Nic and Lamia were taken by Alberto to his residence.
"So, Lamia, try to explain the chronology of how you ended up spying on the whole gang," Alberto asked.
Lamia calmly explained her mission.
Alberto understood. "Hmm, why didn't you just catch and interrogate the suspicious person?"
"It seems Cecilia has another way to handle them," Lamia replied.
After that, not wanting to stay there any longer, Lamia and Nic left and returned to the DP territory.
Because her wig was damaged earlier when Ghost pulled it, Lamia was no longer in disguise, and her face looked annoyed. Her eyes were cold because people were always talking about her.
Nic remained silent and didn't ask about it, but he was curious why Lamia was being talked about like that.
"Lamia..." Nic said.
Lamia was startled, then turned back. "Huh? What?" Lamia thought Nic was going to ask about her.
But Nic just said, "Try to smile while showing your teeth."
Lamia was confused, thinking for a moment, but still didn't understand what Nic meant. Then she just did it: smiling while showing her teeth, whereas usually, she only smiled with her mouth closed.
Nic saw that her smile was restrained and very stiff. Then Nic leaned closer to her face.
"Keep smiling like that, honestly, it's very sweet," Nic said, laughing, then walked ahead.
"W-what was that??" Lamia said nervously because Nic said that.
But that only made her think about why Nic told her to smile like that, and what was sweet about that kind of smile?
When they arrived at the headquarters, Cecilia was no longer there. Lamia reported to Rya that she had failed and was caught by Ghost, and they were surrounded but thankfully saved by Alberto.
"Relax, Lamia. Boss Cecilia suspected this would happen, so she's already prepared something," Rya said, patting Lamia's shoulder.
Alexa came to greet Lamia, but Lamia looked tired.
"Alexa, I need to rest first," Lamia said, leaving.
Alexa felt strange because it was unusual for Lamia to be so down.
From a distance, before Lamia left, Nic activated Cupid Arsenal>Needle, then threw the needle toward Lamia.
[ DING! CONGRATULATIONS! LAMIA IS 100% LIKED AND LOYAL TO MASTER NIC! ]
[ DING! HEARTH CLAIM ACTIVE! LAMIA HAS BEEN ADDED TO THE GIRLFRIEND LIST! ]
[ DING! TRANSFER SKILL ACTIVE! GAINED NEW SKILL: GOD OF CROCODILE. MASTER NIC CAN MIMIC THE CROCODILE'S FIGHTING STYLE. ]
---
Inside Lamia's room.
Lamia was sitting in front of the mirror, staring coldly at her own face. Then when she looked at her hands, she suddenly remembered her past, which made her head hurt.
"Ugh!! No!!" Lamia said, slapping her own face.
Then the whispers of people started appearing in her ears again about her being ironic.
"No... Nooo!! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, DAMN IT!!" Lamia shouted, punching the mirror until her hand bled.
But the whispers didn't disappear, and she continued to slap her face until it turned red and finally she passed out.
---
On the other side, Nic used his Looking at Girlfriend Past skill. Instead of asking Lamia directly, Nic chose to see it for himself.
Nic's skill immediately took him into Lamia's past when she was only 7 years old and walking with her family at the zoo.
At that time, Lamia looked cheerful, but when they reached the crocodile enclosure, Nic immediately knew this must be where it happened.
Lamia's father warned her not to get too close because he saw the iron fence looked fragile and feared something bad might happen. Lamia obeyed and stepped back.
But a few moments later, a thief ran toward Lamia's family and violently bumped into Lamia's parents, making them fall... because the iron fence was indeed fragile.
They fell right in front of the hungry crocodiles. Everyone panicked. Some wanted to help but were pulled away because it was dangerous, and the officers were slow.
And finally, Lamia saw many ferocious crocodiles attacking her parents, even using a Death Roll to sever parts of her own family. Everyone immediately felt sick and left the scene while officers started driving the crocodiles away, but it was too late because Lamia's parents were dead.
Nic saw Lamia's gaze, which looked traumatized, frustrated, and shocked, yet she seemed to accept it without fear or crying, although the zoo officers eventually took her away.
And that was when she held a grudge against the thief. In the news, the thief had been caught and imprisoned for 5 years for stealing very valuable items. Lamia trained while waiting for the thief to be released.
And when the time came, Lamia had changed into a cold figure. She kept searching for the thief's whereabouts until she finally found him. Then she brutally massacred the thief...
"FEEL WHAT MY PARENTS FELT!!!" Lamia said, using a Death Roll on the thief's hand until it broke.
The thief begged for forgiveness, but Lamia just smiled psychotically and immediately killed the thief on the spot.
Lamia was caught and imprisoned for several years, even isolated for suspected mental disorder, even though Lamia did it consciously and normally. However, she was worried about why she had become like this... Lamia pondered for years in the isolation room until she developed two personalities: her characteristic one, always smiling and calm, which she created herself in the isolation cell to cover up her psycho nature.
Nic felt he had seen enough of Lamia's past and he returned.
"Huft, another heavy past," Nic said, sighing sadly.
Because Nic felt a bad premonition, he went to Lamia's place.
There was no answer when Nic knocked on the door, so he just walked in, and his suspicion was confirmed.
Nic saw Lamia lying on the floor with blood all over her hand, a red cheek, and glass shards scattered around.
Nic moved Lamia to the bed, then used Godof Health to heal her wounds, although the pain also surged through him.
Lamia looked fine. Then, when Nic was bandaging her hand, Lamia woke up and was startled.
"Huh?? Nic...? Why are you here?" Lamia said.
"I just felt uneasy about you, so I came here, but I found you passed out," Nic said.
"Ah, I see... I'm sorry. I was just stressed. It usually doesn't happen, only this time," Lamia said, trying to sit up.
Lamia seemed like she wanted to say something, like she wanted to tell a story, but hesitated.
Nic understood. "You don't need to tell me, Lamia. It's better to forget what made you like this because it's dangerous."
Lamia was startled because Nic realized, and she quickly changed her mind.
"Ahh, no, that's not it. What do you think about my nickname, 'The Crocodile'? Is it good and cool? I'm annoyed because people talk about it, and they seem to dislike it, even though it's cool, right... and my Death Roll is very strong. They shouldn't be saying bad things about me, right?" Lamia said, putting on her usual smile.
Nic looked at her. "Lamia... try smiling like I told you before."
Lamia was silent, then smiled with her teeth visible, but it still looked stiff.
"That's right. Listen, I don't think you're the Crocodile. You are Lamia... the amazing Lamia. Keep smiling like that because you look sweeter that way," Nic said, smiling back and stroking Lamia's head.
"I'm leaving now, okay? Don't hurt yourself, even if you are strong," Nic said, leaving Lamia's room.
Lamia was silent...
She suddenly remembered her father again when her father said, "You don't need to be anyone, Lamia, because you are the amazing Lamia."
Lamia, whose smile initially looked stiff, now smiled broadly without closing her mouth. She laughed tenderly, tears flowing because Nic was right...
"Thank you for reminding me that I am the amazing Lamia," Lamia said, smiling broadly.
To be continued...