When Salom pushed the door in, Partridge was resting his hands on the table. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The window behind him was open. Through that gap, the fresh smell of the morning and the sounds of the town flowed in along the air. Except for the part built underground, the town is no different from ordinary towns: the tinkling of iron wafting not far away, the loud greetings of the inhabitants, the whispered chatter of the women at the door, and the leisurely moos of the captive animals - this is a lively town full of life.

Partridge's consciousness flew farther and farther away in the sounds. At first, shortly after Hill and Salom left, he did think about something, but his mind soon broke like a thin thread, replaced by unconscious memory fragments. Memories of wandering around with Kara as a young man, memories of establishing the kiss of death after running away from the old organization, and memories of personally teaching Hill when he was still a child...... For a quarter of an hour, Partridge himself did not know what he was thinking, until the movement of the wooden door awakened him from the depths of consciousness.

"It's you...... What about Hill? ”

He looked up and saw Salom walking in alone.

"His Highness Hill has already departed."

Salom replied as she walked forward, pausing in the center of the room and looking at Partridge across the table.

“…… What's wrong? Miss Salom, with a serious expression on her face. ”

Partridge and his secretary looked at each other for a moment, squinting slightly.

“…… President, I'll just ask—"

Ignoring Partridge's words, Salom spoke softly.

"--Why do you want to let His Highness Hill take the test at such a time?"

There was a far more serious sight in her eyes than usual.

"What, that's the problem."

Partridge tilted his head slightly to look around Salom's gaze, and cast his gaze on the wall next to him with a relaxed expression.

"That's normal, right? He's the only one in the organization who hasn't passed the assessment, and although Hill was brought up by me, I won't keep him special. Whether as the president of Kiss of Death, or as his educator, this was a matter of course - this was an opportunity for Hill to be with Miss Alex, meaning that he would be left of the Order for some time to go on his own. Every move represents the kiss of death, so of course you have to pass the assessment first to become a full member-"

"This kind of talk can only deceive Miss Alex."

Salom's voice cut Partridge's narrative in the middle like a cold blade. The old man paused, turning his head to look at his secretary. The peugeot's face was looking at him with piercing eyes, showing an unflinching gesture.

"What do you want to be special - it's clear that the other people's assessments are all carried out together after the training is completed, and the assessment of His Highness Hill was deliberately postponed separately and has been postponed until now, isn't it the president himself?"

“……”

Partridge was silent.

"Why didn't His Highness Hill participate in the assessment at that time? If you chose to postpone it at that time, why did you mention it at such a time? I wonder what kind of considerations the president is doing this. ”

Salom closed her mouth and looked at the old man behind the table with her eyes motionless.

Partridge was silent for a moment, then leaned back in his chair slightly.

"Shalom, do you know how the official members of Kiss of Death are assessed?"

"A little bit of understanding."

"Really...... Do you think Hill's kid will be able to pass the assessment? ”

Salom was slightly silent, if it was an assessment like a crusade mission, of course she had absolute confidence in Ciel. In addition, any project that examines physical ability or combat literacy, she is sure that there is no way to stump Hill. But Kiss of Death is assessed differently than elsewhere......

Ignoring Shalom, who fell silent, Partridge continued to himself:

"The last time you took the test was before you came to town, but you may have seen it in the information - the trainees who took the test were the second generation of Kiss of Death, including the descendants of the original members and some orphans in the house, a total of 92 people. But what about those who stayed in the end? There were only 33 of them. ”

Salom did look at the material. After entering the Kiss of Death, Shalom's efforts were evident, and all the information she had access to was read through several times until she remembered it. Of course, the content of the assessment is also among them, and Salom remembers the surprise when she saw the elimination rate of more than half.

"This assessment method was discussed by me, the eighth child, and Mr. Kouen, and we felt a little unkind, but Mr. Kouen took a fancy to this plan, so it was finally finalized like this...... Speaking of which, those children were among the first to be assessed, and they seem to be quite effective so far. With that, Partridge lifted his head off the back of his chair, "Miss Salom, can you see where the inspiration for its design came from?" ”

Salom was silent for a moment—

"It's the 'Ears of Wheat Theory', right?"

