Chapter 59: [Anyway, welcome to... a new "day"] 2?

"He is indeed a [Flame Chaser]."

"...I see."

Raiden Mei nodded and then walked into the deep sea.

Everyone's attention shifted to the observation window at the side, watching the blurry figure of Raiden Mei gradually approaching him.

Gulu——

Some bubbles floated up and soon disappeared. The heavy water pressure of the deep sea was oppressing her body, but... fortunately, the body of the Herrscher allowed Raiden Mei to resist enough.

Continued to move forward and get closer to him, when the distance was close enough... the pink crystal flower in his arms bloomed with a stronger light, and Raiden Mei also sensed it—it came from her power.

She did not resist but let the water carry her away, and her spirit followed the pink light, continuing to move forward under its guidance. In the blink of an eye, she arrived at another space.

The sky here was light pink, and from time to time, some pink and white petals fell. Judging from the fragrance, they seemed to be cherry blossoms and lilies... Under her feet was the endless ocean, as calm as a mirror, without the slightest ripples.

Other than that, there were only... candy wrappers scattered everywhere.

There were candy wrappers everywhere, leaving Raiden Mei with almost no place to stand. She could only step on the numerous candy wrappers and move forward following the mysterious induction.

After a while, a faint sweet smell rushed into her nose, and Raiden Mei also saw him.

"…Sakura? Elysia?"

He seemed to have eaten another candy, threw the candy wrapper aside, turned around, and looked at the person who came with his almost blurred golden pupils.

"…I'm sorry, I'm not them."

"Ah... it's you... [Herrscher]..."

Nozomi shook his head and spoke softly.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't fully conscious... You smell like them, I'm sorry I mistook you for the wrong person."

"...Your attitude is a little different from what I expected."

"Why? You prefer my attitude in [Elysian Realm]?"

"That's not the case..."

"That's it."

Nozomi's pupils became a little more solid, and his speech became much clearer.

"...Since you are here, it means Kevin and the others are ready to attack me."

"That's not bad, and... at least your current situation can prove that you, the new generation... have not let down Elysia."

"You too, Mr. Nozomi... No, you are the [Flame Chaser] who holds the name of [Revelation]."

"...I said I don't like this title, and... how can a being who uses the code name of [Herrscher] to be called [Heroic] be worthy of being called a [Flame Chaser] of mankind?"

"But your persistence and acquiescence have indeed allowed our civilization to continue to this day. This is an indisputable fact."

Raiden Mei said seriously.

"We are all very grateful to you, including Kevin and Vill-V. It is your persistence that delayed the end of the world. It is your acquiescence that allowed Miss Vill-V's research to proceed smoothly, and finally led to this situation."

"Humph, you talk nicely, but in the end, won't you still attack me?"

"..."

"Alright... you've been talking too much nonsense, Herrscher."

Nozomi lowered his eyes slightly, and with a wave of his hand, the azure blue water quietly surged, bringing a dark and strange sword into his hand.

"Be prepared, people of the new generation, Herrschers."

Tick-tock.

It's the sound of raindrops falling.

He placed the sword against his shoulder, and the blade lightly touched the broken [ring pattern] on his neck, which had faded to the point of almost disappearing.

He smiled as if relieved, as if crazy, but more... relaxed and expectant.

"The Hunt is about to begin."

Snap——

The [Ring Mark] on his neck... completely shattered and disappeared.

He also swung his sword and cut off his head, letting his body fall down, letting the dark blue "blood" flow, letting the water... carry his remaining body into the abyss.

In a trance, Raiden Mei returned to the lightless deep sea.

Looking closely, she found that his originally closed eyelids were trembling slightly, and his folded wings showed signs of opening. Even the surrounding seawater began to rejoice, exuding a distinct emotion called happiness.

He is waking up.

Raiden Mei didn't care about anything else and quickly returned to the cabin, but before they could take any further action, the entire ocean began to riot, driving them to "swim" upwards together.

