A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 146 Love Like Rain Stops
What hit the ground didn't seem like a katana, but a hollow steel pipe. The clanging sound, accompanied by a "Duang" echo, reminded Quinn of those stupid videos he'd seen that always used similar loud sound effects to make people laugh.

It's hard to believe that a katana could make such a noise.

Quinn subconsciously turned his head to look, and there was the Dark Evil Dragon Ichimonji Norimune, whom he hadn't seen for two months, lying on the ground, the sound of his voice echoing in the bathroom.

No, how did it suddenly fall out? Didn't Ankuya say that the wand's storage space was more stable than steel?
Wait, Quinn quickly realized, how did the tree branch turn back?
Amamiya Nene didn't know how the tree branch turned into a katana, and the Chinese incantation she recited didn't work. Because it was a relic of the abyss, Quinn dared not give it to the academy for research, so she could only stuff it into her wand and carry it with her like this.

With that slam of the katana, the burning desire that filled his mind instantly subsided by half.

Even Xia Dai'er was startled, as if she had been frightened.

Perhaps the fog had thinned, or perhaps it was just my imagination, but her watery eyes seemed to clear up considerably after the katana struck them.

But she was stunned for a moment. There was no turning back now that she had done it, so she hugged Quinn tightly.

He didn't reject me.
As for things like the future.

It doesn't matter. My father is no longer in a position to make decisions, and my mother and older brother will always listen to me.
Besides, they weren't against it in the first place, were they?
The two were too close together.

After turning his attention away from the katana, Quinn noticed that the girl in the bath was not only topless, but completely naked.

Sensing that she was about to slide in, Quinn instinctively pushed her away.

That was close! I almost let the alcohol or something else get to my head.

She was holding on too tightly, and Quinn had to use a little force to untie her hands. But he subconsciously ignored the fact that they were standing on the bathtub, and the slippery ceramic surface caused the girl to slip and fall backward.

Her pink hair spread out like cherry blossoms drifting into the water, and among the strands, Quinn saw a pair of bewildered eyes.

The girl never expected him to push her away.

So much so that they were completely unprepared.

Quinn instinctively tried to grab her. Although the fall was fast, for a Sequence 8 thief, there was plenty of time to react and rescue her. The snow-white figure, swaying and being tossed about due to weightlessness, looked like a slow-motion animation to him.

But he had no interest in appreciating any of it.

A previously overlooked question suddenly emerged—

What will happen to Chaldale after I leave?
Quinn wasn't concerned with the girl's innocence, reputation, or future.

He and Ankuya killed the hero together, and then fled back to the Demon King's castle in another time dimension. All of this could not be kept secret from the investigation of the cult and the academy.

The more Quinn studied mystery and arcane arts, the more awe he felt towards these powers.

Sequence 8 would have been the subject of a mutant movie on Earth, but it's nothing compared to those high-sequence individuals and great sorcerers. Their power is almost divine and unfathomable.

Once the truth comes out, Xia Dai'er, the woman who has been following him since the goblin cave, will definitely be the focus of the investigation.

Helping demons infiltrate is a capital offense punishable by burning at the stake in any country.

Quinn has been keeping Xia Dai'er by his side these days, not because he's short of people for the honey trap, nor because he likes to flirt with a 36D beauty, but because he's preventing the worst-case scenario and putting an insurance policy on Xia Dai'er.

Quinn had been preparing for this from the day he decided to hunt down Lynn.

The insurance he found for Chaldale was Selvi, the owner of Galen's Bar.

Although Xia Dai'er is a young lady from an extraordinary family, she doesn't have the airs of one and is quite sensible. Although she can be a little spoiled at times, her personality is very likable.

After two months of contact, although the boss didn't pay much attention to the Branson family, his relationship with Chaldale was alright, and he treated the girl as a rather lively junior.

The boss certainly wouldn't willingly protect a demon spy just because of this relationship, but if Xia Dai'er is innocent and proves that she was unknowingly involved in the demon incident and was then tortured by some extremists, then the boss would be of great use.

He was also one of those caught up in the incident. With the old man's unfathomable strength, he was certainly capable of protecting himself. His experiences over the past two months had linked him to Xia Dai'er, and he could at least prevent the girl from being treated unfairly.

