Chapter 151 – At that night – part two
(Code’s Point of View)
“That’s why I want you to come.” I told her.
I had just arrived at the orphanage in the slums. Hopefully before Zett encounters the red-eyed girl.
The orphanage is very unusual for a building in this area, for it is not only quite large, but is also made of solid stone.
It’s a place with a lot of history behind it.
Essentially, it was founded and ran by adults who preyed on children, so many children ended up disappearing after coming here.
However, even in this lawless country, people can still be driven by righteous indignation.
Every time a horrible person became the one in charge of the orphanage, somebody ended up crushing the villain.
And so, this splendid building kept on being in use.
After all, it’s extremely important to have an orphanage here. This city is filled with many children who have nowhere else to go.
Therefore, a place like this is absolutely necessary.
However, there are many scoundrels who roam this area.
People who steal from the weak to give it to the strong… Many small villains of Krozheit do this kind of thing.
Which is why we sometimes had orphanage owners who protected the weak children, and other times had owners who targeted the weak children.
This kind of thing led to the management changing often.
The current manager is an old man who is rumored to be a soldier who was exiled from his country. He has been in charge of this orphanage for about ten years, and he has been running it like one should.
Ten years is a long time.
This alone makes it clear that this old man is not somebody who can be taken lightly.
And recently, a certain person started living in this orphanage…
******
“Even if you ask me that…” The girl I was talking to replied.
She looked like a fairly ordinary girl. Long blond hair and blue eyes that made her look fairly plain, though at closer look, one may feel like her appearance is a bit too tidy.
She feels like the kind of person that had a good upbringing, but… There are no people with a good background in this city, so I’m sure this girl had her own share of issues.
Her height was about average for her age too, so she was fairly unremarkable, overall.
The thing that most distinctive about her, were her glasses.
This girl didn’t look strong… Though well, that’s expected for someone who lives in the orphanage.
However, she is at least someone whose personality is good enough to be accepted by the old man who runs this orphanage. This much was plenty.
“I just don’t see how there is anything I can do to stop a girl who has been rampaging.” The girl told me.
It was midnight already.
Plenty of people act under the cover of darkness in this city. It’s a dangerous time. It’s not uncommon to be attacked by scoundrels at this hour.
We were talking at the alley right in front of the orphanage. A place where moonlight is faint. A place that doesn’t let us know who is lurking in the darkness around us.
It’s surely strange for this girl to come here so easily, at this hour, just because I called for her.
At least to me, who was born and raised in this city, this is a very strange sight.
I’m sure of it. This girl is not as ‘normal’ as she appears to be.
“But you know her, right? She’s a taboo child with a strong accent. I saw you cooking with her the other day.” I told the girl.
“Oh, I see?” The girl smiled wryly, “But if she’s rampaging, then she must have a good reason. I don’t see why I should try stopping her.”
“If that girl encounters Zett, she might be killed.” I told her.
The girl’s smile disappeared.
“If that was the case, then you would have no reason to come here.” The girl calmly said, “You asked me to go stop her. That was your request.
“But that request would only make sense if you had a reason to not want her to die.
“And you do not have that. You wouldn’t care if that girl died, would you?
“And yet, you came here to call me anyways.
“There’s a reason why you want me to stop her, but that reason does not align with my interests, does it?”
This time, I was the one who smiled wryly, “Ah… You’re sharp.
“You’re correct. I’m in a bit of trouble here.”
I stuck my hand on the pocket of my favorite coat.
“Does that matter to me?” The girl asked me.
“Alright, listen. I’ll tell you the truth then-
“W-wait! Hold on! Listen!” I told the girl as she turned around to leave.
“I’m sleepy.” She replied.
“I’m begging you here, please. It’s important for us both!” I told her.
This girl is harder to deal with than I had expected…
Still, I cannot risk having that red-eyed girl cause any more damage to our group, and especially not to Zett.
So, I’ll speak honestly.
“I want to stop the red-eyed girl and Zett from meeting one another.” I told her.
And hopefully it’s not too late already.
******
“The main issue is that Zett doesn’t kill people without a reason.” I told the girl.
The taboo child said that it was time for punishment as she appeared in our rendezvous point.
We had just finished our robbery and she started attacking the members of our team one after the other.
At first, we didn’t take her seriously due to her small stature, but this quickly changed once we saw her extraordinary strength.
