Herrscher of Reason's Arknights

Soon, her sister disappeared into the stairwell, and because of the cooking fumes, she closed the door behind her.

A warm, orange light shone through the crack in the door after the stove lamp was turned on.

The TV station was switched back to a channel with a signal, showing commercials that the girl had never heard of before.

Everything in Ursus is actually quite old. Even the television stations don't have many channels to broadcast programs. Most of the time, it's just commercials or repetitive news or old movies being shown on a loop.

However, the warm orange glow of the electric lights and the sound of fried rice being cooked outside filled the house with the warmth of daily life.

That was the warmth illuminated by light.

Even though the indoor temperature didn't change much.

It's probably a subjective feeling of "warmth".

My sister's cooking style is quite rough, like that of a single man, or rather, a slovenly one who hasn't been married for years.

Even the simplest fried rice is made like this: you chop up a sausage from the supermarket, throw it into the pan, and add an egg along with it.

This is dinner, quite simple.

At most, she would use butter instead of cooking oil. Sodium chloride disliked the feeling of oil splattering, even though she was no longer susceptible to burns from hot oil.

And so it was again. The two of them, once one big and one small, sat at the table, the silver-haired little girl excitedly talking about something.

The older sister always seemed to have that poker face, patiently listening, or perhaps not listening to the girl's excited words at all.

And it's still the same now, except that the excited silver-haired little girl has grown up. She sits opposite her older sister, holding chopsticks, but doesn't seem to have much of an appetite. She's picking at the fried rice on her plate.

"Unappetizing?"

The silver-haired girl rested her chin on one hand; Yelena had been like this lately, looking preoccupied.

Of course, they both knew the specific reasons, but it was like a thin layer of paper between them that they hadn't bothered to reveal.

The girl shook her head and symbolically ate a few bites.

"There will be no late-night snack tonight. If you don't eat enough, no one will take care of you tomorrow."

She couldn't care less; if she didn't like something, she wouldn't eat it. She'd just eat when she got hungry.

This was a common household practice involving sodium chloride.

Besides, they have no connection at all, and taking in Yelena was just out of kindness.

For sodium chloride, food is merely a pleasure, just like sleep—it's a pleasure, not a necessity.

However, in order to maintain their identity and not completely lose their form, transforming from a human into some unacceptable monster, they must be able to do so.

She is still willing to maintain the good habit of three meals a day. After all, she is a person who loves life and longs for a peaceful life, so she will naturally maintain this mechanical routine.

Even after becoming a Herrscher, Sodium Chloride still has to queue to get a ticket when taking the subway.

Unless there is an urgent need to travel quickly, she prefers to take public transportation like an ordinary person.

To have a house of one's own.

And a decent job.

Even though her current job involves killing, destroying, and playing villains.

However, people are like this: when they get tired of fighting and killing, they crave the ordinary; when they get tired of the ordinary, they want to go back to fighting and killing.

Time may have an end, fate may have an end, and human interests may naturally have an end as well.

Ultimately, humans are such incredibly awkward creatures.

It was already midnight when she tidied up the table. Sodium chloride doesn't usually need to sleep unless she works for a long time and her soul feels tired. She could go a month without sleeping without any problem.

But in situations like this, nobody would actually work. Even when they're idle, sodium chloride would usually choose to slack off and find a place to lie down.

You can mistreat anyone but yourself.

However, when she tried to find a place to lie down, she discovered that the sofa had already been taken.

It seemed that they felt they shouldn't use the bed, or perhaps there was some awkwardness between them, and the girl would feel guilty about using someone else's bed.

So Yelena consciously slept on the sofa.

On the somewhat worn-out sofa, the girl was curled up, as if she were sleeping in the womb, sinking into the sofa.

It's just like a little kid who's afraid of the dark.

Even though he's already a Herrscher, he still can't change these habits and behavioral inertia that seem to have originated from humans.

This kind of appearance usually reflects a lack of inner security.

Do you feel insecure...?

A lack of security stems from a lack of strength; only by being strong enough can one gain a sense of security.

Sodium chloride used to think that as long as it was at the top of the food chain, it could probably gain a sense of "safety".

After all, it's the absolute peak, so there's nothing left to make people uneasy.

but····

In the end, he's just a little kid.

