The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

Lost in thought, he went up to the third floor and casually tossed out a [Detect Humanoid Creature] item.

"..." This is a very versatile and practical entry-level talent. After it took effect, Mr. Hern quickly found the target in one of the only two bedrooms on the third floor. The three targets separated by a wall danced with a bright luster between warm yellow and orange-red in his vision, which was tinged with a layer of pale light, but their postures were a bit strange.

Are young people these days really this good at having fun? Or is this some kind of new punishment game? Doesn't Touma care at all?

The believer gently opened the bedroom door and peered inside, revealing a lifeless, expressionless face.

"Excuse me for disturbing the lives of three ladies who started thirty years early, oh no, I mean two of them." His gaze fell on Miss Lotus, who had a miserable expression on her face, and he quickly changed his words.

This is a well-lit bedroom. The same single-pane floor-to-ceiling window made of the same material as the living room lets in the precious winter sun of the cold wind kingdom. Two beds are arranged side by side in a place where you can bask in the warm sun. Two girls wearing loose yukatas are lying on the beds. One of them has a back massage girl standing on her back with a bitter and resentful expression. However, this back massage girl is obviously temporary. She is also wearing the same yukata.

Miss Yukinoshita felt that she wasn't thick-skinned enough and was also afraid of the back-stepping girl's murderous expression, so she just lay on the bed near the bedroom door, lazily sunbathing.

Ms. Touma next door was quite the seasoned pro, showing no politeness to the massage girl at all. While enjoying the massage with her eyes half-closed, she would occasionally point out where the massage girl was lacking pressure.

Miss Kuroyuki had initially worked hard with a bitter and resentful attitude, as if she were determined to stomp on someone's back and flatten their chest. However, she soon realized that she was too delicate to exert herself in the conventional way, and that exerting herself in the unconventional way would obviously cause someone's death. Caught between the two, her expression became miserable.

"Miss Kuroyuki, how about you switch with me in a bit? I've learned some massage techniques in addition to practicing jujitsu... Pfft!" Yukinoshita, feeling guilty, kindly suggested to the pitiful massage girl. However, the timing was rather unfortunate. Her words were almost simultaneous with someone peeking out from outside the door. Before she could finish speaking, the massage girl started jumping from Touma's back, and the second step, unfortunately, landed on her waist.

Touma, who jumped at the first spot, grumbled that the force of the jump was just right, while Yukinoshita, who jumped at the second spot, felt like her back was about to break.

"Sizzle! They bullied me!" Kuroyukihime, the little girl who had just stepped on someone's back, flew lightly towards the door like a black swallowtail butterfly in mid-air after a perfect jump. Her aggrieved voice was drawn out for a long time.

"I'm not dead yet!" The believer's vision went black, but she still reached out and caught the black swallowtail butterfly that flew towards her, otherwise this brat would have definitely banged his head against the door.

What followed was chaos and confusion.

……

After the chaos subsided, the four returned to the tea room on the second floor. Nearly fifteen hours later, the members of the originally planned [White House] exploration team finally reunited, whether it went smoothly or not is another matter.

The believer showed the three ladies her dark circles under her eyes, while briefly recounting her experiences in a way that downplayed the seriousness of the matter.

Touma and Kuroyuki were already used to Hearn's almost habitually bizarre start. After exchanging perfunctory greetings, Kuroyuki approached him like a hunting dog and began to examine his attire, or at least what it looked like.

Yukinoshita was curious about the change in Hearn's eye color, and Nobunaga's reply was that he had overdone it.

The answer was too succinct, and Yukinoshita couldn't grasp its meaning for a moment. She picked up her teacup while thinking about it.

"Did you run into trouble along the way? If you were just traveling, it shouldn't have come to this." Touma knew his half-friend in real life quite well, knowing that he was a spellcaster, albeit a somewhat unconventional one.

“Yes, at midnight, a batch of dust crystals attracted the land forces of the Sky-Piercing Kingdom. I shot down three planes. But as you may have noticed, this world restricts the spellcaster's authority very strictly. I managed to negotiate with Him a little and finished everything before the negotiations broke down.” The believer pointed to her crimson-gold eyes. “And this is just a minor side effect.”

