Outer outskirts of the imperial capital, imperial cemetery.

"O Lord Almighty, have great mercy on this heroic soul to the kingdom of heaven."

"We beseech you to bless this tomb and fill it with your peace and love."

"We buried his body in the ground, so that the earth would return to the dust, and the ashes to the ashes, and the dust to the dust......"

The priest in a white robe had a solemn expression, and as he recited the eulogy, his low and compassionate voice echoing through the world, it seemed very infectious.

Today's sky is a little overcast, the clouds are dark and oppressive, and there is no wind, which makes people feel very depressed, but it is a good weather suitable for a funeral.

The so-called funeral is a ceremony for people to say goodbye to important people.

There will be all kinds of people gathered here, most of them are the deceased's family, friends, and colleagues...... All had more or less dealings with the deceased.

Everyone will feel very sad, and there will even be some emotional people who shed tears, and everyone will pray silently in memory of someone who will be gone forever.

However, the funeral that is now taking place seems a little strange.

In terms of the number of people, it is really too small, even if you include the priests and priests who came to preside over the funeral, there are only a dozen people.

And, among the few people, except for the girl who stood at the front with a sad face, everyone else showed a very subtle expression.

This expression is very complicated, with a little pity, a little sigh, a little indifference, and even a little hatred.

- but without any sorrow!

But this is also a matter of course, with what Oka usually does, they are already very modest without spitting a few mouthfuls in front of his tombstone.

Where else could there be a second person who had respect for him but Seleuc?

……

Not long ago, Okka's body was found in an alley in the upper town.

He had multiple sword wounds on his body, his hands were cut off by his wrists, and he died a miserable death.

At the same time, Gamal, an oil merchant who was very close to Okka, was also found dead in his home, and the cause of death was a piercing of the heart with a sharp weapon.

After a preliminary judgment, Javier concluded that it was a premeditated assassination attempt by the "night raid" against Oka and Gammal.

Although the reason for the "night attack" targeting them is still under investigation, most of the people in the garrison are like mirrors in their hearts.

Who doesn't know about the of Oka and Gammal, who has killed so many innocent people for a little bribe, and it is not strange to be resented by the families of those who died unjustly, and it is even more reasonable to ask for a "night attack" to take revenge.

Wright stood silently at the head of several of the guards, who had come to attend the funeral on behalf of the entire Imperial Capital Guard.

Although he didn't have a good impression of Oka at all, after all, death is great, and Oka is also their captain after all, even if it is based on the relationship between his superiors and subordinates in the past, he should come to his funeral.

However, Wright didn't expect that there would be so few people attending the funeral, although Oka didn't have any living family, but he also made a wide range of friends on weekdays, and there should still be a lot of people who could be called friends, but now he hasn't seen any of them.

It's really a person who walks away from tea, and he is really a typical failure in this life.

No...... It can't be said to be a complete failure.

Wright glanced at Seleuc, whose eyes were a little red and swollen beside her, her face was extremely pale, and there was a faint tear in the corner of her eye, she must have cried sadly.

Seleuc has always regarded Oka as a benefactor, and Oka is still her master, and she has always been grateful to Okka.

Now that Oka is dead, the saddest person must be her.

"Are you alright, Seleuc? You look terrible. ”

Wright and Seleu were soldiers who enlisted in the army at the same time, and they often worked together after being transferred to the Imperial Capital Garrison, and they had a good relationship with each other.

“…… I'm fine. ”

There was not the slightest emotion in Mu Ran's voice, and there was even a hint of indifference that rejected people thousands of miles away, which was not at all like Sai Leu's usual style.

"This—That's it......"

Wright scratched his head in embarrassment, Seleuc obviously exuded an atmosphere of not wanting to talk now, and it was better to let her be alone.

At the end of the funeral, the priest finished reading the eulogy and sprinkled some flower petals with the soil, which represented the memorial and the good journey.

Finally, the priest placed a bouquet of white lilies in front of the tomb, and the funeral ended.

The sky was getting darker, the humidity in the air was getting thicker, and in a moment it was raining.

The people who had come to the funeral had all left, and the priests and priests had packed up and were ready to call it a day, except for Seleuc, who stood motionless and had no intention of leaving.

She was already drenched in the rain, her hair clinging to her forehead, covering most of her eyes and drowning out her expression.

Wright looked at Seleuc, who was standing in front of Okka's tombstone, and opened his mouth several times, but finally turned into a sigh and left.

……

I don't know how long it took, but the rain was still falling, not only did it not decrease in the slightest, but it began to fall heavier and heavier.

