I want to just drift through life in Type-Moon.

Page 13

The Theseus paradox, also known as the Ship of Theseus, is one of the oldest thought experiments.

The earliest record comes from Plutarch.

It describes a ship that can sail at sea for hundreds of years, thanks to continuous maintenance and replacement of parts.

Once a plank rots, it is replaced, and so on, until all the functional components are no longer the original ones.

The question is, will the final ship be the same as the original Ship of Theseus, or a completely different ship?

If it's not the original ship, then when did it cease to be the original ship?

The philosopher Thomas Hobbes later extended this idea, asking which of the two ships would be the true Ship of Theseus if a new ship were built using the old parts taken from the Ship of Theseus.

This is exactly the situation for Yue Zhengling now.

"But didn't you say this heart can't make someone live to my age?"

“That’s because your heart has been neglected.” Araya Sōren continued to explain to him, “If someone regularly maintains your heart, it will still function perfectly even if you live to brain death.”

Le Zhengling pursed his lips. He was now naturally wondering who had been doing this maintenance work before.

Grandpa, how many things have you been hiding from me?

He couldn't help but think to himself.

At the same time, he finally understood what the heartless guardian meant when he said he wouldn't die and that someone would take care of him. But he realized that person wouldn't make it in time, which led to the death that Guanbuzi's mother had foreseen.

But this raises even more questions: where did his original heart go, and what's the deal with the heart he's using now?

"What kind of heart is this?" He felt a little strange thinking that he had a heart inside him of unknown origin, and that it seemed to have been used for a very long time.

Chapter Thirty Deviation

"Right now, all we can confirm is that it's not a human heart, and we've never seen this kind of transplant before. If you really want to know what kind of heart it is, I can cut it open for you to take a look, but I can't be sure I recognize it."

Araya Sōren said in a tone that was completely unrecognizable as a joke.

"Thank you, but no thanks, farewell!" Yue Zhengling refused righteously.

Hearing his words, Araya Sōren did not show any strange expression.

This left Yue Zhengling somewhat disappointed.

Therefore, some things are known only to oneself in the whole world.

He gave a bitter smile, his spirits sinking even lower.

"Do you have any other questions?" Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a long time, Araya Sōren took the initiative to speak.

“Yes, there are many more, but before that…” Yue Zhengling picked up the manuscripts that were placed on the table and then took out the envelopes she had prepared earlier from her pocket.

"What do you want to do?" Huangye Zonglian did not stop him. In his view, these manuscripts and Yue Zhengling were already his, so there was no need to do anything unnecessary.

"As you can see, I'm going to pack it up and mail it out..." Yue Zhengling tilted his head, revealing an innocent smile, then folded the dozen or so pages of paper, put them into a kraft paper envelope (the kind often used in Japanese anime to hold a thick stack of money), and then stuffed it into his trouser pocket.

Araya Souren also saw the name written on the envelope at this moment, "Aozaki Touko...a member of the Fifth Law Aozaki family?"

“Yes, it’s your classmate from the Clock Tower, Aozaki Touko.” Yue Zhengling looked him over strangely. In his memory, Touko seemed to have had feelings for Araya Souren. Could it be a recurring phase of puberty? Otherwise, how could she possibly be interested in this brooding old man? Could Touko be into older men?

Well, that's not surprising. Aoko seems to be a shota-con. Don't you know what happened to Tono Shiki in the Tsukihime story?

"Clock Tower?"

“That will happen in a few years.” Le Zhengling waved his hand. “At the Clock Tower, you will become classmates with Aozaki Touko and Cornelius Aruba, the next abbot of Spongheim Monastery. You will study puppet magic under the same magician, and eventually you will be expelled from the school because of your Origin Awakening.”

"Speaking of which, Cornelius Aruba, who got killed by the orange, and Professor Rafe, who's preparing to burn humanity, are a perfect match. Their similar red and green top hats and coats might just make them a surprising duo..."

"..." Araya Sōren ignored his nonsense, even though his words seemed to mention something very important.

Yue Zhengling knew he had gone off-topic, so he coughed and continued, "After that, you discovered Ryougi Shiki and used the Origin Awakening Technique to prepare the chess pieces. You could say that you are the hidden protagonist of the story I recorded called 'Kara no Kyoukai'."

