression softened as old memories surfaced in his mind "Was I?"

"Mhm."

She gently traced her thumb across his forehead again.

"You were always running toward danger, and whenever I asked what you were planning, you would give me that same expression..."

She narrowed her eyes slightly and imitated his calm expression " ’Don’t worry about it, Ria. I’ll handle it.’ "

Klein stared at her for a moment before a faint smile appeared "I sound pretty cool."

Elfaria’s expression immediately became annoyed "That isn’t the point."

She lightly flicked his forehead, and he winced slightly in pain.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered "Now... tell me what really happened."

Klein was silent for a moment before finally deciding that hiding it from her would only make things worse.

He explained everything that happened, beginning with his encounter with the Goddess of Life, the strange circumstances surrounding their meeting, and how she was the one responsible for putting the aphrodisiac into the cake.

When Klein finished, there was a long silence between them.

Elfaria’s eyes narrowed further "...Another Zenith God?"

She facepalmed herself "Irakiel..."

"Hm?"

"Why are you getting yourself into such big trouble like this?"

"I didn’t exactly go looking for her."

She tightened her arms around his neck "And you were going to hide this from me."

Klein’s expression became slightly awkward "...I didn’t want you to worry."

Elfaria stared at him "That excuse stopped working thousands of years ago."

She sighed and rested her forehead against his shoulder "You really haven’t changed."

Klein gently placed a hand against her back "I’ll be more careful."

"You better be."

Elfaria’s eyes narrowed again "And you’re going to tell me everything from now on."

Klein nodded "Everything?"

"Everything important."

"What about the unimportant things?"

"I’ll decide what’s unimportant."

Klein stared at her for a moment before giving a quiet laugh "You’re becoming quite controlling."

"I learned from my experience with you."

She gently pinched his cheek "And apparently someone needs to control you."

"Ouch."

Despite her words, a faint smile finally appeared on her face.

With a kiss to her cheek, he replied "Notice how I didn’t hide my relationship with Orpheus.. I will never hide things from you, Ria."

She gently pinched his cheek "As long as you’re honest with me, Irakiel, I don’t care how many people become important to you."

"But if you ever deliberately hide something like this from me..."

Her smile became strangely sweet "...I’ll make sure you remember why you should never lie to me."

With a chuckle, he pecked her lips "That reminds me... I have a date with a Duke woman today. Also, Eleanor confessed to me..."

Elfaria: -_- Just how many...

She stared at him for several seconds before suddenly covering her mouth.

"Ha... Hahaha..." A small laugh escaped her and then another.

Before long, she was genuinely laughing, her shoulders trembling slightly as she leaned against him.

Klein looked at her in confusion "Ria?"

Elfaria tried to suppress her laughter, but the more she looked at his expression, the harder it became.

Eventually, she shook her head and wiped the corner of one eye with her finger.

"I’m sorry," she said, still smiling. "It’s just... you have changed in some aspects."

"Changed?"

"Very different from the Irakiel I remember."

Klein’s expression became slightly more curious.

Elfaria reached up and gently brushed a strand of his hair away from his forehead "In our previous life, you barely cared about women."

"You could stand in a room surrounded by beautiful women and wouldn’t even notice them. You were always thinking about cultivation, battles, the next enemy, the next problem that needed to be solved..."

"And Zryhha."

"You devoted almost everything to her."

She shook her head with a quiet laugh "I remember there were times when women practically threw themselves at you, and you would simply walk past them because you were too busy."

Klein gave a helpless smile "I was focused."

"No. You were hopeless."

Elfaria’s fingers gently traced along his cheek.

"You were so obsessed with your purpose that you barely allowed yourself to live for anything else."

Her expression gradually became more amused again as she looked him up and down "But this life... you’re quite different."

"You’re like a casanova."

Klein’s expression immediately became strange "A casanova?"

She nodded her head "Yeah. You go around attracting women wherever you go. You have a wife, two girlfriends, you’re involved with Orpheus, Eleanor has confessed to you, you’re going on a date with a Duke’s daughter, and somehow you’re still finding time to make trouble with other women."

Klein considered defending himself, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, he realized that doing so would probably make the situation even worse.

Elfaria noticed his silence and smiled triumphantly "See?"

"I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About whether I should deny it."

"And?"

Klein sighed "...I don’t think I have a convincing argument."

Elfaria immediately laughed again "Honestly, Irakiel..."

Her voice became softer "I never imagined that the man who once ignored every woman in existence would become like this after being reborn."

Klein smiled faintly "Maybe I just decided to experience the things I missed in my previous life."

Elfaria’s eyes softened "And women were one of those things?"

He looked at her for a moment "No."

Her smile faded slightly as she waited for his answer.

Klein gently touched her cheek "You were."

Elfaria froze, and for a brief moment, all the teasing disappeared from her expression.

Her eyes trembled slightly as she stared at him.

Klein’s smile became gentler "I didn’t care about women back then because I already had someone I cared about."

Elfaria’s lips parted slightly "...You really know how to say things like that."

"What? It’s true."

She lowered her gaze, trying to hide the warmth spreading across her face "You’re so troublesome."

"Oh... you’re blushing."

"I am not."

"You are."

Elfaria immediately reached up and pinched his nose between her fingers.

"The Irakiel I remember would probably have gone several days without noticing that a woman was trying to get his attention."

"That sounds like me."

"It was you." Elfaria chuckled softly. "Back then, you were completely obsessed with becoming stronger and serving Zrryha."

"If someone confessed their feelings to you, you would probably stare at them for several seconds and ask whether they needed something."

She reached out and lightly poked his chest with one finger. "You were such an idiot."

"And yet you still loved me."

Her finger remained against his chest, but the teasing expression on her face slowly disappeared as she looked into his eyes. "...Yes."

"That was the frustrating part. No matter how many times you ignored my hints, I still couldn’t stop loving you."

She sighed and shook her head, "And now, after finally finding you again, I discover that the man I spent all those years waiting for has somehow become a complete casanova."

He laughed softly, and Elfaria couldn’t help laughing with him despite herself.

She sifted slightly on his lap "In our previous life, you carried too much responsibility."

Her thumb slowly traced along his cheek "But this time, you’re different. You’re laughing more. You’re eating properly. You’re making friends and apparently collecting women along the way."

Klein chuckled. "Collecting?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"I don’t think I’m doing anything intentionally."

"That somehow makes it worse."

She gave him a helpless look before leaning against his chest "Still... I think I prefer this version of you."

Klein gently placed a hand on top of her head "I told you. This life is different."

Elfaria closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to enjoy the warmth of his embrace "Then keep it that way. Don’t turn this life into another battlefield."

Klein’s hand gently stroked her hair "I’ll try."

Her eyes immediately opened "Try?"

Klein realized his mistake.

Elfaria slowly lifted her head and stared at him "That is not the answer I wanted."

He smiled awkwardly. "I’ll do my best."

"Better."

She leaned closer and lightly pinched his cheek this time.

"And since you apparently have so many women around you now, I’ll be keeping an eye on you."

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