Tick-tock.

The sky was still clear, but the rain fell silently, and on the surface of the planet, azure "lines" quietly appeared and covered.

Woo——woo——

The trumpets sounded one after another, and in a moment the number reached seven.

The seawater rose, the rain fell, the pure white wings spread out along the holy light, the [Ring] that showed the identity appeared above the head, the refreshing fragrance of lilies filled the air, and countless Honkai beasts celebrated to their heart's content.

At this moment, he stood on the calm sea, slowly and gently flapped his wings, and flew into the air.

The golden, star-like pupils opened, distracted and lifeless.

With a casual move, the dark, strange sword was carried by the flowing water and fell into his hands.

The air became humid, and the flowing wind was also carrying the unique smell of seawater.

"..."

He shifted his gaze to look at the people who were already prepared, and raised his hand to summon huge waves and Honkai beasts as numerous as the sea.

Come on, let's start the final...[hunt]!

......

......

Then, [time] stopped here.

————————

[So... are you satisfied with the ending this time?]

"Are you kidding me? How can I be satisfied?!"

[In that case... then continue until you reach the ending you expect and that you are satisfied with]

[As for this unsatisfactory story... let's leave it for now]

Thus, the stagnant [time] began to flow... [time] was still moving forward, but all existing things were moving backward as if played in reverse, everything was moving towards a [reference point], tracing back towards it.

However, during this process, bits of starlight gradually appeared, and then were peeled off, turning into a piece of paper covered with unique words, and then... silently sank into his body.

[Entry: Record, effective]

[Anyway, welcome to... a new "day"]

Chapter 1: Anyway, welcome to the start of a new "day" 

[Ending: The trumpet of the apocalypse has been achieved]

————————

rustle...

It seemed to be the sound of turning pages, but this time the speed was a little faster as if the "story" that was just read was boring and made people want to turn the page quickly.

"Puff…cough cough cough…"

The strong urge to vomit and the feeling that his head was about to explode due to the numerous memories made Nozomi lie down on the side and retch. It took him a long rest to adjust his state.

"Wha…what was that? I'm back?"

After carefully checking himself, he found that his body was still that of a child, with no scars or special marks on his body, and he didn't seem to have any special sensitivity to water...

"Okay, okay, I'm fine."

Nozomi huddled into a corner with lingering fear and began to adjust his breathing and calm himself.

"What was that just now? Did I live my whole life again? Or did the memories of a parallel world come to me? No, no, no... I should have walked out, but I have no recollection of what happened after I walked out... So it really is a [Life Simulator]? And I came to the [Honkai] world, right... Or the pre-civilization... It's really terrible."

Nozomi put his hand on his lips, curled up his body, stared straight ahead with a frown, and whispered quickly to himself to ease his mood.

"How did I become the Herrscher of the End... What is this... Wasn't the previous simulation too bad?"

Having said that, Nozomi paused for a moment.

"It's a simulation...right?"

If that really happened...that's too bad, how could I become like that?!

"No, no, no...it's a simulation. Just treat it as a simulation. After all, I'm back now, which means nothing happened!"

With a casual pull, he checked this [plug-in] that belonged to him again and confirmed the format.

"Yes, that's right! According to this layout style, it must be [Life Simulator]! That's right!"

Nozomi convinced himself this.

"But this ending is too bad... [The Trumpet of Revelation], so it's the trumpet of doom, right? And [Gabriel]... It's destined that [Gabriel] will blow the trumpet of doom, right?"

Nozomi looked at the last line on the [Event Board] that represented [Ending] and was speechless for a moment.

"Also... the [Record] entry is working normally, but the other one... is still not working."

Nozomi thought for a while and then noticed that something seemed to pop up on the [Event Board] again... It seemed to be... [Achievements]?

......

[In this future, you have achieved the following]

[Wait and have hope]: You have not been defeated by suffering, and no amount of pain can overwhelm your spirit... Keep waiting with hope, and salvation will surely come.

