Translated by: TaffyGirl13
Chapter 6: A single person getting drunk leads to everyone suffering
Southern Italy, in the southeast corner of Vatican City. Sanctification Court Headquarters.
“We’ve lost contact with Group C’s 17th Unit.” The intelligence team member checked the unit that appeared offline on the computer’s communication systems, and their expression fell. “I’m afraid this doesn’t bode well…”
Fidel, the command centre’s director, sat at the head seat of the conference hall, listened to his subordinate’s report with a grave face.
“The 46th occurrence.”
“Since mid-July, members from different parts of the world have suffered attacks from Yin beasts…”
The strategic forces captain checked his data and helplessly muttered, “They’re practically hunting us…”
“Refrain from demoralising words that have no benefit to the war, Reb,” Fidel coldly reprimanded.
A beep came from the computer as a new report was transmitted.
It was bad news.
“Group B’s 14th Unit has returned: six deceased, four injured.” The intelligence team member paused for a moment. “However, this left two Yin beasts to escape with heavy injuries.” A small victory from the terrible disaster.
Fidel’s jaw clenched tightly upon hearing this news, and the pen in his hand snapped cleanly in half from his grip.
“What should we do now, Sir Fidel…?” The 2-South commander asked in frustration, “Does Master Elijah have any suggestions?”
“When will the finalised hunting apparatus—sanctification apparatus be completed?” Another commander inquired.
“Can we not allocate more hunting apparatuses to the area? Lacking a hunting apparatus is extremely disadvantageous in these battles…”
Fidel slammed the desk with his hand, cutting off all the rising chatter. “Master Elijah has his own plans. All we can do now is direct our efforts into searching for information, and try our best to minimise casualties…”
Before the conditions were right for success, they could only passively defend and endure any disgrace.
“But…”
“We shall use fighting power to make up for our disadvantage from lack of information.” Fidel stood and ordered, “Bring all the fallen soldiers with intact bodies to the laboratory.”
“All? Every one of them will be used to create cursed souls?” The 1-North commander was clearly quite astonished. “But Sir Fidel, your strength…”
“I will make sure their deaths are not in vain so that they are honourable even in defeat. Unexpected moments like these require the employment of extreme methods.” He had originally hoped the deceased could rest in peace as well, but the current situation forced him into having no other alternative.
The enemy’s attack had already reached their front door. They could no longer suffer in silence.
“Any other reports? If there are no objections, this meeting is adjourned!”
“Wait!” The maintenance team’s captain spoke up.
“What?”
“Although this is unrelated to the war, there is something strange that I feel I must report to you.” The maintenance captain paused for a second before somewhat hesitantly continuing, “…All the hunting apparatuses near the scene–or rather, in the entire northern Italy region–showed an abnormal response. A fierce light showed up on the apparatuses that was distinctly different from the usual pale blue lights. It glowed as brightly as the daytime, but it lasted quite briefly.”
Fidel was taken aback. “Really?” He recalled how the hunting apparatus had shown abnormalities when he had previously encountered that Asian boy. “Did you determine the cause?”
“Not yet. But the maintenance team stated that the hunting apparatus is functioning normally without any traces of malfunction…”
Knock, knock. There was a light rap on the door before it was opened by a saint in prayer robes that had arrived to relay a message from the patriarch.
“Patriarch Elijah summons HQ Commander Fidel.”
“Received.” Fidel stood and said to the maintenance captain, “Come report to me later.” Then he followed the saint out of the conference hall towards the sacred hall where the Patriarch was.
The Patriarch’s Sacred Hall. As usual, it had a serene solemness like that of a shrine which God had descended upon.
Dressed in crimson priest robes, Elijah stood with an imposing majesticness in front of the sanctification apparatus.
“Master Elijah, do you have any orders?”
“I heard everything.” Elijah kept his back facing Fidel as he quietly stated, “The casualties seem to have surged recently. The lamentations have filled the court of justice…”
“This subordinate deeply apologises for his incompetence.” Fidel originally planned to stay silent and wait for Elijah to speak, but he ultimately could not hold back his words. “Majority of the hunting apparatuses have been returned to be used as materials for the sanctification apparatus, which has greatly affected the amount of intelligence we have on the enemy. Since mid-July, the losses our troops have suffered have increased by fourfold.”
