Chapter 54: The Joys and Sorrows of Mankind Are Not Connected

The rain was heavy tonight.

It was hard to tell whether it was weeping for the dead, washing away the filth of the imperial capital, or simply matching the gloom of the hour.

Regardless, the rain was heavy tonight.

"Sheele... is dead."

When Mine, battered and bruised, uttered those words in helpless despair, the rain fell even harder.

A sense of sorrow grew wildly.

Yet, strangely, it was something one could accept.

"Who... who... who on earth was it?!" Tatsumi stumbled forward in disbelief, grabbing Mine by the shoulders and shouting, "Answer me, Mine! Hey, Mine! Who was it, tell me right now!"

Mine remained silent. Having lost companions many times before, she knew what she ought to do now.

"What would knowing even do?"

"Need you ask? To avenge her, of course!"

"Forget it. If you blindly charge in there, you'll only add to the body count for nothing."

Najenda consoled them calmly.

Everyone knew this, which was why they remained silent. Having lost comrades far too many times, their sorrow had gradually turned into numbness.

But Tatsumi, who valued emotional bonds deeply, was experiencing the loss of a comrade for only the second time. Combined with his impulsive and passionate nature, he naturally could not accept this outcome—especially when his fellow comrades chose to do nothing.

He shouted accusingly, "Hey! We've lost a comrade! Why are you all staying silent?! Have you just accepted it like this?! Go and get revenge!"

Suddenly, his cheek took a sharp blow.

"How disgraceful!" Brand struck him, then scolded angrily, "Don't lose your head! It's no surprise if someone dies one of these days. Didn't I tell you that? And wasn't it with this exact resolve that you joined us in the first place?!"

Precisely because they knew that, precisely because they understood, wasn't that why it hurt all the more?!

Everyone lowered their heads, mourning for the fallen Sheele.

After a long while.

Soaked to the bone, the group returned to the main hall and saw someone sitting at a table reading. That tranquil and elegant posture momentarily made them hallucinate that it was Sheele.

Unfortunately, it was Kobayashi.

"Good work on the mission, Kobayashi."

Najenda offered her usual praise and was about to break the heavy news of Sheele's death when Mine stopped her.

She wanted to break the news herself.

Mine pressed her lips together and said in a low, sorrowful voice, "Sheele... is dead."

With that, she closed her eyes, seemingly bracing herself for something.

However—

"Ah, is that so?"

Kobayashi's calm and flat voice reached them. It was so exceedingly calm and flat that the others were momentarily stunned.

His demeanor was as indifferent as if he were being told, "We can have pork cutlet bowls for dinner tonight." He didn't even hesitate in turning the page, as though he were simply turning the chapter on Sheele's life as well.

"Sheele is dead, you know! Did you hear me?!"

Tatsumi's eyes widened in disbelief. Under the mistaken impression that Kobayashi hadn't heard, a shred of unwarranted hope still lingered in his heart.

The next second, that hope shattered.

"I heard. Sheele is dead."

"You bastard—!"

Tatsumi rushed forward in a rage, grabbing Kobayashi by the collar. His fierce expression seemed to demand why Kobayashi could remain so calm.

After all, from their perspective, Kobayashi and Sheele were the closest.

Although he had been the last to join Night Raid, he had grown very intimate with Sheele. Especially lately, they had been practically glued to each other every day, and the rapid warming of their relationship had even made the others think they might become a couple.

"Why are you accepting this so calmly?!"

"Then what would you have me do?"

Kobayashi countered Tatsumi instead, asking, "Should I shout and cry to express the agony of Sheele's death? Should I blame and resent Mine for failing to bring her back? Or should I rant about going for revenge just like you, only to be told to stick to our duties?"

"But...!"

"Didn't you all make up your minds about how this would end a long time ago?! And now you're acting like you can't accept it? Can you even call yourselves assassins after that?! Don't make me laugh!"

That wasn't the point, though!