[Abandoning "Hope"]: You abandoned your original name, because that "hope" was destroyed and shattered, and the original salvation... you no longer need it.

[Poison Pupa Signboard]: You joined a killer organization called [Poison Pupa] and became its "golden signboard", helping [Poison Pupa] to expand and transform.

[Fire Moth]: You joined the [Fire Moth] and became an excellent warrior.

[Flame Chaser (Ranked Fourteenth)]: You became a fusion warrior and one of the [Flame Chasers] who survived to the end. At your own request, you were ranked [Fourteenth].

[Mutual Love]: The person you like also likes you.

[Three Makes a Triangle]: Triangles are stable, is this also true in love?

[Love Ears]: You really like their ears... Is this some new XP?

[Child of the Ocean]: You become a child recognized and loved by the "Ocean".

[Skadi]: You met a special killer whale Honkai beast and named her "Skadi".

[Eat me, my "blood relative"]: Your "blood relative" has merged with you and has become your strength.

[Your color? I like...]: You and Griseo are very close.

[One Person's Cage]: The entire "Deepest Place" is used to imprison you alone.

[Discipline is useless]: Aponia has never and cannot impose [Discipline] on you.

[Withered Cherry Blossom]: Witness the deaths of Sakura and Rin, and bury them.

[Rubbish's Attachment]: Elysia likes you and has always liked you. It's a pity that she "loves" humans.

[Apostle of Honkai (End)]: You were chosen by Honkai and became the [Herrscher] who destroyed civilization.

[World-destroying flood]: You brought about a devastating flood that destroyed civilization.

[Horn of Doom]: You have demonstrated the true power of "Gabriel" and initiated the [Final Judgment].

[A promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold]: You kept your promise to them.

[Regret]: There are too many things you cannot change.

[Persist until hope comes]: Until the last moment, you are still maintaining your existence, just because you promised her - you must persist, will... persist, persist, hope will always come.

......

"Hmm... a brief summary of this simulation? not bad..."

Nozomi evaluated himself like this, but... his gaze stayed on the achievement of [Regret] for a long time.

"...Sure enough, it's not good at all."

Too many things could not be changed, and the final [ending] was not much better, it could even be said to be worse... As expected, this simulation was a failure.

"Let's see what we can gain this time... I remember that the [Record] entry can be transformed..."

Scrolling down further, Nozomi saw several new entries:

[Final Herrscher] (Gold): You were chosen by Honkai and became the [Herrscher] who ultimately destroyed civilization.

Effect: The adaptability of Honkai energy is greatly improved, and the probability of becoming a [Herrscher] is increased. At the same time, if you become a [Herrscher], the probability of becoming the [Final Herrscher] is greatly increased.

"..., so as long as I become a Herrscher, it will definitely be the End, right?"

Nozomi's mouth twitched slightly. The first new entry at the beginning gave him quite a shock... To be honest, the power controlled after becoming a [Herrscher] is indeed very tempting, but... the [Herrscher] of the previous civilization has no way to maintain self-awareness, and there is a high probability that he will become the [End]... It will not be fun if he directly becomes part of the program to destroy civilization.

And to be honest, Nozomi still cherishes his identity as a human being...

However, the following entry made him put this worry aside.

[Flower of Humanity] (Purple): As someone who has always insisted on being a "human", even if you gave up in the end, your persistence is worthy of recognition... and as someone who is liked and loved by that [Herrscher], you have also received her great care.

Effect: When becoming a [Herrscher/Honkai Creature/Honkai-like Creature], there is a certain probability that you will retain your own consciousness, a small probability that you will retain control over yourself, and an extremely small probability that you will be immune to the interference of Honkai.

"If I hadn't given up in the end... would this thing be golden? Maybe it would be immune to the interference of Honkai?"

Nozomi muttered to himself half-jokingly and then thought about the situation at that time... Forget it, there is no point in saying all this. After all, according to the situation at that time, he would definitely be willing to become a [Herrscher], so as to avoid listening to others nagging about "for the sake of humanity".

As for the final result... although it was terrible, Nozomi did not regret it, because regret was useless, the [ending] had already appeared, and all he could do now was to make his [next time] better.

And the next entry... is a bit interesting.

[Blessing of Flowing Water/Ocean] (Blue/Purple): As a child favored by the ocean, you have gained favor and blessings from the ocean (special effects will occur under special circumstances).

Effect: The creatures in the ocean will subconsciously feel close to you and become docile when approaching you. Correspondingly, you will prefer places and weather related to water. / After contacting and returning to the "ocean", the adaptability of Honkai energy is greatly improved, and the probability of becoming a [Herrscher] is greatly increased.

"...?"

Nozomi tilted his head in confusion.

"So this is a stable path for me to become the Herrscher of the End, right? If I feel unhappy, I can just embrace the Ocean, transform into the Herrscher, blow the horn of doom, and destroy the world with a flood to quickly achieve the End, right?"

"Do I have to gamble on the probability of the [Flower of Humanity] entry in the end? If it doesn't work, I'll just [End] and continue to gamble on the probability in the next round, right? I'm so unlucky, can I please not do this kind of probability thing..."

Nozomi, who was very aware of his luck, sighed, but this was not something he could choose, the entries had already been fixed... On the bright side, he could at least [speedrun and restart], right?

As for the last entry, it made Nozomi silent.

[Blood Relative (Orca/Skadi)] (Blue): Due to some accidents, a killer whale Honkai beast recognized you as her "blood relative".

Effect: Creatures like killer whales will have a natural sense of closeness to you, and may even treat you as a special "kindred spirit". At the same time, a killer whale who can be called "Skadi" will have a great liking for you.

"...sigh."

Nozomi sighed, not knowing what to say.

'Skadi is very cute... Skadi likes me very much... So she left all her power to me, and even turned into an [entry] to follow me... What else can I say? Right?'

"However, this is a breakthrough point..."

Nozomi thought about it, and forced himself to shift his thoughts away from the sadness.

"I can retrieve the name [Skadi]... which means my memory should still exist in the simulation, but it's very weak. Well... from the process of the priest taking me away and the process of looking for the police, I can see that in the simulation, apart from some basic knowledge, I still have some impressions of myself... This is good news."

At least it means that I don't have to maintain that "ignorant" attitude every time I face the simulation. I just need to find a way to leave an "impression" on myself...

Almost subconsciously, Nozomi pulled the light screen down to the [recording board] and began to write down what he had just discovered and some speculations.

First, there was the [page turning] sound when he woke up. Obviously, that was a sign of going back to this moment... So was there a simulation before this one? He just didn't remember it?

Secondly, it is about the use of new entries... Although there is now a quick-pass gambling route for [Final Herrscher] consisting of [Blessing of Flowing Water/Ocean], and [Flower of Humanity], this method should be regarded as the ultimate guarantee... He still cherishes his identity as a human being.

And most importantly, after entering the simulation, he probably didn't remember what his entries were, and could only rely on the experience in the simulation to trigger them naturally... It was very likely that he wouldn't achieve the desired effect, especially the specially marked [Ocean], which obviously required special conditions to trigger, should it be after the [Gabriel] crusade? In short, there should be prerequisites.

In addition, [Speed ​​Run Restart] may reduce your chances of obtaining new entries. If it goes on for a long time, you may be stuck on this gambling route. With your luck... forget it. It is better to lower the priority of this speed run method.

But... you can try it once.

Then there's that church... Tsk, that priest is so disgusting, I have to find a way to get rid of him... It just so happens that I can use him for experiments.

"Since this is an experiment... then let's make the first impression [Kill the Priest]."

Nozomi was thinking.

Maybe because of the influence of the first simulation, he has no reaction to the act of killing... Tsk, he was a good law-abiding boy before, how come he became like this in the blink of an eye?

Nozomi curled his lips, feeling a little helpless about his current attitude, but not very disgusted, as if he had already accepted it.

"…That's a simulation, yeah, that's a simulation."

Nozomi emphasized this to himself again and continued to think.

As long as the impression of "killing the priest" is deepened and it can be implemented correctly in this simulation, then maybe this method can be used to leave the memory you want in the future... the follow-up of this simulation may be the same as the previous one.

After all, [killing the priest] will bring revenge from [those guys], and I will most likely return to [Poison Pupa] later. In this case... I should be able to meet Sakura again.

"..."

Xiwang subconsciously touched the corner of his mouth... that was the place Sakura had kissed.

Although the process of meeting and falling in love was strange, but... the feelings were real... well, although it was only in simulation.

After that, you should be able to come into contact with the mutated [Ocean] after the "Gabriel" subjugation war, and then directly transform into [Final Herrscher] and directly reach [Ending] to achieve a speedrun... Well, very good, it's enough for an attempt.

Xiwang habitually erased everything written on the [recording board], then stood up and walked towards the exit illuminated by light.

Anyway, anyway...

[Welcome to a new day]

The beginning of Chapter 2 [Story] has changed slightly

[The priest who was about to go home met you and saw you standing at the entrance of the alley in confusion. He came forward enthusiastically to help you.]

[For some reason, facing the kind and enthusiastic priest, you have an inexplicable disgust, and your eyes linger on his neck, heart, and other fatal places... You have a feeling that if you cut and penetrate them, the priest in front of you will die.]

[You don't understand why you know all this, and for a moment you feel confused about your bad attitude, especially when the priest is particularly friendly to you. This inexplicable disgust makes you feel strange... But facing the priest who keeps showing kindness, you believe him for the time being... Well, you only trust him a little bit.]

[After all, you are hungry, you need food, you need clothes to keep you warm, and you need a place to rest, and he happens to have all these things.]

[You followed him, but did not agree to let him touch you. You just followed him from a distance... Although the inexplicable disgust made you feel strange, you still decided to trust your feelings.]

[The priest brought you to the church. The children enthusiastically surrounded you and asked you many questions out of curiosity... Here, you got food, clothes, a bed to rest, and even many friends. It seems that there is nothing wrong.]

[But you still feel inexplicably flustered and terrified, and of course more of it is... anger, an extremely clear anger directed at the priest.]

[The priest treated you very kindly, and even took you to the police station the next day to help you find your relatives... But this action made you hate him even more, and you even had a very disgusting feeling towards this police station, as if it was a place you hated very much.]

[The priest noticed your emotion and began to comfort you... His tone was very gentle, and even his words revealed a sense of "experience"]

[Your eyes begin to wander around his abdomen, and thoughts of ripping him open keep popping up in your mind... You feel yourself getting weirder and weirder... But you don't seem to mind, and you're even eager to try.]

[The priest began to be a little afraid of you because he sensed that you wanted to kill him... That cold, eager look in your eyes made his hair stand on end. No matter how he tried to comfort you, your attitude towards him remained the same, and the look in your eyes when you looked at him never changed. This made him plan to "imprison" you.]

[However, tying you up and throwing you into the room without any reason is really not in line with his own way of doing things, and doing so will also destroy his image in the eyes of other "good kids", so he does not intend to do anything to you directly.]

[But... just because he can't do anything to you directly doesn't mean he can't guide you. With just a few small hints and a little push on some things, you will soon become the "bad kid" among the kids. In this way, other kids won't care where you, the "bad kid", go... He's already very skilled in this area.]

[But this time he seems to have met his match... When he wants to find you, you often "hide" and run back and forth between several places, or "play", so that he can't catch you. His idea of turning you into a "bad boy" is also difficult to achieve, which makes him somewhat irritated.]