“For the sake of greater victory, we can only endure the present humiliation.” Elijah heaved a long sigh, though the expression on his face remained unwavering, showing little remorse towards the casualties.
Sacrifices were both inevitable and necessary for the ultimate victory.
Fidel lowered his head without replying.
If the price to pay for this win is for everyone to die, can it truly count as a win?
Elijah lightly stroked the sanctification apparatus. “The sanctification apparatus showed some abnormalities earlier this evening.”
Fidel raised his head. “What happened?”
“The incomplete sanctification apparatus detected a Yin beast’s existence and showed up as a white light.” Elijah reached out to tap Venice in the southern Europe region. “Right here.”
Fidel’s expression shifted. That was where Group C’s 17th Unit had fallen in the line of duty.
“I heard that the hunting apparatuses nearby also showed similar reactions.”
“Yes…”
“If it made the incomplete sanctification apparatus sense its power, it appears that this target is no simple character…”
Fidel’s expression darkened further.
If the Yin beasts had found such a powerful ally, it would put the World Sanctification Court at a strong disadvantage. He had originally thought they were already in the worst possible circumstances, yet the bad news repeatedly progressed beyond his expectations.
“While this unknown character’s appearance presents some challenges, there are a few suspicious points. Firstly, why did such a powerful ally appear only now? In addition, is their identity truly a ‘Yin beast’?”
“What do you mean?” If it’s not a Yin beast, what else can it be…
Elijah did not respond.
When the hunting apparatuses detected Yin beasts, they would show up as pale blue lights. That was the colour of a soul’s energy – most life forms in this world had this hue. Yin beasts were pale blue, while humans and other creatures were a more reddish violet colour.
A white light was an existence above the life forms on this world. It was a divine light.
Could it be that God has chosen to stand with the Yin beasts?
No, that’s impossible. The revelations of the truth and holy ones cannot possibly be wrong.
The beginning of change, the day of revolution will soon arrive. The fight for the end of the war will eliminate all blood and tears, starting a new world.
This was the first oracle he had received when he had awoken as the patriarch.
If the Yin beasts had sought a higher-realm spirit for support, it naturally was not a holy spirit, but an evil spirit that would bring about destruction.
Since it’s an evil spirit that does not belong to this world, the World Sanctification Court will eliminate it with the others!
“Aside from this, I have discovered another matter.” Elijah continued, “The first time the white light flashed was not in Italy.”
The hands on the sanctification apparatus had shifted upwards a few centimetres to point at a neutral country: Switzerland.
“A few nights ago, around the time of the solar eclipse, a white light faintly flashed in this area.”
“Therefore…the Yin beasts might have found their ally in Switzerland?”
“Perhaps. That is not all either. It appears that we are not the only ones that pursue unity. The lower-level creatures realise they must likewise band together to survive. It’s possible that one of the white lights is a hideout where the Yin beasts have gathered.” Elijah turned his head to give a firm and powerful command, “Find their base and destroy it!”
“Yessir!”
They left London, the City of Fog, and headed to the country across the English Channel: France.
Bordeaux, France’s number one grape producer, also known as the world’s core of wine: the City of Red Wine. This was Fu Xing’s group’s first stop.
“Why not Paris?” Fu Xing stood in the retail section of the distillery to read his guidebook. He asked in confusion, “City of fashion, road of Elyseen Fields. This has to be talking about Avenue des Champs-Élysées, right?” In addition, Paris had many other sign-in locations that were quite concentrated together.
“Why should we go there?” Dan Juan asked back while lightly sniffing a goblet of wine.
“Yeah, this place is perfectly fine.” Momiji, who loved wine with her life, sipped the sweet wine and hummed in contentment. “Give me a crate of this!”
“Me too,” Dan Juan added.
Fu Xing grumbled in exasperation at the two who were constantly drinking in relish, “I bet you guys only chose this place to get drunk…”
“Not necessarily. Paris’s prices are ridiculously expensive. I have no desire to go there and ruin myself as an easy source of profit for others,” Emerald huffed.