"That's right, it's the 'Ears of Wheat Theory'. Originally, it was used to interpret the story of 'love', and our plagiarism is inevitably a little uninteresting. But at the end of the day...... whether it's 'love' or 'death', maybe it's all the same thing. ”

Salom didn't speak, she was thinking back to how the kiss of death was measured.

Going straight in a wheat field and picking the largest ear of wheat under the restriction of not being able to turn back, this is the "ear of wheat theory" proposed by the ancient philosophers.

Originally, it was a story that clarified what "love is", but with a slight change, it can also be used as an assessment method for thieves organizations.

-- Starting from the station, we continued to move in the direction we had set. There is no turning back, no turning, and the life of a thug must be taken before reaching the finish line, which is the test that Kiss of Death trainees need to pass to become full members.

This test does not test their combat ability as members of the battle, but the brutal training of distinguishing between good and evil and establishing their own beliefs.

This training will be the foundation for them in the future, and they will have a thorough understanding of the creed of the kiss of death. For those members who participated in the assessment, this was the first time they had killed a target on their own, not to mention that the choice of target was no longer from the assignment of the task, but from their own judgment. This kind of assessment may be a bit heavy for those trainees who are no more than eighteen years old, but Kiss of Death is ultimately a thief organization whose main business is assassination, and this cruel sharpness is also an important guarantee that it can go on impartially.

But will His Highness Hill be able to pass this assessment?

The previous conversation and various information converged in her head, and the result made Shalom dumbfounded.

"President. Do you want His Highness Hill to leave the Kiss of Death? ”

“.…..”

Partridge was silent. But what this silence meant, of course, Salom knew.

“…… That's right? ”

"This is an assessment that no one is exempt from...... If Hill can't get through, he'll have to leave as promised. ”

Partridge crossed his hands, his old face with a determined expression.

Salom was silent for a moment under the old man's determined gaze, and after a moment she spoke softly.

"Do you still think of His Highness Hill as a blank sheet of paper that will be polluted by the outside world?"

"No, I agree with you...... It's because he's a crystal that's why he's leaving. ”

Partridge said as he got up from his chair and slowly turned to look out the window.

"I just mentioned the 'Ears of Wheat Theory'...... Doing so in 'love' would be considered unfaithful, but if it's a 'life' wheat field, you can take a smarter approach - move forward with the ears of wheat and throw them away when you see a bigger ear...... After repeating this over and over again, the final one will be the biggest one, don't you think? Miss Salom? ”

“…… As you say. ”

"That's it......" The old man's voice was slightly depressed, his back standing in front of the window, the silhouette of his body with a lonely shadow: "For Ciel, the kiss of death was the first ear of wheat he saw, and all his eyes were focused on the one in his hand, so he couldn't see the vast wheat field around him. In this endless field, the Kiss of Death is definitely not the largest, not only is it dry and thin, but it may one day stab the child's hand......"

Partridge's voice slowly lowered, but the power in the middle did not wane. For the first time, Salom heard the old man's innermost thoughts, and she bit her lip gently in silence.

"You ask me why I chose this time...... Because it's just an opportunity. Miss Alex could give him more possibilities than the kiss of death. Rather than endlessly running around with all sorts of boring raids, it's obviously more enjoyable to venture around with your peers, right? Partridge said as he looked out the window at the town.

“…… That's what the president thinks, what kind of life is better, only His Highness Hill himself can answer. ”

Partridge turned his head to see Shalom's unflinching look.

"I already know the president's intentions, so now I beg my pardon."

With that, Salom saluted and turned and walked out the door.

"Where are you going? It's still working time. ”

"Please let me take a leave of absence."

Without looking back, Salom closed the office door with his backhand.

The sound of footsteps on the wooden planks in the hallway slowly walked away, leaving only silence in the room.

Partridge turned his head out the window, then sighed deeply.

※

Deep in the Tria Mountains and the Larlo steppe, this is a barren land that no one has set foot on.

The mountains and rocks are craggy, and the vegetation grows wildly. Even the sun can't shine in, but the plants seem to be much stronger than elsewhere.

Basically, it has a primitive feel of eternal desolation.

This is the corner of the world, the land of projectiles that go unnoticed. There had been few people for thousands of years, but at this time there was a figure stumbling between the valleys.

