"Not at all."
Thinking of Castorice's anxious state, Derick wanted to go back immediately.
He truly didn't want to see Castorice become the Death Titan, ultimately trapped in the underworld. But he also didn't want to use this method to deliberately influence Castorice's own judgment.
Deliberately forcing her to give up the Flamechase Journey – Derick couldn't do it.
"Hey, Derick, you're quite stubborn, just like that Castorice girl." Cipher rolled her eyes at him, then casually reached out and flicked his forehead again.
"But if you don't agree, then you don't agree. If you agreed, it wouldn't count as kidnapping."
"Let's go, let's find a place to rest first," Cipher pushed Derick slightly.
"I'll take off your handcuffs later, don't think about escaping. My speed is very fast; even if you escape back to Okhema city, I can still carry you back."
"Fine."
Derick nodded.
Cipher then removed the handcuffs from his hands.
Looking at the cat-ear design on the handcuffs she played with, Derick couldn't help thinking, this girl really likes cats.
Derick stretched his arms.
Then, he and Cipher walked forward together.
Confident in her own abilities, Cipher let Derick move freely in front of her.
Could he possibly run away?
After walking some distance, Derick's stomach rumbled. He had spent half the day wandering the market with Castorice, only to be kidnapped by Cipher before Castorice could even finish cooking.
Walking until now, he was genuinely hungry.
Hearing Derick's stomach rumble, Cipher slapped her forehead and said to Derick, "Oh dear, I almost forgot you haven't eaten. Right, let's find a place to eat. By the way, Derick, what do you want to eat?"
"Anything but cat food is fine."
Derick wasn't picky about food.
Cipher tapped Derick's head with her hand, "I'm not a real cat, how could I eat cat food? Here, I only have a few pies left, let's share them."
"If you only have pies, why did you ask me what I wanted to eat?"
"Doesn't it make me seem professional?" Cipher pointed to an abandoned house nearby. "Go, open the door first, let's eat inside."
"Aren't you going to open the door?"
"No, I'm a thief, not used to opening doors. Besides, I'm holding the pies, how can I open the door?" Cipher shook her head, holding up the pies to Derick.
"Alright."
Derick nodded and went to the door of the abandoned house. With a strong push, the entire door swung open.
As soon as he pushed it open, a figure suddenly darted out from inside.
Seriously? Why does something happen even when I open a door?
Derick quickly stepped back, slightly spreading his hands into a wrestling stance. Without a weapon now, he had to rely on the Condemnation Gladiator's unarmed combat techniques.
Cipher walked up beside Derick and patted his shoulder.
"Relax, don't be nervous, this is the guy I hired to gather information."
Derick looked closely and saw a creature composed of several oval purple limbs. Well, it should count as a creature; the oval limb serving as its head even had a pair of huge eyes.
He recognized it; it was the Spirithief Bartholos .
Cipher asked it, "Bartlus, did you get any news coming from Okhema?"
Bartlus said nothing, merely extending its 'hand'.
"If you want news, you have to pay first."
"What if you take the money and don't give the news?" Cipher countered Bartlus.
"Do you think I can outrun you? Conversely, I'm worried you'll get the news and not pay." Bartlus stared at Cipher with wide eyes.
"Fine, I'll pay you first." Cipher reluctantly took out a bag of coins and handed it to Bartlus.
After receiving the money, Bartlus happily said, "After you abducted Derick, Okhema became quite lively. Miss Castorice grabbed her scythe and was about to storm the Senate..."
"Did she go?" Derick asked anxiously from the side.
He didn't think Castorice had the strength to challenge the Senate.
"No, Lady Trianne managed to dissuade her for the time being. They'll probably find you first before settling scores with Elder Caenis," Bartlus shook its head.
Derick breathed a small sigh of relief hearing this.
But he was still very anxious.
Who knew how worried Castorice was not seeing him. She had been temporarily dissuaded now, but Derick couldn't imagine what irrational things she might do if this dragged on.
The Senate, the Citizens' Assembly side, had a genuine Emanator.
He had to leave Cipher's side as soon as possible and return to Okhema to reassure Castorice.
Derick thought to himself.
Just then, Cipher patted his shoulder, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "I know you're anxious and want to escape. But my eyes are always on you, you can't get away."
She patted his shoulder again.
Cipher said to Bartlus, "Now there's only one thing left for me here."
"What? Is there anything else I haven't told you?"
Bartlus looked at Cipher puzzledly.
"You've told me everything!" Cipher said, simultaneously punching its head. "But I plan to take back the money I gave you."
Bartlus's escape methods were useless against Cipher, and its combat power was no match for hers. Cipher quickly rained down punches and slaps, soon snatching back its gold coins.
"You guy, you're too unethical!"
"I may lack ethics, but it's better than your double-dealing ethics. News of us being here has probably already reached that tailor woman in Okhema city by now." Cipher kicked it again.
"You..."
Bartlus glared resentfully at Cipher, then left 'aggrieved'.
Seriously, just wanted to earn some extra gold coins, was it necessary to be so ruthless?
"Derick, eat something, then I'll take you somewhere else."
Cipher handed Derick a pie and a water bottle printed with a cat pattern.
Then she added another sentence.
"Don't think about escaping."
Hearing her say this, Derick had no choice but to obediently find a spot in the room and start eating.
After a few bites of the pie, Derick suddenly felt a powerful surge of energy within his body.
This certainly wasn't due to any magical elixir in the pie boosting his strength.
Derick shifted his right eye's perspective.
His avatar had successfully digested the avatar of the Discord Titan.
______________
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