The journey back is not as easy as it was when you came. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

One is that at night, the road is dim, not to mention, the occasional dark shadow flashing in the distance often makes Alex tremble. In addition, the strange birds on the hills and the low chirp in the grassland could not shake the hearts of the two. Both Alex and Hill are both professionals with a level of 15 or higher. Ordinary monsters are only a few sporadic experience points for them, and the more difficult elite-level monsters rarely haunt the nearby area.

It's the mood that really tires them.

It stands to reason that the mission trial given to them by Partridge has been successfully passed, and compared to the mood of anticipation and apprehension when they came, they should certainly feel relaxed and secure now. But in fact, neither Hill nor Alex had the lightness of their steps when they came.

The reason is Anderson.

In the past missions, Hill has only acted according to the mission instructions. Others, such as the reason why the target was a target, his sins and (perhaps existing) sad past, were out of Hill's mind. He had always been considered by the rest of the group to be incapable of judging good and evil, and although he didn't know much about it, everyone said so, and he himself thought so. In this case, simply don't think about these complicated things, just follow the instructions to kill the determined target. Fortunately, although he is not good at distinguishing between good and evil, he is a good hand when he acts. In addition to his unique talent and high force value, he can far throw off the other members of the "Kiss of Death" in terms of the number of tasks completed, and this carefree and unthinking mode of action is also an important reason.

But this time, unlike in the past, he heard those words from Susya's mouth with Alex. Anderson's past as a prisoner was revealed to Hill in a way that he had never experienced before. Knowing the prisoner's past, what he cut off was no longer a simple head, but a vivid life extending from the past, a colorful canvas of memories and feelings, which came to an abrupt halt at this moment, thus cutting off all possibilities for the future, leaving only a break abruptly connected to nothingness—and all because of one of his own slashes—in a sense, Hill understood what murder was all about for the first time. Of course, to be precise, Anderson was not killed by Hill. But when he thinks of Anderson, Hill will naturally think that the target he has fought before will have a similar life to that person? Of course, there is no way to know for sure, but when it comes to possibilities, it is difficult to say what the difference is between the two.

Thinking about all kinds of things, Hill seriously felt the feelings that rose from the bottom of his heart. It's a somewhat bitter, somewhat complicated feeling of the unknown. He remembered that when he had returned to the town from Boudal, something similar had arisen on the way.

It's like grit, but with the fragrance of grass.

Alex did notice Ciel's silence, and the boy no longer walked up and down as he had come, nor did he hum softly in a cheerful tune. But she didn't know that Partridge's intention of handing over Hill to her was already being realized, and she didn't notice some kind of germ in Hill's heart. Unlike Hill, she was also thinking about Anderson.

After learning the details of what happened, Alex could no longer feel hostile to Anderson. The man was just a beast that had escaped from its cage and had been injured by humans. Because of the injuries he has suffered, he has a deep hatred and fear for every human being. What he did was both revenge and self-preservation. The loss of those lives cannot be blamed on him.

It is likely that the cause of the great misfortune was only a small deviation, and Alex recognized this and was troubled by it. It would be nice if the real world wasn't a messy entanglement like this, but like in the comics, where good and evil are clearly distinguished, and there are clear barriers between good and villain.

Thinking of this, Alex suddenly remembered what she had said when she was separated from Susia.

※

Seeing Susia contentedly put the signed notebook in her pocket, Alex suddenly thought of something.

"That's right, Captain Susia. I remember you said earlier that Anderson went to the mainland ten years ago, right? ”

"That's right."

"For so long, the Seed Management Council hasn't found him?"

Hearing Alex's question, Susia hesitated.

"I probably shouldn't have talked about these things to you, but since Miss Alex asked, I'll tell you about it—it's not something to be kept secret anyway." As he spoke, the captain showed a serious expression: "As for your question, it's not that we didn't find it, but we didn't find it at all. ”

"Huh?"

