"So that's what happened, eh..." The old man read through the Book of Fortune to see the story in its entirety leading up to this point, "Geez, don't you just hate it when a book ends the chapter right before the hot stuff?"

"..."

"Damn, you still pissed at me for kidnapping you?" He groaned at the chained up girl and unconscious boy lounging around in a hospital room, "Look, I already told you I didn't mean to go that far. I just used too much strength, honest mistake!"

"Fuck you." Nelly glared at him, "You killed Lem, and now you're mocking us too!"

"Holy shiet! Drama queen much?" Olya rolled his Eyes, "He's not dead, dammit. Hell, I even got some of the best doctors on the island to keep him alive until your dad gets here."

"You... Did you seriously do all this just to get my dad to come here?!" She shouted.

"Among a few others. I need them for a thing, but that'll come later." He explained, "In any case, I wouldn't have dragged you two annoying brats here otherwise if it wasn't for them."

It's unknown to Nelly just how long it's been since she and Lem got kidnapped by Olya, but it seems the old man truly did stick to his word to give them the best treatment possible. Lem still hasn't woken up from his wounds, but it's frankly a miracle he's still alive to begin with. Even the freedom they are allowed to have in the confines of the Archipelago are quite lax. Just a simple ankle monitor device that is set to chop their feet off if they step outside of it.

"...Whatever, you've proven that you're not our enemy by now, so how about you take these ankle things off?" Nelly tried pulling a fast one, "Do you know how itchy they can get? It's especially tough to fall asleep with them on."

"Live with it, I'll take it off once I get what I want." Olya stuck his tongue out, "Besides, you've got the size of an entire continent to traverse. Hundreds if not thousands of islands, so what's the problem? You could've been put in a simple jail cell, but I was kind enough to let you roam around here as you please."

"I've got school." She stated, "I really should be going back to Simpleton soon. Obviously, the same goes for Lem."

"Man, are students these days really that serious?" He pondered, "Look, if it comes down to it, I'll talk to that lousy principal of yours about it. He'll understand, I was good with his great grandpa."

"How freaking old are you?" Nelly grimaced.

"Old enough to fuck around without ever having to find out." He shrugged, "You saw it before, didn't you? I'm immortal, so you can put down that scalpel you've got hidden behind your back."

Like a pane of glass, he saw right through Nelly's assassination attempt. She jolted once she got caught Red handed before begrudgingly plopping it back on the table next to Lem's bed. The boy heard the loud sound and reacted.

"Ah! Lem!?" She immediately jumped up to check on him, "Lem, can you hear me!?"

"Lemuel could in fact hear the young lady whom he harbored feelings for, but he would not wake up until much, much later..." Olya read from the Brown Book of Misfortune this time, "Yep, shame to say but that was probably just a reflex on his part."

"You know of the Brown Notebook's power too?" Nelly then got flustered, "Wait, there's no way it's actually worded like that!"

"Oh it is, take a look for yourself." He tossed the Book to her, "Also, that Brown Notebook has a name—The Book of Misfortune."

"Aw geez, it really does have that line in there..." Nelly's ears got bright Red as she tried to hide her expression behind the Book, "Dammit Lem, you would've been back home safe and sound if you didn't try to save me..."

"He really would've." The old man rubbed it in, "But he started getting a big head once he felt a connection between you two and jumped straight into danger haphazardly. Heh, serves him right for having someone to care about..."

"You really just said that without batting an Eyelid." Nelly glared at him, "Surely in your long, evil life, even you had a youth. There's no way you never loved someone before."

"No no, trust me, I get the feeling." Olya interrupted her, "I definitely did have a certain duo of idiots I really loved. They were friends, though, but one could say that's all anyone really needs in life."

"Then what's your problem?" Nelly asked, "If you know what it feels like to love someone honestly, how can you mock someone for trying their best to make their loved ones happy?"

"It's called envy, dear." He reclined, glancing both up and down periodically, "He still has someone to throw his life away for, meanwhile I tried and failed to keep my friends from crossing over."

"...My condolences." Nelly still gave him a rather nasty frown, but felt it appropriate to at least say the words.

"Hey, Nel." He asked, still looking up at the sky.

"Don't call me by my name." She shivered, "Just prisoner A is enough."

"So you'd rather be dehumanized than called by your name by an old man? You kids are weird, I tell ya'." He chuckled, "Tell me, if Lemmy died right here and now, how would you feel?"

