On the Ark.

On one side, there was a deeply moving farewell between the brother and sister, while on the other side, the atmosphere was somewhat different.

Standing beside Messiah, Eileen looked at Lappland with teary eyes, reminding Lin Ye of a certain stray cat.

Lappland felt a little uneasy under Eileen's gaze: "Ugh! Why are you staring at me like that!"

Lin Ye glanced at Lappland and said, "We're about to part ways, can't I even take a couple of looks at you?"

"No way." Lappland crossed her arms, her tail wagging. "This feels so weird."

“That’s not what you said yesterday.”

"That's not what I said yesterday! What did I say yesterday? If you keep talking nonsense, I'll bite you!" Lappland threatened Lin Ye, the fur on her tail standing on end.

Faced with Lappland's threat, Lin Ye sneered.

Then he simply shut up.

After spending some time together, he had come to understand Lappland's madness. Even with Messiah by his side, this silly wolf would still speak when the time was right, without the slightest hesitation. Lin Ye didn't want to leave Kjerag with injuries and go back to Rhodes Island to get a rabies shot; that would be too foolish.

However, Lappland only showed her ferocity towards Lin Ye. When facing Eileen, the usually strong (and foolish) Lappland would occasionally appear somewhat helpless, which was noticed by everyone.

Finally, there is the Messiah and Lin Ye.

Messiah looked at Lin Ye, and Lin Ye was also looking at Messiah. Then, the two spoke almost simultaneously.

Will you come to Kalan again?

Will you leave Kalan?

After he finished speaking, Lin Ye was stunned for a moment, while Messiah's smile deepened.

“I won’t leave this place,” Messiah shook her head and answered first. “You should know why.”

Lin Ye scratched his head: "I think I asked another pointless question."

“That’s not nonsense, at least it makes me quite happy.” Messiah squinted. “Also, remember what I told you.”

"What are you talking about? Is it about those terrible enemies?"

"Ah."

"Don't worry," Lin Ye said with a smile. "Why would I go looking for those things for no reason? I'm not tired of living. Besides, I'm just a psychologist; fighting and such have nothing to do with me."

“Tsk, maybe. But some things you can’t avoid just because you want to.” Messiah shook his head and said, “But there’s no way around it. You’re not the kind of person who backs down easily. If fate has really arranged it this way, and you have to get close to those guys, I hope you can live a good life.”

The topic suddenly felt heavy... especially since these words were spoken by the Messiah, a god, which made Lin Ye uneasy.

I can't really be that unlucky, can I?

Messiah noticed Lin Ye's worry and asked with a smile, "Are you already scared?"

Lin Ye, of course, wouldn't admit it, stubbornly saying, "How could that be? Do I look like such a coward?"

Messiah nodded: "Yes."

"...Fine, you're a god, whatever you say looks like it, goes ahead." Lin Ye chose to give up.

“Also, although I don’t think you’ll choose that path, I’ll say it anyway,” Messiah said. “If one day you really can’t hold on any longer, you can come to me.”

"Come here?"

“Yes, I can’t guarantee what the outside world will do, but if we’re just in Kalan, just in this small place, I can still do a lot of things,” Messiah said softly. “I can do my best to satisfy any desire you have, if you’re willing.”

Lin Ye looked at Messiah, whose beautiful heterochromatic eyes reflected his surprised face.

“No need for that expression.” Messiah smiled. “I know even if I say this, you won’t come. In that case, live life the way you want. But, Lin Ye, please believe that the seeds you planted have now borne fruit. It’s time to reap the rewards; you shouldn’t stop for a single fruit.”

"...What do you mean? Can't you just say it outright?"

"No way," Messiah said with a smile. "If I tell you everything, what's the point of me being a god?"

"You're really straightforward."

"You see things quite clearly, don't you? Alright, Lin Ye." Messiah gradually stopped smiling, looked at Lin Ye, and said softly, "Goodbye."

The car slowly drove away from the Shivaesh family's residence.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Lin Ye looked at Silver Gray, Messiah, and Eileen through the rearview mirror.

SilverAsh tried to maintain the demeanor of the CEO of Kallan Trading, but Lin Ye noticed that his hand gripping his cane was trembling slightly. Eileen was still teary-eyed, and Lin Ye believed that if they stopped the car, Eileen would definitely chase after them, wanting to go back to Rhodes Island with Lappland, though she would most likely be kicked out by Lappland.

As for the Messiah...

Lin Ye was still looking at Messiah, a woman he had only known for less than a month, yet one he could never forget in his lifetime—no, she was a goddess. Even now, Lin Ye didn't understand why Messiah was so kind to him, because in his view, Messiah's previous explanations were untenable.

The Messiah's theory of cause and effect was what concerned Lin Ye the most. He always felt that the Messiah seemed to know everything, and might even know about his past life. But no matter how many times Lin Ye tried to steer the conversation in this direction, the Messiah would skillfully avoid it or directly refuse.

"Why is that?" Lin Ye murmured.

He kept looking at Messiah until the car drove out of the city and Messiah's figure completely disappeared from sight.

"Ah, finally we're going back!" Ya Xin stretched her body, then seemed to remember something and quickly asked Lin Ye, "Doctor Lin Ye, I heard you played chess with my older brother yesterday and won twenty games in a row?"

"Ah, I think so." Lin Ye said absentmindedly.

Horn Peak, who was driving, was very surprised: "What? You actually managed to beat the old man twenty times in a row?!"

