I said you are all war criminals

Hakuno drove aimlessly while casually chatting with the two girls in the back seat. "This sounds stupid, but it's surprisingly useful. After all, the best way to hide a tree is in the forest. Even if the enemy finds out you're students, they can't easily figure out you're [that student]."

"Ahahaha, what if the enemy directly attacks the entire school..."

Aine asked with a wry smile.

"At least there are so many people dying with you, so it's not a loss, right?"

Hakuno made a joke.

But no one laughed.

Aine didn't.

Neither did Li Xi.

The two of them sat at the two ends of the back seat, looking at the different scenery at both ends of the street.

Strange to say.

Even though such a big thing happened yesterday, the streets are still as if nothing happened.

calm.

It can even be said to be peaceful.

"Did a fight really happen yesterday... That kind of thing would probably spread online, right?"

Li Xi said softly.

"About that, I think it's normal that we weren't discovered."

Hakuno said as he drove, "Even though you guys talked about transformations and monsters, nothing was captured on the news. It seems like yesterday's incident was treated as a simple [accident]."

"ACCIDENT?"

Aine was startled. "Even though the battle yesterday wasn't large, it must have been seen by quite a few people, right?"

"The truth is, no one saw it... I guess, after you transformed, you became something invisible to ordinary people. Hmm... maybe you became a spirit or something?"

Hakuno said nonchalantly, "Because the damage remains, it doesn't seem like an 'other realm' setting. The photos also captured unusual changes, so it doesn't seem like the speed was too fast to observe. So, I think you've transformed into something invisible to ordinary people."

"Besides, the uncanny, the strange stories, the curses... these things in comics are usually just 'things that ordinary people can't see', right?"

Hearing this, Li Xi frowned in disgust, "Can't you tell the difference between reality and comics?"

"The essence of comics is story,"

Bai Ye turned the car and merged into the new traffic. "Stories naturally have their own imaginative parts, but even the greatest creators are influenced by their predecessors."

"Did the creators just come up with the idea that 'ghosts can't be seen'? I don't think so. They'd heard someone say before they wrote the story that ghosts can't be seen, monsters can't be seen."

"...Those things are just stories. But, in the past, they were all people's experiences."

Hakuno said softly, "Ghosts are invisible... I think there must be some reason why humans have reached this consensus."

The car stopped.

After his long speech, Bai Ye parked the car on the side of the road.

Li Xi was about to say something when he narrowed his eyes and said, "This is..."

"It's Xiangzi's home."

Hakuno said, "With Xiangzi's help, whether it's intelligence or--"

"boom!"

Li Xi kicked the driver's seat hard.

The stopped car shook a bit, causing Aine to cover her mouth involuntarily, "Lixi, this is very dangerous!"

"Hasn't the car already been parked?"

Li Xi said impatiently, "Also, drive!"

"We've arrived already, huh?"

Bai Ye rubbed his waist and grinned, "Aren't you going to get out of the car?"

"What a joke... That guy should be the last person in the world who wants the lamp to be resurrected."

Li Xi cursed under his breath.

What's with "wanting to revive Deng"? Putting Hakuno aside, when he saw Xiangzi yesterday, Lixi was very sure... the way Xiangzi looked at Baiye was the same as the way Deng looked at Baiye.

That is the look called "love".

"...My advice is that it's best to ask Xiangzi for help. After all, although the Toyokawa family may not be a top-tier wealthy family, they still have financial resources far beyond that of ordinary people."

Bai Ye continued to persuade.

Hearing this, Li Xi suddenly muffled his voice, "Wait... Did Xiangzi also teach you that magic? Did she say that it was the magic of the Toyokawa family?"

"No, that's a magic that came from, uh, Italy? I guess."

Bai Ye's words didn't flow smoothly.

"So, did she teach you?"

Li Xi asked again.

Bai Ye nodded twice and didn't explain further.

Li Xi's expression turned even worse. She even gave an order without mercy, "Go! I don't want to see that woman!"

After saying that, Li Xi pretended to kick Bai Ye's seat again.

"that--"

Aiyin bent down and grasped Riki's ankle, preventing her from kicking out. "I think it's better not to fight in the car. Do you want to get out first?"

The pink-haired girl smiled awkwardly, "After all, the car isn't parked yet, right?"

Hakuno put on the handbrake and turned off the car.

"We can talk in the car now."

"Hey……"

Aine was about to say something when Riki's ankles broke free from her grip, "Whoa, stop kicking me!"

Aiyin rolled over and rolled to the car door.

