Gin gave a faint, shallow smile. "That's right."
..
Taking action was easy; disguising oneself was even easier.
After all, their movements were fast enough, the fire had not yet been extinguished.
The Black-haired miko looked at the sea of fire before her and let out a deep sigh.
I did not expect that 'Longevity' would bring about so much chaos." The Woman's eyes held a deep sadness. "But I must continue to maintain 'Longevity'.
That is a bit unexpected. 'Maintain'?
Yes," Shimabukuro Kimie nodded, "It is my Mother's wish.
She loved this island. Mermaid Island is famous because of the Mermaids, but if there are no Mermaids.." Shimabukuro Kimie shook her head helplessly. "I can only maintain this illusion.
“That's not necessarily true.” Gin wiped her weapon—it was now a □□M92F—the black body felt good in her hand. “Even if Mermaid Island has no Mermaids, the seafood is good, the scenery is decent—that's why I came here, for both of those things.”
Is that so?" Shimabukuro Kimie revealed a smile; although it was a bit forced, she smiled nonetheless. "That's wonderful.. But don't you desire Longevity?
I don't know if I'll even live to a ripe old age. Longevity? That's too far off." Gin answered indifferently, her fingers stroking her handgun, her gaze drifting toward the distance, looking at a green leaf on a tree not far away. "Besides, living a long life isn't necessarily a good thing.
The image of the Blonde-haired woman flashed through his mind.
Is that so?" Shimabukuro Kimie tilted her head and thought for a moment, then sighed. "Regardless, thank you.
Gin gave a listless smirk and turned her head slightly toward the Black-haired miko: "Are you going to continue playing the Long-lived woman?"
"Yes.. it was my Mother's dying wish." Shimabukuro Kimie nodded, her expression helpless, yet a hint of determination gleamed within her black eyes.
Even if—" Gin drew out her voice, maliciously exposing another truth: "Even if the others on the island already know the Truth?
"!!" Shimabukuro Kimie turned her head away, looking at him in disbelief. Too many things had happened today; one explosive piece of news after another left her feeling completely overwhelmed.
"Is it.. is it true?" After a long silence, she asked hoarsely.
The answer was yes.
After coming out of an elderly person's home, Shimabukuro Kimie's face was filled with confusion and bewilderment.
"Are you still going to play the Long-lived woman?" As Gin turned, his black trench coat traced a beautiful arc through the air, his green eyes held a faint, mocking smile.
You see.." The youth's voice was full of enchantment, like a pair of arms dragging someone into the abyss. His slender fingers tapped his cuff with light pressure as Gin looked down at his own buttons. "They all know the Truth, yet they watch with their own eyes as you sacrifice your youth, your freedom, even your lives, all for the sake of personal gain.
Gin let out a cold laugh, his smooth nails grazing the Black-haired miko's young, fair cheek with light pressure, forcing the Woman to lift her head and meet his eyes: "It is all merely for the illusion of Longevity, to protect the village—a selfish thought, is it not? And what about you? You are the ones who must sacrifice so much."
"What will become of you? To play the part of your great-grandmother, will you also have to abandon your own identity, just like your Mother?" Shimabukuro Kimie was startled by the slight chill on her cheek, she pressed her lips together in silence.
The Silver-haired youth gave an inscrutable smile, his eyes reflecting the light of the sky and the shadows of the clouds. Her fingers twirled slightly, her somewhat rough fingertips brushed against Shimabukuro Kimie's cheek. "Will you still have a life of your own? To maintain this secret, you can only be alone, even daring not to accept anyone else.."
Her gaze was somewhat distant, but it quickly became focused as he looked at the Black-haired miko once more.
Have you made up your mind?
Gin looked at the Black-haired girl's delicate face, which was filled with sadness and sorrow, at her dark eyes, which were vacant and lost after the target was destroyed..
His gaze remained sharp, yet he felt as if he had heard a quiet, wordless sigh in his ear.
A sigh from Fate.
As I thought.. I have never been a good person.
..
The fire in the Shrine Warehouse killed the Long-lived woman and also killed Shimabukuro Kimie's three friends.
Shimabukuro Kimie wept uncontrollably before the grave of the Long-lived woman, yet she remained indifferent to the passing of her three friends.
People could understand—if it weren't for her three friends wanting to see if the Long-lived woman could truly remain unharmed in the fire, Shimabukuro Kimie would not have lost her last family.
Her "great-grandmother".. her Mother.
After the funeral, the Black-haired miko left this place of sorrow by boat.
The silver-haired youth gave her two choices; she knew that if her deceased Mother had a soul in heaven, she would likely want her to choose a peaceful life.
But she could not do it.
Carrying the message from the Silver-haired demon, the Young miko went to find a Hell Puppeteer in the Dark World.
..
"What did you say?" Gin frowned, looking at Nana, whom she hadn't seen for several days.
Shiratori Nana looked haggard, yet a sense of determination still shone through, her eyes, which were remarkably similar to her Sister's, held a bright light: "I said, I think I saw someone related to you not long ago."
“……” The silver-haired youth fell silent for a moment, sighed inwardly, propped up his head with his hand.
