Emerald removes the hat from her head, revealing feline ears caused by the protozoan virus.

"Because of my ears, I have never been accepted by everyone. Even the mother who gave birth to me was the same. ”

"Is it 'gastaric shock'?"

"Yes." This was to be expected, so Rentaro wasn't particularly surprised.

It is said that the formation of a child's personality is greatly influenced by the environment around them.

Children who grow up under repression will lead to strong defiant behavior. Children raised in ignorance will do bad things to attract everyone's attention. Cui's timid personality that lacks self-confidence is probably due to the complete denial of personality by the surroundings during the growth process.

"But Mr. Shoma accepted me like this. And then there's you."

Cui stopped talking for the time being, and looked up at Rentaro awe:

"I can still fight. Please let me go to war. ”

Rentaro just shook his head:

"You should sleep well now, that's the happiest thing for me and Senior Brother Shoma."

Holding back the suppressed feelings that were about to explode, Rentaro's clenched fists on his knees trembled slightly. The girl's warm palm rested on his hand.

She looked at Emerald in surprise, just opposite her eyes staring straight at her.

She's such an incredible girl. Although I've never spoken to her properly, it's hard to understand that she's not just the initiator of unilateral dependence on Shoma.

"By the way, the first time you met with everyone, you mentioned 'scent divination', right?"

"Huh?"

"You said it. When you introduce yourself, you say 'good at scent divination'. What does that mean exactly? ”

Emerald seemed to understand quickly, and made a gesture of putting her hand on her chest and touching it down: "yes, because I'm a cat." The sense of smell is slightly stronger than others. ”

Emeri closed her eyes and twitched her nose to show Rentaro, "I've smelled many people, and I can judge from the unique taste. So I started doing something like divination, and I didn't expect it to be quite popular with the people around me. ”

"And how does I smell?"

For some reason, Emerald seemed to be embarrassed to raise her gaze and look at Rentaro:

"Won't you be angry when you hear that?"

"No, it won't. Don't mind. ”

"Captain Satomi has the 'smell of perdition' on him."

Thump! Rentaro's heart beat hard.

"The smell of perdition? Does such a thing as perdition smell? ”

Cui also shook her head in confusion: "I don't understand either." It's more like intuition, and it's not a divination that comes after thinking. ”

Silence hung between the two. Emerald drank the water from the glass. I heard a click of ice cubes sliding in the cup.

"One more thing, it's about Miss Tendo"

"Miss Kigen?"

Emerald looked at Rentaro with a determined expression.

"Please be careful, Captain, that person also has a strong smell of perdition. That person must be easily drawn to the darkness. ”

Rentaro was speechless.

"That's, why"

"But if you have Captain Sato, you can rest assured. I think you can do a good job. This makes me feel much more at ease. ”

In a bit of a chicken-and-duck state, Emerald barely braces up, puts her hat back on and puts her feet in her shoes.

"Hey, hey."

"I want to get out a little bit. Go to the bathroom. The captain doesn't want to come along, does he? ”

Emeri smiled shyly and grabbed the door with her back to Rentaro.

But her hand suddenly stopped, and she turned back with an eager expression:

"Captain! That, I"

However, it doesn't matter how long Rentaro waits. She didn't go any further.

As if she was enduring the pain, she tried her best to swallow her feelings back, and then pretended to be as calm as usual. Her side face exudes a calm air of resignation.

"I'll go to the bathroom, maybe a little longer."

After finishing speaking, she walked out of the room.

And then never came back.

Rentaro, who had been waiting in the room for a while, suddenly stood up and walked out of the house with a determined look in his eyes, as if he had made a decision

In front of a dilapidated inn, Rentaro sees a group of girls playing happily outside, and finds a familiar storage zài from this group of girls.

"Yanzhu"

Even though it was hard to speak, he called out softly.

The double ponytail girl who was originally playing HIGH seems to be telepathic. He looked to the side suddenly, just in time for Rentaro's eyes.

Immediately afterward, both of them staggered a little awkwardly.

After the other girls noticed that the atmosphere between the two was a little abnormal, they all turned away in a sense of interest. Gave them independent space.

Rentaro is older in the end, and he was the first to break the atmosphere of the scene.

"Yanzhu, I have something to ask Head Yang Xi for help."

"I was looking for my brother."

While there was a little loss in her voice, Yanzhu also seemed to let go of something. As if relieved, her face regained her old smile, "My brother has been out since just now." I haven't come back yet. ”

"How could it be?"

Hearing this, Rentaro was obviously a little anxious, "Yeonzhu, do you know where the head of the group has gone?" ”

"I don't know, but my brother has been heading in this direction for a while. If you're lucky, you should be able to find him in this direction. ”

"Thank you, Yanzhu."

After running two steps in the direction Yanzhu pointed, he suddenly stopped and turned back and asked, "Yanzhu, aren't you angry?" ”

"Well, if you think about it, there's nothing to be angry about. Rentaro must have a reason for doing this, right? People want to believe in Rentaro. ”

"yes, yes, that's it. Goodbye then, Yanzhu. ”

"Well, goodbye, Rentaro."