“I knew it… But have you ever considered the possibility that your eyes are like this all along? I’ve always felt that you look much more natural this way. The obstruction when you tried to communicate with the world’s consciousness and cast spells while masturbating was just the trigger for peeling away the illusion.”

"If that's the case, I think my family relationships will be in crisis. It's already very difficult for a blonde, blue-eyed Scandinavian woman to give birth to two black-haired children. The doctor can reasonably explain that the eldest daughter is a black-haired, black-eyed Yamato Nadeshiko by saying that her father's genes probably came from a Far Eastern man. The second son's black hair and blue eyes can be understood as inheriting the mother's excellent eye color genes. Everything is fine, and the doctor can also successfully maintain his academic reputation because these two children are purely natural people and not genetically modified people—Touma. If you force me to believe that my eyes are actually this color at this critical juncture... then I think I can only travel all over the world and find my irresponsible mother and interrogate her about whether she was abducted by aliens on her wedding night."

"...Actually, you don't need to travel all over the world. As far as I know, Aunt Hern recently traveled along the Mediterranean coast with my mother to gather inspiration."

“That’s great. When I get back, I’m going to tell her that her precious daughter has naturally grown into an embarrassing Neet.”

Hearn and Touma exchanged a couple of not-so-funny jokes until they were interrupted by a hurried and brief cough. The two turned their attention to the person in question—Miss Yukinoshita seemed to have choked on her tea, her expression subtle and her face flushed.

"What's wrong?" Xin Nu asked instinctively, out of kindness and concern for her customer.

"N-nothing..." Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes darted away, and she tried to remain calm several times, but she always failed under the silent gaze of the two of them.

“Nobunaga, you know I didn’t like reading much in high school, and my grades were pretty bad for a while.” Touma turned his gaze away from Yukinoshita and onto Hearn’s face.

"Sorry, I didn't know. By the way, have you forgotten that 'not mentioning each other's old grudges from before college' is a basic premise in our dealings?" Mr. Hearn rolled his eyes. "And then?"

"Now you know—I've been wondering all along what exactly was going on in the heads of those literary girls in high school who couldn't live without a sense of ritual, like living for a lifetime?"

"Well, putting aside what happened between you two back then, Kazusa nowadays you really resemble an elegant Arctic wolf, a female one."

"The last five words are superfluous, so stop being so cheeky." Touma grinned, threatening the latter to shut up, then added, "Things I didn't understand back then, I think I understand a little bit of now."

"Hmm?" The nobunaga noticed that her gaze had drifted back to Yukinoshita-san, and couldn't help but follow suit, "Tell me about it."

“Miss Touma!” Yukinoshita protested again, trying to remain calm, but her words didn’t sound very convincing.

"After spending some time together, I've discovered that this Yukinoshita-san, who can also be considered a literary girl, has a frighteningly comprehensive knowledge base. For example, just now, I used a word from your words to set a connection trap, and she choked on it." Touma raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, unable to suppress a mischievous smile.

"..."

Mr. Hearn silently observed the sunset-like profile of a certain literary girl, and felt that if he made another sound, she would probably really faint. So he turned his gaze to the window and looked at the snow in the suburbs of the safe haven.

Three women make a drama; the old saying is truly accurate.

This place has beautiful scenery and is a good place to relax. Let's take a short break and think about our next steps.

He hadn't forgotten the purpose of his trip.

"Hey, what's the point of bullying a high school girl who's four or five years younger than you?" Miss Kuroyuki, who had been silently busy with her own affairs and observing everything from the sidelines, made a mature statement that was extremely inconsistent with her appearance, and her target was the number one class enemy.

Miss Yukinoshita cast an incredulous, moved gaze at Miss Kuroyuki, her former class comrade-in-arms whom she had betrayed due to circumstances.

"It's incredibly incongruous for a fifteen-year-old girl to say that," Miss Touma retorted casually.

"It's because of your terrible personality that you received wedding invitations from your first love and best friend a week before Christmas, you loser cow."

"What nonsense is this middle school girl spouting that she can't even get the first thread right? Racing surfboard."

Do you want to fight?

"Anytime."