“Besides, every place is impressive in their own right. Paris has its own beauties, but this place has scenery that Paris doesn’t have.” Momiji smiled, her snow-white face flushed slightly from the wine.
Brad stood next to her, his face red despite having taken only one sip. There was no knowing what he was reacting to.
“Is that so…” I guess that’s true too.
Fu Xing stared at the gem-like red liquid in his glass, then at Leon, who stood off to the side with a stony expression as he held a glass without drinking a drop.
Leon’s alcohol tolerance was terrible, and he transformed into a completely different person upon drinking. Aside from Fu Xing and Flora, no one else knew this – and Leon himself was not aware that this secret of his had been discovered.
This place that Momiji and Dan Juan had chosen was honestly slightly awkward for Leon.
Fu Xing ignored any wine-tasting etiquette and drained the liquid in his glass in a single gulp. Then he walked over to Leon and subtly exchanged glasses with him to similarly down Leon’s wine as well.
“Hic.” The taste isn’t bad, but it’s a bit strong…
Leon gripped the empty wine glass and stared at Fu Xing, brows furrowed in perplexment.
“I wanted to try another glass, but the owner wouldn’t give me one so I could only drink yours!” Fu Xing hiccuped again and grinned foolishly, “Sorry about that.”
Leon did not reply as he silently held onto the glass. However, a faint sense of relief seemed to show on his face.
They received a stamp from a clearly drunk elf in the famous distillery (the stamp had been crooked), and easily completed their task.
“Why is it so simple again?” Fu Xing cocked his head to the side as he gave a puzzled stare at the stamp in his guidebook.
He felt that ever since they had finished Manhattan and moved onto Europe, the stamps had become much easier to receive. Most of the locations were effortlessly accessible, yet the defenders at the sign-in points straightforwardly gave out their stamps.
It made him feel a bit guilty and uneasy.
“There might be a hidden danger and difficulty.” Zi Ye indifferently commented, “Maybe a drunk driver will crash into us at any moment as a hit-and-run.”
“Yeah, yeah, and then a powerful lawyer group would become their backer, and then they’d eventually start crying and apologising for being depressed, begging for forgiveness,” Momiji added. “Maybe they want to test our reactions in unexpected situations for us to apply what we learned in Human Sociology.”
“That’s too…long-winded.” Though I’ve often heard about such cases. Fu Xing felt a bit more relaxed.
They left the distillery to wander around the downtown area. While it was not as dazzling and busy as Paris’s centre, there were many small shops with wine-related goods to show off the regional specialties.
The group happily tasted Bordeaux’s various famous food and wines. The wine-obsessed Momiji and Dan Juan were clearly right at home, though the others tried some of the locally produced rich and fragrant wines too.
Only one person did not drink the entire time. In addition, he returned to the hotel by himself after eating dinner, avoiding the night travels around the City of Wine.
Now in their third red wine shop they had visited tonight, Momiji swirled the crimson liquid in her glass before raising it to take a whiff and sip it. “What an amazing taste!”
“It’s truly such a shame that Leon couldn’t come.”
“He didn’t drink the supplementary red wine at dinner either.” Emerald clicked his tongue. “What a waste.”
“Eh, he’s probably tired.” Fu Xing hurriedly explained, “He might have other arrangements tonight that he needs to stay clear-headed for.”
“It’s just a few glasses though, nothing excessive,” Dan Juan dubiously retorted.
“Probably religious reasons.” Flora, who similarly knew the inside story, calmly lied, “I heard that it’s a fasting period where it’s forbidden to touch strong alcohol. That should be the cause.”
“What, is that guy so pious?” Brad did not believe it. “How do you know that anyways?”
Flora glanced at Fu Xing. “A while back, I went to Fu Xing’s room and just happened to learn of it.”
“Oh really?” Brad smiled and teased, “You’re pretty gutsy to privately visit the male dorms at night.”
“You flatter me.”
“Drop the act, you’ve already been to the male baths who knows how many times,” Emerald roasted.
There was no way he didn’t know that Flora had taken a bunch of photos of beautiful males bathing. It had received favourable responses among the female students, resulting in extremely high sales that had made Emerald envious and jealous.
“Really?!” Brad was shocked. “What did you go there for?”