Looking at the figure of the young man gradually moving away, Yanzhu's waving arms also slowed down. She could feel that the distance between herself and Rentaro was getting farther and farther away. If in the past there was a feeling of being disconnected from the lotus root, now it is like the clouds in the sky and the fish in the water, although they can meet often, but they have nothing to do with each other.

"Rentaro!"

Satomi Rentaro, who had been running in the forest for a while, was suddenly stopped and looked in the direction of the sound. It turned out that Mu Geng, Tong Sheng and Shoma.

"Wood? What's wrong? How did you come to such a place? ”

"When we found out that Cui and you were gone, we searched for you everywhere, and we had already searched all the neighborhoods, and only this direction remained. But you, didn't you follow Cui? ”

"What? Emerald hasn't come back yet? Not good! ”

A strong sense of foreboding suddenly swelled up in his heart, and Rentaro, who was unknown, was attacked by indescribable anxiety and fear.

"I'm looking for Lord Yang Xi, and I heard Yanzhu say that Lord Yang Xi is setting off in this direction."

"Lord Yang Xi? What are you looking for him? ”

"Didn't the doctor who examined Tsui say? There was a mysterious power in Cui's body that temporarily suppressed her sagularization, and I think it must have been left over from Lord Yang Xi's treatment for everyone. Maybe Lord Yang Xi can help Cui! ”

"What? How can it be! No matter how strong Lord Yang Xi's strength is, can he still eliminate the protozoan virus? ”

Kigen looked at Rentaro with a questioning expression, this is already blindly seeking medical treatment.

"How do you know if it's going to work if you haven't tried it?! Even if it's only one percent likely, I'm going to try for it. It's hard for my team to be full, how can I lose a valuable teammate like this! ”

While arguing, I walked forward, and the night in front of me appeared at a three-way intersection.

"Tong Sheng to the left, Miss Mu Geng to the right."

Everyone nodded to each other, and Rentaro and Shoma walked straight ahead.

Walk through the deep woods. On the way up the wet hill, Rentaro's shoes accidentally slip.

"Be careful!" Akima reminded loudly.

When I exclaimed in my heart, my vision was already spinning, and I had to stretch out my hand and struggle to avoid slipping.

As a result, he stopped rolling after falling down with the clod. Spit out the dirt that had run into his mouth as he got up and looked around, as if he had fallen into a hollow in the shape of a bowl, and there was still mist in it.

So he found it.

"Lord Yang Xi"

With a happy face, Rentaro ran towards the figure standing in front of the birch tree, however. He originally wanted to rush over, but he noticed that the other party's appearance was wrong and immediately stopped.

Under the birch tree, a petite figure lay there.

It was the missing Emerald.

"Emerald"

He couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

Bow your head deeply. There is no response to Rentaro's voice. Asleep? It doesn't feel like it.

The feline ears that had always held a strong knot were exposed, and the pointed hat had been blown away by the wind.

Rentaro took a step further and noticed that there were traces of bright red liquid splashing on the birch tree behind her.

"Emerald?"

There was no answer.

At this moment, Rentaro's hands and feet trembled involuntarily.

He struggled with the strong urge not to see, not to know the facts, and only walked up to each other with his legs as if he were an independent creature.

When he came to Cui's face, his legs stopped.

The other party looked sleepy, and his eyes couldn't reflect anything in this world. Neither staring into her gaze nor shining with light, the pupils did not prove a living response to light.

Bloodshot saliva dragged out of his mouth, hanging like a spindle. The medulla oblongata at the back of the mouth has a small circular hole.

Due to the impact of Tsui's completely changed appearance, the impression of the automatic pistol that fell next to it became blurry and small.

Written next to him was, "I don't want to be a burden, so I'm looking for death." I'll leave it to you in the Tokyo area. Small pieces of paper.

"Lord Yang Xi, this"

Yang Xi, who was standing motionless in front of the girl, finally reacted.

"I was attracted by the gunfire here, but I didn't expect it."

Rentaro's eyes widened suddenly, and he fell to his knees.

"It's all my fault"

"Is it true? Didn't the captain change just now? ”

Holding her fingers, knowing that her left hand had lost sensation, Rentaro hurriedly lied. However, when she asked the question, Rentaro was instantly relieved.

It was at this time that Tsui realized from Rentaro's reaction that he was hopeless, so he was determined to seek death.

Therefore, when Rentaro said, "You should sleep well now, that is the happiest thing for me and Senior Brother Shoma." Emerald saw through Rentaro's empty lies. will show that kind of expression like crying and laughing, extremely sad.

The scene of the eight people swearing to survive around the campfire came to mind. It seemed like a long time ago.

As she left the room, she looked back as if she wanted to say something, but finally left without saying a word. What exactly was she trying to say at the time? There is no longer a chance to know the answer.

- Okay, let's laugh, Satomi Rentaro.

In this way, you can solve the burden of the auxiliary forces without getting your hands dirty.

