Duke Stafield is not a "small" earl.

As the second echelon of interests after the emperor in the cloth pyramid, the title or something is actually insignificant to this family. It is the prince of the empire, Odysseus sees the Duke of Stafield, and he will never dare to claim to be a superior, at most he is an equal.

This is supposed to be the emperor has one hundred and eight children, but the empire has only eight families.

The Staffield family is one of them.

Unlike the Ashford family, who lost power with Princess Mariana, the Stafield family was not too interested in politics, military, power, technology, etc. Instead, it honestly ran the banking industry passed down from his ancestors, and was finally a relatively low-key family, which also established his status as the mainstay of the empire's economy.

And this exaggerated mansion is naturally not Stafeld's own house, but the courtyard where Staffield lived when he came to District 11 to listen to accounts and recuperate.

At this time, Miss Karen, the daughter of the Stafeld family, was sitting at the dresser, slowly flipping through a photo album, sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning, her eyes full of memories.

When she flipped to the last group photo, her heart suddenly emptied, and her hands stopped. The girl looked at the photo and was in a trance for a while.

"Da!"

There was a crunch from the window.

Startled, Karen scrambled to shove the album into the crack of the table and turned her head to look at the window.

"Da!" Another pebble knocked on the window, and then ・・・・・・

"Dada~Dada~Dada~Dada・・・・・・・"

The staggered beating of stones against the window of Karen's bedroom seems to be a simplified version of "The Doll and the Bear Dance" for young children.

1. This person is extremely boring.

2. This person is able to infiltrate the manor without raising alarms.

3. This person is here to find me.

There seems to be only one person in the world who meets these three conditions・・・・・・

A sense of foreboding rose in Karen's heart. Silently praying, the girl pushed the window open a crack and looked down.

"'Shhh What's the light coming from the window over there? ’”

On the lawn in the backyard, a certain white creature saw Karen and decisively threw the remaining stones behind him. The right hand is raised, the left hand is touched to the chest, and the affectionate recitation.

"'That's the East!' Juliet is the sun! ’”

“・・・・・・”

"'Rise, my sun!' ”

“・・・・・・”

"Uh, okay? Otherwise, I won't be able to take it. There is only one word in the senior sister's line --- 'Alas~', simple, right? But this sigh is quite quintessential, and it's hard to express it without some acting skills..."

"..."

"'She spoke.' ”

Although the words of the female corner pair are very faceless, Bai Mao is not affected at all, and picks up the field very professionally.

"'Ahh Go on, angel of light! ’”

"How did you get in?"

"'I fly over the garden wall with the light wings of love, for the wall of masonry cannot keep love; Whatever the power of love can do, it will take a risk. ’”

Karen took out the walkie-talkie with a blank face and put it on her face

【zero。 】

[Huh? 】

[Can I kill him?] 】

[As long as you can do it.] 】

The commander-in-chief seemed to be well aware of the situation here, and very simply approved Kalian's request.

【・・・・・・】

[I still have something. 】

With that, the communication was cut off.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

"Ha~~~~~ it's good to be alive."

After taking a deep breath in the girl's bedroom, Bai Mao suddenly felt that the world was so beautiful, his body and mind were empty, and heaven and man were one, as if he could touch the entire universe with his hand.

The aura of heaven and earth in this space was so rich that Bai Mao involuntarily closed his eyes, trying to appreciate the vast true qi. A whirlpool was formed in the dantian, constantly refining the soft true qi for its own use. The golden Inner Dan slowly grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, becoming more condensed every second, but the brilliance gradually dimmed, from the initial golden mang, to the current simplicity like jade.

Suddenly, a crack appeared on the surface of Nedan! Bai Mao was happy in his heart -- sixteen years! Finally able to break through the innate nature! Finally...

"What are you doing・・・・・・

Karen looked at Ilan, who was intoxicated, suspiciously.

"Enjoy life."

"Do you use this as a nursing home?"

Finally resigned to her fate, Karen put the tea set on the tea table as a minimum of hospitality.

"Senior sister, I have to tell you something." Ilan, who had been reborn, let out a long sigh and opened her eyes to look at Karen deeply. "The world is a better place with you."

"Thank you." The girl replied politely, and poured two cups of tea rudely. "Got a mission?"

After a week-long mental torture some time ago, Karen is now completely immune to Ilan's unrestricted and unprincipled meaty words.

"No, I just always wanted to come to my sister's house to have a look."

That's true・・・・・・

"I really didn't know that my senior sister's family was so rich before, and I vaguely remember where I heard my senior sister's surname, but I didn't expect it to be the legendary 'Stafeld'! ・・・Uh・・・You are crying? ”

Yilan noticed that the girl's eyes were a little red, so she decisively leaned in and stared at Kalian's face.

