My youth story cannot be a knight war

At this moment, another curtain appeared out of thin air, suspended side by side with the original curtain. In this curtain with an overexposed background, a backlit black figure appeared.

"Peter and Matthias have now made contact with Andrew."

A quiet female voice sounded from behind the curtain. In the backlit darkness inside the curtain, a pair of dark brown eyes stared at Hikigaya Hachiman.

"I already know, is there anything else?"

Placing the "Book on Controlling Myriad Living Beings" flat on the armrest, Hikigaya Hachiman turned his gaze towards the new curtain and spoke in a calm tone.

"Are there things about 'Andre' that seem a bit too laissez-faire?"

The woman behind the curtain bowed slightly to Hikigaya Hachiman and said respectfully:

"That guy's been going overboard lately. The number of missing persons cases in Kyoto has nearly tripled thanks to 'Andre's' reckless crimes. This has caused our control over public opinion and news coverage to spiral out of control, and even the aftermath is becoming incredibly difficult."

"I'd like to ask you if we need to give 'Andre' some warning?"

"...It's not necessary."

Hikigaya Hachiman withdrew his gaze, looked back at the original curtain, and spoke softly.

"Let them do what they want. This is the rule of the Knight War. As long as they are willing to fight, everything else can be compromised... Also, there seem to be a lot of unnecessary people in Kyoto lately. They must be investigating something they shouldn't know."

Click.

His fair index finger pointed at the cover of "The Book of Controlling Myriad Living Beings". Hikigaya Hachiman's tone was calm, but it was filled with the dead silence and nothingness of the desert.

"If they want to find out, that's their business, but as adults, I think they should also understand one thing - in this world, sometimes knowing more is not a good thing."

"Since there are some weeds mixed in with the potted plants in the garden, as a gardener, what I need to do is to pull out all the weeds."

"Find them, and then clean up the traces."

The woman behind the curtain did not answer, but nodded and bowed, then looked up and continued to stare at Hikigaya Hachiman silently.

"…Anything else?"

Knowing from the other party's reaction that there was something else he hadn't said, Hikigaya Hachiman turned his gaze again, his empty black eyes meeting the dark brown eyes of the woman behind the curtain.

"Yes, it's about... 'Magdalene'."

After a pause, the woman continued through the curtain:

"Lately, 'Magdalene' has been acting on her own. Not only that, but she seems to have had contact with 'Matthew' and 'Thomas'. Should we stop her?"

"Her reckless actions may interfere with our plans and add many unpredictable variables."

"Let her be. We are just partners. There is no need to control her."

Hikigaya Hachiman said nonchalantly, his eyelids slightly narrowed.

"As long as she doesn't say anything she shouldn't, she's free to do whatever she wants. As for the variables that arise during this process... This war lacks everything, but the one thing it lacks the most is variables."

"But no matter how many variables there are, they can't change the fate that has already been determined. I believe she is well aware of this."

He raised his head and stared at the broken ceiling of the palace above. The piercing sunlight could not illuminate the darkness in his eyes at all.

"Even the knights who participate are ultimately mere puppets of fate... In this respect, everyone is the same."

"understood."

The woman behind the curtain was silent for a moment, then bowed and spoke. Then, along with the curtain, her entire figure shrank into a tiny speck of light and vanished into the ancient air of the palace.

"Almost, time to speed up the progress..."

After the messenger disappeared, Hikigaya Hachiman's gaze extended forward. The ancient palace stairs extended all the way down and disappeared into the deep darkness that was unfathomable.

He reached into the inside of his windbreaker and pulled out a card box.

The entire card box is dark grey, with both the main body and the decorations being the same tone, while the area in the center where the emblem was originally engraved is now blank.

This is a card box that has not yet signed a contract, because only after the contract is signed will the corresponding emblem appear on the surface of the card box according to the characteristics of the mirror monster that signed the contract.

Holding the dark-colored card box, Hikigaya Hachiman suddenly threw the card box into the darkness below without any warning. The card box made a dart-like sound of breaking through the wind, and flew sharply along the stairs of the palace throne and straight into the darkness.

Snapped!

The rotating card box suddenly stopped, and a hand stretched out from the depths of the darkness, grasping the card box with five fingers.

After grasping the card box in his palm, a pair of eyes flashing with scarlet light lit up from the darkness, staring at Hikigaya Hachiman on the throne, with a strong malice in his eyes.

