The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

Page 55

“Bit.ch.”

As if etched into her DNA, relying solely on her spinal nerve reflexes, the woman subconsciously uttered another completely unrelated word.

He remembered it; it was an extremely obscure and tasteless joke that he had used to prank a few people at drinking parties before. The process was roughly to first trick the other person into imitating knocking on a door like an idiot, while the person inside wouldn't take the bait and would just throw out a "Bit.ch" in response. The joke would usually end with a crisp slap.

The moment she understood, the believer Hearn decisively turned and ran, rushing into the corridor without looking back.

He's being chased by a ghost.

Chapter 102: Picking up flowers in the morning and evening

Even as time has passed, the former mage named Aozaki Aoko still vividly remembers the scene when she first met a being named Nobunaga Hern.

In the winter of 1992, the calendar silently turned to its last page. On Christmas Eve, the eastern Izu coastline was shrouded in a leaden gray sky, as if before a rainstorm. Aozaki Aoko, at the behest of her former employer, traveled to the afterlife to find a boy whom she called "the Accident," to pass on a few meager self-defense techniques.

Thanks to Izu's abundant hot spring resources, even in winter, a few tourists can still be seen enjoying the sea along the coastline. The magician easily found his target, and after a simple spell to dismiss those around him, a makeshift meeting place was created.

The target was described as a boy, but that was a stretch. What the mage saw at that moment was a boy of about six or seven years old, with black hair, blue eyes, a face as smooth as jade, and a delicate, water-like appearance.

The evening breeze before the rain, carrying the subtle fragrance of winter plum blossoms, swept across the coast, ruffling the hair of tourists and urging them to return home early.

The successor of the Fifth Law casually gathered his flowing red hair, smiled at the other party, and showed what he considered to be a handsome and friendly smile.

Seeing this, the boy nodded thoughtfully. After a moment's thought, he resolutely took out a small anti-wolf alarm from his pocket.

The situation instantly spiraled out of control.

"Here, while it's hot, I wrapped it myself."

"Okay, do you have soy sauce?"

"Huh? Isn't that what I have on hand?"

"It's not written on it."

Silver City, Cloud City, Spring Breeze Tower, it was midday.

Thanks to her personal relationship with the landlady of the Cloud Pavilion, the believer easily managed to rent a guest room with its own kitchen and wide-open windows facing the sea.

Right now, he is sitting down with a plate of freshly made dumplings, and casually places it on the table. In the center of the table is a pot of steaming fish soup, the rich aroma of seafood filling the air and making one's mouth water.

On the way back to Baiyin Port, I picked up some lucky seafood that had gotten up early. I was busy for half a morning. By the time I had cleaned all the seafood, prepared the broth, and made dumplings, it was already noon.

In short, Mr. Hearn still didn't get to have breakfast.

However, the busy work paid off. With delicious food right in front of him, Mr. Hearn felt as if the sun had come out after the rain, and even the slap mark on his left cheek seemed to have faded a bit.

Aozaki Aoko expertly prepared the seasonings, then glanced up and saw that his left cheek was still bright red. She couldn't help but roll her eyes and say, "How long are you going to keep wearing that slap mark? Are you deliberately trying to make me jealous?"

"Wasn't this the one you slapped? How did it become that I deliberately tried to make things difficult for you? How strange." The believer took the soy sauce, rolled her eyes, and replied casually, then started mixing her own portion of sauce.

"Why have you become so petty now? You've reached this position, and you still leave a slap mark for half a day just because you were slapped by a mere weak woman?"

"I was just worried you weren't over it yet. If I were really stingy, would I have personally cooked a welcome feast for you? Hmm, you certainly have the airs of an official." Xin Nu retorted with a laugh, while simultaneously shoveling half a plate of dumplings into the central compartment of the hot pot, and then said, "Let's eat the fish first."

"Tsk, do you think I'm that petty? Forget it, just remove that handprint, it's really disgusting to me."

"That's what you said."

The believer smiled and wiped away the slap mark on her left cheek. She picked up the bowl and took a sip of the lukewarm fish soup, which relieved the emptiness in her stomach. Her pale golden eyes narrowed slightly.

"Ah, I've finally recovered. After a whole morning of fussing, it turns out I still have to do it myself. Self-reliance is the key to a fulfilling life," he exclaimed sincerely.

Aoko put down her chopsticks, stared at his golden eyes, and said with a teasing expression, "To be honest, you'd be much more normal after that slap. When you turned around, I thought I'd knocked off your contact lenses."

"It's not that complicated, you know, I'm just a bit nostalgic." The believer blinked, and with a blink, her golden eyes returned to their deep blue-green hue, like the distant sea. Then she asked, "When did you discover it?"

"When you first showed me the goat, the ability to tear through space was rare, but Shi Yuan's appearance was unique. I felt he looked familiar, but I didn't immediately realize it. I only truly understood when you introduced yourself. As for choosing the pen and making the accounts later, it just confirmed my thoughts. After all, you were the one who led me into this world." Qingzi's voice carried a hint of pride amidst the irony of fate. "Although at the time, I never imagined you would go so far."

“Although what you taught me were just some pseudo-canonical models derived from the Fifth Law, to be honest, they helped me a lot later on. Without this initial accumulation from scratch, I would have had a very miserable twelve years in that godforsaken place,” the believer replied sincerely.

"Is it not difficulty or hardship but frustration? It seems that my actions won't affect your revenge twelve years from now." Qingzi keenly sensed the key point in his words, and then said with relief, "Of course you can do it. I just did it unintentionally."

"Alright, let's change the subject, or I won't be able to eat," Xin Nu suggested with a smile. The previous topic had inevitably stirred up some unpleasant memories for him, things he usually swept into the wastebasket.

"Okay, let's change the subject. What's wrong with you right now?" Qingzi raised her chopsticks and pointed at the other person, her words carrying a hidden meaning.

"Just doing what I can," the believer replied casually.

"Huh? What do you say?"

"There is nothing new in the world of the divine, but there is much brilliance in the world of human wisdom. The lifestyle you chose after inheriting the Fifth Law is not fundamentally different from what I am doing now."

“I understand.” Qingzi nodded knowingly. “I thought so too. You’re not the kind of person who would willingly be hung up in the sky like the sun and worshipped. You’ve been very shrewd since you were little.”

"It's not like you went to work at the Clock Tower for a few days after inheriting the Fifth Law," the believer retorted with a smile.

"How dare you say such things? It's all because of the big commotion you caused at the end of September 2004. Now everything is in the past, and I'm no longer a magician. Why bring up the clock tower again? Besides, I've been diligently doing my job as a devil all these years. Who do you think I owe all this to?"

"You only managed to get one out of 666 orders delivered by me. With your level of performance, you would have been fired long ago under any other ruler. How have you managed to collect a salary without working for so many years?"

"Enough with the nonsense. The first 665 orders were all from rotten bastards. Even if I get fired, I won't help them. And Nobu is one thing, but why is it number 77?"

"It's your birthday? You forgot?"

""

“Well, speaking of which, it’s already 2092 where I am.” The believer changed the subject again. “December 18, 2092, is the day I was swept up in Thranheim.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to realize something, and his expression became somewhat subtle—surprised, then enlightened.

"It's been 100 years already?"

"Yeah, it's been 100 years. It's been 100 years since someone unexpectedly pulled out a stun gun on the beach. If the timeline is still stuck where you were, today can be considered the 100th anniversary. Not only are the two people involved still alive, but their voices and smiles are still vivid in our memories. Aren't you moved? I'm almost moved to tears, really." Qingzi muttered to herself while stirring the bottom of the pot.

"Don't give me that. You're so old, smiling like a weird auntie at a little boy. Anyone would call the police if they saw that." The woman laughed at the sight, her slight sense of loss vanishing. She picked up her chopsticks and started teasing him.

“My believer, I must solemnly declare once again—when I first came here to find you, I had just resolved my own family's troubles, and that was the real deal.”

"At the tender age of sixteen, at the tender age of sixteen." The believer nodded as if she couldn't bear it, and buried herself in picking fish. "You emphasized this many times a hundred years ago today. Don't worry, I remember it."

"I always felt that your emphasis on a hundred years at this point was intentional."

"Well, when I bump into you at the train station twelve years later, how much time has passed where you are?"

"Let me do the math... it's been four years. I revisited my old haunts in 1992 to check on things over there. Who knew that in twelve years you'd grown into a wild beast? It breaks my heart to see you like this," Qingzi said, counting on her fingers.

"A boy who hasn't grown up in twelve years isn't a little boy, he's a dwarf." The believer rolled her eyes again upon hearing this. "Can't you change your weird taste soon?"

"No way, the Genji-style training is so much better. I wonder who it was that, after first witnessing Blue Magic, followed him around obediently calling him 'Teacher, Teacher' over and over again. Tsk tsk, look at his current behavior, all talk and no action."

The former mage kept pursing his lips and making sarcastic remarks.

“I don’t mind at all, as long as you’re not shy.” The believer showed no resistance to this, appearing exceptionally open and aboveboard.

"No, things are different now." Qingzi raised her hand and refused decisively.

"Huh? What's different?"

“Things are different now. Back then you still had some shame, but now you’ve lost all sense of shame.”

""

"And the generational order is all messed up too."

"Huh? What the hell is that?"

"Seniority, isn't it said that a teacher for a day is a father for life? I used to be your half mentor, but now you've become my boss. Isn't the hierarchy all messed up?" Qingzi counted on her fingers and explained to him with great interest, looking like she wanted to see him make a fool of himself.

"This is easy to handle."

The woman understood immediately and responded accordingly. She waved her hand magnanimously, indicating that there was no problem. She picked up a dumpling that had just floated to the surface of the boiling fish soup from the pot and threw it into the condiments to cool. Then she sat up straight and replied righteously.

"From now on, I'll call you teacher, and you'll call me boss. We'll each follow our own roles."

Chapter 103 Accomplices

A soft rustling sound came from the outer edge of the window facing the sea, and a moment later a figure that had been gone for half a day climbed in through the window.

Aozaki Aoko stared with great interest at the unexpected visitor, a beautiful girl with light platinum blonde hair. She even had cat ears and a tail in the same color as the Rosetta people, which were partially hidden under a gray, old, and wide cloak.

Based on her understanding of the symptoms of someone's past PTSD history, this girl's current appearance is basically equivalent to writing dozens of "death" characters on her own body.

However, since he was unmoved by it, Aoko naturally couldn't muster any enthusiasm either.

After confirming the location of the believer, Pandora's gaze quickly fell on the red-haired woman who was sizing her up. This was a stranger, with no features whatsoever of the known natives of Thranheim. Instead, she looked exactly like a child of the earth who had returned from the Far East.

“I’m sorry, perhaps I’ve come at the wrong time, Mr. Hearn.” After observing for a moment, Pandora turned her attention to Mr. Hearn, who was clearing away the dishes.

"No, you've come at just the right time," the believer retorted irritably, casually restoring the piled-up plates to their clean state.

"Qingzi, let me introduce you. This is Pandora Reinhardt, my only ally in this godforsaken place for the past few months."

After they sat down again, the nun, who acted as the middleman in the network of connections, pointed to the girl who had arrived late and introduced her to the mage.

"Huh? Does the word 'ally' even exist in Nobunaga Hearn's dictionary? Weren't they always accomplices in the past?" Aoko interrupted, as if deliberately picking a fight.

The believer ignored her and instead introduced the person to the other party.

“Pandora, this is Aozaki Aoko, a friend of mine from the very past who was also an accomplice, and also an outside helper I just brought in by some twist of fate.”

"Hey, hey, hey, we were just allies, how come I'm now an accomplice when you introduce me?" Qingzi said, feigning anger.

"Isn't this what I'm doing to meet your request?" the believer retorted sarcastically.

To avoid unnecessary psychological suspicion, the believer did not intend to reveal the fact that the latter was his half-teacher.

“Mr. Hearn, if I may be so bold, your actions do not seem conducive to maintaining our alliance, or rather, our complicity,” Pandora pointedly reminded him.