The ornate garment he wore was tattered and covered with marks of vegetation. The boots that were originally light were disfigured beyond recognition by the gravel at their feet.

It's been a week since she was separated from her guards, and since then, Carroman has lived a nightmare of chaos.

The look of disdain that the guard had been floating in front of his eyes as he was leaving, and when he was eating, breathing, brushing his teeth, and sleeping, that look floated out of every crevice at every time, constantly proclaiming that he was a coward.

The pressure was enough to drive him crazy.

"Damn, damn ......"

As she walked, Carroman kept chattering nervously.

Carroman is not a bad person. As a nobleman, he didn't do anything like a nobleman did in the novel. Neither has he bullied civilians by virtue of his status, nor has he played with women's lives like a playboy.

- In other words, he is a mediocre character who is not even capable of being a typical villain.

Mediocrity, that's the word that runs through Carroman's life so far. Whether it's swordsmanship or schoolwork, business or politics, Carroman shows an average standard as a general standard. But that's not the point, as the eldest young master of the Kaile family, Carroman's resources are enough to make him do more with less. With a little sweat, he can reach a standard that is difficult for normal people to achieve. But he couldn't do it.

Why am I so untalented? I just want to work hard in the field where I have talent, and if I find my hidden talent, I can also be the pride of the high-profile Kaile family. Such thoughts lingered in his mind from the age of ten to twenty, music, painting, sports, carving, climbing, fishing, acting, ice hockey...... Carroman has access to all the areas he can reach as an aristocrat, but unfortunately he has only half-baked talent for every project.

Of course, he also admired the master of swordsmanship, the musician who played beautiful music with ease, and the playwright who wrote compelling stories, but because he had no talent, he had to give up halfway in every field.

"What I want is not the position that ordinary people have finally reached after unremitting efforts, I just want to see the ultimate spectacle that only geniuses can see." -- He had always had such thoughts in his heart.

By the age of twenty, Caroman, who had not excelled in any direction, ended up being no different from the average nobleman. Neither the kind of genius who is praised, nor the despised wickedness. Ordinary and unremarkable, the only thing that will be noticed is the identity of the "first heir of the Kaile family".

In this way, he was betrothed to Audrey of the Tager merchant group at the behest of his parents.

It was only a political marriage, but it brought Karoman the pain of being scorched by the sun. Beautiful, intelligent, and impeccable in talent and effort, Audella, known as the Jewel of Tagger, is like a mirror in her presence. She looked at herself, not at herself, but at her fiancé, a mediocre nobleman, and the heir of the Kaile family.

Staying with her would be painful for Caroman, but there was nothing he could do to change it.

But Carroman didn't find a way to move forward, and the time came just a few days ago.

At that time, of course, the mood to rescue his fiancée was also there. But Kaloman, who is a swordsman, can only do if he hugs the shoulders of the guards tightly.

――If I die like this, my life will only be like this.

――If you die like this, how will others mention it? "You know what? The only daughter of the gifted Tagger was killed along with the young master of the Kaile family. ”…… That's all.

I don't want to be reduced to a pale and barren statement like "the young master of the Kaile family", not because I am afraid of death, but because I don't want it to end like this. Eventually, Karoman gave the order to flee to the guards who were carrying him on his back.

That's just it.

It's just like this, why do you have to be tormented by such eyes and guilt?

Staying in a hotel in a small town on the edge of the prairie, and constantly numbing her mind with alcohol, Carroman spent such a troubled week.

Until three days ago, he had that bizarre dream.

In the dream, the sky began to crumble, everything continued to disintegrate, and countless snow-white rabbits emerged from the cracks in the air, running around in a sound similar to a nursery rhyme.

-- Go to the east, where there are things that you can change.

Unable to distinguish gender, this clear voice pierced through his dreams and followed him all the way to reality.

Thinking that this was a divine revelation, Karoman began to move towards this place with a glimmer of hope.

"Ah......h

At this time, he saw a vision in front of him.

A black slit floats in front of it, floating in the air of nothing, exuding a strong heterogeneous texture that defies common sense.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Carroman slowly approached the gap.

Reaching out, the gap had no edges, and he slowly reached into the darkness of the unknown.