Li Xi didn't kick Aine like she feared. He just pulled up his socks and then gritted his teeth, "Xiangzi... Why Xiangzi? You have so many places to go, so many people to look for, why Xiangzi..."

Li Xi's nails scratched her ankle repeatedly, leaving a shallow red mark.

Hakuno slumped over the steering wheel.

He looked out the window at the weather.

It's a nice day today, the sun is shining, and the warmth is pleasant, which makes people think of love, friendship and all other beautiful things.

This is truly a day that is completely incompatible with the "curse".

"I...actually, I don't really want to revive the lamp."

Hakuno said, "Because, the light now lies with Xiangzi, I am sure of that."

Aiyin looked at Hakuno's back, then looked at Riki who had a look of disappointment on his face, and felt that the relationships between these people were really complicated.

If you want to describe it...

Is this like Wuthering Heights?

Alas, I don’t want to be involved in the tragic story in the famous book!

Aine's mood also became complicated.

But since she had been dragged into this mess, Aine had no choice but to use her brain to reconcile the two.

Student Council President Chihaya Aine, you can do it, you can do it, find a balance so that both of you can accept each other's ideas...

"Cough cough,"

Aiyin said, "Since we're here, why don't we at least go meet that Xiangzi? Hearing what Xiangzi has planned will also facilitate our next plan."

After saying that, Aiyin immediately leaned close to Riki's ear and added quietly, "Besides, if Xiangzi claims to be the lamp, there is no reason for him not to resurrect himself, right? She can't occupy Xiangzi's body forever, right?"

Aiyin also has her own little thoughts.

No matter what, one more person means one more help.

After all, compared to Hakuno and Riki who want to revive Lantern, Aine cares more about something else.

That is, how to survive.

Aine is just like any ordinary person and doesn't want to die at all.

42

Chapter 42 Home Visit.

The car door slammed shut.

In the end, everyone chose to get off the bus, go see Xiangzi, and then make a decision.

...It was said to be a collective decision, but in reality, the key was just to convince Shiina Riki. And in reality, Shiina Riki was also a very easy person to convince.

This is not because Lixi is "easy to talk to", but because Lixi cannot be 100% sure that what he said is right.

Li Xi didn't believe in himself that much.

——She couldn't believe in herself.

"Believe in yourself" is easy to say, but it's actually very difficult. Even if it weren't Li Xi, who has always been unable to confidently say "I'm fine", it would probably not be so easy for anyone else to believe.

How many people can be sure that they are right?

When filling in the answers to fill-in-the-blank questions, don’t you check them several times?

After going downstairs, wouldn't you suddenly run back home to check if the door was locked?

When you're finishing a job, don't you think, "This might get you beaten up?"

Don’t you review your wording and tone countless times after pressing send?

After doing something, don’t you ever doubt that you did it wrong?

No one can fully trust themselves.

Because people make mistakes.

This is a very normal thing. Even the best and most correct people will make mistakes.

Not to mention... Li Xi doesn't think he is an "excellent" or "correct" person.

...As far as Shiina Riki knows, the most "excellent" and "correct" person in the world should be named Toyokawa Shoko.

Before she knew it, Li Xi was standing in front of Xiangzi's house. Before her, Bai Ye had even rung the doorbell.

"Ding-dong-"

The door opened.

The person who greeted the three people was not Xiangzi, but a middle-aged woman. She was holding a feather duster and seemed to be cleaning. When she saw the three young men standing at the door, a trace of obvious doubt flashed across her face and she looked at them warily.

"Who are you looking for?"

The housekeeper's voice was a little hoarse, with a strong local accent.

Bai Ye quickly put on what he thought was a friendly smile: "Hello, we are Xiangzi's friends. Is she home?"

The housekeeper's eyes swept back and forth over Bai Ye, her brows slightly furrowed: "Young lady's friend? You..."

"Lixi and I are Xiangzi's friends,"

Aiyin took the initiative to step forward and took Hakuno aside, "Look, Xiangzi and I are from the same school, right?"

Aine pointed at her clothes.

Although she had never spoken to Toyokawa Shoko at school, Aine had indeed seen Toyokawa Shoko several times at school. This made it seem like Shoko, like Aine, was a student at Haneda.

"Lixi and I are both members of the Xiangzi band,"

Aine compiled the information she had gathered over the past few days and began to make up a story. "Shoko's been absent-minded during rehearsals lately, so we're worried something might have happened to him... How's Shoko doing mentally at home lately?"