This was an extremely pure kind of evil, brutal and cruel. The look he gave Hikigaya Hachiman was not like he was looking at a person, but rather like he was looking at food that had not yet been eaten.

"Go ahead and choose the contracted beast you like."

The person involved naturally noticed this extremely malicious gaze, but Hikigaya Hachiman's expression did not change at all. He supported his cheek with his hand again and spoke calmly.

"Don't disappoint me again."

"Hmph~!"

A cold humming sound was heard, and the mysterious man hidden in the darkness responded with this. Then, the hands holding the card box and the scarlet eyes disappeared into the darkness.

Yet, in the darkness, a voice still rang out from afar, each word filled with the most genuine murderous intent:

"One day, sooner or later, I will kill you!"

"Please, as long as you can do it."

Hikigaya Hachiman's tone remained calm, as did his eyes and expression. He completely regarded the other party's fierce threat as a cold wind blowing past his ears.

"...It's time to give the knights some strength. They are still too lax."

When the aura in the darkness completely disappeared, Hikigaya Hachiman turned his gaze to the "Book of Controlling Myriad Living Beings" in his right hand, stroked the cover with his fingers, and murmured:

"Fate is so elusive, yet deep down, I clearly feel it's omnipresent. I think you understand this feeling very well... So, what do you think of fate?"

"May."

hum...

A dim blue light lit up on the surface of the driving book, and the entire book trembled slightly on the armrest, as if someone was using this to make a silent response to Hikigaya Hachiman.

"…I think so."

He looked calmly at the driving book on the armrest that was moving uncontrollably, and a golden card box appeared in the warm golden light on Hikigaya Hachiman's right palm.

The moment the card box appeared, a faint bird cry was heard from it, and the light on the card box suddenly became strong and grand, like the golden glow of a midnight lamp, completely covering the light of the driving book.

Just like lake water thrown into the sea, the salt water immediately swallowed up and diluted the fresh water. The azure light above the book quickly dimmed under the suppression of the golden light, and the movement of the entire book gradually subsided, and no more noise was made.

"Don't worry, since you don't agree with me, let's see what happens next."

The golden card box disappeared in his palm like a phantom, and his right hand once again grasped the driving book that no longer resisted, with a deep look in Hikigaya Hachiman's eyes.

Staring at the two people behind the curtain, an unreadable light flowed in the depths of his pupils, like a mercury snake slithering through the darkness.

"Let's see... this time, can they break free from the shackles of 'fate'?"

……

pat.

The phone fell to the ground from the loose palm, and the fragile screen shattered directly from the impact corner, leaving clear spider silk patterns. A torn and dull face was reflected on the broken phone screen.

The precious campus universal cell phone was shattered to pieces, which was unbearable to look at, but Asahina Nazuna had no time to care about such trivial matters.

Looking at the old antique shop that was getting closer and closer on the curtain in front of her from a first-person perspective, and looking at the sign above the door that was covered with dust but still clearly showed the name of the shop "Asahi Antique", her beautiful big eyes gradually widened.

"This is--"

"The Nazuna family's shop!?"

Nan Yunya lowered his arms from his arms, opened his eyes wide, and stared at the old antique shop behind the curtain in disbelief.

At this moment, he even forgot the fear that the curtain change had brought him. He trotted to the curtain and looked at the familiar store of his childhood sweetheart in the scene. He was so shocked that he was even speechless for a moment.

"That is, Nazuna is..."

[Clang~

The golden bronze bell rang as the door was pushed open, and the sound echoed in this store that was obviously quite old just by looking at its appearance, bringing with it a faint echo.

Hayato Hayama ignored the Volcancer that was baring its fangs at him on the glass at the door, and before Hoshino Aikyuu and Aikai could react, he walked up to the front of the store, opened the door with his hand, and walked in.

He was a little surprised that the door was not locked, but when he thought of the monster in the glass at the door that only certain people could see, Ye Shan immediately understood.

Generally speaking, there is no need to lock it. After all, the contracted beast living in the mirror of this store is the most powerful security protection in the world. If someone really breaks in, even a terrifying serial killer will probably disappear here.

But that is for ordinary people, and Ye Shan, who holds the Knight Card Box, happens to be one of the most extraordinary people in the world.

