The rain fell heavier and heavier. Gradually, Falson could no longer make out the little Wyatt through the downpour.
The raindrops were silent, yet dense—so dense they seed to fill the entire space, filling his heart.
His gaze shifted slightly, landing on the Bard’s corpse not far away, also blurred in the rain curtain.
Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming sadness.
He hadn’t fully understood what had just happened, but there was one thing he could determine.
That old butler in the suit, simply to help the gentleman who had torn his own face off grow stronger, had cruelly killed… no, at least including the Bard, an unknown number of people.
That man who looked a bit like a mber of the Royal Family had gained power, and the butler had gotten what he wanted.
But what about the Bard?
If soone insisted it was about gaining things like “dignity,” Falson wouldn’t buy it.
Things that were already there didn’t need proving.
“The distance between human hearts… is truly unimaginably vast…” Falson murmured softly.
Samuel, masquerading as the System and residing in his soul, heard his voice.
Then, the “System’s” annoyingly smug voice rang in Falson’s ears.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, my dear little Falson, now that you’re a Law Seeker, there’s no need to be so naive.”
Falson gently shook his head, offering no rebuttal.
“Is there sothing you don’t understand?” Samuel asked with a chuckle.
“It’s just… I feel…” Falson wasn’t sure how to put it.
He struggled with his phrasing, thought about it, but still couldn’t find the words.
“There’s a manga called *Adaptation* in the book collection I gave you. You haven’t seen it yet.”
“There’s a scene in it where a monkey asks a human, ‘Why is it that only humans can’t be killed and eaten?’”
“That question—how would you answer it?” Samuel asked. “Do you think humans can be killed and eaten?”
Falson opened his mouth, glanced at the old butler on the ground, then at the Bard’s corpse not far away, and closed it again.
He thought of the answer, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Samuel voiced it for him.
“Looks like you get it.”
“The answer is yes.”
“There’s no such thing as ‘humans can’t be killed and eaten.’ Why can’t they? When can’t they? That question is aningless because it was wrong from the start.”
“Humans, from the very beginning, have been on other creatures’ nus. From primitive tis to now, it’s always been the case. It will be the sa in the future. Even if humanity one day builds flying machines, carriages that don’t need horses, devices that can deliver letters to recipients in an instant… even then, humans can still be eaten, and they will always be eaten.”
“It’s just that, nowadays, we’re all civilized people, so we need to give it a lit~tle polish.”
“They no longer tear at each other’s throats with brute force. They don’t say ‘eating people’; they say ‘utilizing surplus value.’”
He paused, then added.
“Mm… except for the East District. Over there, it’s pure eating, pure big hungry boys and girls. East District ghouls.”
“Because animals can’t match humans, animals can be eaten by humans. Because this Bard couldn’t match that butler, the Bard’s ‘utilizable value’ could be eaten by the butler.”
“It’s that simple.”
“The gap between human hearts, the gap in status and class, is unimaginably vast.”
“I see…” Falson sighed softly. “That’s really not ‘beautiful’ at all.”
“Mm-hmm,” Samuel humd lightly in his mind. “Since you don’t like it, try to change it.”
“Eliminating the ‘distance’ between everyone—isn’t that a pretty good goal? Letting everyone’s ‘hearts’ ‘converge’ together—that should be sothing you’d be interested in, right?”
Falson remained silent, not answering.
“Think about it, Falson.”
“Now then, I’ll issue your first System mission.”
[System Mission: Find the best thod you can to eliminate the barriers between people.]
[Reward: Unknown, depends on completion.]
[Ti Limit: No limit.]
“Think more.” Samuel’s voice, tinged with laughter, grew quieter.
“Falson, I can only tell you this: before that, think more.”
The rain fell harder, silently washing away the bloodstains and filth on the stone slabs underfoot, silently scrubbing the brutal scene in this mory landscape.
His vision was layered with a cold rain curtain, becoming blurred and distorted.
Although this rain in the mory had no physical sensation for Falson, it did block his sight.
Just then, crisp applause rang out from within the rain.
Clap, clap, clap.
With the crisp applause, the rain curtain gradually grew ethereal.
Not just the rain, but the entire mory scene slowly beca unreal.
Falson suddenly felt a sense of detachnt, like erging from the water after a long dive.
The rain before his eyes vanished. Little Wyatt vanished. Not far away, a massive, translucent golden shield appeared.
He had erged from Wyatt Odius’s past mory and returned to the present Liant Town.
The ruined scene here looked much the sa as a few seconds ago, with only slight differences.
“Wonderful,” Samuel said with a languid satisfaction. “What a fine play I’ve witnessed.”
He shrugged, his tone airy.
“It doesn’t matter how the story plays out after this,” Samuel said, lowering his hands. “Anyway, having seen this excellent performance, this trip wasn’t a loss.”
Then, he turned and looked at Falson not far away. “So? How was it, witnessing the mory of a Law Contemplator’s birth? Enjoy yourself?”
“You’ll write a two-thousand-word reflection later~.”
Falson was silent for a mont, feeling an inexplicable tightness in his throat. He shook his head, not very forcefully. “Not really.”
His voice was a bit hoarse and low.
