"First, are the students safe, excluding the teachers?"
Tsukauchi Naomasa, the detective in charge of the case, checked on the students’ safety. Everyone except one student had been protected.
Thirteen had suffered severe lacerations across the back and upper arms, but the injuries were not life-threatening. Aizawa Shota was also badly hurt, but he would be fine, though the hospital said there would likely be aftereffects. The students began to worry.
"Um... Taka... what about the student named Sorano Taka?"
One of the students, the one with ears like headphones, asked the police officer a question. Tsukauchi’s expression darkened slightly at that, but he spoke the truth to reassure them.
"He won’t be arrested. It was an emergency, and his life was in danger. But procedurally, we still have to question him. After all...
he committed a killing."
______________________________________
I was being questioned by a police officer who looked like a gorilla. He asked for my personal information, such as my name and age, then questioned me about the situation in which I dealt with the Villains, as well as information related to killing a Villain. The questioning lasted for almost three hours, shorter than I expected, and afterward I left the police station and returned to the orphanage.
Then the children I lived with came up to me and wouldn’t leave.
Honestly, it was a little troublesome, but I didn’t refuse them. I had made them worry, after all. I only learned later.
The next day, there would be a temporary school closure, and I heard about the teachers’ condition...
I comforted the children who wouldn’t let go of me, but even when it was time to sleep, they still wouldn’t leave. And as I lay down under the blanket, I thought.
'So I killed a person.'
I closed my eyes with that thought. It was my first kill, but for some reason, I didn’t feel much of anything. Maybe because the tension had left me, or maybe because exhaustion had piled up, I fell asleep right away.
______________________________________
I killed my master. As a result, I became the leader of the fortress, and I obtained the Apple. And my [Sense] showed a strange phenomenon after I acquired it.
I could see people’s souls, but then something changed. Unbelievable techniques kept appearing before my eyes. I thought they were visions of the future. Through that, it seemed I could see illusions of a person’s past and future.
The others envied me, yet also came to admire me as a great assassin. But I...
"...Father, Father."
I ended the recollection and turned toward the one who had called me.
"Father, are you all right? You seem troubled."
"Dalim, my son. I am worried. What can a man who has passed his prime and can do nothing but grow old contribute to this battle..."
"What are you saying? You are the greatest assassin and our mentor, are you not?"
"Dalim, a teacher cannot always be stronger or wiser than his disciple. Even now, you are stronger than I am, are you not?"
"You are being too humble. Father, didn’t you improve the assassin’s blade so it wouldn’t cut off our fingers, and teach more knowledge and skills to the brothers? You are my... no, our mentor."
My son, who trusted me too much, was endearing, but at the same time, it worried me. I am not eternal. When I die or retire, the next mentor will be my son. I was thinking that silently when someone approached us.
"It has been a long time, Dalim. And it is a pleasure to meet you, Great Assassin."
"Kulan, it has been a while! Father, he is a member of the Brotherhood who will help us in this fight."
"I am Kulan Gal. It is an honor to meet you, Mentor."
He bent the ring finger of his left hand and bowed his head.
"A pleasure, brother. I am ■■■■. And do not praise me so highly. I am only an old eagle."
"Your humility... your legend is famous even among our Mongolian Brotherhood."
'That young man is the same.'
I thought that to myself and began planning for the battle. While Dalim and I drew the enemy’s attention, Kulan would fire arrows and assassinate them from a distance.
The operation began at dawn, and Dalim and I erased our presence and infiltrated the enemy lines.
But I made a mistake and was discovered by the enemy. We sent Kulan the signal that infiltration had failed, then withdrew. And during our retreat, an arrow flew toward Dalim.
I shielded Dalim and took the arrow in my leg. We somehow managed to escape and took treatment and rest at the hideout.
"Father, I’m sorry. Because I shielded me..."
"I’m the one who should apologize. I held you back and nearly put you in danger. This wound was caused by my mistake, so don’t worry about it. More importantly, we need to rethink the plan now."
As I said that and was working out a new strategy, I saw the target fleeing in the distance. Kulan shot the fleeing enemy’s horse with an arrow, knocking the target down, and my son Dalim killed the target with a crossbow. Watching that, I thought.
'The young eagles have started to fly.'
I watched the younger generation with satisfaction.
______________________________________
I woke from the dream. It was, for some reason, a bitter yet refreshing dream. While dreaming of 'him,' for the first time I could welcome the morning with a sense of satisfaction. And then I noticed something strange.
'Why is [Sense]...'
Not long after waking, even without intending to, [Sense] activated and some kind of illusion began to appear.
'Those are the children?'
A path of light appeared on the orphanage hallway floor, and the children were passing over it. I followed the vision. Then the children’s illusion disappeared, and suddenly the headmaster’s illusion appeared in front of me. It looked like he had bumped into something and fallen. I turned off [Sense] and stepped back. Then the door in front of me opened, and the headmaster came out.
"Good morning, Taka. Yesterday must have been rough. You had a hard time keeping the children calm, didn’t you? Come on, let’s go eat breakfast."
I stared blankly at the headmaster and thought.
'The dream showed me "seeing the past and future." Could it be...'
But what was the cause? I had dreamed of 'him,' gained skill and [Sense]. And now I was looking for the cause that could let me gain the power to see the past and future, just like 'him.'
'Could it be...'
I looked down at my left hand. My left hand, stained with blood yesterday... Was killing a person for the first time the trigger?
'......No, that’s probably just me overthinking it.'
Thinking that, I went to eat breakfast. And when the children ran up to me, dealing with them let me forget, for a little while, about 'him' and my questions about [Sense].
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