"But unfortunately, even divine power cannot overcome fate, and you ultimately failed." As he said this, a mocking expression unconsciously appeared on Yue Zhengling's face. Since the other party already knew, he didn't care if the other party knew more. If he could see Huangye Zonglian showing a pained expression, he would definitely feel the pleasure of revenge.

However, he did not see the scene he wanted to see. Instead, Araya Sōren frowned, his eyes filled with inexplicable fluctuations.

"I have already mastered the puppet magic you mentioned, and I have long since awakened my own origins."

At first, Le Zhengling didn't understand what he was trying to say: So what if you learned it? I already know all of this, why are you saying it out loud? Are you showing off?

However, after thinking about it carefully, Yue Zhengling was stunned.

its not right……

The timing is wrong!

When I saw Orange the day before yesterday, she wasn't wearing her glasses yet, and she was still on such good terms with Aoko, which means she hadn't been told she couldn't inherit the Fifth Law.

If that's the case, then it means that Orange hasn't even been to the Clock Tower yet! Could it be that Araya Souren met Orange when he went to the Clock Tower for further studies later?

"I learned the complete puppet magic at the Clock Tower twenty years ago, and it was at that time that I awakened my origin and was executed by the [Sealing Designation], so I escaped. I don't have a classmate named Aozaki Touko at all, and there is no way I will ever go back to the Clock Tower."

"Wh-what?" Le Zheng was extremely confused after hearing these words.

What's going on? What's going on? What's going on?

He kept repeating this sentence in his mind.

“Because what you wrote is in Chinese, I can’t understand it all. You should tell me everything about me in person now.”

Upon hearing this request, Yue Zhengling considered it for a while, and then slowly revealed the information he knew.

This selection focuses on the life of Araya Sōren, from birth to adulthood and death, including his wishes, goals, and pursuit of the origin. Rakujō Rin recounted everything he knew.

After recounting the information about Araya Sōren, he went on to tell the story of "Kara no Kyoukai" in detail, in chronological order. He did not mention the future Gospel, and he also omitted the information about Kanbuko's mother, replacing it with a mysterious fortune teller.

Araya Sōren listened quietly the whole time, sitting there like a statue without making any movement. Even when Yue Zheng listened to his failure on the sixty-fourth floor of the Offering Hall and his death, his expression did not change at all.

Until Yue Zheng heard about the final exchange between Orange and "that" Araya Sōren—

Aozaki Touko: "Araya, what are you pursuing?"

Araya Sōren: "—True wisdom."

Aozaki Touko: "Araya, where are you pursuing her?"

Araya Sōren: "—Only in one's own heart."

Aozaki Touko: "Araya, where is your target?"

Hearing this, Araya Souren clenched his hands tightly until Yue Zhengling said that "that" Araya Souren had disappeared here, but still left behind a sentence:

This is the end of this paradoxical spiral.

After hearing all this, Araya Sōren finally understood the reason for the strange feeling she had when looking at those things before.

Le Zhengling did not lie, and what he wrote was true, but not all of it was correct; there were some minor discrepancies.

Araya Sōren couldn't tell whether it was a mistake or a slip of the pen by Yūjō Rin, so he asked Yūjō Rin to say it aloud.

The simplest way would be to take out Yue Zhengling's brain and use his own methods to obtain all the information, but he doesn't want to do that now because he is more interested in something else than that information.

That is, what Araya Sōren wants to know is what level Yue Zhengling can achieve after awakening his origin, or what he will become after awakening his origin, because his origin is...

Chapter Thirty-One: My Way of Existence, Yue Zhengling

"Finished?"

After Yue Zhengling paused for more than ten seconds, Huangye Zonglian asked a question to confirm.

Le Zhengling nodded, picked up his water and drank half a cup to soothe his throat, which had been sore from talking for almost half an hour.

"Let's leave aside the part that didn't happen, as you just mentioned. There are some slight differences between what I know about the earlier parts and what you said earlier." Now that he had finished organizing the information, he tried to explain it to Yue Zheng in a concise way.

"First of all, I have indeed witnessed the massacres and destruction caused by war, and I have come to understand the fact that it is impossible to save everyone."

"Although I have witnessed all kinds of evil and questioned whether humanity is worth saving, I have never given up on saving humanity."

"I have witnessed many deaths, but I have also saved many people."

Although Yue Zhengling was slow to understand, he understood what this meant—even though he knew it was impossible, he would still try his best; although humanity may not have the value to be saved, it cannot be denied that they have the value to be saved.

bona fide.