In this way, Seleuc stood in the wind and rain, with his head bowed, his eyes buried in the shadows, which made it impossible to see really.

She remained silent, did not speak, and did not know what to say.

The man buried in the tomb in front of her was the captain of Oka she had once respected the most, and he was also her mentor.

Raised her instead of her father who died in the line of duty, taught her the principles of being a human being, taught her the fighting skills to fight against evil, and transferred her to the imperial capital garrison to inherit her father's will......

She has always kept this kind of kindness in her heart, and she wanted to repay it for a lifetime, but she didn't expect it......

On the night of Okka's assassination, Seleuc was instructed by Havel to read a batch of classified documents.

The documents were kept in a separate room, numbering more than twenty copies, each with two large vermilion letters in the upper right corner of the cover, "Top Secret", further illustrating the value of the documents.

Seleuc read them one by one with a solemn heart, and in the process of reading, cold sweat gradually broke out on her forehead - the contents were quite appalling, and she felt very shocked, panicked, and even despaired!

Dark, dirty, filthy, mad, sinful...... That's pretty much the stuff on it.

The darkness of the empire was more terrible than she had imagined.

And what shocked Seleuc the most was that in one of the documents, she saw more than a dozen pages of incriminating evidence from Okka!

Each crime is justified and explained in detail, even down to the exact time, as if it were seen with your own eyes.

Seleuc thought about it, and memories of the past flashed through her mind like electricity.

Then she found that there were always clues that could prove the truth of these charges, and with what she knew about Javier, she didn't think that the other party would use some false information to deceive her.

Then, these documents are ironclad evidence, and Okka's crime is an established fact.

In the case of Virgil's assassination, Seleuc had already touched a part of the darkness of the empire.

But even so, she still had a hope for the empire in her heart, and naively thought that the situation of the empire was not too serious and could be saved.

Virgil is an isolated phenomenon, and the empire she guards still stands for justice.

Seleuc expected this, and she could only expect that.

Because to deny it would be to deny all the efforts she has made so far, which she cannot bear.

However, the cruel reality instantly shattered the last glimmer of hope in her heart.

The huge sadness and confusion instantly engulfed her, and her heart fell deeper and deeper into the dark quagmire.

Justice?

All she could see was endless darkness.

She was betrayed.

By the Empire, by the Master, and even by Justice itself!

The captain said that he hoped that he would see everything clearly and then make a choice.

Now, she saw it clearly, but she was caught in a situation of increasing anguish and pain.

The so-called truth that is hidden, no matter what the occasion, is mostly cruel.

……

"Captain Oka ...... Master ......"

Seleu finally looked up, his teeth clenching his lip, and the rain slid down her soaked bangs to her cheeks, and she couldn't tell if it was tears or rain.

Her voice was low and hoarse, and if anyone who knew her would be startled when she heard it, it was as if she had changed into a different person.

"I really...... Thank you really ......."

"At the time of my father's death...... When I was most miserable...... Saved me ......"

"This kindness...... I can't pay it back in my life......"

"I really respect you......"

"But...... Why...... Why the hell is ......?"

Sai Leu couldn't say any more, she staggered to her knees, curled up, her hands covering her face, her thin shoulders shaking slightly, looking pitiful.

The rain had not stopped, and the wind mixed with the raindrops, slamming east and west on the ground, whipping Seru's delicate body.

The rain splashed, and it was a blur.

Suddenly, the rain seemed to stop in an instant, but the sound of the rain was still there, as if only time had stood still.

Seleu looked up suspiciously, and a silver-haired young man with a grim face stood beside her at some point, holding out a black umbrella in his hand to shield her from the oncoming wind and rain.

"Team...... Long? ”

A hint of trance appeared in Saileu's eyes, thinking that he had seen a hallucination.

"I just met Wright, and I heard him say that your state is not normal, so let's take a look."

Javier squatted down and straightened out her somewhat messy bangs with his other hand, and his tone was unprecedentedly gentle: "Go back, or you'll catch a cold." ”

Javier told a little lie, he didn't meet Wright, but he was faintly relieved, so he put down his official duties and went to the cemetery.

When he arrived, he found that Seleuc had not left, and he was crying very sadly in front of Oka's tombstone.

In the wind and rain, the petite figure of Sai Leu crying alone is particularly heartbreaking.

Really, it was she who pushed her into the abyss of reality, but now she is guilty of sympathy? What a hypocrisy.

He laughed at himself in his heart.

Seleu was stunned for a few seconds, and after making sure that Javier in front of him was not a hallucination, he asked in a low voice, "Captain...... Are you worried about me? ”

"It's just the necessary concern of the superior for the subordinates, is there any problem?"

