If this was all preplanned, fine. But if Evah came up with it on the spot… Medici gave him a loaded look, speaking slowly. "It's not risk-free. Intis might go all-in and start a war early."
He locked eyes with Evah, curious how this guy, always chasing happy endings, would respond.
"War's coming sooner or later. If Intis jumps the gun, it'll disrupt their preperation, which is better than facing them fully armed," Evah said, pouring himself another cup of black tea. After a sip, he added, "And I'm sure Mr. Little Red has ways to make them think twice about starting one."
Medici let out a sudden chuckle, his blood-red eyes flicking to Evah. A reckless grin spread across his face. "You've got some faith in me."
"Just basic trust," Evah said, smiling, though his eyes clearly said, So, can you do it or not?
"Piece of cake," Medici said with a laugh. Back in the day, pulling it off might've been tricky, but with the Boss backing him now (Ancient Sun God), making Intis hesitate was child's play.
"But…" Medici's grin turned gleeful, almost gloating, as he looked at Evah. "You'd better figure out how to explain that fox tail you just showed to your little friend over there."
With that, Medici vanished. Big plans like this needed a quick chat with the True Creator .
Evah, who'd gotten carried away in the heat of the moment, blinked. He turned to Klein, who was staring at him with a ghostly intensity, and flashed a grin. "Surprise?"
Klein: …
If Klein still had any "naive sweetheart" filter left for Evah before that whole spiel about leeching Intis's aid , it was now shattered into dust.
He finally saw it: his buddy wasn't just not a naive sweetheart—he was a terrifyingly cunning schemer.
"…You planned all this in advance?" Klein managed after a long pause.
"No way! Why would I waste brain cells on this? I'm not even in on Little Red's revolution. Just came up with it on the spot to help you out," Evah said, waving a hand.
It was the truth. He had no intention of joining the revolution, only nudging it from the sidelines . With how busy he'd been lately, he hadn't had time to premeditate this.
"So you just thought of all that…" Klein's mind replayed Jack's pitch, and he looked at his buddy like he was some rare specimen.
Klein wasn't dumb. After getting tangled in the spy case , he'd quickly cooked up follow-up plans. But he could never, in a million years, casually scheme to mooch off another nation's resources for a revolution like Evah just did.
Was this how normal people thought?
"It's just a habit of using whatever's at hand," Evah said. With his naive sweetheart persona officially dead, he didn't bother keeping up the act, though he wasn't fazed.
He'd long planned to shift to a cunning schemer vibe . Sure, getting carried away played a part, but it was also a chance to roll with it.
A bomb's less dangerous if you detonate it early.
Evah pulled an apple from somewhere, took a bite, and tossed one to Klein. "Here, have an apple. Get some sugar in you."
Klein caught it with a complicated expression, took a bite, and looked at Evah. "What do you mean, 'using whatever's at hand'?"
"Well, I haven't told you about my past, have I? Before crossing over, I was an orphan. I never went to an orphanage, though. A con artist took me in. He thought I looked cute enough to use as a prop to scam more people," Evah said, sipping his tea, his face nostalgic. "So, from a young age, I was taught to make use of anything around me. For a con artist, even something as small as a button can be a game-changer in a pinch."
He looked up at Klein, smiling. "Turning disadvantages into advantages, dangers into opportunities—that's a con artist's survival 101."
Klein's throat went dry. He stared at Evah, mouth opening, then managed, "…So you've been lying to me this whole time?"
Evah paused, meeting Klein's gaze. "I'm not as naive as I acted, but I really do see you as a friend. And I genuinely want to help Mr. Azik ."
"Do you believe me?"
Klein was stumped. Evah's sudden shift from naive sweetheart to cunning schemer had his head spinning, but he couldn't bring himself to say "I don't believe you."
Because Klein wasn't clueless. He could tell fake from real, and he knew Evah might've tricked him elsewhere, but the guy's friendship was the real deal.
Even this whole reveal came from trying to help him.
"…Why did Mr. Lucifer say you've got a screw loose?" Klein asked after a long hesitation, sidestepping the trust question.
Because my old persona didn't keep up, and I got too hyped and crashed this time, so I had to overhaul it… Evah muttered internally. He looked at Klein, serious. "For some reasons, I do tend to trust certain people—ones I judge as good, like you. I had no guard up with you from the start. You probably felt it."
That was the truth. With his original novel knowledge and sharp read on people, Evah did trust good guys easily.
Klein glanced at him, then pulled out a gold coin, looking ready to divine on the spot.
"Hey, come on, that's overkill!" Evah yelped, half-laughing. "What happened to trust between buddies?"
"Died about five minutes ago," Klein said, rolling his eyes. But he didn't flip the coin. Instead, he gestured for Evah to hold out his hand.
Evah raised a brow but complied.
Klein slapped the gold coin into his palm, heads up, with a huff. "Jack, I choose to believe you," he said, looking at Jack with a sigh. "I know you've lied about plenty, but I trust your feelings are real."
Now it was Jacks's turn to go quiet. He glanced at Klein, then at the coin, and lifted his free hand to cover his eyes. "Ugh, I'm done for."
"What do you mean, done for?" Klein said, instantly annoyed.
"You trusted a con artist, Klein. You're toast," Evah said, lowering his hand and giving Klein a deadpan look.
Klein's fist clenched, itching to throw a friendship-ending punch.
"Hahaha!" Evah burst out laughing, tossing the gold coin up and catching it. He grinned at Klein. "Nice gift. I love it."
(End of Chapter)