But what if Quinn and Chaldale were to have a romantic relationship?
Humans have always been inclined to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free when it comes to demons. She's already suspicious enough. Quinn knows Chaldale; she's as innocent as a blank sheet of paper and a bit love-struck. If she shows any sign of siding with him in front of the investigators, it's not impossible that she'll be judged as brainwashed by demons.
Can I take her with me?

Even whether he can return to Earth alive in the future is unknown.

Quinn looked into her eyes and ultimately did not choose to take her hand.

With a splash, Xia Dai'er fell into the bathtub.

Fortunately, the bath was big enough and the edges were far apart, so no one bumped their head or anything.

The splashing water fell like cold rain onto her head. For a moment, Xia Dai'er's gaze went unfocused. She stared blankly at the sky, her mind a complete blank. She wasn't an omnipotent superhuman like Quinn, and she couldn't think of so many things in an instant. All she knew was that Quinn had just pushed her away, pushing away her naked body and heart.

His expression changed from before, becoming completely indifferent.

She couldn't help but beg Quinn to say something.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, my hand slipped." Or she would say nothing, just as she had rushed towards him just moments before; Xia Dai'er was willing to give him everything he wanted—

".sorry."

Her beautiful eyes lit up, and the girl suddenly looked up. "It's okay, I slipped," she was about to blurt out, but Quinn abruptly uttered the next sentence—

"I have a favorite person."

The bathroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

She sat there blankly in the bathtub, the water covering half of her body, looking at him helplessly, like a little dog full of joy but pushed out of the house by its owner.

Quinn turned his head away, stepped out of the bath, grabbed a towel to wrap around himself, and refused to look at her.

"It's almost time. I'll take you home. I'll forget about what happened today."

After a long while, Xia Dai'er's soft voice came from behind.

"I should be the one saying sorry."

Then came the suggestive sound of water. She stepped barefoot onto the ground, sounding a little unsteady. Quinn could see a red mark on her plump, peach-shaped buttocks through the misty mirror, indicating that she had clearly fallen.

With no second towel, she covered her upper body with one hand and her back with the other, and silently walked to the bathroom door.

Without drying her body, she put on her clothes one by one, never turning her head away, as if afraid that Quinn would see her distraught face.

After getting dressed, she stood at the bathroom door for a while, lost in thought. Finally, she took a deep breath, staggered out of the door, and never looked back at Quinn again.

"I'm leaving now, no need to see me off, there's a carriage." Then, the sound of staggering footsteps grew farther and farther away, and faster and faster. With a thud, it seemed as if she had tripped and fallen while running downstairs. Only at this moment did the sound of crying come up, but she quickly suppressed her emotions.

She ran outside. It was still raining. With a bang, this time the arcane device didn't malfunction and closed the door precisely.

Quinn, wearing a towel, walked to the window. His figure, caught in the rain, had already run onto the road. He wasn't using an umbrella, and the rain was pouring down on his already soaking wet body.

She seemed to know Quinn was watching her, and as she ran, she suddenly slowed down, trying to make her steps more decisive, yet not wanting to be so embarrassed, and just kept walking forward step by step.

Quinn stood at the window for a long time.

Watching her turn the corner, watching the girl and her youth disappear into the rain of the mountain city.

For a moment, the thought crossed my mind, "Is it okay not to go back to Earth?"

But he knew he had no other choice.

Quinn suddenly felt like laughing. In Ankuya and the Demon King's plan, killing the hero demon seemed to lead to a complete victory. But what would be the point of Xia Dai'er's future if the demons were the victors in the final battle five or six years later?

Then why did I push her away?

He returned to the bathroom and found that the katana had turned back into a tree branch, as if it had just been deliberately dropped.

What would have happened if the katana hadn't fallen and hadn't made that sound?

"That's a real katana."

After spouting pointless words, Quinn got dressed and prepared to return to school.

But as he passed the bathroom door, he suddenly stopped.

Xia Dai'er's things fell by the door.

Quinn picked it up and then paused for a moment.

He remembered that it was Chalice's White Bell Necklace.

But the necklace seemed to be broken, covered in cracks, and no longer as beautiful as it once was.

(End of this chapter)