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

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"...W-What?" Nelly quivered, "No, you wouldn't...!"

"Yeah, no shiet I wouldn't. That'd just ruin all the hard work the doctors put in." He pinched the bridge between his Eyes, "It's called a hypothetical, you dumbass."

"Oh. In that case, I'd probably cry, I guess." She felt a tad stupid after reacting so strongly just now.

"You'd do anything in your power to get him back, wouldn't you?" He asked.

"I assume so, but that's just denial, isn't it?" She asked, "My dad's somehow managed it, but humans can't usually come back from the dead."

"Say you had all the time in the world and then some, how willing would you be to get him back?"

"Pretty willing. I mean, he did quite a lot for me, and he's my best friend." She shrugged.

"Would you go against the rules those Five lousy Gods set up for this world just to see him smile back at you once more?" Olya continued, "Would you be willing to sacrifice the entire world just to hear his voice call your name again, just like old times?"

"...Ehhhh." She shook her head.

"What?" He did a double take, "Ehh? What do you mean Ehh?"

"I mean, I certainly would like it if he could come back, but I'm not gonna go that far." She explained, "What's the point of getting him back if everyone else I care about is gone in exchange? Sounds kinda stupid in my opinion."

"...You just don't get it." He grumbled, "Alright, I get it, you don't give a shiet about Lem, that one's on me. Let's change him out for Meil, what about now?"

"Still no. I'd rather focus on learning to live my life without him." Nelly said in a mature manner, "Like every other normal person in the world."

"You really are heartless, you know that?" Olya was pretty terrified of the young girl sitting before him at this point, "I mean your mother and Ed had the right idea—They met a God and immediately started begging to get your father back. Granted, the Book says that's not what ultimately revived him, but still!"

"You sure know a lot about everyone..." She raised an Eyebrow.

"It's the power of the Book of Fortune." He pulled it out of his robe, "It tells people's pasts, whilst the one you're holding tells the future. Your family sadly just so happened to be the one to get its fate caught up with them, so I'm just doing my best to free you from its clutches."

"You wanna free us from two Books?" Nelly returned a deadpanned face of disappointment, "I can't believe this crazy idiot was the one who got one over us..."

"Yeah, I expected nothing less from your sharp tongue." Olya laughed, "But I'm neither joking nor crazy, the Books have in fact bound themselves to the Grimhearts by way of chance."

"So I'm guessing my dad originally had that Purple Book, then?"

"You guessed correctly. He was the one who found it around 15 years ago during an expedition to Sibirus." Olya explained what he had read from that very Book, "Everyone from his party died from it, including his then wife Marina. Both him and I are victims of its curse. The curse to be the ones that lived."

"That sounds cool and ominous and all, but I never saw him with that Book or whatever." She sounded skeptical.

"It got lost at the bottom of the ocean after their ship exploded." He explained, "And I eventually found it after years of searching. Really, it's a story and a half in and of itself just about how I found it, cheheh..."

"Not interested." She tuned him out.

"Still!? You just found out your family and I are cursed, and you just shrug it off!?" He jolted, "What the hell is wrong with this generation!?"

"Well, I don't feel cursed." She reasoned.

"Pardon?"

"I don't really feel cursed because I have this Brown Notebook with me." She looked at it, "I used it to ace some tests easier and maybe whenever I don't know what the outcome of an event will be, but not much else. If anything, it's more of a blessing."

"I don't think you understand, these Books cause trouble for anyone that uses them." He elaborated.

"Well, not for me."

"Then what do you call this situation?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." She shrugged, "I mean, as far back as I can remember, I've always kinda been involved in a ton of troublesome ordeals. This is pretty normal for me."

Olya could both hardly and totally agree with her on this statement. In truth, Nelly was quite prone to getting involved in dangerous situations ever since her birth, and whilst Olya found it nigh impossible for a girl to be this battle-hardened against misfortune, he also read her story from the Book of Fortune and knows she's not lying. This only served to further fuel his plan, though.

"What if I told you I could change your life to not be so action packed and troublesome?" He extended the Book towards her, "Like I said, I'm just an old guy that got wronged by this world and wants to get his life back on track. I can do that for you too, but I'm gonna need your help."

"...Go on, then." She took the Book in her hands.

"All I'm gonna ask of you is to write some things down for me." Olya gave her a wicked grin, "My pages are filled, but you still have a lot of life left in ya'..."