This is something that Araya Souren in this world has more of than the Araya Souren in "Kara no Kyoukai".

Le Zhengling didn't know if it was because the time hadn't come yet, or because the two had really drifted apart due to their different life experiences, but he knew that the person opposite him was telling the truth.

This Araya Sōren still has hope for people. Although he will use every means to get the answer, he will not lose his bottom line.

"Secondly, while feeling deeply insignificant, I went to your country in pursuit of greatness. There, I witnessed the vibrant days after the birth of the new nation, saw a lot, heard a lot, and experienced a lot."

"It was around that time that I met your grandfather, Mr. Le Zheng, who was in his early forties at the time."

“I am much older than him, but after our conversation, I realized that I didn’t see through the ways of the world as clearly as he did. When I left that country, he said this to me—”

"The persistence of beliefs is unconditional, while the persistence of actions is guaranteed by strong strength."

"So instead of returning to my own country, I went to the clock tower. The time was about thirty years earlier than you said."

Upon hearing this, Yue Zhengling's expression became incredibly interesting.

Grandpa! So it was your fault again! How many things have you been hiding from me?!

"Thirdly, that is, you. I think the me in that story definitely didn't meet a person like you."

"The 'me' in that story and I were pursuing the same thing. He could only be assimilated by the origin in the end, while I, although I got the answer I didn't want, found a way to avoid being assimilated."

At this point, a fierce flame ignited in Araya Sōren's eyes.

Le Zhengling had a bad feeling. "That's me, isn't it?"

“Yes, that’s you!” he said decisively.

"The first time I saw you, I sensed your unique origin. Only someone with an origin like yours can help me, and help everything, even that 'Ryougi Shiki.' With you, she wouldn't need to choose that old man; that would be such a waste!"

"...What is my origin? What will I become if I awaken my origin?" Yue Zhengling wanted to stall for time a little longer, as the preparations she made when she took the utensils into the kitchen were not yet complete.

"Relative. Your origin is [relative]." Araya Sōren said with unprecedented solemnity.

"It sounds really... ordinary," Yue Zhengling couldn't help but complain.

"That's just because you underestimate your own origins."

"Come with me. Let's save the world together!" Araya Souren said, his enthusiasm growing unnatural.

Despite his fanaticism, Araya Sōren radiated a kind of brilliance at this moment, a sacred sense of determination to save the world and bravely face everything.

This sense of sacredness made Yue Zhengling feel dazzled and admired it.

“I’m sorry, I refuse.” Le Zhengling remembered Guan Buzi’s mother’s words and answered according to her own heart.

As if he had expected it, Araya Sōren did not show any anger, but simply suppressed his fervor.

"Why?" he asked expressionlessly.

"Because I know this world is a mess."

Yue Zhengling first glanced at the envelope in his pocket and said in a voice that sounded almost transparent:

"In this world, the more you want something, the less likely you are to get it; the greater your ideal, the more ruthlessly it will be trampled on; the more you try to save something, the more likely you are to destroy it with your own hands."

"The king who dreamed of saving the country ultimately could not save it."

"Dreamers who hope for world peace have only found despair."

"The saint who wanted to witness the salvation of all mankind could not see the end."

“The noble person who holds the compassionate wish to eradicate all evil in this world and the evil of humanity ultimately seeks to prolong his life through this evil.”

"Those who wanted to ensure the long and resilient continuation of human history unknowingly unveiled the beginning of human destruction."

"The more beautiful the wish, the more bitter the result; this is the truth of the world."

"Are you sure you still want to save anything?" At this point, Yue Zhengling gave Huangye Zonglian a deep look. "You should know that in the other world, you also met a tragic end, dying and disappearing."

"Are you sure you won't destroy yourself because of such an overwhelming realization? Won't you one day discover that to save the world you must first destroy it, or to save humanity you must wipe out all of humanity and create a new one?"

Seeing that Araya Sōren was deep in thought, Le Zhengling breathed a sigh of relief, finally managing to fool this person for the time being.

Don't be fooled by all that he said above, which makes him seem very impressive. In his own opinion, it's all bullshit!

I'm just an ordinary person, I don't have all your awareness! You seasoned veterans don't need to guide me, I can manage on my own! I just want to be an ordinary person and live a good life!

"It's all up to human effort. How can we know we can't succeed if we don't try?" After thinking for a long time, Araya Sōren raised his head and looked at Yūjō Rin and said.