[But fortunately, he finally found an opportunity]

————————

Tick-tock

The rain fell gently to the ground, soaking the grass and adding a touch of dampness to the surroundings.

"Father, to be honest, your reasons are really bad."

Nozomi let the priest lead him and spoke indifferently.

"He said I was disobedient, often ran to the backyard to play, and often hid, which made people worry... This excuse is really bad."

"Don't look for a reason if you don't have one. You're a rotten person anyway."

"...Oh? I don't remember you being such a talkative kid."

The priest turned around with some curiosity, looked at him carefully, and asked kindly.

"Although I know you have a big prejudice against me... but you shouldn't be the kind of kid who talks nonsense, right? Did you hear anything from anyone? For example... those [bad kids]?"

"Don't always listen to them. They are all [bad kids] and always tell lies. You can't trust their words, okay?"

"It seems you are indeed doing something... Father."

Nozomi tilted his head, and the look in his eyes when he looked at him changed slightly, becoming more... colder.

"In fact, I am also very curious, why do I hate you so much... You clearly provide me with food, shelter, warm clothes, and are willing to take care of me and those children..."

"I heard that you have a [school] specially prepared for us to study... You are very good to us, but why... I still hate you."

"Maybe it's because you're a bad kid."

The priest's body suddenly trembled, and he had an inexplicable illusion that he was being stared at by something very scary... Yes, it was like being stared at by some kind of predator.

But he quickly calmed down, without showing any cowardice on his face. He just stood up calmly and walked towards the warehouse in the backyard with an umbrella.

But Nozomi knew that his heart was definitely not as calm as he appeared... He held the rope tighter and pulled it hard when he was leading himself away as if he was venting something.

'Ha... it's funny that I'm afraid of a little kid '- that's probably what he thought.

"Father, won't you shelter me from the rain? I'll get sick if I get wet."

Nozomi tilted his head and continued speaking in a natural tone as if he didn't know what he would face next.

"That's what you said, huh? If you get sick from the rain, you'll become a bad kid."

"...Yes, but that's only for the [good kids]. For you, who is already a [bad kid], getting wet in the rain is the most normal thing."

The priest walked in front holding an umbrella and spoke without turning his head.

"…Really? That doesn't matter."

Nozomi looked up at the night sky covered by rain clouds, closed his eyes slightly, and carefully felt the water drops dripping on his body. The slightly cool temperature made him feel comfortable. Although the atmosphere was a bit humid, he felt particularly fond of it... as if he should be a [fish] staying in the water, rather than a [person] walking on the ground.

————————

[Entry: Blessing of the Water/Ocean (Blue), has taken effect]

You become more fond of water-related places and weather

————————

"Actually, I like rainy days. It's okay to get wet."

Nozomi opened his eyes again and moved his gaze to the priest in front of him, but... there seemed to be something extra in his dark pupils.

A hint of gold appeared in the dark pupils, like the shining stars in the night sky. The outer circle of the pupils was covered with a layer of light scarlet, which made people feel weird and even more frightening.

"..."

The priest walking in front trembled slightly again. The fleeting sense of crisis made him quicken his pace, but soon his emotions were replaced by anger and irritation.

'What's going on, this kid... why is he so troublesome?!' He thought so.

'After I deal with him, I will make him pay me back a thousand times, ten thousand times!' - He decided.

So he impatiently turned on the power of the warehouse, took out the key, and prepared to open the door of the warehouse... In this process, because he had to hold the rope that bound Nozomi with one hand and hold an umbrella with the other hand, coupled with the dim rainy night, he seemed a little flustered, and many cold raindrops fell on his hands and wet his sleeves... And this cold feeling made him even more impatient, and his movements became more and more chaotic.

"Do you need any help, Father?"

Nozomi's voice floated faintly from behind him, gentle and cool, like a quietly flowing stream.

"Shut up, I don't need it."

