Chapter 36 The Special Nature of Being the Protagonist

Tsukimiya Reina sat in the car, looking out the window with a touch of boredom as the scenery flashed past.

Originally, she had intended to completely win over her senior on this trip, but she hadn't expected the King of Ghouls to brutally cut in... Damn it, was it really not just romantic rivals she needed to be on guard against?

Feeling somewhat depressed and dispirited, she simply took out her phone and began scrolling through the chat history between her and her senior.

From the very first message she had sent—"Senior, are you asleep? / Heart"—down to the most recent entries, a rough count revealed over a thousand messages, and every single one of them was still safely preserved.

Even though her phone's storage had filled up multiple times, leading to several clearings, not a single message from her senior had ever been deleted.

As Tsukimiya Reina quietly flipped through the numerous conversations, past memories surged back into her heart, and she couldn't help but wear a gentle, blissful smile.

Upon arriving home, she unlocked the door with her spare key, pushed it open briskly, and stepped inside.

Quickly changing into her slippers, she walked over to the living room, knelt beside Chen Xiaozhu's rocking chair, took her hand, and said with a smile:

"Xiaozhu, I'm heading to the Rosette Nebula."

"You and your brother just wait here for me. Once I step on auspicious colorful clouds, drive a super interstellar warship, and lead an army of one hundred thousand, I'll come back to pick you both up~"

Chen Xiaozhu said nothing.

"Hey." Tsukimiya Reina feigned annoyance, reaching out to pinch Chen Xiaozhu's soft cheek. "I'll be gone for at least half a year, do you really have nothing at all to say to me?"

"Stop messing around." Having her face kneaded back and forth, Chen Xiaozhu finally couldn't help but swat her hands away.

"Well, seeing that you're full of spirit is good enough." Tsukimiya Reina said with satisfaction. "Even though I'm going to the Rosette Nebula, I'll still send messages to you and Senior along the way, so don't miss me too much~"

Chen Xiaozhu remained silent.

"I brought you some little cakes." Tsukimiya Reina stood up, lifting the plastic bag in her hand. "I'll put them in the fridge first."

Then she pattered up to the second floor, checking every room to confirm that Chen Zi'ang was indeed not home, presumably having already been taken away to the Limbo.

There was no disappointment on Tsukimiya Reina's face. Instead, with her hands clasped behind her back, she hopped down the stairs step by step, much like a girl whose childlike innocence had never faded.

"Well then, I'm off." She arrived at the entryway, turned around, and waved goodbye to Chen Xiaozhu. "See you next time, little sister!"

Chen Xiaozhu didn't reply, but her right hand seemed to twitch upward slightly.

"Oh, right." Tsukimiya Reina, having changed out of her slippers, suddenly remembered something else. She leaned out from the entryway and earnestly exhorted, "Xiaozhu, remember to keep an eye on your brother for me, and don't let any home-wrecking cat steal him away, okay?"

"Otherwise, when I come back, I'll kill every last one of them! You heard me right—every~ single~ one~ of~ them~!"

"We'll talk about that when you get back." Chen Xiaozhu finally reached her limit and spoke up.

"Hahahaha~" Tsukimiya Reina leaned against the wall and laughed for a moment, before gradually growing quiet again.

She lowered her gaze to her own toes and said softly,

"Though I didn't want to make Senior sad either... still, not getting to say a proper goodbye in person always feels like something is missing."

"Sigh, so annoying, but there's nothing to be done after all..."

"Xiaozhu, you..."

After hesitating for half a minute, Tsukimiya Reina spoke once more:

"During the time I'm away, take good care of your brother."

"Well then, I'm off."

She strode gracefully out the door, looked up at the crystal-clear moonlight, let out a long sigh, and suddenly began to recite a poem in a crisp, resonant voice:

"...Until I return from the stars. In a little boat laden with delicacies, wine, and poetry, to take you back into the Milky Way."

Beside the car outside, Goro Wemon respectfully said,

"Matsuo's poem isn't particularly famous, but using it to wish Miss a safe journey right now is quite fitting."

"Wishing me a safe journey?" Tsukimiya Reina chuckled ruefully. "I was just speaking from the heart."

Goro Wemon didn't argue, simply opening the rear car door for her.

Yet she didn't get in immediately; instead, she turned her head to look at Chen Zi'ang's house, standing quietly in the tranquil night.

I will come back, Senior.

Wait for me.

————————

Chen Zi'ang and the Ghoul Priest descended into a vast expanse of white desert.

"Welcome to Limbo," the Ghoul Priest said leisurely. "The sweet haven of death and our eternal homeland."

"Mortal, allow me to introduce myself. I am Salahk, a priest of the ghoul race. What shall I call you?"

"Ask," Chen Zi'ang said hesitantly.

"An interesting name," Salahk evaluated. "Three syllables, one sharp burst, two struggling murmurs—quite fitting for the flavor of a lingering death."

Not knowing how to respond, Chen Zi'ang simply kept his mouth shut.

Yet Salahk seemed to have grown interested. As he led him forward through the white desert, he continued in a tone akin to reciting poetry:

"Ask, how do you view death?"

"I don't understand what you mean," Chen Zi'ang said cautiously.

"I can offer you three answers for your reference," Salahk said grimly.

"First, death is an eternal slumber."

"Second, death is the beginning of another journey."

"Third, death is a terrifying void."

Chen Zi'ang: ………………

"I once heard a certain theory, though I am not sure if you are familiar with it," he said, deciding not to reveal his philosophy of life and death, and instead shifting the subject. "That theory claims that the origin and home of spirituality are countless small fish swimming alongside a giant whale. To live is merely to suffer, and death is the true return."

"Of course I've heard of it," Salahk let out a low, disdainful sneer from the depths of his throat. "A ridiculous notion held by the Preservationist School, rudely inverting and swapping the concepts of life and death. You needn't bother remembering such an absurd and laughable viewpoint."

"Death is an eternal slumber, while decaying flesh is nothing more than a shackle upon the spirit."

"The reason my race consumes corpses is not out of personal preference, but to help the deceased's spirit break free from its bondage. If you harbored unnecessary fear toward my race simply due to a lack of understanding of our traditions, then I trust I have made it clear enough now."

"I see," Chen Zi'ang carefully explained. "The reason I haven't come to visit for a long time is not because of any misunderstanding or prejudice against your kindred, but rather... well, there are some things I needn't conceal; you should know that I previously served the Lord of the Great Deep."

"Oh." Salahk tried to feign surprise, though his tone held not the slightest trace of it. "I understand. However, as far as that matter is concerned, my Lord has already forgiven you."

"Ask, you really don't need to harbor any reservations. Just as my Lord does not easily forgive the transgressions of mortals, the Lord of the Great Deep does not casually bestow His favor either."

"When you possess both, you should realize that you harbor a certain specialness... just as you were able to acquire the Mandragora Magic Sword."

"Specialness?" Chen Zi'ang asked in puzzlement, subconsciously looking down at the magic sword at his waist.

"The Mandragora Magic Sword, a powerful weapon of slaughter originating from the Goddess of Mandragora," Salahk said softly. "It can instantly slay any entity it pierces, whether physical, conceptual, or spiritual, can it not?"

"How did such a terrifying sacred artifact fall into your hands? And to wield it without suffering any side effects... surely you must have the answer in your heart?"

Chen Zi'ang fell silent.

(End of this chapter)