Chapter 518: I said, OK
"...I wonder if Utsunomiya-kun knows about the genealogy of dragons. Before humans became the overlords of the world, this planet was ruled by a kind of reptiles. They had huge bodies and could rise to the sky and dive into the abyss. The weapons forged by humans at that time could not break their scales at all. The most terrifying thing is that these creatures have the power to distort the rules of the world."

"dragon?"

"Yes, it is a dragon. The source of these dragons is a black dragon entrenched on a huge mountain. Its name is Nidhogg. In Norse mythology, it is called the dragon representing despair. It is the end of everything and the end of the world..."

"..."

Even though Tachibana Masamune narrated the history in a calm tone, it didn't feel real to Zhuo who was sitting in the cafe sipping hot orange juice.

An inappropriate metaphor is like a child from a poor family who gave up playing and asking for toys in order to share the pain of his parents as soon as possible, and buried himself in exercises for twelve years. Then on the day when he received the admission letter, his parents dressed in a decent suit and dance dress and said to him, "Child, you have grown up, it's time to tell you the truth, in fact, our family is a billionaire." No matter how you think about it, you feel a sense of separation.

Words like Nidhogg and the end of the world always seem to be something illusory, after all, no one has ever really seen it. Even if you already have the answer in your heart, the desire to survive will still make you unconsciously want to escape.

Zhuo's thoughts drifted further and further away, and while he was distracted, Tachibana Masamune had already come to the end of the topic.

"...Our pain comes from this. The eight families of Sheqi are descendants of the White King. This is our biggest secret and the alien species that the secret party has been pursuing for hundreds of years. To be honest, I no longer have the ambitions I had when I was young. My only thought now is that Chisheng and Eri can live freely after I leave. But I am old after all, and Eri has just seen this world..."

"If that's the case, why didn't you give Miss Uesugi a complete childhood earlier... Rather than me, you should complain to Miss Uesugi. That's what I think."

Since he didn't understand the other party's purpose, he should treat him with a friendly attitude. However, Zhuo couldn't bear it anymore and said something stinging.

Tachibana Masamune correctly understood Zhuo's meaning and lowered his brows in some distress.

"You are right, but... I don't think I did anything wrong before."

"Is that so? Then I'd like to know why you're telling me all this... Isn't that why you're here with me?"

"Yes, I am really grateful that you can lead Eri to see the outside world. Only with you can I feel at ease letting her really go outside and breathe the air of freedom. Although I am the one who restrains her, compared to worrying that she might lose control and hurt others, I will still cruelly keep her in the room...even if the child doesn't want to see me."

Tachibana Masamune said this with a wry smile on his face, and his expression seemed to be a little painful.

Zhuo had already felt the little mute's experience through her own numb and lifeless eyes, and she could not forgive the culprit of all this.

The man in front of him didn't look like a bloodless villain at all - perhaps it was because he knew the answer first that he was able to read the question now, so even though Tachibana Masamune's determination made Zhuo indignant, he still felt disgusted and unforgivable.

To be honest, Zhuo really couldn't understand what kind of state of mind a human being must be in to perform such a perfect performance that was completely opposite to what he thought in his heart. Maybe this was also the reason why he was destined to be a nobody. Zhuo couldn't do such a thing at all when his pain points were slightly touched.

If Tachibana Masamune was really who he said he was, he wouldn't have kept the little mute in a closed environment quietly for nearly twenty years.

It is true that Tachibana Masamune did not regret it. What he needed was a weapon without emotions, who could only rely on him and at most add Gen Chisei. Therefore, in the closed environment, there was not even the only network that allowed Uesugi Eriya to contact the outside world.

It is also because of this that Uesugi Eri has become what she is today.

But because of this, Zhuo became even more confused.

Why didn't they just stop Zhuo and Uesugi Eriya from coming out, but instead came up to her three years later to discuss the matter and then locked her up again in this roundabout way?
What on earth was he thinking? What did he want? It was beyond comprehension.

Tachibana Masamune seemed to sense the probing look in Zhuo's eyes. He took a sip of the hot tea in the cup and smiled with some trouble.

"You must be curious about why I am still saying all this now. Some things are not suitable to be said. Let's go into that room."