Our members started throwing anything they could at her. It didn’t matter if it was a pebble or a treasure, they just tried stopping her with what they had.
However, she punched and kicked anything that was thrown her way, and quickly started beating up our team members.
And the main problem, was that she had no malice or murderous intent behind her attacks.
Even though she was going on such a rampage, I could easily tell that she was holding back.
She didn’t kill anybody.
She didn’t land serious wounds on anybody either.
She did not want to kill or cripple any of us.
It truly seemed like she came to us for the sake of some kind of punishment.
And that’s why this is bad.
“Zett is very sensitive to hostility and murderous intent. He acts in accordance to the emotions of the opposing party.
“To put it simply, he will only kill somebody who came to kill him.
“Don’t kill somebody you don’t have to kill. That’s the principle he abides to.
“Even if he is cornered, Zett knows that he’ll surely regret it if he ends up killing that taboo child, for she did not come with any killing intent.” I explained to the girl.
That red-eyed girl is unusually strong.
I don’t think Zett can win if he doesn’t get serious.
However, Zett can only get serious if he aims to kill his enemy.
I may be aware of how strong Zett is, but I am unsure of how powerful that taboo child really is.
I don’t know who will win if both fight seriously.
But I’m sure that one of them will die if it comes to that. That’s what happens when the strong fight.
In other words, it’s possible that Zett may die from encountering the taboo child… I cannot take this risk.
So, I came to this girl to eliminate the risk.
“If possible, please stop her before she and Zett meet-“ I started telling her.
“Didn’t you consider this possibility?” The girl cut me off and smiled, “The possibility that I might team up with the girl to kill Zett?
“Why did you come to me while assuming you’d be able to return home safely?
“You know that me and her know each other.
“In that case, shouldn’t you have considered that I may be her ally?”
There was no hostility. No malice. No murderous intent. No pressure.
However, I still involuntarily took a step back from this smiling girl… I had suddenly been filled with a sense of unfathomable fear.
The girl took a step forward, closing the distance by the same amount that I had increased it by.
Her glasses glistened as they reflected the faint moonlight.
The girl opened her mouth again, “That girl said she was going to apply a punishment, was it?
“Well, what I’m thinking is more along the lines of… ‘Should I kill this guy?’”
Chapter 151 – At that night – part two
(Code’s Point of View)
“That’s why I want you to come.” I told her.
I had just arrived at the orphanage in the slums. Hopefully before Zett encounters the red-eyed girl.
The orphanage is very unusual for a building in this area, for it is not only quite large, but is also made of solid stone.
It’s a place with a lot of history behind it.
Essentially, it was founded and ran by adults who preyed on children, so many children ended up disappearing after coming here.
However, even in this lawless country, people can still be driven by righteous indignation.
Every time a horrible person became the one in charge of the orphanage, somebody ended up crushing the villain.
And so, this splendid building kept on being in use.
After all, it’s extremely important to have an orphanage here. This city is filled with many children who have nowhere else to go.
Therefore, a place like this is absolutely necessary.
However, there are many scoundrels who roam this area.
People who steal from the weak to give it to the strong… Many small villains of Krozheit do this kind of thing.
Which is why we sometimes had orphanage owners who protected the weak children, and other times had owners who targeted the weak children.
This kind of thing led to the management changing often.
The current manager is an old man who is rumored to be a soldier who was exiled from his country. He has been in charge of this orphanage for about ten years, and he has been running it like one should.
Ten years is a long time.
This alone makes it clear that this old man is not somebody who can be taken lightly.
And recently, a certain person started living in this orphanage…
******
“Even if you ask me that…” The girl I was talking to replied.
She looked like a fairly ordinary girl. Long blond hair and blue eyes that made her look fairly plain, though at closer look, one may feel like her appearance is a bit too tidy.
She feels like the kind of person that had a good upbringing, but… There are no people with a good background in this city, so I’m sure this girl had her own share of issues.
Her height was about average for her age too, so she was fairly unremarkable, overall.
The thing that most distinctive about her, were her glasses.
This girl didn’t look strong… Though well, that’s expected for someone who lives in the orphanage.
However, she is at least someone whose personality is good enough to be accepted by the old man who runs this orphanage. This much was plenty.
“I just don’t see how there is anything I can do to stop a girl who has been rampaging.” The girl told me.
It was midnight already.
Plenty of people act under the cover of darkness in this city. It’s a dangerous time. It’s not uncommon to be attacked by scoundrels at this hour.
We were talking at the alley right in front of the orphanage. A place where moonlight is faint. A place that doesn’t let us know who is lurking in the darkness around us.
It’s surely strange for this girl to come here so easily, at this hour, just because I called for her.
At least to me, who was born and raised in this city, this is a very strange sight.
I’m sure of it. This girl is not as ‘normal’ as she appears to be.
“But you know her, right? She’s a taboo child with a strong accent. I saw you cooking with her the other day.” I told the girl.
“Oh, I see?” The girl smiled wryly, “But if she’s rampaging, then she must have a good reason. I don’t see why I should try stopping her.”
“If that girl encounters Zett, she might be killed.” I told her.
The girl’s smile disappeared.
“If that was the case, then you would have no reason to come here.” The girl calmly said, “You asked me to go stop her. That was your request.
“But that request would only make sense if you had a reason to not want her to die.
“And you do not have that. You wouldn’t care if that girl died, would you?
“And yet, you came here to call me anyways.
“There’s a reason why you want me to stop her, but that reason does not align with my interests, does it?”
This time, I was the one who smiled wryly, “Ah… You’re sharp.
“You’re correct. I’m in a bit of trouble here.”
I stuck my hand on the pocket of my favorite coat.
“Does that matter to me?” The girl asked me.
“Alright, listen. I’ll tell you the truth then-
“W-wait! Hold on! Listen!” I told the girl as she turned around to leave.
“I’m sleepy.” She replied.
“I’m begging you here, please. It’s important for us both!” I told her.
This girl is harder to deal with than I had expected…
Still, I cannot risk having that red-eyed girl cause any more damage to our group, and especially not to Zett.
So, I’ll speak honestly.
“I want to stop the red-eyed girl and Zett from meeting one another.” I told her.
And hopefully it’s not too late already.
******
“The main issue is that Zett doesn’t kill people without a reason.” I told the girl.
The taboo child said that it was time for punishment as she appeared in our rendezvous point.
We had just finished our robbery and she started attacking the members of our team one after the other.
At first, we didn’t take her seriously due to her small stature, but this quickly changed once we saw her extraordinary strength.
Our members started throwing anything they could at her. It didn’t matter if it was a pebble or a treasure, they just tried stopping her with what they had.
However, she punched and kicked anything that was thrown her way, and quickly started beating up our team members.
And the main problem, was that she had no malice or murderous intent behind her attacks.
Even though she was going on such a rampage, I could easily tell that she was holding back.
She didn’t kill anybody.
She didn’t land serious wounds on anybody either.
She did not want to kill or cripple any of us.
It truly seemed like she came to us for the sake of some kind of punishment.
And that’s why this is bad.
“Zett is very sensitive to hostility and murderous intent. He acts in accordance to the emotions of the opposing party.
“To put it simply, he will only kill somebody who came to kill him.
“Don’t kill somebody you don’t have to kill. That’s the principle he abides to.
“Even if he is cornered, Zett knows that he’ll surely regret it if he ends up killing that taboo child, for she did not come with any killing intent.” I explained to the girl.
That red-eyed girl is unusually strong.
I don’t think Zett can win if he doesn’t get serious.
However, Zett can only get serious if he aims to kill his enemy.
I may be aware of how strong Zett is, but I am unsure of how powerful that taboo child really is.
I don’t know who will win if both fight seriously.
But I’m sure that one of them will die if it comes to that. That’s what happens when the strong fight.
In other words, it’s possible that Zett may die from encountering the taboo child… I cannot take this risk.
So, I came to this girl to eliminate the risk.
“If possible, please stop her before she and Zett meet-“ I started telling her.
“Didn’t you consider this possibility?” The girl cut me off and smiled, “The possibility that I might team up with the girl to kill Zett?
“Why did you come to me while assuming you’d be able to return home safely?
“You know that me and her know each other.
“In that case, shouldn’t you have considered that I may be her ally?”
There was no hostility. No malice. No murderous intent. No pressure.
However, I still involuntarily took a step back from this smiling girl… I had suddenly been filled with a sense of unfathomable fear.
The girl took a step forward, closing the distance by the same amount that I had increased it by.
Her glasses glistened as they reflected the faint moonlight.
The girl opened her mouth again, “That girl said she was going to apply a punishment, was it?
“Well, what I’m thinking is more along the lines of… ‘Should I kill this guy?’”
