Chapitre 91: Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
"I was just following the competition's instructions. If the instructor doesn't tell me to stop, I can't stop, even if my opponent surrenders." Ayanokouji said calmly. "Before stopping, I can't rule out the possibility that the opponent will surrender. There are many ways to make the other party vigilant, and in real life, not many things can be ended by simply admitting defeat."
"I see." Echidna smiled and nodded. In her eyes, there was nothing wrong with his words. "But others might not understand."
"The understanding or lack thereof from others doesn't matter." Ayanokouji replied. "The White Room is this kind of place. If you show mercy, you're likely to be eliminated. For a politician, being emotional is useless, so all of us in the White Room have abandoned emotions."
"No wonder you have a bad character. You don't have many friends in high school." Echidna said with a smile, but Ayanokouji did not respond.
"Are you a bit reluctant? About your past?" Echidna walked in front of him, tiptoeing, and their noses almost touched.
"What is it that you don't want to do?"
"Don't come to terms with your fate. You could have had a happy childhood like other kids, but because of fate, you were born into this family. From the moment you can remember, you've always been in this White Room. To be honest, I find it too boring to watch." Echidna leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "Aren't you jealous of other children who can grow up normally? Being treated like a tool by your father like that, you must have a lot of hatred in your heart."
Echidna lowered her voice, making it sound very ambiguous. The warm breath from her mouth softly flowed into Ayanokouji's ear. If it were an ordinary human, their ears would have turned red after hearing her words, and their heartbeat would have quickened.
❀❀❀
"Strangely, you're so close to sensei!"
Roswaal was doing his best to control the hand holding the teacup from trembling. Although he wore clown makeup, and his face wasn't clearly visible, his breath and heartbeat quickened, and he was very eager to replace Ayanokoji on the screen.
He even closed his eyes, imagining himself standing next to Echidna at this moment.
On the second floor of the mansion, seeing Roswaal's intoxicated expression through the window, Beatrice's eyes were filled with disgust. "Honestly, it's utterly disgusting..."
After seeing the illusion in the sky, she realized that this Roswaal was the first Roswaal she knew and that he had used the forbidden soul transfer technique to survive until now.
"From this perspective, this technique can only be used on close family members..."
Beatrice couldn't help but speak to herself, but she quickly shook her head and pushed Roswaal out of her mind.
Even though they had been friends for four hundred years, his earlier appearance was too revolting. If she were to meet an outsider in the future, Beatrice would never admit that she knew Roswaal.
She lifted her head and directed her gaze at the sky. Only now did she learn about Ayanokouji's childhood and past.
Only then did Beatrice realize that in the sky illusion, Ayanokouji, after learning the contents of her contract, thought to himself that they were somewhat alike.
"Turns out we're all 'imprisoned'."
Beatrice slowly spoke to herself; she had been redeemed in the image, so who could redeem Ayanokouji?
❰❱SKY SCREEN❰❱
"If you don't want to do it, I can give you a chance to go back. I can let you stay here and experience a completely different life; this is a privilege I'm only offering you. You could grow freely like other kids, do whatever you want, play whatever you want, everything could follow your own desires, and you wouldn't need to follow your father's orders anymore." Echidna said slowly with a smile.
The scene changed, and a portrait of Ayanokouji's father appeared in front of the two of them, with an eagle-like gaze that seemed to pierce through people's hearts.
"Sorry, there's no need. I don't feel any reluctance about what I've experienced in the past." Ayanokouji said very calmly. "No matter what the outcome or the process, it's something that has happened and can't be changed anymore. It doesn't make sense for me to cling to it."
Hearing his words, Echidna's eyebrows twitched slightly. "You're truly optimistic. I don't know if you 'don't feel reluctant,' but never mind. Follow me and see this. I don't know if you'll still be able to maintain your current mindset after seeing it."
Then Echidna snapped her fingers, and all the images flowed at a very fast pace as if fast-forwarding.
One day, one week, one year, the images changed rapidly, and Ayanokouji in the images grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, but the things he experienced daily remained the same and unchanged.
He had to learn many subjects every day—politics, history, science, even skills like piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as well as various combat and martial arts skills learned for a lifetime, and skills like cooking or other skills not playing a big role in politics were excluded from the curriculum.
Time was limited. Except for the necessary skills and knowledge, everything that could be delegated was delegated, just like emotions.
And fewer and fewer people like Ayanokouji remained in the White Room.
"Here it is, here, your not-so-distant past." Echidna snapped her fingers again, and the stream of images slowly slowed down.
Still in the White Room, but at this moment in the White Room, a man in a black suit was preparing clothes for Ayanokouji.
The Ayanokouji in the image looked almost the same as the current one. This should be what happened in the last few years.