It seemed that he didn't want Minamoto Chisei and the others to know about it, so Zhuo nodded and agreed to Tachibana Masamune's suggestion and entered the box.

"Then I'll be frank. After all, I've taken up your precious rest time every day. Look at this."

Zhuo would occasionally come into the private room in the cafe. Although it was semi-enclosed, it was not soundproof. Tachibana Masamune seemed to take this into consideration, and the two of them entered the room in the far corner.

After the two sat down facing each other, a smile appeared on Tachibana Masamune's gentle face, and he handed a stack of photos to Zhuo.

"These are..." Zhuo said, and then he felt as if his throat was grabbed when he saw the contents of the photo. Tachibana Masamune also nodded to Zhuo and explained the contents.

"Deadpool, or more precisely, the captive Deadpool, who I keep under Genji Heavy Industries. Eri's situation... requires these."

Maybe he didn't want others to hear what he was talking about.

Although Zhuo understood, he was still confused when he heard him say these in a weak voice.

The photos showed bloated snakes floating in the water tank. Their tails were as thick as human waists, their black hair was scattered in the water, and their faces, which were pale from being soaked in water, were pressed against the glass and looking at this side. It made Zhuo feel both horrified and disgusted.

In order to relieve his emotions, Zhuo sorted out the content of today's conversation in his mind. After repeating this process three times in his mind, Zhuo finally spoke.

"What, then, is the point of showing me this?"

After putting down the photo in his hand and making sure that the things inside would not move or run out, Zhuo the confirmer spoke.

It might be impolite to be so straightforward.

However, Tachibana Masamune didn't seem to mind and gave a slight wry smile.

"Well, to be honest, as you saw before, Chisheng doesn't know about these things. He is a much more upright child than me and can't stand these things, but I can't help it. My original plan was to tell him about this when I was about to die. I thought that Chisheng might not blame me for an old man's last wish. I know it's selfish to take advantage of his filial piety, but I am a father and Eri is my daughter."

"…It's a very common idea, understandable."

"You don't like me very much."

"Don't you think it's wrong?"

"You're right, it's weird to like me."

Tachibana Masamune nodded to show his understanding. Zhuo pursed his lips tightly and thought about what to do next.

If Tachibana Masamune behaves very strong, being a man who is very cold and controlling towards his daughter, Shuo can also show a strong attitude and find a way to deal with it no matter what.

In fact, he is acting very guilty now. Judging from the atmosphere, he is expressing his concern for his daughter. He doesn't look like a person who raises a "container". At least in the eyes of those who don't know, he will be considered a kind father.

Therefore, Zhuo couldn't help but wonder - what exactly did he want to express?
Zhuo knew that he was just pretending to be friendly and guilty, and once he got what he dreamed of, his true colors would be revealed. However, this probably had little to do with the present.

"Now that things have come to this, I have a request for you. Not as the head of the Snake Family, but as Eri's father." "Huh?"

(broken.)
Zhuo knew that the phrase "up to this point" had many meanings. For example, as on the surface, Tachibana Masamune was an unqualified father, but at this point he still had to shamelessly ask him for a favor. Another example was that at this point, it might represent the changing environment of Tokyo today.

Zhuo could almost guess the other party's purpose.

Since birth, the little mute's heart has been deeply buried, and he has been suffering from it to the point of gradually becoming numb.

Until recently, the dust in her heart finally began to fall off a little. But she couldn't go back to square one again because of the appearance of this man.

Zhuo had already made up his mind to help the little mute, and he didn't dare to say such shameless words as to share the burden with her. At least as a friend he could fight for some insignificant freedom for her.

If it can be avoided, Zhuo definitely doesn't want her to repeat the same mistake of being harmed as 'the vessel for the White King's resurrection, whose body was taken away and whose blood was drained inch by inch'; if there is a threat coming, even as the store manager, he would not hesitate to stand up and resist.

(As a friend, as a store manager...)
Zhuo could only tell himself this because he was not qualified to be responsible for the little mute's future.

However, he overestimated himself and underestimated Tachibana Masamune.

It was as if it had already been laid out in the open. Even though he hadn't said it yet, Bai Zhuo should have guessed what he was going to say.