Flora froze for a few seconds. “Ecological observation…”
Brad chuckled dryly, then after a second of hesitation, asked, “Then…have you snuck into my room before?”
“Of course not,” Flora forcibly denied as a show of her righteousness.
“Oh, that’s good.” Brad felt a wave of relief, though his competitive nature made him curious enough to ask, “Why not?” Don’t tell me it’s because…I don’t have any selling points or qualities worth seeing?
“Out of respect,” Flora quietly commented. She did not want to do anything Brad would dislike, and she did not wish to share photos of him with others.
“Is that so…” Brad was momentarily at a loss when he heard the response.
“Naturally, if you wish, I can drop by from time to time to collect materials.” Flora raised the camera hanging around her neck. “If it’s you, I’d prefer to film you rather than take photos.”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Brad politely declined. Despite this, he felt a spike of vanity from Flora’s answer.
Brad went after Zhu Yue to absentmindedly listen to a wine expert’s explanations. Flora stood a distance away to quietly observe.
“Idiot…”
Flora turned to see Zi Ye. “Who are you calling an idiot?”
“Everyone.” Zi Ye sipped his wine and smacked his lips. “I prefer sorghum flavour.”
“Like I care.” Flora shot Zi Ye a look before leaving.
They walked around the entire downtown district. Despite having spent most of their time in the hotel, Fu Xing had bought some local specialty snacks on the way back to enjoy later at night.
When he pushed open the door to the six-person room, he saw Leon sitting by the window, reading a profound hardcover book as usual.
“Leon, we’re back!”
“Mn.”
“Isn’t it boring to read all the time?” Brad chuckled. “You’re so antisocial. Do you really not have anything else to do?”
“Such as stringing beads or knitting lace?” Leon calmly replied.
Emerald and Dan Juan unrestrainedly sputtered out in laughter.
Brad replied with a curse and then turned to walk over to his bed and organise his things.
“Want to eat some local specialties?” Fu Xing went over to Leon with a bulging paper bag. “There’s tons of different types! And they taste amazing!”
“No thank you.” He did not have the habit of eating late at night.
“You really don’t want it?” Fu Xing’s expression turned a bit gloomy. “There’s a super famous handmade ice cream shop, and I bought two people’s worth…”
Leon closed his book with a long sigh. “Leave it here.”
Fu Xing happily pulled out the paper carton of ice cream and a spoon, placing them down in front of Leon. “Hurry up and eat it, or else it’ll melt. This is completely made from scratch!”
“Fu Xing! Is my charger with you?” Emerald called out from the other side of the half-unfolded privacy screen.
“Oh, I’ll look for it!” Fu Xing turned and crouched down to search for the charger in his messy luggage.
Suddenly, there was a warm breath on the back of his neck. A low, alluring voice gently entered his ear.
“Good evening, my lady with beautiful hair like black silk. We meet again…”
Fu Xing felt the hairs on his back stand on end. That familiar voice and tone made him slowly turn his head in apprehension.
“AHHH—” The shrill shriek burst from his mouth.
Upon hearing the scream, his companions scattered throughout the room and next-door immediately charged over.
“What’s wrong?” Brad ran in with his guard raised, his fingers already transformed into beast claws.
All he saw was Fu Xing curled in a corner, eyes wide in bewilderment and fear at the other occupant of the room: Leon.
“H-He…” Fu Xing was clearly frightened as he pointed a trembling hand at Leon.
Emerald immediately lunged at Leon to grip his neck with one hand while coldly questioning him. “Sagveiss, what did you do to Fu Xing!”
Leon peered at Emerald for a few seconds, then reached out to gently grab his chin with a heart-melting smile.
“Your eyes are truly beautiful; they are the same colour as jade.”
“Eek!” Zhu Yue squealed in inexplicable excitement, with a series of shutter clicks immediately following suit.
Emerald froze for a second, then jumped backwards as though he had been burned. He turned to glare at Fu Xing, “He Fu Xing! What did you do to Leon!”
“I-I don’t know!” Why did you immediately attack me! That’s too hurtful! “I just gave him ice cream, and then—”
Flora strode over to the desk and picked up the carton of ice cream there. She lightly sighed, “This contains rum…” Trace amounts of rum.
