Misaki City, residential area.
In a room of an apartment, Shana slowly helped Fang Li onto the bed, allowing him to lie down.
“Hu…”
Fang Li, with breaths much calmer than before, lay there with a serene expression on his face, peacefully asleep.
Shana’s Flame-Haired appearance had returned to its jet-black color, the Burning-Eyed aspect disappeared, and the weight of her presence was concealed. She looked like an ordinary girl, kneeling by the bedside, staring blankly at Fang Li’s peaceful sleeping face, not snapping out of her trance for quite some time.
The sky had already darkened.
At the end of the battle, the sky had turned completely dark, and it was already deep into the night. Misaki City was ablaze with lights, but this room in the apartment remained dim, devoid of any illuminated lamps.
In this darkness, Shana gazed at Fang Li’s face for a long time before speaking in a low voice.
“Hey, Alastor.”
The pendant in front of Shana immediately emitted a flicker of fiery light.
“What happened?” Alastor spoke in such a way that, despite the lack of a questioning tone, he seemed to understand why Shana was behaving like this.
Shana was completely oblivious to this but frowned, her beautiful brows wrinkled, expressing some distress as she uttered these words.
“I don’t know what to do now.”
This seemingly random sentence, believe it or not, would not immediately convey its meaning to anyone. However, Alastor understood.
Although he understood, Alastor didn’t state it directly. Instead, he continued to ask, “What specifically don’t you know what to do?”
“… I also don’t know how to put it.” Shana covered her chest, seemingly experiencing the feeling within herself. After a long while, she uttered these words.
“But I just can’t figure it out. I have this feeling, only, I’m a bit puzzled.”
This was Shana’s state of mind.
Shana genuinely couldn’t figure it out because of her ingrained beliefs. The maid who had taken care of Shana had said something like this:
“From now on, you must face everything alone.”
However, the human who had suddenly intersected with Shana said something entirely different: “The world doesn’t belong to just you. Don’t think that mission is something only you possess!”
The words of the figure who had been like a mother or an elder sister, and the words of the recently acquainted individual, kept intertwining in Shana’s mind.
On one side, it was advising Shana to face everything alone.
On the other side, it was telling Shana not to consider everything as her sole responsibility.
Words from two completely different individuals that contradicted each other, leaving Shana truly confused.
“Who is really right?”
In general, in a situation where both sides had such unequal positions, Shana should logically choose to believe in the figure who had always looked after her like a mother or an elder sister.
However, witnessing Fang Li’s battle, Shana couldn’t dismiss the words of a human who could fight without hesitation, even when covered in wounds.
So, Shana genuinely couldn’t figure out which side was correct.
“I just feel really annoyed right now.” Shana could only wear a displeased expression, her face contorted as she spoke. “I hate this feeling.”
Shana’s seemingly incoherent expression wasn’t due to a lack of understanding; rather, it stemmed from her inability to articulate her feelings.
From a young age, Shana was brought to Tendoukyuu and trained as a Flame Haze. During this process, she did acquire knowledge, but it was based on real-world common sense and facts, lacking any personal subjective records.
In other words, Shana was, in reality, somewhat ignorant of the ways of the world. She was a pure blank slate. Apart from combat and knowledge, nothing else was instilled in her.
Naturally, Shana didn’t know how to express her current emotions. All she knew was that her present self was vexed— extremely vexed to the point where she felt like venting her frustration.
Faced with this situation, Alastor had no intention of correcting anything. Not because Alastor wished to mold Shana into a contractor who knew nothing but combat. In fact, for Alastor, Shana was equivalent to a daughter.
As a guardian, Alastor hoped Shana would gain more social experience but didn’t want this clean slate to be tainted by anything.
This purity, as a guardian, was something that anyone would want to preserve, right?
Therefore, Alastor only said, “What do you think?”
“Me?” Shana was slightly startled, then fell silent.
Shortly afterward, Shana spoke up.
“I don’t think Wilhelmina is wrong.”
Wilhelmina was the maid who had taken care of Shana.
Then, Shana continued.
“But I also don’t think what this person said is wrong.”
It was precisely because of this that Shana felt annoyed. If she could clearly know who was right and who was wrong, she wouldn’t be so frustrated.
Although Shana was a pure blank slate, it didn’t mean she knew nothing. At least, Shana was a person with a strong opinion and high judgment skills. She could distinguish between right and wrong.
Of course, it was this impeccable ability that made Shana so vexed.
So, Alastor’s thunderous voice softened a bit, and he said, “If you think both sides are correct, just remember both sides’ words. There’s no need to be troubled.”
“Remember both sides?” Shana said puzzledly, “But what this person said is completely different from what Wilhelmina said.”
Hearing this, Alastor said.
“Is it really different?” Alastor spoke, “Think carefully, these two statements actually don’t contradict each other, do they?”
“No contradiction?” Shana immediately looked at the pendant in front of her.
Alastor, in an affirmative tone, told Shana.
“As a Flame Haze, you must learn to independently face enemies, not holding onto false hope. That’s what Wilhelmina-Carmel wants you to achieve; that’s why she said that.”
“But it doesn’t mean doing everything alone. If you were the only one, even if the ‘Denizens’ in this world weren’t your opponents, how could you possibly vanquish them all?”
“Independence must be achieved, but don’t ignore the people around you.”
“I believe that’s the conclusion you should reach.”
Alastor’s words immediately brightened Shana’s heart.
“Independence must be achieved, but don’t ignore the people around you…”
Shana shifted her gaze to Fang Li’s sleeping face and remained silent for a long time.
…
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