Dealing with Cui like this will not only not be despised by Mu Geng, but he will not be teased by Ying Yin for not actually doing anything.

Isn't that the best ending? Come on, laugh.

Rentaro slammed his fists into the trunk of the tree with all his might, looking up to the sky and shouting, "Bastard! ”

"I don't know what happened though. But there's no point in blaming yourself. Rentaro, stand up, I can see that you're carrying something unusual. Needless to say, you should also understand that people, living in this world, always have to face some things that they don't want to see. When encountering something, there are always different choices to be made, and often none of these choices have good results. But, anyway. This is a choice made by oneself, so you must be responsible for your own actions and bear the corresponding price for your choice. It's just that. Either way, don't regret it! ”

"Why can't you regret it? Lord Yang Xi, you sue me! Why! ”

"Because your regret is a denial of the choices you made. It is also a negation of the fate of the person affected by the choice you make. Is it a fact that has happened that you can deny? Instead of choosing to escape, it is better to face it bravely. ”

"Huh. It's really nice to say, Lord Yang Xi, you are very strong, if it is your dearest and loved ones who die in front of you, can you still say these great truths so simply? ”

Rentaro, who was kneeling on the ground and looked up at Yang Xi, smiled a little nervously. From his eyes, Yang Xi saw a kind of madness that was almost ruined.

His mental state was very unstable.

"I don't know, maybe I can, maybe I can't. So, I've always avoided that. Because, I regretted it before. ”

Looking up at the sky, Yang Xi recalled Mikoto Misaka again. I don't know if that result is good or bad for her. But that was already the limit of what Yang Xi could do.

After Shoma, who came over looking for Rentaro, saw Yang Xi, he first nodded in salute, then squatted on the ground very calmly and stared at Cui for a while, and finally gently closed her eyelids and put on a hat for her to cover her expression.

Shoma tilted his head to the sky and pressed his fingers to the corners of his eyes.

"I used to be like an empty shell of the walking dead. When she met Cui, she was also like an empty shell. We are similar companions, which is why we fight together. Make a pact to fill each other's loneliness. ”

Rentaro lowered his eyes uncomfortably.

Whether to announce Tsui's death in the auxiliary forces, Rentaro felt very confused. Either way, at least the truth should be revealed to her promoters.

Akima looked back at Rentaro, "Satomi, let's just say that Emerald ran away and hide the news of her death." Otherwise, everyone will be shaken. ”

"Brother Shoma"

Rentaro was mentally prepared to be scolded.

As a result, Shoma's attitude was the same. If Rentaro was beaten by the other party, maybe he would be in a more relaxed mood. Akima, however, just shook his head.

"In fact, I should have been the one who should give her a ride. I'm a partner."

"Senior Brother Shoma, what you just said 'it used to be like an empty shell'?"

Shoma bowed his head in pain.

"I, I didn't quit Tiantong Flow by myself, but I was kicked out."

Rentaro was surprised. Kicked out? The martial arts genius who had made him and Miss Kigen's longing in the past be kicked out?

"Satomi, you saw it too. When Kigen was almost attacked by the aragus, I rushed to help. ”

"yes."

Shoma uses the "Roller Deer Fuki" to knock down the rat woman-type aragula, and also causes the opponent's body to explode and tear apart.

The essence of Tendo Ryu is to use his strength to defeat the opponent and make the opponent lose the ability to fight, and as for the cruel techniques such as internal destruction of the body, they are all excluded.

However, the technique Shoma used at that time was obviously a nirvana that he had modified himself.

"I took a different path, which is why I was expelled from the school in the first place. I was betrayed by Tento-ryu, who I had always trusted, so I got lost in the street. This is also the reason for sneaking into the police. ”

"According to Sukeki and Master, sooner or later, I will use this power to do bad things. So in fact, I was even forbidden to use the Tendo martial arts outside. ”

"It's stupid. Senior Brother Shoma is not this kind of person, and Miss Kisara, I and I are very clear. ”

The corners of Shoma's mouth lifted slightly, revealing a slightly happy expression: "No one knows what will happen in the future." Even God is the same. ”

"Senior Brother Zhangma, I'm sorry, I hurt it."

"It's not you who killed Emerald, it's the archagular. If you really want to mourn her death, you can swear here to defeat Aldebaran and save the Tokyo area. ”

At this time, Yang Xi spoke.

"Excuse me, Tsui's matter is to say that she is recuperating with me, I don't want such a sensible child to be saddled with the notoriety of 'absconding in fear' after death."

Rentaro looked at Yang Xi with a grateful face, "Thank you, Lord Yang Xi." Then he showed a guilty expression, "And just now, I'm sorry, it's my love that is a little wrong." ”

"It doesn't matter, if this were me, I might be even more miserable than you. Besides, Tsui and I know each other, and being able to do something for her is what I should do as a friend. ”

After speaking, Yang Xi stepped forward and picked up Cui's body, which was not stiff after his death.

"I'll take care of it."

"Then please, Lord Yang Xi."

Rentaro and Akiruma nodded without any opinion. (To be continued......)