Kevin had figured things out a little earlier than expected.
Noldrei was somewhat surprised by this, but seeing Kevin emerge from the trap he had set so quickly, he also felt genuinely happy for him.
Noldrei patted Kevin's shoulder in approval, the 'younger Kevin' thoroughly pleased with the 'older Kevin's' change.
"Kevin, have a seat," Noldrei said. "I'll make you some noodles."
Kevin paused, frowning. "You have a kitchen here?"
"I do. No idea why Otto insisted on keeping a personal kitchen, but I'm quite handy when it comes to simple things like cooking."
Noldrei was also curious as to why Otto would have a kitchen set up next to his own bed. Of course, he didn't know that this was where Otto used to cook for Theresa.
In any case, there were more than enough ingredients to make noodles.
"Elysia has told me about your past as the Flame-Chasers. I heard you're all especially fond of noodles, so I thought I'd make some for you."
Kevin opened his mouth to speak but stopped. He wanted to explain that it was merely for convenience's sake.
But Noldrei had the noodles ready in a flash, and it would have been far too rude to refuse at this point.
Kevin sighed and said, "I truly never thought you would make me completely relinquish the power of Finality with just a single sentence. If I continued to possess this power, I would be thinking about how to resurrect MEI every single moment."
"In that case, the power of Finality would not only be a responsibility I should bear, but it would become a Devil Fruit, leading me further down the path of corruption."
Kevin knew in his heart that if he truly held onto this power for another ten thousand years, he would most likely be twisted by the torment into the next Otto.
The choice Noldrei gave him had been a direct wake-up call.
A Kevin weighed down by the baggage of the past was fundamentally incapable of shouldering the responsibility of Finality. He could only entrust this power to the people of the Current Era, who were focused on the future.
"You... you're a hard person to figure out."
Kevin didn't know how to describe him.
They clearly had the same face, yet it felt as though there were a million twists and turns hidden in a single sentence.
"No wonder even someone as annoying as Elysia is afraid of you," Kevin remarked with a sigh.
"Oh? You find Elysia a bit annoying sometimes, too? That woman seems to have no concept of boundaries. She always has to pop in and make her presence felt, whether it's personal time or work time."
Noldrei found a surprising amount of common ground with Kevin on the subject of Elysia's 'annoying' attributes.
Worried that Noldrei might develop a poor opinion of Elysia, Kevin made sure to clarify, "She can be a bit annoying, but not to the point of being disliked. She just likes to do her own thing sometimes, so I generally just let her be."
"Before she came, Elysia was planning to persuade me not to agree to your offer. But the truth is, she still doesn't understand just how much the power of the Cocoon of Finality can warp a person. Before I obtained it, I saw it as nothing but a responsibility of endless suffering. After obtaining it, I still thought the same."
"But you shattered my defenses with a single sentence. All that suffering suddenly seemed less important. And it was in that moment that I realized, when it comes to a choice involving MEI, I am still the same Kevin I was back then."
Kevin slurped a mouthful of noodles, finishing the entire bowl in a few quick bites.
Seeing him eat so happily, Noldrei asked, "Want another bowl?"
"No, thank you. I didn't come here to eat noodles." Kevin wasn't here for a dinner party. He had come to speak with Noldrei about the handover of Finality.
The Kevin who existed before learning he could resurrect MEI was one person; the Kevin who existed after was another entirely.
He had actually overheard the discussions among his comrades. "Do you really intend to use me to create a third, controllable Cocoon of Finality?" he asked bluntly.
Noldrei shook his head, denying the claim.
He answered just as bluntly, "Even if I had such a plan, I wouldn't tell you right now. But I truly don't. After all, once you have the authority of Finality, creating another is merely a matter of reverse-engineering the process from the answer. That process is much simpler; it's something that can be achieved simply by investing enough time."
'Are you serious?'
When Kevin heard the phrase "achieved simply by investing enough time," his mind went blank for a second.
Did he mishear something?
But on second thought, MEI had managed to deduce the essence of the Cocoon of Finality without ever coming into contact with its authority. The people of the Current Era were even more formidable and had the accumulated knowledge of the Previous Era. Perhaps achieving such a feat was only natural for them.
Kevin was gradually coming to accept this absurdity. In any case, what happened next had nothing to do with him. No matter what Noldrei said, there was no longer any need for discussion.
He was here for other matters.
"World Serpent has indeed caused a lot of trouble, especially Gray Serpent, who used many unorthodox methods to get things done for us. So, I came here to discuss with you the final handling of World Serpent and those people in the Elysian Realm."
Noldrei's attitude toward World Serpent was far more magnanimous than his stance on Schicksal and Anti-Entropy.
Unlike Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, two organizations deeply rooted in the ruling class of the Current Era with their own formidable foundations, World Serpent mostly relied on Heliopolis and the operations of Gray Serpent. Their behind-the-scenes involvement in political matters was not as deep.
"There is one person, however, that it would be inconvenient for me to clean up. She's been very thorough in erasing her past. Since I've already promised to cut ties with past political vendettas, I can't make a move on her. But for you, a man who is about to die, it would be a simple matter."
Noldrei was referring to Jackal. He only needed a normally functioning Heliopolis Life Sciences; a figure like Jackal, who was so deeply entangled with the past, had to be removed.
If Noldrei hadn't mentioned it, Kevin wouldn't have even thought of Jackal.
In his mind, she was so utterly useless it was as if she had already vanished.
'Why did I even recruit her into World Serpent in the first place?'
Kevin pondered this. It wasn't like he needed any special source of income at the time.
In any case, Jackal had caused plenty of trouble under the banner of World Serpent. Since Noldrei asked him to take her out on his way, he might as well help clean up that mess.
"What about Gray Serpent? Should I deal with him as well?"
Kevin thought he might as well take Gray Serpent with him, too.
Noldrei sighed. "He's not so easy to handle. The Gray Serpent of today has long since hidden himself away in the Sea of Quanta. Besides, I have no leverage over him. A World Serpent without you and Mobius is of no use to him."
"He ran faster than I could have imagined. I'll leave a troublesome character like him for Kiana to deal with. Besides, leaving a problem or two for her to solve is an effective way to improve her political skills. And Gray Serpent has a certain level of skill as an organizer; he's a fairly competent student of Proliferationism."