Xyrin Empire
Chapter 369 - Chapter 369 Chapter 369 No Past

Chapter 369: Chapter 369: No Past Chapter 369: Chapter 369: No Past In a corner of the shopping district, inside a jewelry shop that had been sparsely visited since its opening, two idle Imperial Leaders and a spacey and slow-witted girl named Silvia were leisurely enjoying their after-work coffee time.

The girl in front of them had silver-white hair, always wore a harmless smile, and her thoughts invariably lagged behind the real world by half a beat. Her name was Silvia Rustan O’shaire, a noble-sounding name that seemed completely mismatched with her image, making one wonder if she might be some princess from a distant country, sheltered within the Imperial Palace, who had come to experience life among the common folk. Of course, that was not the case; she was simply the owner and lone employee of a little jewelry shop that struggled so much with rent that it fell under the welfare protection of Academy City and had seen only a few customers since its inception. Her business acumen and poverty could even compete with twin sisters who, despite running a flower shop, relied on a rotation of other Imperial Officers for financial aid.

To be honest, although it might be a bit rude to say, the fact that she managed to survive till now without starving, given her slow nature and her brain’s detachment from the reality, made one wonder if a salute to Academy City’s welfare system was in order.

“We hardly have any customers here–” Silvia said slowly, sipping her coffee and squinting her eyes, “So it’s very quiet now–”

“Uh… is that so…” I said, nodding with a cold sweat on my forehead. Her calm acceptance of the dismal state of her business was quite extraordinary.

Speaking of which, it was nothing short of a miracle that her shop even managed to open in the first place.

“Oh? Speaking of which, are you guys students here too?” Silvia gently blew into her cup, then lifted her head curiously, “You don’t seem to look the part.”

“Oh, we work at a research institute,” Lin Xue nodded, half-truthfully, and then asked curiously, “By the way, you must be a foreigner, right? Silvia and such, it sounds pretty British. But looking at your facial features, they’re quite Eastern. Mixed heritage?”

Silvia gently shook her head: “Nope~ I don’t even know where I was born~ It seems like I was an orphan adopted by Academy City a long time ago…”

The silver-haired woman spoke unhurriedly, as if time could never touch her. Lin Xue and I immediately settled into more comfortable positions: listening to Silvia required a day-to-day patience, otherwise it could be exhausting.

“I’ve been living here for a very long time~ I grew up in an orphanage here, and I seem to have been adopted by a couple of researchers. But to be honest, I don’t really remember much of that… because those memories have all vanished… It seems like from a very young age, I had a tumor in my brain. It wasn’t fatal, but it made it difficult for me to remember things, to concentrate…I often had memory lapses…It took me a really long time to learn to speak. Even after I learned, I was still clumsy. Although my parents were researchers, the tumor was special, and even the institute’s equipment was powerless against it; then… after my parents died, because of their significant contributions to Academy City, I was taken care of by the board… you see, I’m quite clumsy, and it’s very difficult for me to live on my own. Although I’m trying to run a small shop now, it seems I might fail… Would you like another cup?”

Smiling serenely, Silvia said this, then stood up and, without waiting for a response, took the coffee cup from in front of me. But I had grown accustomed to such behavior from her.

“And what about now? Is the tumor still there?”

Lin Xue asked with concern, and I pricked up my ears as well. If Silvia was as she described, forgetting even where she lived the day before, she would be totally incapable of independent living–a person with a disability, really. Although taken care of by Academy City’s leadership, it was still quite admirable for the girl to have lived up to now…

If it were that BT-level “Life Support Chamber,” it would have been no problem to treat Silvia’s brain tumor.

But it seemed our concern was unnecessary, as Silvia smiled tranquilly and slowly shook her head: “No need to worry about that anymore… Science and technology in Academy City has developed very quickly, you know… A few months ago, the research institute that had always looked after me, because of my parents, funded my treatment. So things like the tumor are gone now… While it’s disheartening not to remember the past and to have to rely on diaries and photos to guess about it, things will slowly get better…”

Is that so, so now you’re just habitually slow–to speak, right?