“What?!” Fu Xing was dumbstruck. “It’s just a tiny bit, how could it have such severe effects?!”
“Perhaps it is because I am travel-worn,” Leon softly explained of his own accord. “That led to this inconvenience for everyone. I have committed a deep offense…”
“Are you alright?” Dan Juan looked Leon up and down like a repairman inspecting a defective machine.
“Having been constantly on the move these past few days, my body and soul have sunken into a parched state…” Leon slowly walked towards Dan Juan. “Would you be willing to become the source of water to quench my thirst?”
Dan Juan was shell-shocked. Fu Xing had never seen such a dumbstruck expression on Dan Juan before.
“Good! Very good! Amazing!” Zhu Yue, who had changed in a bizarre manner, cried out in an unlady-like candidness while excitedly clapping her hands.
“What is going on? Can the person with the insider information please explain…” Zi Ye, who had been watching the fray at a distance from the beginning, called out to Fu Xing.
Fu Xing awkwardly swept his gaze across everyone in the room and said, “Leon…has terrible tolerance to alcohol, and gets drunk easily. Then he becomes like this when he’s drunk…” You could say that he can’t touch alcohol at all.
“What? This guy can’t drink?” Brad looked like a little boy that had just discovered the student next-door had peed his pants. “As a man, he’s really lacking if he can’t drink.”
“Oh, Albert, my close friend. Before your vigor, any man would feel shocked to the core,” Leon sincerely exclaimed. “The hasty glimpse I caught the last time we were in the bathroom was truly beyond astonishing…”
“You—”
“If Maiden Zhu Yue were fortunate enough to respectfully admire the supposed abode of your chivalry, she would undoubtedly be beside herself in merriment. There is no need for you to go through the effort of laughably unsophisticated acts to win over her favour…”
“Damn it! This bastard is definitely doing it on purpose!”
“But it’s quite amusing.” Momiji peered at Leon like she had discovered a new plaything.
Leon turned towards Momiji. “Oh, flame fox that burns as brightly as fire, your beauty practically wounds my eyes. I am fortunate to be traveling together with you. While it is an honour, it is also a form of torment.”
“Why is that?” Momiji asked with a grin.
“Having to restrain myself from acting improperly to the beautiful you is truly a torturously cruel punishment.”
“Hahahahaha!” Momiji burst into laughter, beyond elated. “I like this one more. The previous one was too stuffy to play with.”
“It’s not like he’s a pet you can choose!”
Standing five steps away from Leon, Emerald pulled out a drawstring pouch containing pills and waved it in front of Leon. “Do you need some medicine to sober yourself? Five dollars.”
Leon crossed the distance between them with a single large stride to clutch Emerald’s hands that held the pouch.
“There is no need to cling onto money anymore. Come enjoy the innate pleasures of the body instead.” He lifted Emerald’s hand up to his mouth to give it a light kiss. “Will this ever-changing wind elf be like a storm that attacks roughly and wildly, or become a spring breeze that transforms the raging weather one has to bear into a constant spring rain?”
Emerald rapidly yanked his hand free and leapt backwards. “Holy crap!”
“Shit!” Fu Xing couldn’t help but slam the table and jump to his feet. “This is too disastrous!”
“Yeah! I’m going to die, I’m going to die!” Zhu Yue had at some point stuffed tissue paper into her nostrils, her current appearance not matching her usual elegance at all.
“Zhu Yue? You have a nosebleed?”
“I felt all my blood rush straight to my head at such a stimulating sight.” Zhu Yue stuffed the tissues a bit deeper, before giving Fu Xing a reproachful look. “You kept such a fascinating matter a secret for so long!”
“It’s not fascinating!”
Like a ghost, Leon shifted over to Zhu Yue’s side. He held Zhu Yue’s face up as he gently murmured, “Maiden Zhu Yue, rather than indulging in the sight of romance between men, it would be better to practice what one preaches and experience the joys between men and women instead.”
