I've already said this isn't a life simulator!

A faint sound echoed in the quiet room, accompanied by a soft, fragmented rolling sound. A delicate white star landed in my palm. I put it in my mouth, savoring the sweetness spreading within. Then, another soft, crisp sound rang out. I put the candy box away, opened the door, and stepped into the same silence as the room, carrying with me the sweet, incense-like aroma.

Soon, the sweet aroma mingled with the faint floral fragrance lingering in the hall.

"solved?"

"Ah."

The girl, having received a definite response, shook the blood off her knife and sheathed it. With her nimble movements, her long, cherry-colored hair swayed gently, like falling cherry blossoms.

"Phew... As always, missions are always easy when I'm with you... Nozomi."

Perhaps because the mission was already completed, the girl adjusted her breathing, hesitated slightly, and then spoke with a stiff expression, pretending to be relaxed, as if she was just making conversation.

Clearly, she herself was also reluctant to say such a thing.

"The mission is not over yet, don't use that title."

He calmly reminded the girl, then glanced at the pale blue flower stained with blood on the ground before returning his gaze to the girl.

"This habit is not good."

He reminded her that neither the small forget-me-not flowers that would remain, nor the faint fragrance that lingered on her from carrying these flowers for a long time, were good habits for people of their status.

"On this point, we are the same."

The girl responded to him without any hesitation, after all, the sweetness on him was much stronger than the floral scent on her.

"Let's go."

He didn't dwell on the topic, but simply turned and left, and the girl naturally followed quickly, standing beside him.

"Why don't you go see those children? Maybe you know someone among them."

She was trying to start a conversation again, something she wouldn't normally ask—he quickly realized.

However, he still responded.

"no need."

he said calmly.

"Those things are no longer important."

Even if some of those children were people he knew, so what? It would only remind him once again that the church had not been changed in any way, and the children inside had not been saved... nothing more.

But now... none of that matters anymore.

The girl clearly realized she had brought up a bad topic, and her expression became even more stiff. She wanted to say something to make amends, but she didn't know what to say.

"........."

In the end, the girl could only remain awkwardly silent and walk into the shadows with him, disappearing from sight in no time.

After a long time, someone finally woke up from his coma and saw that all the people who were supposed to be the owners of this "courtyard" had become corpses. In extreme panic, he dialed the police station.

Soon, the police entered the "private courtyard" that had previously been off-limits.

"That's really...surprising."

Looking at the scene before him, a police officer hesitated for a long time before finally uttering this sentence. It was unclear whether he was lamenting the "courtyard" located on the upper floor of the high-rise building or mourning the people who had died there.

"Who called the police?"

The lead officer shouted this.

"I...I signed up."

A handsome young man hesitated and stepped forward, speaking somewhat timidly... He seemed to be somewhat afraid of the police officers, even resistant to contact with them, and he also seemed to have many scars, some light and some dark, on his body.

"name?"

“...My name is Wright, officer.”

The boy responded in this way.

Chapter Eleven As the saying goes: When a woman pursues a man, ( )

"…………"x2

The two walked along the street, seemingly friends who had just finished strolling through the bustling night market and were heading home... Ah, considering their genders, they might be a couple~ It's just that the girl's expression was a bit stiff, perhaps because something awkward happened during their date? — Many people subconsciously made this judgment.

However, most people probably wouldn't guess that the two people who were strolling around here as if taking a leisurely walk had just committed murder. After all, they didn't look like murderers or assassins, but rather like foreign tourists visiting this place.

As for why the girl's expression was so stiff, it was naturally because she was struggling with how to start the conversation... To be honest, this honest girl is fine for killing people, but she really doesn't know how to start a conversation...

"pat-"

Just as the girl was still wondering what to talk about, she heard a slight sound again. She shifted her gaze and, sure enough, saw him eating candy again.

She then took the opportunity to speak.

"Want some candy again?"

"……Um."

"You've eaten a bit too much. You can't even cover up the sweet smell on you. That's not a good habit... and be careful of cavities."

"……Um."

She was making conversation out of nothing—he could clearly sense it, and he could even notice out of the corner of his eye that after the girl next to him finished speaking, her stiff expression turned slightly red... It seemed that she also felt that what she had just said was strange.

She wouldn't have done this before—he was a little puzzled. Although they would always care about each other after a mission or during a break, they would never say such "strange" things.

"pat-"

While pondering this, he subconsciously opened the candy box and fed himself another candy.

"Can I try?"

As the girl spoke, she reached out towards the candy box in his hand.

"To be honest, I really like sweets, so I wanted to try it."

She was explaining to him why she did it.

"If it's delicious, I'll buy one for Ling too; she likes it very much."

As if she was still worried, she added one more sentence at the end.

"Crack!"

However, whether it was because of the girl's actions or some words that violated a taboo, he suddenly slammed the lid of the candy box shut and put it in the inner pocket of his clothes. He even took a half step back with considerable vigilance, looking very protective of his food.

"........."

This made the girl freeze, and even her already stiff expression was about to break.

Another mistake—the girl realized this, feeling anxious and frustrated... She really didn't know how to do this!

Sorry x2

The two spoke almost simultaneously, and then both froze.

She apologized for her sudden, strange behavior, while he felt apologetic for his overreaction.

"Pfft... Haha..." x2

Soon, the two of them chuckled softly, clearly understanding why the other was apologizing, and the atmosphere relaxed from the previous awkwardness.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. The two are not only colleagues, comrades-in-arms, and partners, but also friends.

Friendships don't need to be so complicated.

Hmm... although there are certain things I still have unique feelings about, like... shyness?

"........."

She shook her head, seemingly somewhat helpless, her long pink hair swaying and carrying a faint floral fragrance. She sighed inwardly, suppressing the invitation she found difficult to express.

"...This is for you."

He hesitated for a moment, as if he had figured something out, then took out a bag of candy from another inner pocket of his clothes and put it in her hand.

"And... I'm sorry."

He apologized for his overreaction, and the bag of candy was both a gift and an apology to her.

"……Thanks?"

She didn't know what to say for a moment, and responded somewhat confusedly.

He seemed slightly relieved to receive the reply, and his body relaxed.

"Oh...so you're the same way too"—the girl thought to herself as she saw him looking like this, a slight smile playing on her lips.

With a slight movement of his fingers, the small candy bag provided a delicate tactile feedback, a style that seemed unusual for someone like him to carry or buy. The pale pink color also seemed to indicate that this bag was special.

Pull open the string at the top, take out a candy wrapped in a candy wrapper, pinch the sides of the wrapper between your fingers, pull it outwards gently, and then peel it open to reveal a white star lying quietly inside.

When you hold it in your mouth, you can feel the sweetness gradually spreading out.

To be honest, it's pretty ordinary. It doesn't have any special flavor; it's just a simple "sweet" taste, much like the feeling of having a piece of rock candy in your mouth.

However, she was surprised to find that the taste was quite good.

"It's delicious."

She responded to him with a slight smile.

A faint floral fragrance wafted over with her words, but now it carried a subtle sweetness.

"nice! You love it."

"I think Ling will like it too. I'll buy her some when I get back."

"……Um."

"........."

I'm speechless again.

The awkwardness that had just subsided seemed to be spreading again.

Ah... it's really too difficult for her to come up with topics of conversation.

"...If you have anything to say, you can say it directly."