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Tohno Shiki was unaware that after he left school, an unknown battle had taken place there.
Moreover, it was a battle where either side could have easily died, and both sides were people he knew.
If he knew about this, Tohno Shiki would surely be thrown into chaos again.
Leaving Fang Li aside, just the fact that Ciel was an Executor of the Burial Agency, with the ability to hunt down Dead Apostles, would be enough to shock Tohno Shiki.
No matter how you look at it, there was no way Tohno Shiki could have known Ciel's true identity.
In Tohno Shiki's mind, Ciel was just a gentle and composed Senpai. He could never have imagined that this Senpai had used suggestion-based Magecraft to infiltrate the school and that even he himself was one of those who had been influenced by it.
He never realized that there was no such Senpai at the school and simply accepted her presence as if it were natural.
Under these circumstances, Tohno Shiki was still troubled by his own issues, but thanks to Ciel's suggestion, he had come up with some ideas.
With these thoughts in mind, Tohno Shiki walked along the residential street, heading towards his home.
Until a voice suddenly spoke.
"What's the matter? Not going home yet?"
Hearing this voice, Tohno Shiki stopped in his tracks.
Almost simultaneously, a figure slowly walked up from behind him, brushing past him, and continued to move forward.
Tohno Shiki was stunned for a moment before quickly catching up.
"Um…" Tohno Shiki scratched his head, somewhat awkwardly trying to make a conversation. "What are you doing outside?"
"Just taking care of something." Fang Li replied without turning his head. "Don't worry, I have the Ojou Sama's permission. I'm not neglecting my duties like before."
"Is that so?" Tohno Shiki hesitated for a moment before continuing to ask, "Are you going out tonight again to deal with the Dead and wild beasts?"
"Of course." Fang Li replied without hesitation, "Don't ask me why, I have my own reasons. Isn't that why you joined us last night?"
Tohno Shiki was at a loss for words.
Fang Li was right.
If not for his own reasons, Tohno Shiki wouldn't have risked his life to step into that inhuman world and engage with the Dead and Vampires.
"You don't want to see the city you live in turn into a ghost town. You don't want to one day inexplicably die, and you certainly don't want to see anyone in the Tohno family suddenly turn into one of the Dead. That's why you decided to act with us."
Fang Li, in a straightforward manner, directly pointed out Tohno Shiki's thoughts.
"But you didn't expect that the inhuman world would far surpass your imagination, nor did you expect that you would suddenly lose control and almost kill Arcueid again."
That's how things stood.
Heaven knows that until a few days ago, Tohno Shiki was just an ordinary high school student living in a normal world, albeit with a pair of rather special eyes. With the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception under control, he could almost be considered without any abnormalities.
But in just a few short days, he first lost control and killed an innocent person, who then mysteriously came back to life, claiming they would kill him. Then there were incidents involving Vampires, the Dead, and wild beasts, as well as the inexplicable urges within his own body resurfacing. All these events tested Tohno Shiki's capacity to endure.
The fact that he hadn't completely collapsed was thanks to the fact that Tohno Shiki had possessed these unusual eyes from a young age and had often observed an abnormal world. His endurance had been trained to the point where he wouldn't be consumed by confusion.
And every time he thought of this, Tohno Shiki couldn't help but look at the man walking beside him with new respect.
Despite having the same eyes as him and not being a Vampire, Mage, or Executor, this man could walk calmly in that inhuman world. What kind of experiences had this man gone through in the past?
Moreover, this man clearly knew what was wrong with him.
All of this forced Tohno Shiki to consider how to deal with this family steward.
Thus, Tohno Shiki could only speak up like this.
"You still can't tell me the truth?"
Fang Li didn't respond.
But his attitude already gave Tohno Shiki the answer.
Tohno Shiki didn't hold any grudges about it.
Because he could sense that Fang Li wasn't deliberately hiding anything from him, but rather felt that it wasn't his place to reveal the truth, so he chose to remain silent.
With this in mind, Tohno Shiki turned the thoughts that had been troubling him into words.
"If you won't tell me, I won't ask. But can I ask you for one... no, two... no, three things?"
Hearing this, Fang Li chuckled.
"You really are greedy, asking for three things all at once." Fang Li said this, but his attitude remained as straightforward as ever. "Go ahead; let me hear them. I'll see what they are."
"The first thing," Tohno Shiki said, seeming to be influenced by Fang Li's straightforwardness, "I want you to let me continue helping you deal with that Vampire."
"Okay." Fang Li agreed without asking for any reason, and then said, "What's the second thing?"
"The second thing," Tohno Shiki said seriously, "I want you to teach me how to fight, so at least I won't be a burden to you."
"Okay." Fang Li still didn't ask for any reason and agreed just as directly. "And the third thing?"
"The third thing..." Tohno Shiki hesitated for a moment before speaking softly, "If I lose control again, I want you to stop me."
"Okay." Fang Li's answer was as unwavering as ever, and his lack of hesitation was oddly reassuring.
Then, Fang Li turned his gaze toward Tohno Shiki.
"Is that all?"
Meeting Fang Li's gaze, Tohno Shiki nodded firmly.
"That's all."
With that, Fang Li didn't say anything more.
Tohno Shiki also said nothing further, but his expression was no longer as troubled, instead, it brightened up again.
When they returned to the Tohno residence, Tohno Akiha noticed that Tohno Shiki seemed to have returned to his usual self, and she subtly let out a sigh of relief.
Kohaku and Hisui also seemed to relax, one smiling as always, the other still expressionless, as usual.
As for Fang Li, he went back to his room and mentioned the situation to Arcueid, who had woken up at some point, which only elicited a puzzled expression from her.
"Humans really are troublesome."
With this remark, a new chapter began.
As if signaling the end of an intermission.
...