While Geno and the others were raising hell inside the Crete Hollow.
Tonight in New Eridu would surely be a sleepless night as well.
New Eridu. The top floor of an office building belonging to a company under TOPS.
The CEO here, drenched in sweat, stared at the two small figures that had suddenly slipped into his office, not daring to so much as breathe.
"Tw-two Adjudicators, to what do we owe the honor of your visit to our humble firm?"
"Oh my, you're actually turning the question back on us? You've done some dirty deeds yourself, yet at a time like this you're still hoping to bluff your way through? Isn't that a bit too wishful?"
The girl, her hair done up in braided twin-tails woven from black and white, looked at the potbellied middle-aged man with a teasing air, though the smile she wore carried a distinct chill.
"Colluding with The Exaltists, funding the Rebel Soldiers, illegally wiping out competitors—any one of these falls squarely into the unforgivable category for a company under TOPS. That being the case, you really should have anticipated our arrival, at least a little."
Bang! A gunshot rang out, a bullet grazing past the girl's ear, but it drew no reaction from her. She still watched the middle-aged man before her, smiling—oh, the middle-aged dead man.
A large hand had appeared behind him at some point, blasting his head into pulp. Red and white splattered across the floor, yet not a speck touched either of them.
"Remember to leave a good review, okay~ mwah~"
"You want him to leave you a good review down before King Yama? That's a rather sick taste of yours, Liuyin."
Standing beside Liuyin was a bunny Thirren girl, even smaller and softer and more adorable, shouldering a weapon taller than herself, her face full of exasperation.
"Oh come now, how could that be, Senior Zhao? A man like this won't make a sound even after he's dead—even I can't hear him, let alone old King Yama himself."
Liuyin put on a mock-astonished expression. Watching this, Zhao shook her head, then put away her weapon.
"This was the last one. The other colleagues should already be done. As of this moment, any company that colluded with outside forces to disrupt TOPS's markets and the city's security will be struck from TOPS's rolls."
The cute little bunny Thirren, Zhao, spoke words as icy as they were at odds with her appearance.
"And with that, the mission is complete."
The Adjudicators of TOPS moved through the upper echelons of one corrupt company after another, while HAND and the Defense Force carried out their own self-purge, methodical and unhurried.
And in their sibling department, the Janus Branch, Zhu Yuan stared in disbelief at the man being led away in handcuffs.
"Chief Bringer, why?! Why would you do something like this?!"
Zhu Yuan refused to believe it—that the heroic Sheriff who had once been willing to sacrifice himself to save others had now become a traitor in league with The Exaltists! A mole!
Zhu Yuan looked at Bringer, who showed not the faintest urge to argue his case, and still had to ask.
"Do you—have anything to say for yourself?"
"There's nothing more to say. Get on with it, and be quick."
With that, Bringer closed his eyes and waited quietly as the two Sheriffs beside him escorted him into the police car.
The very vehicle that on ordinary days had carried Bringer to one scene after another was now about to take him on his final ride.
"Don't be too heartbroken, Zhu Yuan. The world is hard to foresee—who could have guessed this former hero had long since gone rotten without anyone noticing? Sigh. I suppose this is what they mean by 'the world grows worse, and hearts are no longer honest.'"
"No, Senior Qingyi."
At Qingyi's words of comfort, Zhu Yuan calmly shook her head, then touched her hand to the medal on her chest.
It was the Outstanding Sheriff medal that Bringer had awarded her with his own hands earlier that very day.
"I will never become like him. Never. I will defend the justice I hold in my heart!"
To Zhu Yuan, Bringer had been her superior, and her childhood idol besides. But now, to Zhu Yuan, Bringer was nothing more than a prisoner.
Whether he had lost his true nature or simply strayed onto the wrong path—
wrong was wrong, and there was nothing left to explain.
Zhu Yuan chose to treat the hero Bringer she had always looked up to as already dead. But that spirit of giving of oneself for the sake of others—that she would never cast aside.
She would bear witness to her own path, in her own way.
With that, Zhu Yuan unpinned the medal from her chest and handed it to Qingyi.
"Senior Qingyi, please return this medal for me. The person I am now isn't yet worthy of wearing it."
In Zhu Yuan's own judgment, she had handled this whole affair terribly.
Whether it was having her key stolen earlier by Hugo, or dwelling now on Bringer's arrest, both proved she still wasn't mature enough.
"Is that so? I don't see it that way at all."
Qingyi took the medal, then rose onto her tiptoes and pinned it back onto Zhu Yuan's chest once more.
"Never proud, never rash; hold fast to your heart, persevere without fail, and let no evil be done. In my eyes, you're already an outstanding Sheriff."
Qingyi smiled. Over a career spanning more years than she could recall, she had witnessed the rise and fall of countless outstanding Sheriffs.
Some had fallen on the road to their ideals; others had plunged into the abyss of corruption.
Even so, Qingyi still quietly watched over this world, watching how each Sheriff's story ended.
Because she had been through far too much, and had grown rather indifferent to such things.
But Zhu Yuan's appearance had shown Qingyi a different kind of possibility.
From the very moment she joined the bureau, the maturity, confidence, and clear sense of purpose Zhu Yuan displayed were far more precious than all the professional skills she had mastered.
And what gladdened Qingyi even more was that Zhu Yuan never fell into confusion. She could always pull herself together in the shortest span of time to face a new challenge.
This, above all, was what Qingyi admired most about Zhu Yuan as a Sheriff.
"So don't think less of yourself over this. Your achievements won't tarnish because of others—only because you belittle yourself will they rust."
Qingyi raised a single finger, counseling Zhu Yuan with the serene calm of an old hand.
"Senior Qingyi… thank you…"
With Qingyi's encouragement, Zhu Yuan finally rallied and once again embraced this honor of hers.
"My heart and my deeds are clear as a bright mirror; all I do, I do for justice." And so, Zhu Yuan's resolve was made whole.
"Very good. Very good indeed." Qingyi nodded again and again—all her painstaking care had not been in vain.
"Forgive me, but I must decline, Senior Qingyi—besides, I still have my own self-criticism report to write."
Zhu Yuan pulled a bitter face. They had lost the key earlier and now faced discipline from the bureau, with stack upon stack of self-criticism reports to write over it.
But at least, in this moment, Zhu Yuan no longer felt anxious over such external trifles. She would keep walking her own path of justice, and prove herself.
____
👻🔥Seek: Walnut-chan on P a t r e o n🔥👻
🔥 New history: Natsuki Subaru From Honkai: Star Rail to Re:Zero — find it on The_Mikudayo
📚 40 chapters ahead at Walnut-chan — every supporter directly speeds up the translations
Let's hit these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter for the public!