Somehow, the priest growled in annoyance, not at all as relaxed as usual, and the gentle expression on his face turned ferocious without him noticing... and he didn't notice it yet.

'Damn it... Why is it so cold? What's wrong with this rainy day? And this humid air is so annoying.'

The priest's mind became more and more agitated. He didn't know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that the surroundings were getting colder and colder, and more and more humid... This made his movements more chaotic and his heart more anxious.

Click——

It was the sound of the door lock opening.

"sigh..."

For some reason, the priest breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had solved something extremely troublesome. He walked inside and pulled the rope, trying to drag Nozomi in as well.

Then he found... he seemed unable to drag the child anymore. The well-behaved child, the child who didn't seem to care even after he tied his hands, and even followed him naturally... was actually resisting at this moment.

Is it because you realize that something bad is going to happen to you? But unfortunately, now that you are here, nothing can be decided by you!

"Come over!"

He pulled the rope hard, trying to drag Nozomi in by force. At the same time, he turned around and wanted to teach this "bad boy" a lesson... The disobedient "bad boy" must be punished and disciplined. Isn't this a matter of course?

But what followed was a cold and wet little figure that quickly threw itself into his arms, and... a stinging pain from his neck.

"Hmm…Pfft…"

His body was knocked down, his throat was pierced, and his mouth was covered, so the priest could only make meaningless humming sounds.

The body twisted and the limbs twisted and struggled in pain.

He grabbed the small figure that had become cold and wet due to the rain with both hands and tried to push him away forcefully, but soon, accompanied by a sharp pain, his hands dropped weakly.

He kept kicking the ground with his legs, trying to move his body and get away from the terrifying figure, but soon his legs could no longer move.

And Nozomi did all this just by using a small table knife hidden in his sleeve.

Accurate and fast, without any deviation, it doesn't look like a child at all.

What's going on? This kid... Is this kid a killer? Is it the higher-ups who want to deal with me? Impossible! I didn't do anything!

The priest opened his eyes wide, full of confusion, as if asking Nozomi - why did he do this?

"...Actually, I'm also confused as to why I hate you so much."

Nozomi tilted his head and muttered to himself in a puzzled tone.

"It was the same when I was at the police station before... In my impression, the police station should be a reassuring place, but... I don't know why, when you took me there, I just felt... disgusting and disgusted."

"Father, you are such a kind person. You give me food, clothes, and shelter... but I just hate you. I don't know why."

"But...from some of the things that were discovered later..."

Nozomi slowly let go of his hand, looked at the corpse whose pupils were dilated, had stopped breathing, and whose body was no longer moving, then he slowly stood up and talked to himself.

"You really are a rotten person... Well, as expected, I should hate you."

He walked out of the door, sat down against the door in the drizzling rain, and let the cold rain fall on his body.

He lowered his head, looked at the knife whose bloodstains were being washed away by the rain, and looked at the blood on his body that was gradually spreading due to the water. Nozomi was speechless for a moment.

"I always feel like I'm... pretty skilled?"

He knows how to kill with one blow, how to quickly cut the tendons in people's hands and feet... and has no aversion to such evil acts as killing.

Even before the priest came to find him and restrained him, he had a premonition and secretly ran to the kitchen to take out a table knife. Then, taking advantage of the rainy day and the drop in temperature, he changed into long-sleeved clothes and hid the knife in his sleeves... He was even able to hide it skillfully so that the priest would not find it.

As if all this was an easy thing for him.

"I... am indeed a born 'bad boy'."

Nozomi murmured softly, but surprisingly... he didn't resist, even though he knew it was bad and wrong.

But...whatever, I just hate him anyway.

As for dealing with corpses... I don't really want to do it, so let it be.

Nozomi stretched out his hand casually, letting the rain gather in his hands and then flow through his fingers.

"…I'm a little hungry."

