Alchemists do not need self-cultivation

Chapter 671: We Can Understand Each Other

"You probably already know about Yuya Yamase's identity."

"I know a little bit about it. To be honest, the relationships in this family are a complete mess. Luckily, I have an awesome dad, so I can get used to this messy situation."

Isaac stood on the rooftop, feeling the cold wind, and took a cigarette out of his pocket and put it in his mouth.

To avoid causing a disturbance, he had already sent his men to dispose of the bodies, so that by morning the accident scene would appear as if nothing had ever happened.

"Hahahaha, I've heard some of what happened to Uncle Yao. You've had it tough too."

"You've heard it all, it's the most outrageous."

“Yamaze Yuya… or rather, Fujisawa Yuya. His relationship with Fujisawa Ayana should be that of siblings. His mother is Fujisawa Saya, who is his father Fujisawa Soichiro’s cousin,” Leonard said. “His mother was kicked out of the Fujisawa family because she was pregnant with him and eventually committed suicide. Because she was Fujisawa Soichiro’s most beloved woman, she always cared a lot about their son, Yamase Yuya, and would occasionally secretly see him.”

"Because of all this, he harbored resentment towards the Fujisawa family and was determined to take revenge. Naturally, his target was Fujisawa Soichiro's daughter, Fujisawa Ayana... I won't ask why he didn't take revenge on his father. In terms of methods and cunning, he was indeed a talent."

"That's exactly what I value about him, which is why I chose to take advantage of him."

"Oh?"

Isaac glanced at Leonard with slight surprise.

"I remember you guys value 'listeners' quite a bit, right? But Yuya Yamase's goal is to destroy Ayana Fujisawa."

“Of course I know that, but you must have noticed Fujisawa Ayana’s attitude towards you now,” Leonard chuckled. “She seems very clingy to you, she’s developed a kind of unhealthy dependence on you.”

"That seems to be the case."

Isaac recalled Ayana's attitude towards him; it seemed that as long as he didn't leave her, she was willing to do anything for him.

“The neglect from her family, the bullying from her classmates, the indifference from her teachers, and the isolation and helplessness made every day a hell for this junior high school girl. But when a ‘hero’ appeared, she would definitely do everything she could to grasp at that lifeline.”

School bullying in Japan is extremely serious, arguably on par with that in the United States.

Many people ask, if you are bullied at school, can you tell the teacher or call the police directly? These are things that the person involved can think of.

However, the reality in Japan is that if you report a crime, the police will require you to submit sufficient evidence, and if they cannot obtain evidence, the case will not be accepted. School teachers, because it's a scandal, will simply claim that nothing happened. Furthermore, the country's education committee cannot directly intervene in schools.

If seeking help proves ineffective, the bullied person will suffer retaliation that is several times more painful than before, living in fear every day.

Once someone becomes a target of bullying, the best outcome is either dropping out of school or transferring schools.

Given Ayana's family situation, dropping out of school or transferring is impossible.

In order to avoid becoming the target of bullying, the students around them can only bully the existing target, which is a vicious cycle.

Of course, all of this was suppressed after Isaac arrived in Shirasaki.

In Isaac's eyes, all social or human problems are economic problems, and he will use simple and brutal methods that ordinary people would not use to solve them.

By chance, Isaac became the one who broke the class's 'atmosphere' and also became Fujisawa Ayana's 'hero'.

Humans are social animals, but Isaac, who lived under the shadow of gunfire and smoke for a long time, did not possess sociality.

As Yuya Yamase said before his death, he was not the kind of person who was used to a peaceful life.

“Perhaps it’s true, as you said, that I resolved Ayana’s problem at school, because I suspected back then that there was a force behind it from your ‘Amalgam’, and that’s indeed the case,” Isaac laughed. “But what does this have to do with your collaboration with Yamase Yuya?”

"Because in my original plan, the role I played was the same as yours."

"Ok?"

Leonard looked around at the night view and slowly explained, "I told him to just continue with his plan, and we would help him from behind. The goal is to drive Fujisawa Ayana into a corner."

"Really……"

"This is just the first step of the plan. When Fujisawa Ayana can't take the pressure from all sides and is in despair, I will appear in front of her as a 'savior' and wipe out all her enemies. After that, she will trust me unconditionally," Leonard said with a smile. "Then we will have a loyal 'listener'."

“I see. So, according to your plan, Yuya Yamase should become a victim in the end,” Isaac said. “After all, you said you needed to wipe out all her enemies.”

"Of course, I won't tell him the main plan for the second half. As I said before, when he was used as a pawn, his fate was already sealed."

Regardless of the circumstances, Yuya Yamase will die; while he was manipulating the fates of others, his own fate was already in the hands of others.

"It was a pretty good plan, but it has now failed."

"Yes, so I had no choice but to give up."

Despite saying that, he didn't show any dissatisfaction on his face; the failure of this long-prepared plan seemed to have no impact on him.

Time passed by, and Isaac had been talking with Leonard for almost two hours since he went up to the rooftop.

During this time, IW's cleanup team also cleaned up the accident site.

“Brother Extraordinary, as I said before, I have no intention of being your enemy,” Leonard said. “However, my not intending to be your enemy does not mean that the others in ‘Amalgam’ do not intend to be your enemy. IW’s development over the past few years has made him feel threatened.”

Are you telling me to be careful?

“Yes, I’ll let you know as soon as they make any moves.” Leonard smiled. “You’re my only friend.”

“Thank you very much, I’m honored.” Isaac shrugged. “But since you’re still alive, why don’t you go see Tessa? She’s very worried about you.”

“I’m different from my sister; she’s never been exposed to the darkness of this world.” Leonard clearly didn’t want to see Tessa. “Her beliefs don’t align with mine, and it would be awkward if we met.”

"So you can just see me?"

“You are different from Tessa. You and I are both people who have seen the darkness of this world. I believe that only we can understand each other.”

Chapter 672: Don't Pretend to Me

"Young master, young master, it's already morning."

"Well……"

Isaac opened his eyes and saw Robert's face in front of him.

Why did you call me so early?

"It's getting late, it's already 9:30. Normally we'd be late for class."

"Isn't today the weekend?"

Isaac reluctantly got out of bed.

Yesterday, the matter was handled until midnight. After explaining some things to Leonard, he left. Leonard said that the two 'listeners' in Japan would not be touched, and he estimated that he would leave Japan soon.

Since school starts on Wednesday, and today is Saturday, it means I don't need to go to school today.

However, not going to school doesn't mean Isaac is doing nothing. Last night, Leonard said that Balalaka's main purpose in coming to Japan was to work for KGB employees.

To confirm whether they had received a message from the 'Listener,' he had to go there in person to find out what was going on.

"Good morning, Rentaro."

Good morning, Cai Cai.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Isaac ran into Ayana, who was temporarily staying at his house, in the hallway.

From the gloomy expression I had when I first met her a week ago, she has gradually become more cheerful, and the warm smile on her face makes her look much more energetic.

However, she is still currently staying at home.

Isaac looked at the Fujisawa family's house, which was just across the street from his door. Despite the close proximity, Fujisawa Soichiro refused to come and check on his daughter, and Ayana showed no intention of going back.

Perhaps the relationship between father and daughter will not be so easy to repair.

According to the information obtained earlier, Fujisawa Soichiro would secretly go to see his child with his cousin Fujisawa Saya, namely Yamase Yuya.

Fujisawa Saya is the woman he truly loves, so he naturally values ​​Yamase Yuya very much. At the same time, Yamase Yuya is very talented and academically excellent, which makes him invest far more emotion in this illegitimate child than he does in Fujisawa Ayana.

Or rather, he never treated Ayana as his daughter, but only as a burden born from a girl he didn't love. He placed all his love and hope on Yamase Yuya.

Sadly, his beloved son was murdered yesterday. I wonder what his expression will be when he finds out.

But no matter what, he can't openly claim that this is his son, and he can only swallow his bitterness.

What are your plans for today?

"I have some things to take care of and might have to go out for a bit."

Can I go with you?

"Let's not," Isaac said. "I just need to take care of some personal matters."

Since moving here, Ayana has been staying by Isaac's side 24/7. So, when he wanted to go out and question the KGB, he naturally couldn't take her with him.

“I’m telling you, shouldn’t you spend the weekend with your friends?” Isaac laughed. “You can also invite a few good friends out when I’m not around.”

"...My only friend is Rentaro."

Ayana rejected the suggestion outright.

At school, it was very clear that she would never have any friends. Going out with anyone was out of the question.

She always felt that having Isaac was enough.

“I’m telling you, this can’t go on,” Isaac said helplessly. “The only way I can do is to prevent you from being bullied at school, but it doesn’t really improve your life.”

All Isaac could do was deal with those who bullied her, but Ayana was still isolated at school; it was just that no one dared to bully her anymore.

There's not much Isaac can do about being isolated; since no one's causing trouble anymore, he can't exactly drag those people out and beat them up again.

Ayana herself is quite satisfied with her current life. Having already endured various beatings and extortions, she couldn't be happier if no one bothered her. Besides, at least Isaac is still by her side, and that's enough.

"In short, for the sake of your future life, you should make some friends now. I remember your childhood friend, Tsukamoto Miho, and class representative Takishima Yuko. Try to communicate with more people."

"...If you want me to do it, I'll try."

"Okay, I'll head out now."

"Be careful on the road."

Isaac changed his clothes and walked out the door. Ayana watched Isaac from the doorway until his figure disappeared into the street.

After she returned to her room, she silently took out her phone from the drawer.

The phone book did indeed contain information about those classmates; it was there before she became a target of bullying.

She had once sought help from Yuko Takishima, but the matter was never resolved. In her eyes, those so-called friends were nothing more than a group of indifferent bystanders.

"You are not my friends at all."

Ayana muttered to herself, her eyes icy cold.

"However, if Rentaro wants me to do this..."

She pressed the call button.