Azure Files, the starting point of all miracles

*Why... does my chest feel so stuffy?

*But, surprisingly, I don’t hate all of this…

*What's wrong with me?

Just as Saori was daydreaming, the familiar voice came into her ears again.

"It's alright, Saori."

"It's all over."

"—!"

Xiyu's seemingly incoherent words caused Saori's breathing to pause briefly.

The contracted pupils trembled slightly, telling of the girl's inner turmoil at the moment.

Here it is again...

Always been this way.

I don’t understand...why are you so nice to us, teacher?

I am not the kind of student who deserves to be cared for.

I almost took your life.

Why can you still trust me so unreservedly?

Giving warmth to someone like me, who is so defenseless.

Have you never thought that I might betray you one day?

Have you never thought that my gun will be pointed at you again?

——Thousands of thoughts flowed through Saori's mind, but in the end they only turned into a disjointed sentence that could not even be called a complete sentence.

"Teacher...I——"

With an extremely shaken heart, Saori slowly raised her head.

The next second, Xiyu's appearance appeared in her eyes: a gentle yet resolute face, a high nose bridge, and most importantly.

A pair of eyes that shine like stars in the night sky.

From this, Saori can feel it very clearly.

Xiyu really didn't consider the above-mentioned issues at all.

Even though I am holding a weapon now, even though I am extremely close to him now.

He still had no defense against himself.

*Unconditional trust...

*For someone like me...is it really worth it?

A wounded heart was trembling, and when he was about to speak out his inner thoughts, Xiyu responded in advance as if he had expected it.

"Of course it's worth it."

"Because Saori is also an important student of mine."

“Maybe some unpleasant things happened in the past, but that’s all in the past.”

"The road to growth is not always smooth. Who doesn't make mistakes?"

"Don't look at me like this. I actually did a lot of stupid things when I was young."

Perhaps she really remembered something, an awkward smile appeared on Xiyu's face; but Saori didn't think so.

After a long night and darkness without hope, I was finally able to catch a glimpse of starlight on the sky.

To her, the teacher is like the perfect white moonlight.

In response to his words, Saori immediately assumed that the teacher was comforting her.

"How could that be? It is impossible for someone like you to—"

"But it is true. If you don't believe me, Saori, when all this is over, I will let you see my 'past'."

"But now, let's get back to the topic."

As he spoke, Xiyu's expression suddenly changed, returning to his initial seriousness: "Saori, there is no perfect path in the world. On the road to growth, we will inevitably make mistakes."

"It's not something horrible or unspeakable."

"What's important is to know your mistakes and feel remorse for them. In my opinion, Saori, you have done a good job of this."

"And now, it is because of Saori and all of you that I have the opportunity to stand here."

"So, Saori—"

Using the only intact left hand, he gently took off the mask on Saori's face, and then cupped her cheeks.

Looking at the girl's eyes that were so close to her, Xiyu nodded gently at her.

"Now, you can just stand tall and walk boldly towards the future."

"..."

Gentle words.

Inclusive temperament.

Everything about the teacher was like poison, constantly attracting this girl who had been stuck in the dark mud for years.

But can I really do as the teacher said?

"..."

Saori couldn't respond.

It is obvious that the teacher has accepted, tolerated and enlightened me in this way.

But Saori still couldn't give any response——

Just when Saori was about to fall into the whirlpool of entanglement, she heard Xiyu's voice coming from the front again.

"Perhaps, it would be difficult for you to respond to this now, Saori."

"In that case, let's not think too much about it for now."

"Now that I think about it, there's something I should have told you, Saori, a long time ago because Caesar's attack was delayed for a while."

Changing the subject, Xiyu blinked at Saori.

"I want everyone in Team Arius to join Xialai."

Saori: “——!”

Chapter 81: Don’t judge it!

After hearing this, Saori's breathing paused.

She couldn't quite believe what she heard was true.

But after seeing Xiyu's eyes that revealed approval, Saori was sure.

Then, a feeling of worry came over me.

Yes.

Not joy, nor excitement.

But worry.

"Us? Let's not talk about the princess and the others for now. Is it really okay for a criminal like me to join Xialai?"

"No... No, this will affect the teacher's reputation!"

Although she longs to come into contact with the light in her heart, Saori is also very clear about what this means.

She has gained enough from her teacher and cannot cause any more trouble for him.

——Such a thought naturally did not escape Xiyu’s eyes.

He had already prepared for this.

"Saori, you don't have to worry about this."

"Let's not talk about the fact that I have the power to allow any selected student to join Xialai regardless of their background and experience. As for the past, I have already received your letter of forgiveness from Gehenna and Sanyi."

"As for the problems at the Valkyrie Academy, I have already solved them. Your stay in Xialai is under my supervision."

Not only Saori, but also the silent Arius team on the side had no dissatisfaction with what Xiyu called "supervision".

What they care more about is the letter of understanding mentioned by the teacher.

When the Treaty of Eden was signed, Arius's team suddenly broke into the venue and caused a lot of trouble, causing great pain to many people.

Many students are extremely disgusted and hate them because of this.

You can imagine how difficult it is to get forgiveness from these students.

Perhaps the teacher could use his authority to get all of this by force, but Saori and others knew very well that Xiyu would never do such a thing no matter what.

He would only use the most clumsy way, striving and working hard one by one.

This was a kind of atonement and guarantee for the Arius team.

Perhaps it was because of this that these students, even though they were unwilling, finally tried to trust Arius because of their teacher's choice.

——After learning all this, Saori felt even more guilty towards her teacher.

I clearly did nothing for the teacher and even hurt him.

But what about the teacher? She didn't hold grudges and was even willing to help them with all her heart.

Thinking of this, even Saori, who was extremely strong inside, felt like crying for a moment.

However, Saori endured it.

She controlled her tears.

Because she didn't want the teacher to see her vulnerable side.

The teacher has done so much for them, and I can’t cause any more trouble for him.

Become a member of Xialai?

If the teacher needs them, they will do their best.

Bet everything, even sacrifice yourself, to meet the teacher's expectations!

Saori - or rather the entire Arius team, made up their minds at this moment!

"Of course, this isn't all because of me."

"In fact, during the color attack on Kivotos, you stood up to protect everyone, which has been recognized by many students."

Xiyu was still talking while also carefully observing the changes in Saori's expression.

The problems of Arius's team cannot be solved overnight.

The damage a certain bastard Pitaya had done to these kids was truly too deep.

If you want to redeem them completely, you need time and companionship.

Becoming a member of Xialai would allow Xiyu to meet this condition.

As for what the outside world might say, Xiyu had already made sufficient preparations.

Letter of Understanding, charter of Valkyrie Academy, arrangements for the Federal Student Union.

More importantly, Xia Lai's defense was indeed too weak.

After this Caesar attack, it was time to arrange for student protection.

It just so happened that Arius protected himself very well in this operation, which also won them a lot of recognition for their settlement in Xialai.