Tell me everything that happened.
Nana nodded. Her thoughts were clear and her speech was articulate, she recounted everything very clearly. Listening to her statement, Gin couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"Zhenjun?" Nana asked cautiously, her left index finger tapping her cheek with light pressure.
"It's nothing." Gin pressed her forehead with her hand, a deep sense of helplessness in her green eyes.
It was one thing for the three Whisky members to screw each other over, but now the entertainment was becoming immense.
Akai Shuichi's flaw was so obvious in Amuro Tooru's eyes that he did not believe Amuro Tooru would show any mercy once he uncovered Akai's true identity.
Akai's previous lapse in skill seemed to have passed, but it had left a "record" behind, with Amuro Tooru watching him now, he likely wouldn't be able to make much of a move for a while.
Are you counting on a fake child and a real middle schooler?
Although, according to the Plot, Akai seems to have safely passed through this crisis, this is real life.
Akai Shuichi was still useful—if he became useless, he wouldn't care whether he lived or died—but at least for now, he couldn't die.
Gin sighed in her heart once again.
If I had known, I shouldn't have spoken so harshly.
After tricking Nana away and warning her to be careful lately, Gin picked up her phone and called Vermouth.
What's wrong? Did you have a good time on Mermaid Island?
This woman saw it clearly and likely knew all along that he had gone on vacation.
Although there were some unexpected developments along the way.
We'll discuss those later, Vermouth," Gin's voice was calm and decisive. "Save one of those three bottles of Whisky for me.
Vermouth??
-----------------------
Author's Note: (1) The actions of the people on the small island have their flaws, but they are not as described in the story.
In the original story, Shimabukuro Kimie commits murder for revenge three years later and eventually fakes her own death by "burning herself to death," but the Long-lived woman still appears. The people on the island must have known that Shimabukuro Kimie had not died when they saw the Long-lived woman, but they all chose to keep it a secret.
Gin certainly knew he was saying that on purpose, which is why he said he had never been a good person.
..
In this chapter, Gin has been "guiding" all along, though he didn't intend to do so at first; it was only after certain events occurred that he developed such intentions.
However, his emotions were somewhat complicated; after all, he had simple contact with them before, had even received pure kindness from others.
However, these emotions did not affect his actions.
Gin is a very calm and rational person; she is cold, aloof, decisive, ruthless in her actions, with very little emotion.
..
Vermouth: You just said you didn't need it, honestly.. Forget it, Gin seems a bit cute when he changes his mind once in a while~
Gin: Akai's sister (he forgot her name) is being way too hard on her brother. My Sister is much better.
Nana: My Brother is the greatest!
#On How Filters Are Formed#
What are your thoughts on the "no need" flag I set up earlier?
Gin: Heh.
..
In my free time over the next few days, I will be making some minor revisions to the first few chapters.. mainly just polishing the wording and fixing typos. I won't be adding much content, so there's no need to re-read them—though, of course, you are more than welcome to re-read them if you wish!
I previously mentioned that I would be revising one of the chapters to add a segment; I will let everyone know once I have finished revising it.
..
Thanks to Jing Little Angel for the landmine, love you, mwah~
Chapter 39: Chapter 37. Could it be that he should stay behind to wash dishes to pay off..
Hearing Vermouth's slightly surprised retort, Gin's heart remained unmoved, he even felt a slight urge to punch him.
If they hadn't sabotaged their own people so severely, would he have even needed to step in?
If those three bottles of Whisky weren't still useful to him, he wouldn't care whether they lived or died!
He finally understood deeply why undercover agents could thrive even within so many organizations.
It's because both the Red side and the Black side are just as bad as each other!
Based on the current direction of the plot, it can be said that the Red side has basically failed to deal any effective blows to the Organization. Between their fake deaths and their exposing each other's secrets, they haven't been much use, aside from finally figuring out that the person they've been criticizing all this time is one of their own members, uncovering some intelligence that anyone who has ever been an undercover agent should have already known.
The few instances of Organization member deaths were essentially suicides or carried out by their own people. —By the way, Gin deserves a great deal of credit in this regard.
He had realized this situation back then; if it weren't because he observed that the Red side held the protagonist status—since if the story's ending were Evil defeating Justice, the audience would throw rotten eggs—and considering the Organization's use of charm (strike that).. exploitation of employees during that mission, he wouldn't have chosen the Red side either.
However, discussing this now was clearly meaningless. Gin leaned back against the soft backrest of the sofa, his tone cold: "Just have someone random sent over.."
He fell silent for a moment, his cold green eyes gazing out the window. The setting sun's glow stained the horizon, reflecting a shimmer of light within his green eyes and illuminating the contemplation within his gaze.
The silver-haired youth lifted a pot of black tea from the living room coffee table, his shoulder pinning his phone in place, while his other hand poured the tea into an exquisite, small, matching glass teacup. His casual change of tone was as languid as a cat napping in winter: "Wait a moment—"
Let's go with Rye.
Rye?" Vermouth's seductive voice carried a hint of a smile, a trace of a mature woman's charm could be discerned from his laughter. "Are you sure?