Chapter 65: I am a War God of Pure Love
—What in the world is going on?!
Kobayashi clutched his head, trying desperately to remember.
He remembered last night, he had prepared hot tea in his room and set up a silencing barrier, specifically waiting for Tatsumi to come and find him.
"You've come."
"I've come."
"You shouldn't have come."
"But I've already come!"
That's right. For the sake of these classic lines, he had even deliberately guided Tatsumi with his words to play along.
After that...
The hot-blooded and impulsive Tatsumi had questioned him loudly, "Kobayashi, why did you defect? Answer me?!"
Are you some kind of ninja who's desperately trying to get his friend back?
Kobayashi really wanted to retort, but he still repeated the words he had said several times before. "I never joined Night Raid. From beginning to end, it was all just your wishful thinking."
"Are you kidding me..."
Tatsumi clenched his fists, his face a mask of gnashing anger.
Kobayashi smiled lightly and said, "Do you remember what I told you? You can't save the Capital by being an assassin, and the people controlling Night Raid are not good people either."
"But you said everyone in the team was a good person."
"And it's precisely because of that that I haven't exposed their intelligence, isn't it?"
"..."
Although he was very unhappy, he couldn't find any reason to refute. After all, it was true that there were no wanted posters for him, Leone, or Lubbock posted in the Capital right now.
Kobayashi poured him a cup of tea. "To answer your earlier question, as for why I joined the Jaegers... my answer is, for my ambition."
"Ambition?"
"That's right. My goal is the same as yours. I also want to overthrow the corrupt rule of the Empire. It's just that the methods we've chosen and the standpoints we represent are different. That's all."
His words sent Tatsumi into deep thought.
Methods and standpoints.
This was a principle Kobayashi had taught him when he was with Night Raid. He was on neither Night Raid's side nor the Jaegers' side; he was on the side of the people.
—In doing so, you will be despised by both sides.
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!
"Don't tell me...?!"
"That's right. It's just as you think."
Kobayashi's smile was plain and gentle, but the more it was so, the more shocked Tatsumi felt.
To think of changing things from the inside...
"So, I am not your enemy, but your companion... At the very least, a fellow traveler with the same aspirations, on the same path."
"You mean we have the same goal?"
His inner doubts were resolved. Tatsumi finally let go of his grudge, but at the same time, he felt even more emotional.
"...Is it worth it?"
"Let me tell you one more thing, Tatsumi."
Kobayashi's expression became serious, and he said with a resolute look, "No matter how bitter the road ahead is, as long as you are walking in the right direction, no matter how rugged and uneven it may be, it is closer to happiness than standing still."
If Bulat was his moral mentor, then Kobayashi was his life mentor. On the path of life, he had given him a lot of help and was constantly influencing him.
Tatsumi left. As he walked away, he was deep in thought, looking as if he had gained a deep understanding.
Kobayashi raised his cup and took a light sip of hot tea, a satisfied smile on his lips.
He hadn't lied. He had indeed joined the Jaegers for his ambition, to overthrow the Empire. And they were indeed fellow travelers with the same aspirations. The only difference was that he hadn't mentioned that he had a third major power backing him.
Tatsumi, you have to convey this information properly to everyone in Night Raid. I'm counting on you.
With this thought, he contentedly drifted off to sleep.
...So what happened after that?
"Why is Esdeath in my bed?!"
"Master Kobayashi, allow me to correct you. You are not in your own bed, but in someone else's."
RyuZU's words made Kobayashi shiver. The resentment in her voice was so deep!
"Miss RyuZU, I was wondering if you could explain to me why I am sleeping with General Esdeath?"
"Then allow me to explain."
Perhaps the commotion was too loud and had woken the sleeping Esdeath. She stretched her beautiful curves, also revealing a large area of skin.
The corner of Kobayashi's mouth twitched. This General Esdeath was far too uninhibited, just like the boisterous Leone. Didn't she mind her body being seen by other men?
"Captain, could I trouble you to explain?"
"Because you are too alluring, Kobayashi."
"...Hmm???"
"Because you are too alluring, Kobayashi."
Thinking he hadn't heard clearly, Esdeath deliberately repeated herself.
But what kind of explanation was that?
"I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"In short, your body exudes a very alluring scent. I couldn't help but make a move on you."
An alluring scent? To be able to attract Esdeath, it must be something extraordinary. Ice? Water? Divine power?
Hiss—
Wait, he seemed to have understood something. He sucked in a breath of cold air, and the image of a certain idiot goddess subconsciously appeared in his mind.
IT WAS YOU!!!!!!
This situation was completely outside his calculations. Why did she always have to cause trouble for him in the most inexplicable ways!
DAMMIT, AQUA!
"Then why am I in the Captain's bed?"
"Because the bed in my room is quite big."
Are you Brother Jie?!
Actually, besides Esdeath's luxurious room, the other members all had single beds that couldn't possibly fit two people.
"Miss RyuZU, why didn't you stop her?"
"Master Kobayashi, you said not to stop anyone from coming in. Have you forgotten?"
I said that to receive Tatsumi!
Kobayashi really wanted to tell her that right now, but he absolutely could not let Esdeath know that he had spoken with Tatsumi last night. He could only swallow this bitter pill in silence.
"Speaking of which, do you know why, Kobayashi?"
Esdeath seemed very curious.
"The first time we met, I also felt an inexplicable closeness to you. Normally, anyone who speaks to me or bumps into me would be taken to the interrogation room to be properly tortured."
"It's probably because of this."
Kobayashi held up the blue crystal necklace on his chest. The dense aura of water emanating from it made Esdeath understand why she had been acting so abnormally. Moreover, she had a feeling that the necklace could bring her great benefits.
"Alright! Kobayashi, give it to me."
"Hmm?"
"In exchange, you can pick anything I own. I don't mind if you take it all."
Although Esdeath always gave her money to the commoners and her subordinates, the spoils of war she had collected over the years were still very substantial. In her eyes, it should be enough to trade for the necklace.
Kobayashi was also caught in a dilemma.
What should I do? Should I give it to her? If I give her the necklace, it should increase her affection for me. Then, if I'm discovered making some sneaky moves behind her back, she might be more tolerant...
He tremblingly extended the necklace, but in the next second, he snatched it back with extreme speed.
"I'm sorry. I still can't trade it."
This necklace had helped him many times, so he couldn't trade it. Mmm, it was definitely not because of Aqua! Absolutely not!
"Is that so? What a pity."
Seeing the incomparably gentle smile on his face, Esdeath felt a strange palpitation in her heart and couldn't help but ask, "It seems this was a gift from someone important to you."
Kobayashi smiled and replied, "It's a gift from a hopeless idiot, so I cherish it very much."
"Is that so."
For some reason, that gentle smile made Esdeath feel a little irritated.
She put the matter of the necklace aside for the time being.
Kobayashi said seriously, "Captain, you must never share a bed with a strange boy again!"
"Why? Eating and living together is also a way for a superior and a subordinate to get closer, isn't it?" The soldier-like Esdeath didn't care at all.
"No, no, no, how can you think that? Besides, if Tatsumi finds out, he'll be angry."
"Is that so?"
Esdeath was very concerned about Tatsumi's opinion. And what Kobayashi never expected was that, to confirm it, she went to ask Tatsumi in person.
"It's completely fine! I don't mind at all!"
Tatsumi gave a thumbs up with an incomparably bright and pure smile. But in Kobayashi's eyes, that smile was filled with schadenfreude no matter how he looked at it.
You don't mind my ass!
I am a War God of Pure Love! I will never be the NTR guy!
(End of Chapter)