“There’s nothing surprising about that,” Chu Xue sighed. “He’s just a terrible chess player.”

The first snowflakes instantly filled the carriage with a cheerful atmosphere.

"Oh, right." Su Sulu remembered something, "Dr. Lin Ye, I've fixed your phone."

Lin Ye looked at Su Suluo in surprise: "You can fix cell phones?"

"Not really, but I can change the battery," Sussuro said. "Your phone is fine, the battery is damaged, just replace it."

"Oh oh oh."

Lin Ye took the phone from Su Suluo and then turned it on.

The moment the screen lit up, Lin Ye saw Messiah again.

This is a photo he took of the Messiah on the holy mountain, a young deity... no, a beautiful girl standing under a maple tree, her gray scarf fluttering in the wind.

Lin Ye was slightly stunned and dazed.

He looked at Messiah, but the image of a kitten appeared in his mind. The kitten had heterochromatic eyes, blue and gold, and stood quietly in the snow watching him.

At that moment, a long-ago conversation suddenly echoed in his mind.

……

"I'm sorry, little one, you brought it in too late. This cat can't be saved."

"It's such a pity, it's such a beautiful kitten, and it even has very rare heterochromia..."

……

Lin Ye turned around abruptly, almost twisting his neck.

"Dr. Lin Ye? What are you doing?" Horn Peak, who was driving, was startled.

Everyone was drawn to Lin Ye's actions, turning to look at him with puzzled expressions.

Lin Ye didn't care. He just stared blankly at the receding city of Shelag behind the car, and then murmured, "Impossible."

But no one could give him an answer.

……

Messiah, standing atop the mountain overlooking the car, slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

"So you've finally realized something?" she said softly. "But it doesn't matter. I've already paid back what you gave me that night."

"Please take good care of yourself and live on."

……

……

Author's Note: The Kjerag volume concludes here. By the way, let me talk about the character Messiah. She's actually an experiment in another concept I explored. The connection between the seven cats in their past lives and the girl in this life first appeared in the Nightingale volume, but at that time I leaned towards metaphor, later shifting to concrete evidence. Now, some prefer the metaphorical interpretation, while others prefer the concrete evidence; everyone has their own ideas. My initial thought was that kindness in a past life would be rewarded in this one, while the cats' gratitude came later. But no matter how the plot develops, a character like Messiah, who understands both past and present lives, can only be her, because she is a god. The subsequent plot might lean more towards the ambiguous relationship between Nightingale and Skadi, that's about it~

Chapter 295 Blue Poison

After a two-day drive, the group finally returned to Rhodes Island late at night.

The scheduled arrival time was 12:00 noon, but the actual arrival time was 2:30 a.m. So after getting off the bus, everyone planned to go straight back to rest.

"Dr. Lin Ye." Before leaving, Susuluo said to Lin Ye, "I've almost finished writing the report for this trip to Sherag, and I still need your signature. Will you be in your office tomorrow? I'll come to your office to find you."

Lin Ye was immediately stumped. It was already this late, and he was thinking of skipping work tomorrow and sleeping in. However, when he saw Su Suluo's earnest eyes, a sense of shame for slacking off washed over him. Look at her, even this "kid" Su Suluo knew how to work diligently, while Lin Ye, an adult, was thinking about skipping work all day long. There's no harm in comparing them!

There was no other way, so even though he was unwilling, Lin Ye had to nod and say, "Don't worry, I'll definitely be in the office tomorrow, just waiting for you to come find me."

"Okay, then goodnight, Dr. Lin Ye." Su Sulu waved goodbye to Lin Ye.

Then only Lappland remained. Lin Ye looked at Lappland standing next to him and asked, "What do you say now? Are you planning to go back to sleeping on the playground?"

Lappland crossed her arms and twitched her ears: "What else?"

"Let's not sleep now," Lin Ye said. "It's already winter. I know you might not care, but there's no need for it. Besides, you said there are a lot of bugs over there on the playground."

“It’s okay,” Lappland said. “I can go get some newspapers to cover myself with. That way I won’t be cold and it will keep out a lot of bugs.”

Lin Ye: "..."

How can it be so desolate and bleak!

"Why don't you sleep in my office?" Lin Ye suggested. "I'm not going back to the dorm tonight either."

"why?"

“It’s so late, it wouldn’t be good to wake Ansel up,” Lin Ye said. “So we might as well just make do in the office, and I can go to work right after I wake up. Do you want to come along? My office is quite big, and I have quite a few rooms. Although I know you’ve had enough sleep in the car, you can still come to my office to play. That whole floor is mine. You can play until you’re tired and then just go to sleep. It’s okay.”

"No." Lappland refused decisively, then sniffed, "Why do you smell so bad?"

"Stinky smell? Where is it? Don't talk nonsense."

"It's always been there, and it stinks horribly."

Lin Ye sniffed his clothes and indeed couldn't smell anything. But thinking about it carefully, he hadn't showered for two days in the car, so there might be some odor. He himself might not be able to smell it, but it wouldn't be strange for Lappland, a member of the Lupo tribe, to smell it.

Although Lin Ye was very unwilling to be told he smelled bad by Lappland, who was even less willing to take a bath.

"Fine, fine, whatever you want." Lin Ye shook his head, no longer trying to persuade him. He was really sleepy, so he waved his hand, dragged his luggage towards the office, and said, "Good night."