"...I can see that you really cherish that child. I hope you can take care of her for me for a while. If something happens to me, I hope you can find this place and help Eri survive. Please--"

Although he had expected this, Zhuo still couldn't think of how to respond to the other party's "sincerity" of standing up and bowing deeply.

If he wanted to, Zhuo could say such big words as "Leave it to me" or "Don't worry, I will take good care of her." Or, as long as he said it, the problem would be solved perfectly.

If this was Zhuo's decision, Ling would definitely not say anything. He also knew this.

"There was a boy who was very close to Zero, and he got a promise from him, and Zero promised to take care of him forever" - Even if you believe that it's nothing, you will still feel sad if you put yourself in his shoes like this.

What's more, Zhuo is not so arrogant that he can talk to himself.

In other words, it is precisely because he is aware of his own weakness that Zhuo stays away from the world of dragons.

Just like at this moment, Zhuo can crush Tachibana Masamune's head at any time if he wants, but he won't do it, and it's meaningless. (PS: Tachibana Masamune is just a puppet played by a shadow dancer of Herzog. There can be countless such puppets. The same goes for the king general.)
It was basically impossible for Tachibana Masamune to hurt him, but if he wanted to hurt him, he didn't need to hurt him at all. Zhuo had family and friends... If there was a problem in any link, Zhuo couldn't shirk the responsibility.

At least, this is how Zhuo understands the word responsibility.

"I'm not here to take her away. And I won't do anything that would threaten her life, as you worry. I can see that Eri likes staying here..."

"……is that so?"

"Of course... at least I no longer have the energy to continue blocking the child's current life, and I don't want to do that."

"In that case, it is even more difficult for me to understand why you would want to entrust her to someone you have only met a few times?"

"...If you ask me this, it's hard for me to explain. The simplest way to put it is that you have the ability to kill her when she loses control."

"You were the one who sent her to me?"

This is not the right thing to say now, and Zhuo himself knows it.

Even so - he still couldn't tolerate the old man's hypocrisy at this moment.

Zhuo has no way to be responsible for Uesugi Eriya's life. She clearly knows this, yet still throws this difficult problem to him in a humble and earnest way.

Through this incident, Zhuo personally realized that Herzog's wisdom and experience in dealing with things far surpassed his own.

If it was just a simple retreat to advance, Zhuo would rather stop him. Even if this might bring some problems, he also wanted to eliminate the possibility that Uesugi Eri would repeat the same mistakes and not let her story end so simply and heartbreakingly.

But Zhuo knew that Herzog had been planning this year's plan for more than 30 years, and Uesugi Eri was a crucial part of it, so he would not and would never give up on her. The so-called "please" might also be part of his plan, and he might have already thought of how to take advantage of it. Maybe he was using Eri to provoke another dispute between him and the secret party? Or maybe it was something else. At least Zhuo couldn't figure out the truth for the time being.

This "Dragon Clan" was completely beyond Zhuo's understanding, and the inexperienced Zhuo had no way to deal with it.

No matter how you look at it, there's no way he could accept this "request".

Perhaps Herzog had already anticipated all this - for the first time, Zhuo felt powerless.

Zhuonan rarely shows overt hostility or anger toward others.

But from the results, Tachibana Masamune was neither angry nor guilty about his attitude. He just kept a calm expression and endured Zhuo's gaze.

"You're right."

Even in the face of clear anger, Tachibana Masamune still responded with a calm look. This undoubtedly added fuel to the fire for Zhuo's anxious mood.

The reason why it didn't break out was because Zhuo had made the wrong decision.

"it is good."

"You don't have to... huh?"

"I say, okay, let Miss Uesugi stay here from tomorrow."

"You have a fair amount of self-awareness, which means you understand what you're doing, right?"

“I will not shy away from what I have said.”

Tachibana Masamune also paused briefly, probably not expecting that I would actually agree to it, but he soon calmed down again. Just as Zhuo thought, he didn't seem to have any worries or concerns at all.

Tachibana Masamune maintained a friendly attitude and reviewed Zhuo's previous behavior objectively and calmly.

Zhuo bit his lip and gave an affirmative answer.

(End of this chapter)