"Alright, you pick the time and place, but don't say I didn't let you win... huh!?"

Seeing that the situation was getting muddier and muddier, Mr. Hern, who had no intention of getting involved, could only sigh and doze off during the chaos. However, with the exclamation from Kuroyukihime behind him, the tense situation suddenly quieted down. This eerie silence was accompanied by a faint upward pull and sensation that slowly slid down the back of his neck. Yes, that was the feeling, the sensation of a smooth, thin thread being slowly pulled out from between his neck and collar.

He opened his eyes and saw that Touma and Yukinoshita on the sofa in front of him were slowly raising their gazes in accordance with Kuroyukihime's gestures behind him. Yukinoshita's gaze was more of a curiosity when she saw something beautiful, while Touma's eyes only had a helpless "I knew it" attitude, mixed with a malicious "this is going to be good" attitude.

The subtle sliding sensation between the back of his neck and the collar abruptly stopped when the traction reached its peak. Miss Lotus's slender hand reached over his shoulder and waved something new that she was holding between her fingers in front of Mr. Hearn, while also showing it to the two people opposite her.

It was a long, smooth silver hair that shone with a moon-like radiance in the morning light.

Three pairs of eyes quickly focused on Mr. Hearn's face: two from the sofa opposite him, and the remaining one looking down at him from above.

"I didn't sleep well last night, and my hair turned white overnight," the goddess replied calmly, patting Lotus on her back. "Stop lying on my head, do you think you're still in elementary school?"

“Mr. Hearn, gray hair caused by fatigue and malnutrition wouldn’t have this luster, and there’s a difference between white and silver.” Yukinoshita commented fairly and impartially, though her tone sounded like she was seizing the opportunity to retaliate for her earlier embarrassment.

It wasn't me who set this trap for you, it was Touma...

The believer silently conveyed the above meaning to her, but perhaps due to a lack of understanding, the meaningful gaze failed to achieve its purpose.

"Yukino Yukinoshita, congratulations! Thanks to that 'Hive Paper Doll' woman who appeared out of nowhere, your title has been changed from 'This Time's Woman' to 'Last Time' ahead of schedule. Thank me!" Kuroyukihime coldly retorted, then sighed in a tone of utter disappointment, "Brother! How many times have I told you? She's a paper doll! She doesn't exist in reality! What strange side quest have you gotten yourself involved in this time? If this keeps up, I'm going to go back and complain to Kaguya-neechan!"

"..." At this moment, Miss Yukinoshita finally understood the real reason why she was criticized no matter which side she stood on. It turned out that she was the only outsider present, so no matter what she said, she would be criticized. So she decided to shut up and keep quiet.

"What? You've already brought it back, how long are you planning to hide it?" Touma smiled mysteriously, adding fuel to the fire.

"Ahem, Black Snow, stop fooling around. This matter is indeed quite serious. I am now a wanted criminal of the Sky-Piercing Kingdom, and pursuers may arrive at any time. Let's have a strategy meeting once everyone is here." Xin Nu cleared her throat, trying to change the subject.

“A wanted criminal of the kingdom, this is much more exciting than the previous city-wide wanted criminals. What have you done this time?” Kuroyukihime, who was still perched on his head, realized the seriousness of the situation and stopped fooling around, asking with her head down.

“I remember that Qingtian is a country where the military, politics, business and academia are highly integrated. In the past, there was an aristocratic system, but most of them were destroyed with the fall of its predecessor, the Mante Dynasty. Now, what remains are the financial groups that have successfully transformed from the great nobles. Based on my understanding of him, he must have cheated on some big figure in the Qingtian Kingdom again or…” Touma speculated, counting on his fingers.

“Worse still, I seem to have gotten caught up in a blasphemous ritual within the elite circles of Qingtian, and while on the run, I picked up Qingtian’s ‘Princess’.” The believer spread her hands.

"...That's so typical of you." Touma and Kuroyuki rolled their eyes in unison after hearing this.

……

It's still 4K chapters. My schedule is a bit unstable during the Chinese New Year, so I can only add more chapters when I have free time. Also, please continue to vote, favorite, recommend, and promote! Thank you!