Kobayashi, who was closest to Sheele, was acting the most calm; didn't that make him look the most immature?

"Kobayashi is right."

Najenda agreed as well, "People like us are expendable materials, and our ends are determined from the start. However, Sheele will not die in vain! Because of this, the Empire should finally realize that Teigu must be countered with Teigu! Battles between Teigu users might increase from here on, but conversely, it's a great opportunity to collect Teigu! This is the beginning of an even more intense bloodshed, Tatsumi!"

Hearing the Boss's words, Tatsumi gritted his teeth and reluctantly released his grip.

Before he knew it, the rain had stopped.

Kobayashi had vanished, along with the book he had been holding.

...A book?

Tatsumi paused slightly. The book Kobayashi had been holding just now was *A Hundred Ways to Cure Airheads*, not his favorite *Millennium History of the Empire*.

In other words, he actually cared deeply about Sheele's death; he had just forced those feelings down, which was why he had appeared so calm?

Yet he had gone and yelled at him...

No, he had to apologize!

With that thought, Tatsumi got up and left the main hall.

"Tatsumi? Hey, where are you going, Tatsumi?!" Leone called out loudly from behind, but he didn't answer, running straight toward the back mountain without looking back.

He needed to verify Kobayashi's true feelings once again!

The muddy mountain path after the rain was somewhat difficult to navigate, but he kept climbing with unwavering determination because he had spotted footprints of two different sizes—without a doubt belonging to Kobayashi and Glocken.

Yet, halfway up the mountain, he was blocked.

"I'm sorry, you cannot go up."

Glocken bowed slightly and told him, "Lord Kobayashi gave orders that no one is allowed up tonight, so please come back tomorrow if you have business."

"I have something I want to ask him. I won't take up much of your time."

"Please don't make things difficult for me."

"Tch."

Was there really no room for negotiation?

Tatsumi clenched his fists in frustration, the confusion in his heart agonizing him, even though he didn't even know why he was doing this.

"Lord Kobayashi asked me to pass along a message to you."

"A message?"

"Death comes to all men alike, but it may be heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather. You are not expendable materials; you are the chasers of light."

"..."

In other words, Kobayashi cared about Sheele's death just as much, didn't he?

Yet he could face it with such calm... As expected, he was still far too immature!

His doubts cleared, Tatsumi felt a sense of release. He cast one deep look toward the peak of the mountain, then quietly walked back down, his figure gradually fading into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Glocken turned and walked toward the summit, moving steadily until she stood quietly to Kobayashi's right.

Kobayashi closed his eyes, gazing down at them from afar.

Tatsumi was heading back down the mountain, Mine was weeping uncontrollably, Leone was offering soft words of comfort, Akame was cooking alone, Brand was letting off steam at the training ground, and Najenda and Lubbock were discussing their next steps.

The joys and sorrows of people were never truly shared; he only found it all quite noisy.

"People always realize their regrets only after they've lost something. They talk big about being prepared, but when the moment arrives, they can't accept it. Fortunately, though, there's a second chance."

"..."

"Hey, hey, at least say something back. Playing a one-man show is pretty awkward, you know."

Kobayashi muttered a light complaint.

Yet, considering her naturally absent-minded personality, he didn't dwell on it too much.

"Here, you forgot your book."

"Hm."

The graceful figure standing to his left gently took the book back.

——【Resurrection】

1. Within one day of death.
2. The corpse must exist and remain mostly intact.
3. Each person can only be resurrected once.

Meeting these three conditions allows for immediate resurrection on the spot.

A skill that could be learned by the upper-tier class 【Archbishop】, but could likewise be mastered by the 【Adventurer】.

How could one not learn such a divine skill?

Although the required skill points increased and the effect was somewhat weakened, the skill points he gained from leveling up matched those of an upper-tier class, so he could barely accept it.

The 【Adventurer】 class was sometimes unexpectedly useful.