Despite your agreement to wait for Hollis, you still left the lobby once the Amorii left your sight. You felt sorry for breaking your agreement, but if not now, then you don't know when you would have the time to visit the Founder to retrieve your vessel.

Still, you can't help but wonder what method she used to retrieve it this quickly. Well, it's not exactly 'quick,' considering weeks have passed, but you had expected that it would take longer.

Skipping the procedure your brother went through last time just to see the Founder, you arrived at her office quicker than the first time you've been there, and sure enough, she was there in her seat.

Inside her office, nothing much seems to have changed. Her potted plants were still green and alive, and the sofa was unmoved and still in good condition, except that there was a person lying there, an identical-looking person that looked exactly like you.

You skipped any greeting and went straight to your vessel, the one you've been so adamant to retrieve. Your fingers traced the skin of the vessel, and though it looks like it had lost a little weight, it seems like it was taken with great care, judging by its surface.

"I told you I would help you retrieve it, right?" The founder grinned with crossed legs. "Now, how's your progress? Any luck with my boy, Hollis?"

You glanced at Maya for a second before turning to check on the condition of your old vessel, raising its arms, exposing its chest, spreading its legs, and sure enough, while it had received plenty of care from its 'captor,' such as trimmed nails, shaved hairs, and clean teeth. Kael isn't demented enough to mess with an unconscious person.

"The progress is slow," you finally spoke. "Hollis and I, both of us have matching energy, so we ended up going at our own pace, but..."

You recalled the conversation you had with him in the car. His determination, his warmth, his words, and frankly, you can feel something inside you starting to crumble.

"I think if it's him... It's possible for me to find love." You turned to look at the woman's reaction. "Aren't you worried? What if I seriously fall for him and ruin our deal? But I have already gotten my body. What can you do?"

"Oh, I'm not worried," she giggled, as if mocking you. "Compared to us, the love of your kind is too cheap to be called love, too shallow to be called affection, so nope! I'm not worried at all. In fact, I can see that you will honor our deal."

You remained silent as you watched how brimming with confidence she is. The way she scornfully gazed at you. How distasteful "your kind" sounds like when it left her lips. Kael had once told you that she had been alive since the great war between humans and Amorii; if so, is that the reason why she disdained spirits so much?

"Well, I won't argue with that," you uttered weakly as you got on your knees and connected your lips with your old body's.

Your true form, which resembled a will-o'-wisp, struggled a little to allocate to another body, but once it did, the temporary body that you crafted shattered into a fragment of luminous energy that seeped into the old vessel's skin. You saw that the founder stared at you with much interest and immediately felt wary.

"You know, I think I can see now why you wanted to retrieve your old body so badly when you could just create another one," she pointed out. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but the new body that you made is like an empty shell with no experience, like a newborn baby trying to learn basic knowledge, while this one seems to be the closest imitation to what a human could be than that one."

She nodded, as if proud of herself for figuring it out.

"Earlier, I couldn't sense anything from you, nor could I feel your emotions, but now, I can even slightly taste your dislike for me—which is only possible if you're a human." She then stood up, taking large steps towards you with interest. "So? What's the secret behind this body? I didn't know this was possible for a spirit to achieve."

You frowned, pushing the woman away from getting too close to you.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not obligated to tell you anything, especially if it's about myself." You got off of the sofa and nonchalantly took off the dress your body was wearing, unbothered by her gaze as you changed into the clothes you wore earlier to avoid suspicion from Hollis. "I'm grateful that you helped me, but I do think that it was also partly ROMANCE's fault that I ended up losing my body. Still, I will try to honor our deal."

Without further ado, you took your leave in a hurry, afraid that Hollis would find you missing from your waiting place. Once you stepped outside, you felt conscious of your neck and belatedly realized that you were wearing the necklace gifted by Kael.

Without stopping dead in your tracks, your fingers fumbled trying to take it off, but then you felt like you could hear his voice ringing in your head.

"—I gave that to you so why are you treating it so casually like that? Treat it as if it's something important!"

Your fingers reflexively stopped their movement, and you instantly wondered how the founder was able to retrieve your body. What about Kael? Didn't they all say that Amorii loves more strongly than humans? Then how was it so easy for him to let go?

"Maybe he wasn't really in love with me," you speculated. "Maybe he got tired and left like how they all did."

After all, you can't deny that it's exhausting to love a person like you, and you also think that someone like you is not capable enough to leave a deep, lingering affection to anyone.

In the end, you arrived at your waiting place without taking off the necklace. You knew you should, but since Kael once insisted that you should treat it as if it's something important, then the least you could do now was honor his words, even if it was just to make up for unintentionally leading him on.

You covered the necklace by hiding it inside your clothes, waiting for your lover's arrival.

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ♡ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

||HOLLIS'S LOVE STATUS||

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