Iser prided himself on not being stupid.
‘…Of course, compared to Noona, I am little more than an infinitesimal microorganism, but I learned so much under brilliant geniuses. There is no way I could be stupid. My reason is sufficiently sound, and I can take pride in that.’
Perhaps because he had spent so long traveling across dimensions with his cold-blooded sister, her chill and dryness had rubbed off on Iser as well. He had developed a disposition that let him put reason before emotion.
That was why it had been a very long time since he found himself in a situation like this.
“…My apologies. I was distracted for a moment.”
“Not at all. The sudden situation must have startled you too, Mr. Gio.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“It was nothing.”
Reason and emotion were fighting fiercely inside Iser.
Even in the brief moment it took him to answer, he went over the same question dozens of times in similar forms.
‘…The Sun God’s energy is extremely strong in this man. Then did the Sun God, who knows of Noona’s existence and mine, fashion our sole weakness in human form and pass the Sun’s Divinity to him? There is no sense in encountering our dead teacher so abruptly. It is far too coincidental.’
And yet,
‘This face, presence, mannerisms, voice, and every sensation I perceive all point to our dead teacher. Besides, how could the Sun God accomplish our teacher’s resurrection when even Noona, who imprisoned the Sun God in the sea, could not? The person before me must be our teacher, reincarnated through a natural process.’
Both possibilities were plausible, which made the confusion all the greater.
‘If one thing is certain, it is that no being could ever be closer to Giovanni than this person.’
Whether the being before him was an incarnation of the Sun God imitating his teacher, or the reincarnation of his teacher who had yet to establish a personality of his own.
He was unquestionably someone Iser could not afford to lose.
“My mind went blank for a moment when the wave came in. I apologize for showing you such an unsightly side of myself in my confusion.”
“…….”
“My head still hurts, so could you tell me exactly where we…