Saying this kind of impersonal thing again, I honestly said that I was worried that I would die......

However, Seleuc did not hate Javier's slightly awkward way of speaking, but rather felt warm in his heart, because he felt that someone was cherishing him.

"Thank you...... The captain is really gentle......"

Seleuc finally smiled, albeit with a bitter twist.

There was a long silence.

"Now, Captain."

Seleuc spoke again, his voice cautious, with a hint of distressing hope in his eyes: "Master, he ...... Is it really a villain? ”

I wanted to tell her no, but I couldn't lie, and Javier nodded.

"At least from my standpoint, he's the kind of bastard who doesn't have to die many times, and even if he hadn't died at the hands of Night Raid, I'd have killed him with my own hands."

This is the reality, and the world woven by lies cannot last long after all.

People have to live in reality, even if it is painful and desperate, they have to endure it.

As long as you live, you have to learn to face everything.

Seleuc smiled hard when she heard this, although she had expected this answer, but she didn't expect Javier to deny Oka so much, and she showed a look that was about to cry.

"That's right...... After all, it is impossible for the master to be forgiven for doing such a thing. ”

Javier also felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, Seleu's pain can be said to be caused by him, although he had always arranged all this with the idea of saving Seleuc, but was it really the right thing to do? Did Seleuc really desire such a salvation?

She was originally very simple and pure to live in her own little world, although that world is false, but I have to say that she lives happily.

It was he who forcibly destroyed her world and dragged her from heaven to hell - not so much the salvation of the redeemer as the arrogance of the authoritarian.

Maybe what she did was just deepening her pain.

But even so, Javier Salmondo will never regret it, he has already had the consciousness to bear everything, he will carry all the sins and continue to move forward, even if his soul is full of holes, he will never retreat.

"Even if you can't get forgiveness from others, I think at least you can forgive him." Javier whispered, "After all, he is your benefactor, and no matter how much evil he does, this is also a fact that cannot be changed." ”

"Captain......

Seleuc's eyes gradually filled with tears, the confusion and pain after justice was shaken, the helplessness and sadness after Oka died, and the complicated feelings of not being able to help himself after knowing the cruel reality, finally burst out in one breath after being suppressed for a long time.

She suddenly threw herself into Javier's arms, with such force that she even threw Javier, who was caught off guard, directly to the ground.

The umbrella in his hand flew out under the impact, and the two of them were exposed to the wind and rain again.

Seleuc buried his head deep in Javier's chest, his hands tugging at the hem of his chest, his voice hoarse, and a heart-rending wail.

"Captain...... I don't know what justice is......"

"I don't know what I'm supposed to believe anymore......"

"I'm a fool...... It's too complicated to figure out at all......"

"Na...... Tell me...... Captain ......"

"What the hell should I do to ......"

Javier lay on the ground full of small pools, his black uniform was instantly soaked by the rain, and a chill immediately hit him, but he didn't feel any cold at all, because his heart was already filled with the fire of anger.

Why is this young girl in front of her so painful?

It was my fault?

No, there should be a deeper reason, which is the source of her pain.

This crazy country, and this crazy world!

It's so unreasonable, it's so abnormal, there must be something wrong!

Such a country, such a world, must be corrected!

Javier lay quietly like this, staring at the sky as if he was crying, his purple pupils flickering slightly, radiating light from the abyss of hell, silent.

His hands slowly caressed Seleuc's back, and through the girl's body temperature, he felt the struggle and helplessness in the girl's heart.

Then he held the girl who was crying with the sky tightly in his arms.

"I've told you before that you don't need to think about it so much."

His voice was unmistakable, stern but gentle: "How to do it, how to do it, that's the question I should worry about." Don't forget, you're just my subordinate! ”

"Don't know what to believe? Then trust me. ”

"Trust me, and I'll give you meaning to exist."

"Don't know what justice is? Then from now on, I am your justice! ”

"As long as I am here, you will not lose your way, because I will always guide you."

"You don't need to think about anything, just obey my orders completely."

"Because, I'm absolutely right!"

"Got it?"

Seleuc was lying on Javier's strong chest, and Javier couldn't see her expression, but he could feel her head move slightly, as if nodding.

"Well, I listen to the captain for everything...... Woo...... Woohoo......"

Suddenly, there was a suppressed cry in his ears, and then, as if a switch had been turned on, Seleuc began to cry as if he had vented.

"Whoa, whoa——!"

Javier didn't say anything more, just patted her little head lovingly, and let her vent her emotions.

Cry, after crying, everything will be fine.

I promise.