“B-But…” Zhu Yue’s face flushed red, clearly a bit restless. “But BL is the ultimate way…”
Leon flashed a tolerating smile. “If you are willing, I would be happy to be the one to enlighten you…”
Zhu Yue was now bright red. “Such…Such a thing…couldn’t possibly—”
“Like you’d have a chance!” Brad pulled Zhu Yue behind him.
“So you will be the first one, Brado?” Leon leaned towards Brad, swiftly breaking through Brad’s defenses like a clap of thunder and forcing him into a corner. “Brado is such an adorable name. Do you like it when I call you that?”
“I like it!” Zhu Yue raised a hand to chime in reverently. “It’s wonderful!”
“Who told him!” Brad furiously roared. Leon had not traveled with them to California, so one of his companions must have sold him out!
“Sorry,” Emerald confessed. “It was too amusing, so I couldn’t help but mention it.”
“You damn wind elf—”
“Leon, are you okay?” Taeharu cautiously stepped forward to ask with cream from her sundae still on her lips.
Leo smiled and reached out to wipe away the cream on Taeharu’s face, then brought it up to his lips to lick it.
“Very good.” There was no telling if he was referring to himself, the cream, or Taeharu. “Despite being plucked at the wrong time, the tartness of immature fruit possesses a unique taste that can be captivating at times…”
“Oi oi oi!” Momiji whisked Taeharu behind her. “Are you trying to commit a crime!”
Leon grabbed hold of Momiji with one hand while using the other to catch Dan Juan before the latter could escape. Like a preacher, he loudly declared:
“My beloved companions, let us indulge in the pleasures of Babylon City here tonight!”
“Shut up—”
“Ahhhh!”
“Why is he taking off his clothes?”
“Can I knock him out?!”
“No, Leon isn’t to blame!” Fu Xing immediately shot down the idea.
“Besides, we can’t get close to him at all right now.” Dan Juan had broken into a cold sweat as he analysed the situation. “We’ll fall into enemy hands! Be trapped in a strange world!”
“What the hell does that mean?”
The room fell into utter disarray as everyone darted around the six-person room to escape. Eventually, they fled to the door and slipped away from the battlefield before locking the door from the outside.
Only Fu Xing remained, left to face the source of chaos alone.
“Hey!” Fu Xing slammed his fist against the door. “Don’t you guys have any shred of camaraderie?”
“You bought the ice cream, you caused the trouble. So it’s more than reasonable that you should deal with it.” Flora’s cool voice came from the other side of the door. “Besides, you have experience, so we’ll leave it to you.”
“Oi!”
Hearing the footsteps fade out, Fu Xing knew that he had been completely abandoned by his companions, leaving him to handle the problem on his own.
He fearfully turned his head to see Leon sitting on the sofa, head dropped into his hands, eyes half-closed as though he was on the verge of falling asleep.
“Leon?” Fu Xing quietly called out.
“Hm?”
“Are…you okay?”
“Not really.” Leon took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. “My head hurts a ton…”
“You’re sober?”
“Perhaps.” Leon lifted his head, his complexion terrible. “The ruckus just now restored a bit of my awareness…”
“I see.” Fu Xing let out a small sigh of relief as he walked over to Leon. “Sorry, I didn’t notice there was alcohol in the ice cream.”
“It’s fine, this is my own issue. I was too careless.”
“Sorry, I’m really really sorry…I caused your secret to be exposed to everyone.”
“…It doesn’t matter if it’s them.” Leon tilted his head to rest it against the back of the sofa. With his gaze on the ceiling, he added, “They would’ve found out sooner or later regardless.”
Leon’s frankness made Fu Xing blame himself even more as the sense of guilt grew. “You don’t mind?”
“If they ended up detesting me because of this, it would allow me to see their true selves, which is a good thing too.” Because of the alcohol, Leon was more conversational than usual.
“No one would detest you…they’re just a bit shocked, and slightly shaken.” Fu Xing gave a hollow laugh.
“So do you like my earlier manner more?” Leon suddenly lowered his head to gently ask Fu Xing this with a smile.
Fu Xing immediately backpedalled. “No no no! Not at all! You’re fine just like this!”
“What a shame.” Leon leaned back on the sofa, his head falling back as he closed his eyes and evened his breathing.
A while passed like this. Seeing that Leon did not speak, Fu Xing curiously approached and carefully asked in a hushed voice, “Are you asleep?”