Nozomi whispered to himself and looked at the night sky again. The rain clouds were still piling up and showed no signs of dispersing... Maybe it will rain until morning, Nozomi judged subconsciously, and then stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

Squeak——

There was a tooth-grinding sound of a door opening. He pressed the switch, and the warm light in the kitchen came on. He stepped into the warm and dry room, glanced around, and then walked to the refrigerator, took out some leftovers and bread, and began to eat slowly.

Well, no need to heat it up, it's good just chilled.

"...Aren't you going to come out to eat with me? You're still here late at night, you must be here to steal some food."

The quiet environment lasted for a short while before Nozomi spoke softly, as if talking to himself.

"..."

No one responded, but one could faintly hear the breathing becoming somewhat rapid and tense.

Nozomi said nothing, but just quietly heated up the food and let the aroma spread.

"Glup——"

The sound of swallowing saliva could be heard. After a while, a boy who was also small and even thin came out from his hiding place and came to Nozomi.

"Oh... it's you, Light one of the 'Bad kids', right?"

(TL: I forgot this kid name 'Wright'? or Wlight'? I don't know let's go to the 'Light')

Nozomi glanced at him and quickly recognized him with his excellent memory, and then pushed the hot food in front of him.

"You are good at using your identity as a 'bad kid'. After all, you are a 'bad boy', so it's okay for you to steal food... But you can eat whatever you want this time, and you can blame me for the rest."

After saying that, Nozomi started eating bread with milk, his eyes fixed on the dark rainy night outside as if in a daze.

"Well... that... you... you..."

Wright looked at the bloodstains on Nozomi's clothes and didn't know what to say for a moment.

"If you want to know where the priest is, I can only tell you that he is dead."

"You...you did it?"

"Any questions?"

"Why?"

"I hate him, and...he's just a rotten person."

Nozomi took another bite of bread, glanced at him, and then said.

"I don't know what he wants to do to me, but it's definitely not a good thing. Besides... you must have been bullied by him before. After all, you don't look like bad kids to me."

"...Um."

Light was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"That's fine. His death may be a good thing for you."

Nozomi shifted his gaze back to the rainy night outside, found the jar of rock sugar, took out a piece and put it in his mouth.

The sweet taste permeates the mouth, which is pleasant.

"Go back quickly after you finish eating. Don't think about anything. Have a good sleep. Don't say anything when you wake up tomorrow. You don't know anything."

"...Uh-huh."

Light nodded timidly, then began to eat slowly and carefully.

"..." x2

Silence permeated, leaving only the sound of rain outside.

With the sound of the fork and spoon touching the porcelain plate, Light finished the hot food, but he did not leave. Instead, he hesitated for a while and spoke again.

"Then... well... how about... you... leave."

"Um?"

"You... you are much better than us, so... even if you leave here, you should be able to live well... I can take the blame for killing the priest for you."

He paused for a moment, feeling the fragrance still lingering in his mouth and the warm feeling in his stomach, and he seemed to become more determined.

"In fact, we all want to kill him, but we...can't do it..."

"...Forget it, it looks like you can't do anything."

"I can do it!"

As if to prove himself, he ran out with the fork but soon came back with a pale face. Apart from some blood on the fork, there was no trace of anything on his body... and even the blood on the fork was quickly washed away by the rain.

"I'm...I'm sorry...please...just go away..."

He had a sad face and spoke to Nozomi while apologizing and begging.

"[They] will come… Go away… Please… You deserve better than us… You can live better than us… Please, go away…"

"Not necessary."

Nozomi sat on the table, swinging his legs, slowly stuffed another rock candy into himself, and spoke casually.

"you."

The strange three-colored eyes with dark color, a little gold, and a circle of scarlet glanced at Wright, and the tone became a little cold.

"Go back to sleep."

Light was a little frightened for a moment, his hands and feet were cold. He subconsciously obeyed Nozomi's words and left in a daze.

Here, it fell into silence again.

Tick-tock

The only sound was the raindrops falling outside.