Wounds That Never Heal

Time had passed too quickly, so quickly that Kyou Kai barely noticed. She could now admit that she cared little, as it seemed she had lost everything.

Everything happened so fast that she couldn't fully grasp it.

Kyou Kai was about to say something when Jun, standing beside her, said in his usual flat tone, "If you're going to feel bad about this, just remember it doesn't make sense. We can't change the past, so we just need to focus on the good things we learned for the future. I suppose your sister was a dear friend, and as your friend myself, I wouldn't want to see you in this state of regret."

"To be honest, you're right," Kyou Kai replied, extending a hand to control the puppet Jun had once given her for her birthday.

Jun leaned over to observe the puppet and asked, "Have you mastered it yet?"

"Hmm, I'd say I'm getting familiar with its functions," Kyou Kai said, recalling some things from the past.

At that moment, there wasn't much else she could occupy herself with other than to pass the time playing with Jun's ideas for future projects. As someone who had once come from a modern world, Jun found himself growing bored without the technology he had been practically addicted to.

"You could also work on your own ideas," he suggested.

"I'm different from you in many ways. I fought only for revenge and to become stronger. All my ideas are centered on killing; I never thought about creating toys for others to enjoy," Kyou Kai explained, wanting Jun to fully understand that change was difficult for some.

The harmony practiced by assassins in this world, or any other for that matter, was simply about adapting endlessly to others, never taking the initiative to find common ground or something that could harmonize with both parties.

True harmony involved a reciprocal act where both sides adapted to each other, but the harmony of assassins was always unilateral.

If the other party was friendly, they were friendly. If the other party was hostile, they were hostile.

Because of this mindset, current assassins had distanced themselves from everyone else, resulting in the stagnant "harmony" of the present.

Jun didn't feel the need to conform like the rest, since he seemed to appreciate going at his own pace without concerning himself with others.

"I'd never thought of it that way," Jun admitted, impressed by how Kyou Kai described assassins. "So, that means we should create a sanctuary where assassins can live until death."

Due to this mentality, assassins had disappeared from the world and now lived in isolation somewhere on this continent.

"I only have your friendship now, Jun. There's nothing closer to me than that... I would have gone mad if we hadn't spent these years together. That's the true feeling humans can share, regardless of whether we are assassins or not. You said it yourself—we are made for each other."

"I wouldn't go mad being alone. I think I'd even come to enjoy solitude."

Kyou Kai looked at Jun and said, "If that happened, you'd forget your motivations. You'd give your life over to idleness and never have had any purpose."

This was the feeling Kyou Kai had been harboring in her heart.

As she looked at the war and lived a different life, she began to see things more clearly.

Is it truly right to live as someone who takes lives?

At times, she felt like all her purposes were simply to keep moving forward, and she knew that if she left it all behind, she might live a life similar to what Jun had imagined when he first woke up in this world.

"Aren't you tired of my presence?"

Jun sat beside Kyou Kai, gazing at the graves they had made for their fallen allies. He said, "We don't spend all our time together, so I've never felt you were a bother."

"At what age do people usually get married?"

"I don't know, but I've never thought about marriage," Jun replied.

Kyou Kai smiled instinctively and said, "Maybe I'll want to be a mother someday."

"Are you still thinking about that?" Jun didn't catch the hint.

"Maybe. I wouldn't mind, but I'd have only one condition—that person must live a long time without getting into trouble and without war. I'm sure that would give my life more meaning." Kyou Kai stood up, deciding to set aside her frustrations for now.

"Now that you mention it, I've never imagined myself as a father. I wonder what it's like."

"Something beautiful, I'm sure. But you're definitely not ready for it."

Jun watched Kyou Kai's back as she walked away and thought she was right about that. She barely took care of herself, so the idea of having children wasn't something that particularly excited him.