“Not yet.” Leon murmured, “Head hurts badly.”
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s fine.” Leon opened his eyes and lifted his head to smile faintly at Fu Xing before closing his eyes again. “For some reason, I feel like ever since getting involved with you, I’ve stopped caring about many things. Yet at the same time, I’ve inexplicably begun to care about things…”
“Such as?”
“You, you guys.”
“Huh?”
“In the past, I only ever cared about matters related to myself. My family, Lia, and then revenge.” Leon’s tone turned flat and cold, like he had reverted to his usual self. “Such a life was extremely straightforward, with my purpose in life clear and simple. As long as I completed what others expected of me, it was enough. There was no need to spend energy on pondering much else.”
“That…isn’t very good though, is it?”
“Perhaps. But it wasn’t very bad either. At least, the clanspeople were very satisfied.” Leon’s voice shifted into one of hesitant uncertainty. “Like Sylvia said, I’ve changed since entering Shalom, as though I’ve become more ‘human’.”
He had started to care about the people he hadn’t thought about before, begun to worry about matters he hadn’t considered before, begun to protect the things he had never noticed before.
“Is that a bad thing?” Fu Xing asked back.
Leon hesitated for a moment before replying, “I don’t know.”
The past him would never have contemplated such strange and paradoxical questions.
He was not the only one that had changed. The others around Fu Xing as well.
All of them had changed.
Leon did not speak again. The room fell quiet. The only noises audible were his controlled breathing and the ticking of the clock.
“Um…” Fu Xing broke the awkward silence and said in a small voice, “Although I don’t know if these changes are good or bad, I like how everyone is now, and I like everything at Shalom.”
“Then let it continue that way…”
Leon smiled faintly and did not speak further. A long while passed without any words.
Fu Xing approached Leon and gently whispered into his ear. There was no response. The drunk darkblood had fallen into slumber after a tumultuous night.
A wave of relief rushed through Fu Xing.
The others that had hid outside the door to eavesdrop simultaneously sighed in relief as well.
“Looks like it’s fine now.” Flora moved away from where she had pressed her ear against the door.
“He’s actually quite sentimental.” Momiji smiled and confessed a bit apologetically, “I never imagined Leon had a candid side…”
“Fu Xing too. Just as foolish, just as innocent.” Zi Ye leaned against the wall and asked, “Do we still need to tell him about the school trip?”
Everyone fell silent.
They had originally wanted to directly respond to Fu Xing’s doubts earlier in the distillery. But…
“I heard that Group 11 encountered White Triangle south of Bordeaux this evening.” Flora shared the intelligence she had. “They completed that mission without a hitch.”
“There were people in the westbound group that completed that on the very first day.” Brad grimly stated, “If you look at it from that perspective, our progress falls way behind everyone else.”
Momiji chuckled. “I’m afraid we’re the only group that’s wholeheartedly enjoying this as a graduation trip…”
“Paris has fallen into a red alert. Considering how concentrated White Triangle has suddenly become there, it was right for us to avoid it. As for Italy, I think it’s most appropriate to skip over it entirely.” Emerald tapped the map on his iPhone while planning out their route.
“In that case, our next step should be to go counterclockwise and circle around western Europe. We can head to Stuttgart, Germany first, then Vienna, Austria, St. Petersburg, Russia, then the capitals of the three northern Europe countries: Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Our final stop will be at Belgium, and then we can head to Greenwich, England before the deadline. This is the safest route. Any objections?”
No one spoke, tacitly agreeing to this proposal.
“Let’s make sure Fu Xing stays happy.” Zhu Yue lowered her gaze as she murmured, “Fu Xing is only Fu Xing when he’s carefree and a bit dense. He doesn’t need to know about these matters.”
Fu Xing, keep holding onto your pureness and innocence to be the light on us who are in the darkness and have been stained with blood.
The final page in the guidebook that was cut into a triangle shape glinted crimson like blood under the moonlight, hinting at the hidden heavier, bloodier face behind the school trip.
~Taffy Translations~ 
Thanks for the chapter (＾∇＾)ﾉ♪
My instinct is correct to check up on the site today🤓
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