Esther saw Jason's surprise and immediately began to explain.
"With your abilities, you could live so much better."
Jason scanned over the list, noting down the names as he spoke.
"But I want to live longer."
"Before I met Senior Edmund, although I entertained the thought of climbing to the higher ranks of the Holy Serpent Society, that was just a subconscious decision I made because I was a member of the society. It wasn't what I truly wanted. It was only after talking with Senior Edmund that I realized my real thoughts."
"It was a thought that made me feel truly at peace and comfortable from within."
"Such an idea, to me, is what I genuinely desire."
As he spoke, Esther's originally straight posture involuntarily began to slump down. When his neck rested at the top of the sofa's backrest, and his head tilted, with his hands on his stomach, his entire body relaxed there.
Contentment and comfort appeared on Esther's face.
Jason raised an eyebrow.
He always felt he was looking at a salted fish.
This wasn't about finding one's true thoughts.
It was just plain laziness.
However, Jason couldn't be sure if laziness was what Esther was pursuing.
Then there was nothing wrong with what Esther was doing.
After what seemed like several minutes, Esther finally came back to his senses.
"Sorry, I was impolite."
Once he regained his composure, Esther immediately straightened up, though he greatly missed the comfort he had felt moments ago, he had no choice but to do so.
Because, if he wanted to better, longer moments of lounging on the sofa, he had to resolve the matter at hand.
"With your absolute force, 'Sanctuary' need not worry."
"And with me here, the Holy Serpent Society need not worry either."
"What I'm worried about now is the people dispatched by the 'Shelter'."
"According to Senior Edmund's deduction, that person of importance, in order to truly understand everything that is happening in Ang City, will not only send out his most capable subordinates but also, surely send an appropriate number of people in the shadows."
"We will have a grip on the movements of the former, but the latter, who are covert, are what we most need to be concerned about at the moment."
But this man, who aspired to live a long life, showed no sign of tension.
Without Jason needing to ask, Esther continued, "Given the situation in Ang City, with so many mixed forces, accidents happening should be expected, right?"
"You know their identities?"
This time, Jason was truly surprised.
The fact that Esther was able to deduce the hidden members of the Holy Serpent Society through the slightest of clues was beyond his imagination. If he also knew about the covert agents sent by the 'Shelter,' Jason truly had to reassess his current collaborator.
"It was, Senior Edmund."
"He has a rough idea of who it is."
"But he needs your cooperation to make the final judgment and to showcase my strength once more!"
Esther waved his hands repeatedly at first.
Then, in a lowered voice, he said:
"Don't you think it's a waste for 'Claw 13' to appear just once?"
As he spoke, Esther rose from the sofa, made a circle in front of his chest with his right hand as if he were removing a non-existent hat, and bowed deeply with his upper body.
He recited in a deep voice—
"The night is your realm to survey."
"Beneath the moon is the time you spread your wings."
"The owl sends forth...
"The moment of judgement!"