“Then what if I only ask you to write a five-hundred-word reflection?” Samuel indicated he was a good teacher and wouldn’t drive his dear student to jumping off a building.
Falson laughed helplessly. “It’s not about the reflection…”
People really do laugh when they’re speechless.
For so reason, his mood had actually improved a lot.
He guessed it was so kind of extraordinary ability of Samuel’s.
“Mm-hmm, I understand.” Samuel nodded sympathetically. “For soone like you, this kind of thing isn’t easy to accept.”
As his words faded, Samuel raised his right hand. His slender fingers flicked elegantly in the air with a grand sweep.
Like a magician pulling back a curtain, a delicate mahogany round table appeared amidst the ruins, its surface polished like a mirror, reflecting the dancing flas from the burning houses around them.
Around the table were several high-backed armchairs upholstered in thick crimson velvet, looking very comfortable. On the table appeared a few teacups, small cakes, sandwiches, so other tea snacks, and a silver kettle.
It seed completely out of place with the current ruined scene.
“Co on, let’s take a break,” Samuel said. “Let’s have a nice afternoon tea.”
He himself was the first to take a seat, leaning back comfortably, then gestured to the spot opposite him.
“Co on, co on.”
Samuel picked up a silver-plated teaspoon and lightly tapped it against the edge of the sugar bowl, producing a crisp clink.
“I made this with Illusion Magic. It’ll disappear in half an hour. You can eat as much as you want without gaining weight. Very convenient.”
“You know, plenty of people would love to get their hands on a fantasy feast like this but have no way. Don’t be ungrateful.”
He paused, then let out a soft laugh.
Falson walked over to the seat in front of Samuel and pulled out a chair that also looked very comfortable, sitting down.
“Well, since it’s not about the reflection, then rember to write two thousand words later.” Samuel directed the teapot to pour tea by itself.
A mature teapot should learn to pour tea for guests on its own.
“Uh… well, it actually is a little related,” Falson said, scratching his cheek.
“Is that so?” Samuel glanced at him with a smile. “Then write a thousand words.”
“…Fine…”
Samuel-style education. You win.
Falson watched the teapot sprout two legs on its own, stand up, and fill both his and Samuel’s teacups.
Then, it didn’t stop but continued to pour several more cups.
“Are there other guests?” Falson asked, puzzled.
“Depends on luck,” Samuel replied casually, picking up a small cake. “Waiting for that Sheriff who wanted to cooperate with you at noon today. Let’s see if he shows up.”
“Him? Why do you think he’ll co?” Falson asked, even more confused, turning his head instinctively.
He had agreed with Sheriff Grill to et tomorrow at the Hat Shop from yesterday.
As he thought about it, he instinctively looked back.
Uh… the Hat Shop was gone. Blown to rubble.
Though eting among the ruins wasn’t impossible.
Samuel took a bite of the small cake and pointed to the massive translucent golden shield not far away.
That huge, semi-transparent golden shield still stood immovable amidst the ruins.
“With such a big commotion, outsiders will probably co to check it out.”
“Regardless of their reasons or how close they’ll get, they’re bound to co.”
“So, we might as well wait.”
Samuel’s tone carried a hint of matter-of-factness.
With that, he took out the Travel Guide, casually swiped a piece of information to send to Celt, and used the connection between the two guides to send the DVD he had just watched along with it.
Done, he casually closed the book and tossed the Travel Guide aside, letting it float on its own.
“I see.” A slightly understanding voice sounded.
But it wasn’t Falson’s voice.
Rougher, deeper.
Falson imdiately turned his head, looking at a wall not far away.
Grill poked half his body out from behind that wall.
He was still dressed the sa as when Falson had seen him earlier, with a little more dust on him, but no wounds, and his clothes weren’t torn.
“So, is this seat for ?” He leaned out half his body from behind the wall, not fully exposing himself, and asked from a distance.
“Yes, please, have a seat.” Samuel nodded with a smile, gesturing to a spot not far from himself.
He seed quite enthusiastic.
“Ha.” Grill let out an unreadable laugh.
“My intuition seems completely shot; I can’t feel anything. Theoretically, I should run away right now.” He ca out fully from behind the wall.
Then, he strode briskly toward the table that looked so out of place in the ruins.
Approaching Samuel, he pulled out a chair and sat down.
“And yet you still dared to co?” Samuel leaned back in his chair.
“I’ll take a gamble,” Grill said with a grin. “Besides, I haven’t eaten in half a day.”
“That’s not great,” Samuel said, taking a sip of tea. “This stuff won’t fill you up. It’ll turn into air in half an hour.”
“Oh, that really is too bad.” Grill picked up a ham sandwich. “Got any wine?”
“Unfortunately, no.” Samuel set down his teacup.
“Hmph, a little tea party,” Samuel murmured, looking at the half-full tea left in his cup. “Though three grown n having a tea party feels pretty weird.”
As he spoke, his features and build suddenly shifted.
His facial lines instantly softened, his hair rapidly lengthened, and his chest swelled.
“But I can turn into a beautiful girl. Do you two want to give it a try and experience it too?”
Samuel, having completed the transformation in two seconds, leaned back in his chair, looking at the two around the table with a slightly languid pose, and gave a wink.
Samuel (female version), making her grand debut.
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