"Quarreled with my mother again?"

"Nope."

Karen, reminded by this, quickly turned around, took out the photo album from the crack in the table, and prepared to put it away.

"Huh? ~~~ Can I take a look? The white fur reluctantly appeared behind her, his head poking out from behind her shoulder.

"You're annoying."

"Let's take a look! Aren't we friends? Aren't we, who are also half-breeds, the best friends in the world? ”

Karen reluctantly handed over the album, and Yilan sat at the table hungrily and flipped through it.

It was a photo album of members of the Resistance.

"Ahh It's not safe. ”

Why do you want to leave evidence of your own crimes? Why don't you even have a mosaic on your face? Isn't this really death? Does every member have a copy of this kind of thing? The worst thing is ・・・・・・

"Why do you have the date and name under the photo?" 1st from left: Yohei, 2nd from left: Nagato's or something... Is this a graduation commemorative book? In case it falls into the hands of the military department..."

Is this really... sad news, or a surprise? If she hadn't come to Karen for respiratory maintenance today, Ilan really wouldn't have known that there was such a time bomb in the organization.

After going back, you must deal with it as soon as possible, if it should be the reason why this inexplicable stupidity flies, the members of the organization are exposed, then...

"It's fine." Karen, holding a teacup beside him, said in a stiff tone. "There aren't a few left, the people on top"

Ahh

I see, that's why I'm crying? Looking at his former comrades-in-arms, he recalled all kinds of ・・・・・・ back then

Turning to the last family photo, Yilan's predecessor, Naoto Hongyue, was crutching around the necks of Karen and Yucheng, squatting in the front, and the good old man was standing behind them with a simple smile. A group of hooligans in the back were holding their guns in unison. Glasgow, which had become an imperial nightmare, was used as a background.

The composition is very good, fully reflecting the sense of hierarchy and space. Yilan nodded, affirming the photographer's level.

"Everybody's happy."

Although he said this, Yilan was a little puzzled.

Or rather, contempt.

Why, these idiots can laugh out loud?

Obviously losing all the time, isn't it?

Driven into the sewer like a cockroach, beaten to the point of a rat, scared every day, shot to change places, and smiled so brightly even though he was at the bottom of the mud and despair?

It's not stupid or self-anesthetizing anymore, it's simply ・・・・・・

"I think my brother is here." There was pride in the girl's voice.

"Hmm, can I ask a question?" Ylan sighed. "Let's assume now that Naoto Red Moon is not your brother, just the leader of the organization, who is better or ZERO?"

“・・・・・・ZERO。”

The question was rude, and Karen was a little upset.

Isn't this nonsense?

"But whether it's a senior sister or someone else, everyone misses Mr. Hongyue very much, why is that?"

Obviously, my brother and I are much better than him, aren't we?

I gave you hope, I gave you a head, I killed the imperial prince, and the army headquarters that beat me was looking for teeth all over the ground.

I promise you freedom, peace, and a future.

The current Black Knights are thousands of times stronger than the original disorganized, undisciplined, purposeless, and hopeless imperial sandbag terrorist organization.

Why...

"ZERO is amazing." Karen shook her head. "Everyone respects him, but ZERO is different from my brother, the organization used to be more like a big family, but now it's a bit like a company. It's not that it's bad, it's just ・・・・・・"

Karen, who didn't know how to express it, lowered her head while holding the teacup.

"Senpai thinks... Meticulous? Like a parent? ”

Please, I'm not running a kindergarten.

"I didn't mean that, I mean my brother, he... treats everyone as a brother and a friend."

That's why you keep failing, don't you understand? Confusion between public and private, willfulness, emotion over reason.

Only then can Britannia be defeated.

"The old people are almost dead." Karen looked at the family photo and was in a trance for a while. "Three more walked this morning, and at this time, it's always a little nostalgic."

Ahh

Is it my problem?

Did I make her cry?

"Uh, senior sister, this is also something that can't be helped. No matter how sad we are, we can't change what has happened. No one is responsible for the misfortune of others, not even the murderer. Life is their own, in their own hands, if it is taken away by others, they can only blame themselves for not taking good care of themselves. ”

If it were Ylan himself, he would definitely double-check the whole car before getting in the car, as he did every time before stepping on the motorcycle.

Not to excuse himself, but to state the facts he firmly believes.

Because of stupidity, they trust ZERO, and trust means that they have given their lives to someone else, to some crook who is not related to them, can they blame anyone else?

He didn't trust anyone but his mother.

Therefore, no one can kill him except the youkai.

This is Ylang's theory of "invincibility".

"Are you comforting me?" Karian frowned.

