Hello everyone, a quick announcement.
I just released the translation for Volume 6, which contains 244 chapters and a special chapter for $1, just like Volume 5. Thank you very much and sorry.
Visit
ko-fi.com/matsuo4
to see translated volumes of other books.
___________________________________________________
"Lin... disappeared from the Elysian Realm..."
In the somber depths of the Elysian Realm, a pair of azure pupils slowly opened. She first thought silently for a moment, and then a streak of deep crimson flashed in the depths of her eyes.
Just a few seconds ago, Lin presence had vanished from the Elysian Realm without a trace. This was an unprecedented situation.
Lin was different from the memories of the Flame-Chasers; he was a memory body that did not burden visitors. Thus, from the start, he could appear at the entrance of the Elysian Realm, observe visitors, and offer help, naturally avoiding the initial hiding behavior of the Flame-Chasers who didn't appear to greet people.
Such a complete disappearance, where even Aponia could not locate him, was unique to this occasion.
And when Lin vanished, whether it was an illusion or not, it wasn't a concealed presence, but rather... a dispersion.
"What happened..."
Lin had discussed the plan related to the Herrscher visitor with her, but his own disappearance was clearly not part of the plan.
Was it... something that happened within the Elysian Realm?
Before anyone could react... in the depths of the Fire Moth headquarters, in the cemetery where the endless rain fell, the gravestones engraved with countless names began to... tremble.
...
"The apple... is peeled."
The Sakura-haired assassin hesitantly pushed the fruit plate toward the reading man. The tender and juicy apple inside had been expertly cut into six slices. He nodded silently, pointed at the plate, and gestured for her to eat with him.
...It's strange.
This thought arose in Sakura heart.
Compared to their first meeting when he was in a wheelchair, or their second meeting when they crossed swords, Lin seemed to have undergone some change.
At their first meeting, he was a mysterious person, cold yet mixed with a hint of gentleness. At their second meeting, he was a master whose killing intent was obvious and every move drew blood. The latter could be said to be the former's hidden true self.
But now, Lin seemed to... have lost his hostility.
Then again, he was never inherently brutal. It was just that his usual isolation, silence, and the occasional knife-like gaze made it hard to have a good impression of him. Now, he seemed to have shed all his sharpness; simply sitting there, he perfectly blended into the peaceful atmosphere of the morning and evening.
It gave the strange feeling of an old man's retirement life.
"Crunch."
The sound of Lin chewing the apple brought her back from her thoughts. She looked up and saw that Lin had closed the book, ready to pick up the next one.
His reading speed was incredibly fast; in just the time it took to peel the apple, he had finished the book he was halfway through. Sakura initially thought he had read it several times or was just skimming, but he occasionally made notes and placed bookmarks, indicating he was genuinely reading it thoroughly.
"Reading ten lines at a glance" could no longer describe his reading speed.
Lin glanced up, noticing Sakura observing him, and held out the book: "Do you want to read it?"
"...No." Sakura was stunned, then shook her head.
"I found it interesting." Since Sakura declined, Lin didn't insist. He casually placed the book on the table. "This book tells the story of a female assassin and her target falling in love. The process is a bit cliché, but the ending is unexpected. It's as if the author used all the preceding content as a setup for the ending."
"..."
Why did he suddenly start talking about the book's content?
And why, of all things, did it have to be... a female assassin?
"Have you ever had a situation where you needed to kill a target but couldn't bring yourself to do it?"
"..." Sakura noticed that when Lin asked this question, his eyes returned to their original look—a chilling coldness that seemed to pierce through a person, radiating from the inside out. However, he deliberately lowered his head to avoid meeting her gaze, likely not wanting her to see it.
After considering the question, Sakura sighed softly: "Once."
"What kind of person was the target?"
"The first target I needed to kill."
"..."
"I can't remember his name anymore, but I remember the look in his eyes when he faced the blade that reflected his fear, the moment I couldn't bring myself to strike for the first time." Sakura recounted softly. "I realized at that moment that the one dying at my hands was a human being, alive, just like me."
"But you still did it."
"Yes."
"..."
"..."
Silence fell.
The atmosphere in the room dropped to freezing point with Lin words.
Sakura didn't try to explain whether the person she killed deserved to die, because she chose those targets not to eliminate evil for the people, but to make it easier for her to act, to make it feel more justifiable.
But there is no "justifiable" when taking a life, and Lin could see the reason she chose those people.
Sakura thought the conversation would end here, and from now on, they would maintain a cold, distant relationship until Lin left the Chrysalis Squad.
But to her surprise, after a brief silence, Lin picked up the book again, flipped to a page, and, after scanning it, said: "The female protagonist of this book has an interesting view on her assassin profession. She considers assassination an 'exchange' profession."
"..."
What did he mean?
Sakura listened to him continue, confused.
"Exchanging 'humanity' for 'life.' The more people she kills, the less she possesses the parts that belong to a 'human.' And after she killed the first person, she was no longer a complete 'human.'"
Lin explained the female protagonist's perspective in the most concise words possible. Then he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the icy chill was gone.
"But the world in the book is ultimately fictional. If her view differs from yours, then it doesn't apply to you. Furthermore..." Lin exhaled. "The novelist is just a writer of novels. His perspective also doesn't apply to a real assassin."
"Exchange... huh..." Sakura murmured, a flicker of self-mockery in her eyes.
"Sakura."
"Hmm?"
Lin calmly picked up the next book. He said lightly: "I once left a letter in your mailbox, hoping you would give up being an assassin and return to a normal life. To me at the time, that was a 'chance' I gave you. If you still chose to live as an assassin, I would personally hand you over for human judgment."
"...I'm sorry."
"You don't need to apologize. I have already done my part."
Sakura, who thought Lin was going to blame her, looked at him in confusion. He picked up a slice of apple and tossed it into his mouth: "I merely handed you over for human judgment, and the result of your judgment was... to have you fight for humanity."
"In my opinion, this is also a form of exchange. The moment you chose to step onto this battlefield, no matter what your original intention was, you have already exchanged back the part that belonged to you."
"So, please guide me more in the future."
Sakura stared blankly at Lin, whose facial bandages hadn't even shifted. A strange feeling welled up within her.
A little sad, yet surprisingly... light.
"Oh, right, eat the apple." Lin pushed the fruit plate toward her.