"That school was the best and only way for you to escape from the White Room." The middle-aged man gently patted Ayanokouji's shoulder. "I've completed the enrollment procedures for you. You can completely break free from your father's control... Get ready to leave, Kiyotaka, while your father is occupied during this period."
"Yes." Ayanokouji in the image nodded. "But I have a question, Butler Matsuo, why are you helping me? This won't benefit you."
"For some reason, perhaps because seeing you reminds me of my son. He's a very hard-working child! I really hope you can become friends with him."
"Friends?"
"When you enter the school, make as many friends as you can, Kiyotaka... I've worked hard for you during this period... Once you connect with more people, the issues of equality in your mind, those worldly questions, we should be able to find satisfying answers."
Listening to the man's words in front of him, Ayanokouji's face still showed no change in expression, and neither of them said anything more, then they opened the door and left.
After the two left, the real Ayanokouji and Echidna slowly appeared.
Ayanokouji remembered clearly that this was the last night he escaped from the White Room.
Butler Matsuo was originally sent by his father to monitor him, but in the end, he chose to help Ayanokouji escape from the White Room, secretly contacting Chairman Sakayanagi and making the school a refuge for Ayanokouji.
No matter how powerful Ayanokouji's father was, he couldn't do anything to the school or Chairman Sakayanagi at the moment.
Ayanokouji only remembered his last name and knew he had a son.
"This was clearly a farewell event, but your conversation was casual, didn't you feel any regret?" Echidna asked in a light tone, clearly trying to provoke Ayanokouji's emotions.
But Ayanokouji's expression remained very calm. "There's nothing to say."
It sounded somewhat cold, but this had become his normal state.
"You should have known what awaited him then, right?" Echidna narrowed her eyes slightly. "He must have paid the price for not obeying his master. Although in your memory, neither I nor you know what happened to Butler Matsuo, based on your father's character, I'm afraid he didn't end well."
"Yes." Ayanokouji nodded. He knew his father's character and methods. He wouldn't do it himself but would slowly push the target into the abyss.
"Aren't you sorry about this butler?" Echidna said in a very ambiguous tone. "Because of you, he must have paid a heavy price. You're the cause of it all."
"Sorry, I don't think this is my problem." Ayanokouji still said calmly. "If something happened to Butler Matsuo, then the killer must be that man. He shares a blood relationship with me, a father-son relationship. He will use all means to force others, and even attack others' relatives—spreading rumors, damaging reputations, and putting pressure on advanced companies. But it's quite effective."
"Do you think Butler Matsuo's death had nothing to do with you?"
"That's right. Butler Matsuo agreed to take custody of me, but in the end, he chose to help me escape. All of this was the result of his subjective will. Since he made such a choice, he was naturally prepared to pay the corresponding price." Ayanokouji's tone was still very calm.
Although he knew that his father would surely take action against Butler Matsuo, he felt neither anger nor sadness, as if Butler Matsuo had nothing to do with him.
His eyes were fixed on Echidna. He knew that Echidna herself would not sympathize with Butler Matsuo's potential fate. Everything she did was meant to provoke the dark feelings in his heart.
"Are these words too irresponsible? Are you shirking your responsibilities…" Echidna asked with a smile.
"No, I also have responsibilities." Before Echidna could finish speaking, Ayanokouji took the lead and said this.
This was the first time in the conversation that he interrupted Echidna's speech. "My responsibility is to carry out Matsuo's legacy. He knew he would face the heaviest punishment, but he still made that choice."
There was no change in his tone, but he sounded very determined.
Ayanokouji guessed the condition to pass this trial. Echidna kept showing him memories of his past, trying to evoke feelings of reluctance or regret in his heart. Although he himself had no such emotions, he was very careful in answering to avoid making any mistakes.
He suspected that the way to pass this trial was to confront the past directly. Some people might have past events they can't or don't want to remember, but for him, that wasn't the case.
'No matter what happens, no matter who it is, it won't have any effect on me,' Ayanokouji thought to himself.
"Was that answer truthful? Or was it just a lie made up to pass this trial?" Echidna asked.
Ayanokouji didn't reply, but he didn't avoid Echidna's gaze either; instead, he faced it, like a samurai in a one-on-one duel.
"This silence is your answer." Echidna shook her head and smiled again.
"This is also why I'm interested in you, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka." Echidna continued.
In the vast White Room, only the two of them remained. "The real you is the kind of existence I hate the most, because it's too boring, devoid of possibilities, and a story without tension can be seen at a glance."
"However, I've slowly found that the development of this story has deviated from my expectations. This is the 'unknown' I'm pursuing. How much more 'unknown' can you give me?"
"Consider that you've passed this trial."
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