The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 1118 (Ch.1117) The Food Problem
Rose did not describe the details of her conversation with old Shelley to them.

Roland understands.

It was difficult to talk about—he couldn't believe that what he could do, Rose could do for old Shelley.

And that attack…

Perhaps this made the old man realize something and make a decision.

Shelley.

Roland was genuinely happy for Rose.

It wasn't for the Shelley family's money and power, but because she herself had a loving 'father'—love, that's something everyone wants, yet no one cherishes it until they lose it.

When you have it, you hardly notice it. But when it leaves you, it's like a fish out of water.

You practically want to struggle and make a complete mess of the house.

How delightful!

Miss Rose.

Thieves in Falkshire.

You have a home now.

"Now, can I take any tobacco I want at the Shelley family's pipe shop?"

Rose asked Roland in confusion, "Aren't you a cigar lover yourself?"
"It could also be the pipe smoker faction. It depends on which faction gets more free attempts."

In short, this was a welcome development. Even Sindel, unusually, refrained from making sarcastic remarks about Rose on this topic—perhaps, just possibly, Roland guessed, that the girl knew something about the power of the "plague" and was unwilling to provoke her again...

Perhaps she doesn't even know how to satirize a flavor she herself has never tasted.

"But I don't understand, when He changed your path, did He ever consider..."

Rose used to live in the Second Ring Road, but now she's almost at the Third Ring Road.

just now.

This forms another link in the chain.

It's important to understand that the high-society zone is a clearly defined boundary; only those who cross that line can truly say—"I can probably save my life in most situations..."

The road from the first ring road to the fourth ring road is very long.

Roland suspected that by the time he, Sandel, and even Halida arrived at the High Ring (incidentally, Halida's Second Ring ceremony was ready, but Roland didn't know what Sandel and she had discussed) – Rose would still be in the Low Ring.

This is a girl who likes to 'compete' with others.

She must be so worried!

“In fact, I’m not in a hurry at all,” Rose would tell them even if Roland didn’t ask: “That crybaby… I mean, the great and noble God tells me that He doesn’t like His followers causing trouble on earth.”

Moreover, the reason for their unrest was the arrival of their god.

“…You mean, God…He himself…cough, He himself…doesn’t want to?” Roland’s expression became somewhat subtle.

The people in the most expensive boxes didn't have time to appreciate the performance on stage.

"Of course, I'm not lying."

It's not a matter of lying.

神…

so.

The 'gods' themselves are aware of... what is happening in the outside world?
With the help of believers?

Or perhaps, the eyes of a believer?

He has his own ideas.

They are not...

Has it fallen into eternal sleep?

“I guess, like a cat taking a nap?” Rose continued the previous topic, and the others didn’t care at all how much of a commotion the difference between a long sleep and a nap would cause if word got out: “He gave me special treatment.”

Sender narrowed his eyes: "I suspect it's related to the followers of the Black Urn?"

"Do not."

Rose shook her head.

That crybaby is really...

"He does not want the world to be filled with disease and suffering because of His existence—that is the root of the problem."

“A symbol? That doesn’t sound right at all,” Sander chuckled softly. “That’s the god of plague and disaster…”

Rose countered that although he was a crybaby, constantly stammering like a woman, and had given her a path she wasn't satisfied with… he had indeed saved her life: “He is a God who thirsts for ‘love,’ and who gains power through ‘love.’”

is it?

Sender had noticed early on that there was something amiss between the ritualist's path and aptitude.

but.

If the gods were truly like that, it would be too...

So disappointing.

weak.

A pointless act of kindness.

Did they act according to their own ideas, or because of… the rules?
When gods are no longer out of reach, what is there for people to fear and revere?
"so…"

Rose thought for a moment, mentally listing the words. "All I have to do is 'eat' them..."

Sender blinked.

Halida blinked too.

"…What?"

What to eat? Take it back?
“Of course, it’s plague and disaster,” Rose said, holding up the soft triangular cake in her hand and gently biting off its pointed tip. “Like this.”

"You mean: you don't need 'qualifications,' just keep consuming plagues and disasters... to level up?"

To be precise, 'unclean things' are included as well.

Rose grinned: "Envious?"

Harida whispered a reminder to Rose that she shouldn't speak with food in her mouth.

Shandel wasn't envious at all.

The most important lesson she learned in her short but complex life was that everything has a price.

Being favored by the gods is indeed a wonderful thing.

But getting too close to the rules…

Just like her initial choice to withdraw from the selection of saints.

Because she almost witnessed the truth about the "divine servants" with her own eyes.

She knew exactly what kind of monsters the Divine Servant were, and she saw through Gary Kratofer's conflicted heart—he truly didn't want her to live, but he also didn't want to kill his only remaining offspring himself.

"What is the price, Miss Shelley?"

"Sander asked."

as predicted.

These words instantly killed Rose's interest in talking.

She took a vicious bite of the cake, and under Harida's strange gaze, picked up another piece.

Get closer to the gods…

Let me put it simply.

During the time she didn't see Roland, she spent her days battling her appetite: she no longer enjoyed ordinary food and forced herself to swallow what humans considered "delicious" at every meal.

Whether it's the fragrant and tender pork chops, the warm and comforting broth, or the delicious and sweet fruit...

She lost the ability to perceive human 'deliciousness'.

These things were not only tedious, but they also exploded in her mouth like dung balls, like chewing and sucking a sheep bladder filled with the patient's pus.

Well, the problem is coming.

Is there anything that would make her feel 'delicious'? Are there any survivors left in the world?

Have.

As Rose just mentioned: plague and disaster. Perhaps, the scope should be broadened to include unclean things as well.

Put it this way.

On the way from Shelley's house to the theater, she opened the car window, and the air was filled with the aroma of 'delicious' food... and everyone knows what London is famous for.

Rose couldn't accept that she had been 'transformed' into this state.

She's not even twenty yet, and for the rest of her life, she won't even be able to enjoy a sip of whiskey...?
Maybe there'll be a whiskey flavor...

Other things.

But Rose couldn't accept it.

Absolutely not.

"The price is... I'll become more and more like that rotten, stupid god..."

The girl curled the ends of her hair and turned her face away, speaking vaguely.

She didn't want to tell the three people in the box this secret—first of all, that wretched woman Kratofer was bound to do something nasty behind her back.

Second.

She had to maintain a good, consistently aloof and mysterious demeanor in front of Halida (though Halida might not have thought so).

At last.

Roland…

Letting her beloved man know that she not only enjoys smelling strange odors on the street, but also that as her rings rise, she might become more and more like a rotting monster, her mouth that said 'Good afternoon' suddenly drank a whole basin of liquid in the morning…

Rose shook her head violently.

She must never become like that.

She is the best hook for the elephant gang.

She possesses inexhaustible willpower... and an unyielding spirit...

should.

Can persevere…

It's been a long time, hasn't it?
The girl curled her tongue, ordering her increasingly impatient tongue to continue suffering for its owner.

(End of this chapter)