Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"Okay, then I won't be polite, thank you."

After handing the restaurant's fruit to Silver Wolf and tossing it to Enkidu, Altrouge was about to continue eating when...

Holding the fruit, Enkidu looked up at the rooftop, picked up the silver wolf, and turned to leave: "I see. Then I won't disturb your meeting any longer."

Perhaps she had consumed too much sugar at once, causing her brain to malfunction; in any case, Hei Ji didn't react immediately.

“Enkidu means that the lord has come down from up there.”

Kyoko whispered this to Altrouge, who was still eating cake.

“…Huh!?”

The black-haired girl, who had just raised her head, was immediately captivated by the food residue around her mouth.

Kyoko's gaze followed Eltruchi's and she saw the man slowly approaching. To her, he seemed to radiate a dazzling light.

Eltrauge held her breath.

I miss you so much.

Even though time changes everything and the sea turns into mulberry fields, no matter when or where, my heart will always return to that time, and the memories of the past will release a dreamlike yet fleeting spark.

The black-haired girl's left hand twitched slightly involuntarily, as if searching for the angle at which it had been held.

"Avia".

It had been a long time since she had spoken that name aloud, and just being able to call out to him filled Eltrauge with overwhelming joy and excitement. Although she had never forgotten him, and although she had called out his name in her heart every day for years, actually saying it aloud was still incredibly moving.

The silver-haired youth walked on, slowly approaching.

"Altruchi".

The sound of calling the black-haired girl's name stirred a deep longing within Eltrauge.

Ah, yes, I think, the lover I've been searching for all this time, the one I've finally found.

Among the countless shooting stars that fall upon Rome, reflecting the starry sky, one of the stars is a young girl.

And so I waited and waited, and finally I found you, the one I love.

This emotion comes faster than tears.

Eltrauge couldn't help but whisper, "That's wonderful."

"It's so good to see you again..."

Drip, drip, dripped onto the girl's face. As the drips fell one after another, she realized that she was crying again.

Novia stared intently at Eltruchi with eyes etched into the girl's mind, eyes like silver stars shining in the night sky.

"Sorry, I am late."

Eltrauge took a deep breath and grasped the silver-haired youth's outstretched hand.

She wanted to spend her time with these hands, whether the weather was calm or the waves were raging.

Therefore, facing the hands that were tightly holding hers, the black-haired girl slowly responded by tightening her grip.

"Hmm, I see..."

If it were a normal Eltrauge, who is always very proud, she would probably have brushed it off and said she didn't care, but she wouldn't do that today.

"But since I've been looking for you for so long, you have to take me with you wherever you go from now on."

It doesn't matter whether you go to the ends of the earth, the depths of hell, or the other side of nothingness.

181: Novia and Sigma during their time as magic mercenaries (5k5)

"What should we do now?"

Inside a room of the swamp mansion, the warm, drowsy sunlight streamed in.

Despite the fatigue accumulated throughout the day, Sigma's mind, which should have become scattered, was as active as it was in the morning.

He vaguely remembered that before the sham Holy Grail War began, Francesca, who had hired him, had said these words to him:

"Once the hero is summoned, you can do whatever you want with the rest!"

He gently closed his eyes, recalling the past.

Orphaned at a young age, he was taken in by the government, who recognized his talent in commanding familiars. He was then thoroughly trained in magic and weaponry in this area, becoming a mage who operated as a mercenary. However, due to human experiments conducted by the government, he lost his emotions and spent his days and nights, year after year, in the same way.

After the government he originally served was destroyed, he was hired by the people who destroyed that government; their relationship was nothing more than that.

The previous government even brainwashed Sigma with the idea that "the government is incredibly powerful and an absolute entity."

But from the moment the government changed so easily, he understood that it was all a lie and that nothing could actually be trusted.

The reason why the emotionally detached young man continued to perform his duties in a bland manner was simply to obtain a good night's sleep and daily meals, since these were the most precious things in the environment in which he was born and raised.

For survival, simply for survival, nothing more, everything on that earth—

In the past, in the desert under the scorching sun, two camels were carrying people slowly forward.

Although they appeared to be a pair, the two rode their camels at breakneck speed with almost no conversation.

"...Sigma."

"What's wrong, Novia?"

The sound of voices blended with the sound of the desert wind, transforming from slightly noisy background noise into a background sound effect like background music.

"After thinking about it, even though we're just partners, it would be nice to give you something. Would you like something to eat?"

Upon hearing this, Sigma looked at the plastic bag hanging on Novia's hand. The bag was filled with snacks such as potato chips and gummies that could be bought in ordinary stores, most of which had already been opened.

Novia seemed to be just saying it casually, and didn't seem to mean to give it to Sigma, but Sigma wouldn't accept it anyway.

After all, Sigma was an extremely cautious mercenary; how could he easily eat food from someone he had just met?

Not long after Sigma began operating as a mercenary who used magic, he was betrayed by a fellow mercenary. While they were suppressing a criminal organization composed of magicians, he lured Sigma into an ambush, where Sigma was struck and cursed from behind.

Moreover, the other party was a fellow countryman who had grown up in the same facility with him since childhood—in terms of outcome, the one who survived was Sigma.

“I still have… I still have a reason to live! I have people I must protect to the very end! And I want so much more! Our homeland too, nothing has changed after that 'facility' was destroyed! So I have to change it myself!”

To prevent people like us from being born into this world again! For this goal, I cannot allow that organization to be destroyed now... so I gave everything! My time, my life, and you, who grew up with me in the same facility!

