The interior of the Bronze Bell was dark and silent.
It was only when Lucas's flashlight lit up that the scenery inside was fully revealed.
The massive Morning Bell was heavily eroded by time.
Both inside and out, one could see the ancient, time-worn traces.
Kosma's voice, when he spoke, was very low and hoarse...
Like the moan of a dead person.
"Yes, I've come, Kosma. Do you need me to briefly state my purpose?"
Lucas looked up calmly at the slightly swaying boy's head.
It wasn't their first meeting.
This time, Lucas wouldn't be frightened by the inverted head.
A Saint won't be defeated by the same move twice.jpg
"No need... no need. I know what you're here for... Come on, trade with me, hehehe..."
Kosma let out a strange laugh.
This sound echoed within the Bronze Bell, making one's ears uncomfortable.
Compared to the beautiful voices of the Yandere Valkyries, Kosma naturally wasn't worth mentioning.
Moreover, Lucas had heard so many perverted female voices that hearing a perverted male voice now felt quite unaccustomed.
After a moment of silence, "Someone said you're a liar."
Lucas spoke directly.
Both Judah and Welt Yang had said not to trust Kosma.
Plus, Su had also said—don't trust anyone.
For Lucas, there was no one in the entire St. Freya Academy he could truly trust.
Even with the Valkyries who seemed to have returned to normal, Lucas still held a three-point vigilance.
This was also why...
Even knowing Kosma was problematic, Lucas still came to take the risk. Regardless of whether the information was true or false, anything the other party said surely had value.
"A liar? Hahaha! I'm a liar, but what about you? I'm a small liar, you're a big liar, and not only are you a liar, you're also a demon... You're a demon!!!"
The boy's head swayed inside the Bronze Bell.
His green hair, like seaweed, swayed.
Lucas didn't speak, just quietly watched Kosma's tantrum.
Only when the fellow calmed down a bit did Lucas continue, "So... you admit you're a liar?"
"Hehehe... I never admitted I'm a liar. Everything was said by you, wasn't it?" Kosma widened his eyes, staring intently at the man below holding the flashlight. "I'm just going along with what you said."
Frowning slightly, Lucas had originally intended to use this to probe Kosma's intentions.
It seemed...
This guy didn't intend to reveal any information.
Or rather—Kosma didn't care about anything outside of the transaction.
Even last time, when he used understanding the transaction as an excuse, he asked too many tangential questions.
Kosma even started refusing to answer.
"I think I understand what you mean."
Lucas closed his eyes and began to sort out the information.
From beginning to end, only Kosma had been talking about rules and such.
No one could be sure that all the rules he stated were true.
Instead, everyone told him not to trust Kosma.
Lucas knew that rules definitely existed.
However—how much of it was true and how much was false remained completely unknown.
Of course...
Lucas believed he would find out very soon.
"Let's make a deal."
Hearing this, Kosma instantly stopped and said, "A deal... hehehe... I've been waiting for you to say that! Lucas..."
The Bronze Bell, hanging alone in mid-air, suddenly plunged downwards.
Lucas, who was half-crouching below, initially thought he would be crushed.
Unexpectedly, a suction force suddenly came from within.
Lucas was pulled entirely inside.
"Clang!"
A crisp sound echoed within the Bronze Bell.
Lucas felt his vision blur and his ears sting. When he recovered, he saw Kosma's head face to face with his own.
They were less than twenty centimeters apart.
Lucas could clearly see that lifelike, pale face.
He could even count each fine, short hair.
To say there was absolutely no fear in his heart would certainly be impossible, but Lucas's psychological quality was strong enough...
At least he wouldn't show fear on his face.
Kosma bared his large mouth and said, "So... what do you want to know?"
"I need you to describe all the rules of the transaction."
Lucas had many questions, but the first thing he asked about was the rules.
What kind of answer would Kosma give?
If it was different from what was said in the last reincarnation,
It would mean this guy really could lie.
"Rules... hehehe... I didn't expect you to ask about this. Interesting..."
Kosma laughed, his entire head trembling continuously in mid-air.
His dry, green hair, hanging down like seaweed, swayed back and forth before his eyes.
"Lucas... then listen carefully—the so-called rules of transaction are: you state a piece of information I don't know, and I state a piece of information you don't know. If one party states information they already know... then the other party can attack them, or withdraw from the transaction and leave this place."
"This is the key point. You can consider it the central clause of the first rule."
"Second, during the transaction, lying is not allowed, and interruption is not allowed. If one person lies, the other has the right to kill the other party, or withdraw from the transaction and leave this place."
"Third, if the person who lies is not discovered, then it will not be considered a lie."
"Fourth, if it is a specific question and answer, then the first rule is void; it's fine even if known information is stated."
"Fifth, without violating the first and second rules... the transacting parties are not allowed to attack each other. Forcibly attacking will result in severe punishment."
"Finally... Sixth, slandering someone who is not lying by claiming they are lying is considered a violation of the first and second rules."
"These are the so-called transaction rules. Do you understand?"
Kosma said a lot in one breath.
And he said it very detailed.
After listening to these five rules, Lucas realized they were indeed different from the last reincarnation.
Not only were some parts different,
But also...
The Kosma from the last reincarnation had also concealed some information.
For example, the third rule—if the person who lies is not discovered, then it will not be considered a lie.
This means that...
Lying is indeed possible during the transaction.
No wonder Welt Yang and Judah both told him not to trust him.
Dealing with an information broker who tells false information
Is indeed a headache.
Thinking about it this way, Pardofelis is a bit better; at least her goods are clearly priced and fair to all.
So...
Is what Kosma is saying now true or false?
Lucas didn't know. He stacked a pile of thousand-layer cakes in his mind, but still couldn't calculate the levels of the enemy and himself.
As an Ember of the Previous Civilization,
Kosma most likely knew that he could reincarnate.
Given his eagerness to trade with him, the probability of him deceiving him on this issue was not very high.
But what if the other party did the opposite?
After all, he was here to trade.
He couldn't possibly expose a lie with the first sentence and then run away, could he?
Looking at it this way,
Kosma also had the possibility of lying.
Unless...
The Ember named Xu Guang didn't want to be killed by Lucas.
Does he want to die?
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