"The initial search was 10 years ago, and it was announced that it had stopped after about a month...... Presumably, it was determined that the target had died at the hands of a monster or by accident. After all, he was only a ten-year-old child, and this speculation made sense, and what happened next seemed to confirm this suspicion - for the next nine years, we had no information about the target, and he seemed to have completely disappeared from the mainland. ”

"Eliminate ...... Lose? ”

"It's just disappearing." Susia nodded: "It's hard to say how to achieve it, but as long as it is a known race, as long as they are indeed active on the continent, we all have a way to confirm their traces." However, in the intervening nine years, no trace of the target's activity came into view. ”

"That is...... He's been hiding out of your sight? ”

"Considering that he was only a ten-year-old who knew nothing about the mainland, my personal preference is that he was captured by some organization and then imprisoned in a facility that we can't observe."

"Prisoner, captive?" Alex's eyes widened in surprise: "It's a little arbitrary to draw such a direct conclusion, right?" What about the possibility that he would voluntarily be contained by a group? ”

"How much effort did the two of you put into defeating that giant puppet armor? And those insect-type battle puppets, no matter how you look at them, they won't be personal works, right? Where do you think those things will come from? ”

"Do you mean—"

"About a few months ago, we received an unsigned letter from our branch in Innis City, revealing to us that a 'dangerous person who had escaped from a floating island' was in a certain place with 'some dangerous contraband'. At that time, the first person to be ordered to investigate was Devon's brother. ”

"Anonymous letter...... It's usually suspicious. ”

"Not only that, but anonymous letters also use the classical technique of 'cutting words from newspapers and assembling them'. By the way, the source of the newspaper is to deliberately choose more than three mainstream newspapers. Of course, envelopes and glue are all big road goods. ”

"Wow! This is not at all suspicious! It's completely a posture of a ghost in a bright and bright way! ”

"That's it, the confirmation of the target's identity and the various details are the results of the investigation of the information obtained by everyone in the team after I took over. Either way, where did the target go in the decade since it disappeared, where did the puppets come from, and the identity of the sender...... No matter how you look at it, these are not simple things. ”

Susia's eyes looked past Ciel and Alex to the huge puppet wreckage behind them, and said in a somewhat grim tone.

※

Shady?

Thinking of the possible organization hidden behind this incident, Alex lifted her spirits slightly. The behind-the-scenes organization hidden from the sight of mankind and the huge conspiracy that entangles the world are always unfolding. You're bound to meet when you go on an adventure with Hill in the future, right? Alex thought a little impatiently.

It was already one o'clock in the morning, and the outline of the town of Kiss of Death was in front of you.

Seeing the silent town at night, Alex felt a sense of reassurance.

Turning his head, Hill was looking around.

"What are you doing?"

Alex couldn't help but ask.

Hearing her voice, Ciel turned his head slightly.

"I'm looking for a master."

Speaking of which, it was the clearing in front of the town, and Alex did remember that there were a few farmlands lined up next to it.

"No, no, no, even that scum won't ...... just every other day"

In the middle of speaking, the girl's voice suddenly stopped, and she caught a glimpse of a dark shadow on the left.

- A suspicious figure wrapped in a black nightcoat from finish to finish, humming a cheerful tune in Alex's familiar voice, while skillfully placing the picked vegetables into the wooden basket next to him.

“.…..”

As if sensing Alex's gaze, the figure turned back leisurely.

"Ah~ Isn't this Alex and my lovely apprentice?"

"Alex, the master is calling us."

Ciel said as he gently tugged at Alex's clothes.

"What are you talking about, Ciel? There is no one around us, huh? Are you hallucinating because you're too tired? Looks like we'd better go back and rest. ”

Alex said as she took Ciel's hand.

"Ahh Obviously, I'm still working hard here, but today's young people are really excessive! ”

Still silently pulling Ciel forward, Alex couldn't help but have a cross on her forehead.

"I don't even have the spirit of respecting the old and loving the young, really, that's why there are so many poor milk ...... in this world."

…… I endure. Alex pulled Ciel with the cross on her forehead and quickened her pace.

"Okay, just leave a secret message on the vegetable leaves on the ground - 'Alex the Strange Thief is here'."

"Stop!"

Alex shook off her shield as she turned around, and the figure crouching on the ground and fiddling with leaves fell to the ground.

In the end, Alex's patience still did not withstand the shamelessness of the other party.