Chapter 53 Coordination (Part 1)

With a slight click of the lock turning, the believer Hearn quickly returned to the room from the corridor.

His gaze swept across the room subtly, as he tried his best to control his emotions, remaining impartial, humble, and objective.

The house was a mess, as if a typhoon had passed through.

This is the room he left earlier.

From the warm wood furniture with its soft tones to the seemingly valuable decorative sculptures, everything that once retained its shape has now been reduced to worthless fragments in a way that evokes only human sorrow.

The believer raised her head, her gaze gradually rising, and as expected and as a matter of course, she observed a terrifying void that ran from the living room on the first floor to the bedroom on the third floor.

In fact, until he finished the chaotic meeting that took place next door, none of the people in the tea room noticed the strange thing that was happening behind the wall.

He was aware of it, of course, but even earlier, when he left for the next room, he had a vague premonition that something was going to happen.

The next moment, in a hazy, silvery light that emanated from the third floor of the room and instantly permeated the entire space, all the regrettable fragments simultaneously underwent a reverse replay of their destruction, like a movie playing in reverse, and were ultimately restored to their original state.

The believer seemed unfazed by this, and he politely withdrew his gaze.

The door opened on the third floor.

Inside the intact tea room, Mr. Hearn nestled comfortably in the rare winter sunshine, a haven from the storm. Seated before him sat Miss Xue Ni, who appeared unharmed, the two separated by a narrow table.

"I think you have reached a certain consensus in a relatively reasonable way," the believer said with a smile, ending the brief standoff.

“It’s unbelievable.” Weiss turned her head, her icy blue eyes fixed on the man in front of her, as if she were seeing him for the first time. “People of your generation used to call you a madman. I always thought it was just their jealousy and misinterpretation of you. But now I think I can understand them—you really don’t have even the slightest awareness of what you’re doing?”

“In fact, I am at a loss for words regarding the accusations you have leveled against me,” the believer replied with a sincere look.

Weiss met his gaze head-on, a gaze that was a blur of truth and falsehood. After a brief standoff, she began to count on her fingers, “Hearn, I think you should understand that ever since you successfully sealed the Great Rift in the North, your identity has been placed in a very sensitive position within the Four Kingdoms.”

I do not understand……

The believer wanted to roll his eyes, but the situation didn't allow him to. He tapped the table lightly and uttered a short word, "Continue."

"Because of historical issues, Coldwind is in step with the Kingdom on most issues, while Vacuum follows the lead of Valley. Everyone knows that the Kingdom has been squeezing money out of that fat sheep, Sanus, since the time of Mant. Vacuum, on the other hand, hates the Kingdom to the core. Those brown-skinned natives have never stopped trying to smear the Kingdom's past reputation, which is you."

“Ms. Xue Ni, please forgive me for interrupting, but your statement just now was slightly racist, which is not good for your public image.”

“From the age of two, I can remember that every day I would sit at home and be carried by the maid to the underground fortress for refuge. Before taking a bath, going to bed, or using the toilet, I had to consider whether I would be in an embarrassing situation due to a sudden attack. Before eating, someone had to taste the food for poison, and I was even sent to the hospital for gastric lavage once because this step was skipped. When I held a concert, I had to guard against suicide bomb attacks. The long-standing cold war between my parents has lasted for ten years, and every attempt I made to mediate during those ten years ended in failure because my father was angry every day when he came home from get off work. The main reason for his anger was that “the dust crystal reserves of a certain branch of the company in a certain kingdom on a certain continent were looted by the Funar people again.” And Sanus is the continent with the highest population density in Funar, followed by the Beast Confinement Continent. This is common knowledge that even a three-year-old child knows. In conclusion, even if I know that White Fang does not represent all the Funar people, how can you expect me to have any goodwill towards those half-orcs?”

"..." The believer tried to reach out and soothe the white fur that had its fur standing on end, but the latter brushed her hand away.

"Don't touch me! You bastard!"

"Alright, thank you for sharing and for your trust. I think I fully understand your complicated feelings right now," the believer said seriously, withdrawing her hand.

