A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 45 I Can Really Speak Now
In the end, Genjiro made the choice he had to make: he took Crow and Yasha and headed to the Nightclub by car.

He entrusted the search for Uesugi Erii to Tachibana Masamune.

"Young Master, are you really alright?" Yaksha wasn't as clever as Crow; even with his hands on the steering wheel, he still asked a question.

The crow tried to signal from the side, its eyes almost twitching from blinking, but it still couldn't stop it.

Yuan Zhisheng said nothing, closed his eyes to rest and conserve his energy. If Yasha hadn't been his retainer, he would have really wanted to reprimand him and make him get off the carriage.

Seeing this, the crow tried to salvage the situation: "Drive quickly, don't waste time! We can leave it to the head of the family."

……

Meanwhile, Erii Uesugi followed Xu Lie's main body with a curious expression, patiently waiting in front of a crepe cart for the crepes to be made.

The two people, engrossed in watching the crepe-making process, did not notice the frequent glances from passersby.

This is why Erii Uesugi is so exquisite.

Her cheeks were fair and rosy, and her smooth, dark red hair was so fine that each strand was distinct, making her look like a fiery red peach blossom in spring.

With her delicate nose and red lips, her eyes were large and beautiful, and her deep rose-red pupils made them appear large and bright. However, what was incongruous was that there was no girlish liveliness in her eyes, but only a sense of confusion and naivety that could only be cultivated by being isolated from the world.

With her slender figure and well-proportioned body, she wore a classic red and white shrine maiden outfit, with white short sleeves and crimson hakama, causing passersby to whisper and discuss which shrine she belonged to. She was as exquisite as a figure from a painting.

Xu Lie didn't care about the discussions among passersby. Generally speaking, taking photos without consent is illegal in Japan and can result in imprisonment.

If someone bold enough to secretly film and upload it online, it doesn't matter. Someone like Takashi Sakurai, a mole who has been parasitized by the Time Worm, will help him erase the clues.

This is also the fundamental reason why Xu Lie can swagger around with Erii.

"Hmm?" Feeling his sleeve being tugged, Xu Lie turned his head slightly and saw Erii holding up her large notebook.

The Japanese characters read 'Arigato'.

"You can speak normally for 24 hours." Xu Lie took out some change to pay, took two crepes from the shopkeeper, and gave one to Erii.

At the same time, he secretly thought to himself that Tokyo was truly a blessed land for fire-bringers.

Last time I stole Genji's Word of Power, the Fire Thief's potion digested a portion of it.

This immediately caused Xu Lie to change his plans and set his sights on the royal-level hybrid.

If things proceed as originally planned, stealing the lower-level hybrids from the Snake-Headed Eight Families and the Fierce Demon Clan would take an unknown number of people and a considerable amount of time to process.

Stealing the emperor's blood is still better; it's quick and easy.

So, they found Erii and said they wanted to treat her to crepes, and the silly girl obediently followed along.

Without relying on the Time Worm, Xu Lie used the Stealing ability on his own body to steal from Erii thirty times, finally managing to steal her high-risk Word of Power: Judgment (renamed Judgment in the revised version).

The Fire Thief digested another portion, and if he could steal Ruri Kazama's Word of Power, he might be able to advance to Sequence 5, Dream Thief.

It was precisely because he stole the Word of Judgment that Xu Lie was able to tell Erii that she could speak normally again.

Because of the power of the Word of Judgment, the kind little girl's words are always filled with the Dragon Script of Judgment, which leads to the killing of others. That's why she writes instead of speaking and has never uttered a word.

Erii happily accepted the crepe, a hint of anticipation appearing in her childlike eyes. She had seen crepes in various anime.

I'm extremely curious about how the texture and taste of this dessert differ from the cakes I've eaten before.

Erii was very well-behaved. After taking it, she didn't rush to eat it. Instead, she flipped through the notebook with one hand, went back to the first few pages, and handed it to Xu Lie to look at.

The letter read: 'I cannot speak, it would hurt others.'

Xu Lie didn't rush to persuade her, but simply looked around and found a bench in the small park by the roadside: "Let's go sit down and eat." Erii nodded lightly and followed closely behind, like a newborn duckling, taking unsteady steps to keep up with its mother.

I was terrified of getting lost, of being lost alone in this unknown world.

There weren't many people in the small park. After sitting down, Erii happily placed her notebook on her lap and held the crepe in both hands as if she were holding a precious treasure.

I first studied it carefully, looking at the dessert rolled into a cone shape and the distribution of cream and fruit inside. Only after studying it did I take a bite from the top left corner.

The rich cream, the fragrant fruit aroma, and the sweet taste burst on the tongue, making Erii smile slightly.

So this is what crepes in anime taste and feel like! She chewed and chewed, almost reluctant to swallow.

"Really not going to give it a try?" Xu Lie was too lazy to study it. He had already eaten half of the crepe and pointed to the trees on the right.

"If you're worried about hurting me, just face that tree and say a few words?"

"I have temporarily confiscated your Word of Power. You can use Judgment again after 24 hours. During this time, it is okay for you to speak."

Erii stopped eating her pancake and looked at Xu Lie curiously, not understanding why he insisted that she speak.

This boy, who looks to be around her age, is probably also of mixed race, and may even know that her Word of Power is Judgment.

Then why do we need her to speak?
She didn't want to kill Xu Lie, the first person to take her away from the Snake Clan and let her see the wonders of the outside world.

Perhaps it was because she was too naive, but the doubt in her deep rose-red eyes was very straightforward, so straightforward that Xu Lie could read Erii's meaning from her eyes: "Because you are very lonely, right?"

"You can speak, but every time you speak, all you see in front of you are monsters, monsters that you need to kill."

"But I've never spoken a single word to any of my friends."

"I want to talk to you, Erii, even just a few words."

"..." Erii was a little at a loss. She could feel a sense of care from Xu Lie's eyes and words.

Previously, only her older brother, Genjiro, would care for her like this; even her nominal adoptive father, Tachibana Masamune, had never shown Erii such care.

Moreover, Xu Lie was right. Erii had spoken several times before, all in the Sheqi Hachi family's laboratory, to the dragon-shaped dead servant, and then the dragon-shaped dead servant was torn to pieces by the Word Spirit.

Not to mention friends, she could only communicate with her older brother, Genjiro, using pen and paper.

"Give it a try? Good luck, Erii." For the first time, Xu Lie used the deceptionist's eloquence without intending to cheat.

Erii, who was initially hesitant, seemed to have been genuinely encouraged by Xu Lie. She nodded her head vigorously and turned to look at the trees not far away.

Looking at Erii's cascading red hair, Xu Lie rose very slightly, and a transparent twelve-ringed worm appeared beside him at some unknown time.

Xu Lie gave him a look, indicating that he was leaving it to him. He had a tight schedule today and needed to catch the second half of the event, so he couldn't stay here.

The front of the twelve-ringed worm swayed up and down as if nodding. As Xu Lie's main body left so quietly that there was no sound of footsteps, the worm suddenly expanded, and a new Xu Lie appeared behind Erii.

As soon as he appeared, a very faint voice could be heard: "No, it's okay, I can talk."

The Word Power Judgment, which would usually erupt in chaos at the mere utterance of her words, truly had no effect. The trees stood perfectly still, neither withered nor cut in two.

Erii turned around in surprise, looked at Xu Lie, and opened her mouth in delight.

He only stared for a moment, without saying a word.

Finally, he opened the notebook on his lap and wrote fluently: 'I can really speak now.'

(End of this chapter)