The original 1-on-1 balance has been broken.

“Well, Pandora, let me put it this way,” the believer said with a wry smile, making a gesture. “You just need to know that if you and she appear in front of a Fire Child at the same time, the probability of that Fire Child killing her first is far greater than killing you.”

Upon hearing this, Qingzi couldn't help but roll her eyes. The believer was telling the truth. Who told her to be disguised as a devil now? If she were to be seen by those molting Fire Children, it would most likely be a fight to the death.

We've been enemies for ages.

"What are you laughing at? It's all your fault." Qingzi kicked him lightly under the table, hitting his shin right on the back. But the feedback felt like kicking into thin air. Looking down, she saw a subspace rift disappear in an instant. She couldn't help but grit her teeth in anger. She then kicked his instep again, this time hitting the target smoothly.

However, seeing that the woman's expression was normal, Aoko lost interest in continuing to nitpick.

“I understand what you mean, Mr. Hearn. I will reserve my opinion on this newly joined Miss Aozaki for the time being and observe her further.” Pandora noticed the subtle movements under the table, nodded, and couldn’t help but remark, “The two of you have a really strong bond of accompliceship.”

"Aoko seemed to have some reservations about the other party's easy acceptance of the term 'accomplice,' but she didn't know where to begin, so she fell into a subtle silence."

The believer glanced at her with a look that said, "You brought this on yourself, what does it have to do with me?" and remained silent.

“Then, as is customary, Aoko, you need to make yourself at least look like a human being.” Nobunaga suddenly remembered this and turned back to remind her as she got up.

"?" A big question mark seemed to appear above Qingzi's head, followed by a grimacing expression. "Shinju, tell me honestly, have you been itching to practice a few rounds lately?"

"No, it was a slip of the tongue. What I meant was that your current appearance is too shocking in this day and age when the Sons of Earth are extinct. You'd probably have a hard time even going out. You need to make yourself look like a Thranheim native."

"If you say half a sentence again next time, I'm really going to beat you up. Thranheim has the Blood Pact, and everyone here is a perfect player. If you keep being so quick-witted, don't think I can hold back from taking you down."

"That sounds plausible, but how can you be so sure the Blood Sea Pact will work on me?"

""

""

"cough."

"cough."

"My believer, you must understand that in our hometown, if a student hits a teacher, they will be struck by lightning."

"Who said that? The student in your area who stabbed the teacher in the back is still alive and well, although he was stabbed to death by the teacher's daughter ten years later. As for my area, I have always respected teachers. Of course, Qingzi, you know that someone as respectful as me can spar with you while getting struck by lightning, if you're really itching to spar because you've been idle for too long."

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to kick this steel plate of yours."

"This doesn't fit your competitive nature."

“Being competitive and being overconfident are not synonyms.”

"Sigh, whatever you want. Just think about what you want to transform into. The Rosetta people, who are similar to humans but have animal features, are the best choice." The believer pointed to Miss Pandora, who was silent to the side, as an example. "But please, please don't transform into felines anymore. My mind can hardly control my hands anymore."

"Don't worry, although I'm tempted to play a prank on you, I would never risk my life. Little girl over there, Miss Pandora, right? Come on, let's change our appearances together." Aoko suddenly called out to Pandora, who was silently watching. The latter seemed a little confused and pointed to herself in a questioning manner. Aoko nodded affirmatively, "Look, see that little boy standing over there? He was really hurt by the charming blonde woman and the docile kitten in the past, so don't add to his mental stress. You definitely haven't seen what he looks like when he goes crazy. Trust me, you definitely don't want to see it."

"Go away, you strange auntie, don't corrupt the children. I'm going out for a bit, you can do whatever you want."

The believer retorted rudely and walked to the door, casually setting up a protective barrier around the room before opening the door and stepping out.

Just as he was closing the door, a dragon maid from the clouds arrived late and delivered a message he had expected.

Joshua the Big Cat has been released from prison, and Jiang Xue, the proprietress of Yunzhong, has invited him again.

It seems they have made their choice.