“No, Hearn, you don’t understand. You’re unwilling to even face the reason for my anger right now,” Weiss retorted coldly. “I hope you can understand your situation. Before the scandal with Skyward, Vacuum was sparing no effort to smear you. Although the Valley authorities have not made a statement, the headmaster had subtly reminded General Elnwood about your position. The top echelons of the four kingdoms know that you have the ability to communicate with the warp after suppressing the Northern Rift. This is very rare and does not conform to the universal theory of the Outer Image Force of the Beacon. Before you, no one had thought of opening up a path of power other than the Outer Image Force that one is born with, at least on the surface. Lord Elnwood believes that Ozpin is keeping an ancient secret, and you are the most likely person to enter his secret backyard.”

“Wizards,” the believer replied calmly. “Einwood once subtly hinted that Beacon Academy possesses the only legitimate spellcaster force of the Treebane, the number of which is unknown, but certainly not many. Here, any form of complete spellcasting would weaken the barrier between reality and the warp, thus giving those behind the veil an opportunity to exploit. Beacon hopes that this ancient power of magic can be wielded by a group of noble and principled people.”

“And clearly you don’t fall into that category,” Weiss asserted coldly. “At least you don’t meet Ozpin’s criteria.”

"Why? What evidence is there? This is discrimination, discrimination from the upper levels of the oldest kingdom, the Valley of the Believers," the believer protested, rolling her eyes.

“I was originally happy to cheer for you, and even crossed the ocean to search for you after you were wrongly accused, willing to be your assistant and clear your name. But now, I only feel that the arrest warrant issued to you by the judicial authorities is too lenient; they should issue an extermination order directly.” Miss Xue Ni pointed to the bottom of the stairs as she spoke, “Tell me, what did you see in your mist-covered vision?”

Following her guidance, the believer's gaze fell upon the open kitchen in the living room on the first floor, where a somber gray figure was putting the finishing touches on a pot of black tea.

“A diligent and considerate Little Red Riding Hood… or Little Grey Riding Hood.” The believer pondered for a moment and chose a few appropriate adjectives.

“No Little Red Riding Hood in any fairy tale is like this.” Weiss tapped her throbbing temple and gave him an incredulous look. “Don’t tell me you can’t see it. The number of souls wailing in her shadow is more than the total number of people who died in the entire Great War. What are you dealing with? Have you become so hopeless?”

……

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Chapter 54 Coordination (Part 2)

“Making baseless accusations will only cheapen your character, Miss Xue Ni.”

Charlotte placed the tea and snacks from the tray onto the table one by one, calmly and casually, her voice seemingly indifferent. After finishing, she turned and stood half a step back to Hearn, her eyes slightly closed, politely lowering her gaze.

"Do you think I'm just making baseless accusations? The four kingdoms released a relatively conservative figure internally after the war," Miss Xue Ni retorted sharply, her gaze filled with undisguised disgust.

"No, I mean—Miss Xue Ni has no ability to calculate the number of the so-called 'souls in the shadows' she speaks of."

"Can I take that—you are proud of this?"

"No, I was just remarking how clean and beautiful the floor was after Miss Xue Ni's hair and face were wiped. I'm considering coming again tomorrow."

"you……"

The believer forced himself to ignore the crackling sounds like sparks in the air. He indulged in black tea and various soft desserts, gratefully enjoying this belated breakfast. Heaven help him; in the snowy cabin, he had been so busy dealing with Sun and sneaking food upstairs that he hadn't actually eaten much himself. This was the first real meal he had had in nearly twelve hours.

He always had a bad feeling that the white-haired man in front of him might flip the table at any moment, so he cherished the calm before the storm.

Fortunately, both parties maintained great restraint during their passionate exchange, and nothing unexpected happened, at least until he finished. After he took one last sip of the fragrant black tea and wiped his lips with a still-warm, damp cloth…

"Excuse me, Xue Ni, I'll be back in a minute."

He stood up from his seat with composure, nodded slightly apologetically to Miss Ice Queen, whose face was as sour as Snow White's stepmother, then took Cinderella's hand and quickly disappeared up the spiral staircase leading to the third floor.

……

With a soft click, the door closed. The believer braced herself against the wall, trapping Cinderella on the sunny side of the bedroom.

"What are you doing?" he asked, almost emphasizing each word.