Chapter 43
It was a good thing that he had stopped Leone from continuing her rampage, but touching a strange place was very likely a bad thing.
"Ah!"
A cute cry entered his ears. In his surprise, he saw Leone covering her mouth. Even without her saying anything, he already understood what had happened.
Wait, what the hell are you "Ah!"-ing for? Where's the usual boisterous Leone who doesn't care about anything?
"Sorry."
Kobayashi quickly let go.
Leone's cheeks were slightly red as she raised her fist, looking like she was about to strike again.
Kobayashi quickly surrendered. "Stop! Stop! I give up! Let me up, quickly!"
"Oh my? Does Kobayashi-kun find this embarrassing?"
Leone seemed to have returned to her usual boisterous self, tapping his cheek with her finger and teasing him softly.
He was afraid of his dagger leaving its sheath. But he couldn't say that directly, so he could only turn his head away as if she had hit the mark.
However, Leone was the type to get carried away with an audience. The more he yielded, the more excited she became. She threw her arms around his head, making it difficult for him to breathe.
I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!
The soft terror washed over him again. Kobayashi frantically slapped her arms, but in the end, he could not escape her embrace.
What made Leone stop was what was happening on the other side of the training ground.
"What's wrong, Tatsumi!"
Bulat scolded loudly, "Why aren't you fighting back? Why have your punches become so soft and weak? This is the time to be throwing fierce punches, isn't it?!"
"Oh, okay~"
Tatsumi wasn't as enthusiastic as usual.
He turned his head and saw that Bulat and Tatsumi were in the exact same position as them. But the same pose on them only looked terrifying. Kobayashi guessed why Tatsumi wasn't fighting back. Pinned down by Bulat, the fact that he wasn't screaming was already the greatest show of politeness.
"How strange."
Leone rubbed her chin and said, puzzled, "Did Tatsumi eat something bad last night? Why does he have no energy at all?"
"Last night?"
"Ah, last night I saw him walking back in the middle of the night with a grave look on his face. When I asked him what was wrong, he just said he had a stomachache. So strange."
Hearing her words, Kobayashi knew that he was the reason Tatsumi was like this. Had the impact been too great, causing him to become lost about his own future?
"Leone, get up for a moment."
"...Alright."
Seeing his serious expression, Leone stopped fooling around and got up readily.
He patted the dust off his clothes and walked over to the hot-blooded men.
Bulat was a little surprised to see him. "Kobayashi? Are you two done?"
"I guess so."
Kobayashi nodded and said to him, "How much longer will you two be? I have something to talk to Tatsumi about."
"Oh? If it's important, let's call it a day."
Bulat readily let go of Tatsumi.
But he still admonished him, "You're not in good shape today, Tatsumi. You should adjust yourself. After all, we could be attacked at any time, and the enemy won't care if you're in good shape or not."
"...Sorry. I'll be careful."
Tatsumi replied softly and then left with Kobayashi.
They went to the dirt slope on the back mountain, the same place where the two had talked late last night.
Because the terrain was high, the view was open and the scenery was charming. The gentle breeze that blew against their faces was exceptionally refreshing.
After quietly looking at the scenery for a while, Kobayashi took the initiative to speak. "Tatsumi, is there something you want to say? I'll answer any questions you have."
"..."
"If you continue on like this, you'll die, you know. Not just you, but you might even drag down your companions in Night Raid. Is that okay with you?"
"Of course not!"
Tatsumi valued his companions in Night Raid very much and would never want them to die because of his mistakes.
"But I don't understand. Is what we're doing really right? You said it, Kobayashi, that they aren't really the good guys. So is what we're doing the right thing?"
Tatsumi couldn't figure it out and sought an answer from Kobayashi.
Kobayashi looked him straight in the eye. "Then do you think what you are doing is a good thing?"
"...I don't know."
Tatsumi shook his head. It was precisely because he didn't know that he was confused.
"Idiot! You should say it's a good thing!"
"But everyone says that no matter what banner we fly, what we're doing is...!"
"That's because they've already made their resolve."
They were consumables.
They were doing the hardest, most dangerous work, a dangerous profession where their merits couldn't even be recorded. But even so, they chose to continue.
"Why do you think that is?"
Before Tatsumi could answer, Kobayashi said, "Because they believe that even if it brings death, everything they do is to change the corrupt Empire. Those with ulterior motives may not be good people, but you should know what the members of Night Raid are like, right?"
"..."
"You said you wanted to eliminate the parasites of the corrupt Empire, didn't you?"
"...Mmm."
"Then there's no problem. There's only one thing you need to do—punish evil and promote good! If someone in the Empire does evil, eliminate them. If someone in the Revolutionary Army does evil, eliminate them too! You are not a blood-stained knife; you are a heavy shield."
"Is... that so?"
"Of course! But in doing so, you will be despised by both sides."
Kobayashi extended his right hand to him and said with great emotion, "You will bear a name of infamy from which you can never recover. But compared to what you are trying to save, that is nothing at all!"
"I-I see! To save more people? To become a reliable shield? Oh!!!"
The last trace of hot-blooded chuunibyou spirit in Tatsumi was ignited by Kobayashi.
He raised his clenched right fist high and shouted, as if to strengthen his own conviction.
Seeing him return to his usual self, Kobayashi also smiled with satisfaction.
"But if you want to punish evil and promote good, you need great strength. You're still far from it right now."
"Then I'll go find Big Bro right now!"
Tatsumi rushed back to the base. He was probably going to continue his training.
The intimate exchange between boys is truly enviable!
But...
"A standpoint, huh?"
What standpoint do I stand on?
(End of an book)
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We cross the 400 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 500 power stone, good luck guys.
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Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter