"I made sure he's still alive," Robert said dismissively, waving his hand while continuing to wipe the blood off. "He won't die. I just gave him a few light punches."
"Light punches…?" My eyes drifted back to the man lying on the floor, still unmoving, before returning to Robert.
"It doesn't look that way to me."
Robert just let out a small laugh and tossed the bloodstained handkerchief onto the man's swollen face.
"It's fine," he said casually. "Even if he tries to press charges, it won't work."
"Did you forget the people in our circle?"
I raised an eyebrow.
Beside me, Anathasia slowly walked up to the man and crouched down, resting one arm over her knees as she examined him.
"He's still breathing. He'll be fine," she said after a moment.
She stood up again, brushing off her skirt before glancing back at me.
"We'll be fine either way." She gestured toward Robert. "Looks like Robert already has everything under control."
I rubbed my temple and took a slow breath.
"No… how are you guys treating this like it's no big deal…"
Then a thought crossed my mind.
"…Though I can't really blame Robert for doing it. I was a bit pissed about what he did earlier too."
With a sigh, I ran a hand through my hair and looked at Robert.
"So," I said slowly, "should we threaten him not to take legal action or—"
Robert practically burst out laughing the moment the words left my mouth.
"Dude… you can't be serious right now…"
He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
"Do you realize the scale you and Anathasia are already at?"
He reached over and flicked a switch.
The lights snapped on.
The entire room lit up, revealing papers covering the walls. Maps, newspapers, documents dating back more than a decade.
"Mei and Hinami alone. The ones running your shares are already capable of twisting information here and there."
"And then there's Joseph's little organization."
"Organization?" I tilted my head slightly.
Anathasia stepped beside me, crossing her arms.
"Are you saying Joseph built some sort of underground organization under our noses?"
She raised an eyebrow.
"That start-up tech company from sixteen years ago…" Robert walked toward one of the newspapers, ripping it off the wall before turning to us.
"That was just the surface."
He crumpled the paper in his hands before tossing it at the still unconscious man.
"Honestly, that guy Joseph's pretty obsessed with keeping the two of you together."
"Kyle. Specifically."
My eyes widened slightly.
"Said he felt like he could do anything as long as you believed in him."
"And he actually did."
Robert gestured around the room.
"So now… we're all just cooperating with each other, making sure no one's dumb enough to pick a bone with you two."
His smile widened as he snapped his fingers, the lights dying immediately.
"Not to mention those two mega-conglomerates as well… and whatever Mr. Li Mingyuan was talking about."
A brief silence followed.
Anathasia and I simply stood there while Robert stepped on the man's head and leaned toward us.
"You guys aren't human, are you?"
The room went dead silent the moment those words left his mouth.
Anathasia simply stared at him, arms still crossed as her eyes narrowed.
Then—
"Because of course you guys are. We're all in our thirties now, and you two still look like you're stuck in our college days."
He shrugged casually.
"Literally."
He waved it off.
"But it's not like that wasn't obvious enough. You're still Kyle Ruzen Abe and Anathasia Dunaleff Abe either way."
"In the end, you're still the couple who saved our asses during college."
"Especially those theses."
He stepped forward and snapped his fingers.
The sound of multiple footsteps immediately filled the hallway.
Men in black tailored suits barged into the room, lifting the bloodied man off the floor.
"We're always prepared."
Robert placed his hands on my shoulders before turning me around and ushering me out of the room.
"The party's still in full swing. Might as well enjoy it since the bastard's dealt with, right?"
Robert flashed me a grin before pushing Anathasia and me out of the house and into the backyard.
"Have fun!"
The door slammed shut behind us.
Just like that, we found ourselves watching everyone else at the party.
Loud music blared through the air.
As if nothing had happened inside the house moments earlier.
"Did we just get kicked out?" Anathasia asked, staring at the party in front of us.
"Looks like it…"
For a moment, we simply stood there, quietly watching everyone else enjoy themselves.
—
By night, hours after the party, we were back at our house.
Lena and Francesca were already in their rooms while Anathasia and I stayed in the living room, playing chess.
"Should we go visit our headquarters in Japan tomorrow or something?"
She spoke while placing a knight that forked my queen.
"I mean, there's a bit too much going on without us really knowing."
"Our finances are fine, sure," she added, watching me sacrifice my queen to take her knight.
She immediately captured it with her rook, trading it with my bishop.
"But like—"
"Mhm, I get what you mean," I gently cut in, taking one of her pawns with my rook.
It pointed straight at her king.
Check.
"A thorough check masked as a casual visit, right?"
She leaned in, staring at the board while resting her chin on her knuckle.
"Something like that."
Anathasia reached out, about to pick a piece.
But just before she did, her hand hovered over the board.
A slight frown flickered across her face.
"It's not that I don't trust Hinami or Mei. I can always just use my omniscience to check on them."
She moved her bishop near my rook, trying to line up my other knight.
"It's just… something's bugging me."
"And that's…?"
I moved my knight away, taking it off the bishop's line.
"Something about the money…" her brows furrowed as she pulled the bishop back.
Without another word, I positioned my remaining rook directly in front of her king.
Check again.
She absentmindedly pushed a pawn forward.
"I feel unemployed—"
The moment I placed my rook in front of her king, with my knight guarding the other side, her eyes widened.
"Checkmate."
The chess piece clicked softly against the board.
I flashed her a smile.
"…I was just talking," she replied flatly.
She let out a quiet sigh and leaned back against the couch.
"I wonder what Rania and Roselia are up to these days… did they even make up?"
A beat passed.
Then she shook her head faintly as I casually began putting the chess set away.
"No way… the damage done wasn't something you can fix with a simple apology."
Anathasia's gaze drifted back to me, studying my face intently.
"Hm…"
"…Is there something on my face?" I asked, folding the chessboard shut.
"Nothing," she muttered. "Why do I randomly feel like snuggling close to you right now…"
My brows knitted together.
"I mean… why not come over here? You're always welcome."
Anathasia simply nodded.
In the next instant, her figure flickered, reappearing beside me as her arms wrapped around my waist, her face pressing into my stomach.
"That guy was right… I should rely on you more…"
I raised an eyebrow, absentmindedly stroking her hair.
"That guy?" My eyes narrowed slightly. "Who?"
"The Original Creator. Or Author, rather." she said. "You know authors exist, right?"
I hummed, nodding slightly.
"Yeah… so the Original Creator…"
"Yup," she chimed. "They're also the Author. But they're not really in control anymore."
She tilted her head up at me, eyes wide and innocent.
"I replaced them after all."
My hand froze momentarily.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well…" she casually tugged at the strand of hair framing my face, "to put it simply… you could say I'm both the admin and the system now."
"But the Author is still them…"
A small pause.
"Her, rather."
We both fell silent as she continued twirling a strand of my hair around her finger.
With a faint smile, she buried her face against my stomach again, her voice muffled as she spoke.
"Basically… that Author, Rhea, wrote the past era into existence. But something went terribly wrong while it was running…"
"And the Constant became the THAT WHICH IS NOT."
She nuzzled lightly against my shirt.
"She realized her mistake, but it was too late. So by the time I recreated everything…"
Anathasia lifted her head, looking up at me, still smiling.
"I became the sole Creator of the era after the Great Recreation."