"Ow~!"

The Volcancer in the mirror immediately waved its claws as soon as he grasped the door handle, pretending to pounce on Ye Shan, but before it could act, the long red tail swept out from the edge of the view of the door glass and hit its body. The tremendous power carried by the sword-shaped tail directly knocked Volcancer to the ground in the sparks of the collision.

With a long roar that only he and Hoshino in the distance could hear, Dragreder appeared from the mirror and pounced on the fallen Volcancer, wrapping its snake-like body around it like a giant python hunting. Then, with a loud roar, it restrained the struggling Volcancer and flew high into the sky.

When Ye Shan walked into the shop, he was greeted by the unique rustic flavor of antiques. Old items from various eras were piled up inside the shop from the entrance. These items ranged from the Taisho period to the Showa period, and then to the Heisei period. He even saw a set of belted kimonos worn by nobles in the Meiji period in the corner, which made him feel as if time was dislocated and upside down.

However, he was not attracted too much attention by these things. After looking around the store, Ye Shan walked towards the telephones placed in the corner of the store and took out a pen and a small notebook from his pocket.

"Scissors, I want to talk to you. I know the inside story of this knight war." After writing this on the paper, Ye Shan tore off the page and placed it under the landline phone on the table.

"What do you want to do?"

Ye Shan turned around when he heard the voice. Hoshino was leaning against the open door of the shop, frowning at his actions, his blue eyes full of doubts.

"I'm saying, do you really have to wait until you're actually lying in a coffin before you give up? Scissors' hostility has been so obvious, do you still think you can shake hands with Scissors and make peace?"

"...No matter what, I want to give it a try."

His eyelids drooped slightly as Ye Shan spoke softly.

"In this world, some things cannot be explained without discussion. Only by talking can we know the other person's true thoughts, so I want to give it a try."

"Even when two armies were at war in ancient times, there would at least be a messenger delivering a message, right?"

"Hmph~ Whatever you want, just don't involve Komachi and me in your stupid actions."

Hoshino scoffed at what Ye Shan said. He turned around and said:

"Your dragon gave Scissors' contracted beast a good beating. I guess it's already gone to tip off Scissors. He should be back soon. I need to go back first and gather some information about this shop and its owner."

"I don't think your actions will yield any results. Knowing yourself and your enemy is crucial. I'm going to research ways to deal with the Scissors... That's all. Don't call me or look for me unless necessary."

Looking back at Ye Shan, Hoshino said in a cold tone.

"But when you're about to die, you can call me. I don't mind ordering you an urn as a reward for your self-destruction."

"Aqua, you... must not have any friends, right?"

Listening to Hoshino's words that were almost full of awkwardness, Ye Shan looked at him steadily for a while, and suddenly a smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Because only people without friends would speak so awkwardly."

Hoshino stopped, slowly turned his head, and looked at the smiling Yeshan with his eyes flashing with black hexagrams. Then he also smiled.

Probably since the two of them met, Hoshino has never shown such a bright smile, and his smile can even be said to be close to gentleness.

And with such a smile, Hoshino said softly:

"Kill you~?"]

16. Shocking Encounter (4K)

Aqua's expression didn't change.

Even though the words "You must have no friends" could be considered the ultimate killer for a lonely person, and actually pierced his lungs, his face did not show any sign of redness or warmth.

Even though everyone around him was looking at him with eyes full of pity and sympathy, his expression remained calm, and he retained the last bit of his dignity with the excellent acting skills taught by his mother since childhood.

Even when his nominal girlfriend, Akane Kurokawa, showed an expression full of maternal love, looked at him with loving eyes, and reached out to rub his hair like he was stroking a baby, Aqua silently twisted his thigh with his fingers, using the pain to resist the urge to cry.

“——Puff~ Hahahaha!!!”

However, when he heard the exaggerated laughter ringing in his ears, his composure finally broke for the first time, and the muscles in the corner of his right eye began to twitch violently.

Sometimes, what breaks a person's defense is not a harsh and sarcastic remark, nor a major blow in life. It is enough if someone whispers a smile in the ear of the person when he or she makes a fool of himself or herself, let alone such unbridled laughter.

"I'm dying of laughter~ Aqua, no wonder you've been so awkward since you became an adult, it's because you don't have any friends? You're so lame~!"