For something so important, I'd even sacrifice my dearest friend like you!

Why did it turn out like this?! Answer me, Sigma!

You have no grand goals, no will, and you didn't even intend to possess anything—why did you kill me?! Why...why did you surpass me? What belief unleashed your power?!

What are you living for?! You even went so far as to kill me! What... what are you living for...?

"I simply dislike pain and don't really want to die. The reason I resort to violence is because humanity has always been dominated by the body as a vessel."

No matter how noble a person is, in the instant of being beaten, their mind will be dominated by the sensation of pain... Also, what you said is a really unfunny joke.

Although Sigma considered that person his best friend before he died, unfortunately, Sigma had no such feelings at all.

After Sigma finished everything and accepted his employer's payment, he kept replaying the borrowed comedy DVDs over and over again.

From an outsider's perspective, it might not be obvious that he derives any pleasure from it.

However, his expression remained indifferent, though he did indeed enjoy those programs.

However, only one thing, one distracting thought, lingered in my mind.

If I could at least tell him a joke that would cheer him up at the end, it would make his departure a little easier.

Young Sigma at least thought so.

Sigma didn't know much about Novia, except that she came from somewhere else. But he wasn't too concerned. After all, they were just partners by chance, and as long as it didn't affect his survival, that was enough.

"By the way, Sigma, what do you usually do in a day?"

"Just like everyone else."

"So you mean they study at school from the morning onwards?"

"No, I've never been to school, and I don't have parents."

"You look so serious. Someone else might feel guilty... after all, I'm just like you."

"That being said, Novia, you seem to be having a pretty good time."

"This is to get glucose, get the brain working, and improve efficiency. Of course, it's also because I want to eat it. After all, I eat steamed buns all day long, and I need to change things up occasionally."

Seeing the silver-haired boy's reminiscing expression, Sigma realized that the other person was from a completely different world than his own.

Because whenever Sigma tries to recall the past, the words of his 'foster parents' always come to mind.

“You, you, listen carefully, sons of our own country, what you should destroy are those who intend to take something away from us.”

Even though he now understands that those words were meaningless and merely used for brainwashing, Sigma still can't forget them.

Sigma felt neither hatred nor sadness towards those words; only the memory of having been repeatedly instilled with them remained. However, the thought that they were his oldest memories always gave Sigma a thought—

Do those words still influence your way of life?

Sigma would ponder this whenever he thought about it.

Besides my life, is there anything else that can be taken away from me now?

"Oh right, Sigma, have you read the book I recommended?"

"No."

"I was actually quite looking forward to it. Let's talk about our thoughts after you've finished watching it."

Suddenly, Sigma was taken aback by what the silver-haired boy said.

Is that book called "Les Misérables" really that good?

However, this was just a brief interlude, and he quickly forgot about it.

Later, Sigma, who had taken on several more missions with Novia, thought that this guy Novia was a guy who didn't care about life.

On the battlefields of a civil war that are completely unnecessary to care about, they waste their energy rescuing journalists and children trapped on the battlefield, and every time they spend money on settling those who are not even needed and donating it... The only advantage is that as long as there is food, they can survive.

After some thought, Sigma came to the ambiguous conclusion that "it doesn't feel much different from a mother who leaves by will."

But he actually understood that there was a difference, because magicians are people who are almost completely detached from human emotions.

However, when Sigma saw the children praising Novia in front of her, he thought it might be because Novia was now a magic mercenary and couldn't reveal these experiences, but her desire to proclaim her abilities to the world had accumulated quite a bit.

After all, humans are social animals, yearning for a sanctuary that can protect them from harm. Although in general values, people admire lone heroes more than armies, the heroes that humans aspire to are absolutely solitary.

After a while, was it a few months or a year or two?

Sigma didn't remember much, since for him, survival was enough, and the concept of time was completely meaningless.

The boy remembered that day when a generous employer hired three hundred magician mercenaries and over a hundred magicians specifically to kill a mysterious magician who had been sabotaging his business for years.

While human traffickers who help sell children are undoubtedly engaging in 'evil' acts from an ordinary person's perspective, magicians don't care at all. No matter where they are, a magician's logic remains unchanged, or rather, it can be said to be an order. Even if it doesn't align with modern morality, that's how a magician's society is.

Sigma, who was hired, felt the same way, but thinking that Novia would not accept such a thing, he did not inform him.

However, when Sigma arrived at the scene as a mercenary, he saw an unknown magician facing the magic group alone.

On his way here, he heard that in the past year or two, this magician had been obstructing his employer's business. However, in his opinion, it was simply that the magician was hired by the other party, which was essentially a case of the thief stealing the thief.

"...They arrived so quickly?"

Although his face was concealed by magic, Sigma, who was fairly familiar with Novia, would certainly recognize him.

However, he had no intention of lamenting; he thought, "So be it, I'm not afraid of dying anyway."

"Hahaha, you stinky magician, you've caused me a lot of trouble these past few years. You've taken away so many kids with magical talent. The big shots up there are practically begging for your death!"

Whoosh!

As the employer's voice faded, a bullet was fired from Novia's back; it was from one of the group of children Novia had taken away.

Although she narrowly escaped, this made Novia understand why.

But it doesn't matter anymore, because these children have nowhere else to go. They were all sold by their parents. Although we can't personally send them off on the ship this time, as long as we can buy them time, that will be enough.

"Tear this guy's flesh apart, shatter his bones; burn him with light, pierce him with fire, freeze him, electrocute him, corrode him, destroy him..."

Yes, everyone, it doesn't matter whether these kids scream or not.