"Hmm."

"It sounds like what an emperor would say, the weak and the strong are the best to choose or something." Karene said disdainfully.

Ylang shrugged.

If I were the emperor, I wouldn't have said it. Even with the strongest army in the world, such a blatant statement has already erected him in opposition to universal values, providing the most solid theoretical basis for the rebels.

As a ruler, especially a dictator, boiling a frog in warm water is the right way to govern the world.

"Don't the weak deserve to live?" Karene said indignantly.

"It's not that they are unworthy, the word 'unworthy' always feels a bit of discrimination when it comes to it, as if they are doing something wrong. No, there is nothing wrong with the weak. It can only be said that the death of the weak is a necessary step in evolution. Their existence provides an ample base of natural selection for evolution. They are great givers, and their deaths are worth it. ”

"Huh?" Karen's brow furrowed even tighter.

"Ah, I'm sorry, is my senior sister religious?"

Once again, Ylan misunderstood the reason for Kalian's displeasure.

"Nope."

"That's good." Ylang breathed a sigh of relief. "You know, there are still twenty-four percent of the people in the world who refuse to believe in evolution. The last time I was talking to an old lady in the concession, I didn't expect her to be a fundamentalist, and she was kind at first, but when I talked about natural selection, she suddenly picked up an umbrella and tried to beat me. ”

Good job.

Karene silently drew a cross for the old lady in her heart.

"It's hard to accept, I can understand that. We are just a group of animals, not so-called gods, who create a special being out of preference. Bad people don't go to hell when they die, and good people don't have St. Peter waiting for them at the gates of heaven. If you think about it this way, what is the meaning of human life? ”

"What the hell are you trying to say..."

"It's the 'now' that counts. There is no past life, no afterlife, no original sin, no one is watching us. Only 'now' is the one that people have. Instead of looking at the photos, reminiscing about the comrades of the past, and thinking about how nice it would be if they were still alive, it is better to enjoy the present and do what you really want to do. ”

"Is this a theoretical consolation?" Karen smiled helplessly.

"Atheistic consolation." Ylang Yi picked up the teacup and took a sip

"Those people are dead, whether they died tragically or left with smiles on their faces. They can't see it now, and they can't hear it. No amount of grief the living can change that. Holding the photo and crying is nothing more than a senseless self-punishment. ”

"I'm not as good as you... One thing is one thing, and I can accept it theoretically. Those people ・・・・・・ partners. Karen sighed.

"How do you define this kind of relationship?"

Yilan was suddenly stunned, and hesitated for a while.

Deceive the other party with lies, calculate the value and error rate of the other party, cost and profit, and decide whether to destroy him.

If such a relationship can also be counted as a "partner・・・・・・

In the final analysis, this non-blood relationship is just an abstract concept.

"As long as you're happy together, aren't you partners?" Karene looked at him puzzled.

So, can these idiots laugh so brightly?

Ylang looked back at the photo.

The two stunned people in the photo looked excited, and the standard hooligan squatted and raised his middle finger at the camera. Looking at the lip shape, it seems to be talking about FUCK.

There are a few English words he knows.

The utilization value is basically negative, the problem is a professional household, the success is not enough, there is more than failure, a mouth is grass here and there all day long, and the small slag is left with neither deterrence nor beauty, I don't know what to call ・・・・・・

This guy has tons of flaws, and he can't talk about them in a day.

But, I have to say, this bastard is funny.

"If we survive, one day we'll grow old. When that time comes..."

Karen looked at the photo, and her tone gradually softened.

"Aren't you the most talkative? Sitting on a recliner, I can't walk, I can't go anywhere. At that point, I'll always want to have old friends by my side. People who have been through those things together, everyone sits together, and the ears, eyes, and even the head are not very good. But everyone has time to nag・・・・・・ if there are no friends, then where will the 'old friends' come from in the future? ”

Bai Mao was stunned for a long time, and it took a long time to come back to his senses.

Wait a minute!

This question is really strict! Why didn't I think of this before!

It's all good, but no one speaks... It's a little too ・・・・・・ cruel・・・・・・

"Is this a threat to me?" Ylan smiled bitterly.

"Huh?" Karin didn't understand at all.

Yilan didn't say more, took out his mobile phone, plugged in the signal relay, and dialed a number.

"Yucheng, where are you? ・・・Mission canceled・・・・・・ Well・・・・・・ plan is not exposed・・・・・・ yes, don't touch the package, I'll deal with it・・・・・・ you, hurry, give it to me, go home. ”

"What's wrong?" The girl asked nervously.

"Nothing." Ylan shook her head, indicating that it didn't matter. "Stocking up on spiritual food for the future."