"Go sleep inside. The sofa can't withstand your legs kicking off the covers in the middle of the night."

The girl didn't react, as if she were asleep, but Sodium Chloride knew very well that Yelena was the kind of person who didn't sleep well at night.

At the slightest sound, her ears would perk up quickly, waking the girl.

Besides, I just lay down, how could I possibly fall asleep?

The mention of her "unable to bear kicking off the blankets in the middle of the night" was a bit embarrassing, which made the girl's cheeks flush quickly.

Sure enough, the little girl's concerns were quite peculiar.

Incomprehensible.

Sodium chloride, with its arms crossed, spoke again.

"Are you really planning to spend the night here?"

This guy still isn't responding; looks like he's just going to put on a show.

Rather than awkwardly getting up, it's better to just play dead.

No one wants to break the silence, and no one wants to reopen old wounds, because that would only leave their hands covered in blood.

A moment later, the living room lights were turned off, darkness enveloped the room once again, and the house became quiet.

She's probably gone back to bed.

Yelena felt somewhat relieved, yet for some reason, she also felt inexplicably lost.

She quietly opened her eyes. She was already used to this sleeping position. She didn't know how she developed this habit. This curled-up position, as if she were hugging herself, actually gave her a little warmth.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind me.

And a sigh.

After a slight feeling of being suspended in mid-air behind her, she felt a chill on her back.

A whiter, more slender hand appeared in Yelena's field of vision.

And, warm breath sprayed onto her neck.

That is...

elder sister?

She didn't dare turn around, or rather, she didn't have the courage to face her sister at such close range.

It simply moved forward slowly, as if by default, and pressed itself a little closer.

It seems like this will make it a little warmer.

With his left hand draped over the girl's neck, as if to make her neck more comfortable, he wrapped both arms around her and said in a slightly cold voice from behind.

"good night."

"········

Good night."

Chapter 339 [Can Rabbits Be Raised Tamely?]

In the early morning, the breeze stirred the curtains, revealing a corner of the azure sky.

The sunlight was blocked by the curtains, but was quickly blown up by the wind, letting golden light spill into the room.

The girl slowly got up from the sofa, the room filled with a faint smell of cooking oil.

The half-open door proved that someone was using the stove in the corridor.

Is it your sister?

"you're awake?"

The girl who entered saw Yelena rubbing her eyes and sitting up from the sofa. As she spoke, she placed the fried eggs from the plate on the table.

After glancing at the keys on the table, Yelena looked at her sister.

That silver-haired girl who always seemed to have a cold expression.

"Are you leaving?"

As she spoke, the girl paused for a moment.

"Yes, I still have things to do these next few days."

"Is it the Reunion Movement, or that troublesome matter again?"

Sodium chloride, sitting in the chair, didn't seem so keen to answer.

It seems my sister is lost in thought.

Are you unwilling to answer?

Yelena didn't press the matter further; if her sister didn't want to answer something, no one could get a straight answer from her.

She simply moved to the stool, intending to eat breakfast first.

"Yes, regarding the Reunion Movement, that trouble has most likely been resolved, so you can leave now. I've left you the key; there's no spare, so don't lose it."

While wishing the girl well, Sodium Chloride habitually took out his personal terminal from his pocket and looked through the news.

But more often than not, they're just looking for excuses not to engage in dialogue.

There was a slight sense of oppression in the air.

Silence fell between them again.

This silence seems to have become the norm.

I don't know what to talk about.

Or rather, the things you want to talk about can't be talked about, and the things you don't want to talk about are too boring.

After a while, it seemed that playing entirely on a mobile phone for this period of time was too rigid.

It was the older sister who broke the silence first.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

"Cough cough cough!!"

The sudden change nearly made Yelena choke to death.

He coughed violently a few times before he came to his senses and stared blankly at the older sister who was looking at her phone instead of him, yet still throwing out questions.

Is there anything you want to ask?

"..."

Yelena had so many questions to ask; she had a lot on her mind to say.

But when the question was about to be asked, they didn't know where to begin.

Finally, it seemed that only one question remained that concerned her the most.

She still cares a lot, as expected...

"Yes, and no. Is it or isn't it?"