Had the virus that forces people to make snarky comments invaded my brain cells, seeing as even nearly dozing off listening to her slow speech, I still had the energy to make a quip?

Every person has a story. After listening to this ordinary and somewhat clumsy girl recount her past, a realization suddenly dawned on me. And then–time was getting on.

“It’s already this late, if we don’t go back soon, our families will start to worry.”

Lin Xue glanced at the gradually sinking sunset outside, finished her coffee, and stood up.

“Thank you for your hospitality, we’ll definitely come by more often if we have the chance.”

Why is this girl never this polite with me!

“Mhm, goodbye then–” Silvia stood at the entrance of the store, smiling warmly at us, “Make sure to visit again if you get the chance–”

“She’s really an interesting girl, isn’t she?”

While waiting for the tram, Lin Xue suddenly murmured softly, her slightly squinted eyes reflecting the brilliant afterglow of the distant sunset.

“Even though there’s a deep darkness, there seems to be warm places in Academy City too,” I nodded, feeling inexplicably cheerful, “But after talking with that girl for a while, you seem to fall into some kind of leisurely, odd state. Now, I have to scroll through my mind for ages before I can even say a word.”

Despite saying this, there truly was a peaceful aura around Silvia, as if she was the last piece of sanctuary with leisurely afternoon sunlight in this increasingly tense city. Even though it was only our second meeting, it was as relaxing as a casual conversation with an old friend after a meal. Such people are rare nowadays, which is why Lin Xue and I became friends with Silvia after just a short while.

“People without a past… huh…”

Lin Xue suddenly sat on the railing behind her, leaned back forcefully, stretching her limbs with the balance of a 9.9 difficulty rating, lamenting Silvia’s constantly memory-fading past.

“And, Wood, do you know?”

Lin Xue opened her eyes, raised her right hand with the bracelet on it, facing the gradually sinking sunset, she clenched her fist tightly.

“She also has no future…”

It took me a few seconds to finally react.

“What?! Girl, you’re saying she has no future?”

Prophet waved her hand dismissively at us, a look of disdain on her face: “Slow reaction, but quite the loud voice.”

“Cough cough… you little brat… Are you saying you can’t see Silvia’s future?”

“It’s not that I can’t see it,” Lin Xue shook her head while still examining the bracelet on her hand, “To me, even if the future is unseen, there should still be Chaos, but what I see in Silvia is just a blank, nothing at all, not even Chaos.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“Is there any difference between saying it early and saying it now?” Lin Xue pursed her lips. “Could it be that they’ll slice up the person for study right now?”

“I suppose not,” I nodded. This world is filled with too many peculiar and supernatural events. The emergence of someone even Lin Xue couldn’t see through was hard to understand, but… huh? Speaking of which, if even Lin Xue couldn’t see through this person, could she be the “Angel” that the Cross Sect is searching for?

But as soon as this thought crossed my mind, I dismissed it–It seems that these past few days, being toyed with by that hide-and-seek playing Angel, had made me a little too jumpy. Although that girl has her peculiarities, my energy sensing abilities can’t be wrong. Silvia didn’t have even a trace of alien energy fluctuations on her. She was a completely normal human, and a being of the “Angel” caliber couldn’t possibly have no energy fluctuations, even if they disguised themselves as humans. Even someone who dares to call themselves a master of the energy system like myself couldn’t do that.

“Here we go, another mystery person,” I sighed. “This world is really full of too many unknowns.”

“What’s the matter, Wood, getting philosophical all of a sudden? Got transported to another world?”

Won’t you just let me contemplate life for a moment? No matter how you look at it, you’re talking to the Imperial Leader here, do you understand? Leader, you know? Higher by three entire levels than you, a freeloader and a mutt military strategist, damn it!

Just as I’d protested in my heart, the long-awaited train finally arrived.

By the time we got back to the Research Institute, it was completely dark. Vis had expended a lot of her mental energy during the previous rampage and was now fast asleep with her head on the restaurant table. Big Sister had wanted her to go back to her room to sleep, but the stubborn girl insisted on waiting for me to return, and ended up dozing off right beside the table. Honestly, the unfolding scene that resembled a late-returning father and his daughter who fell asleep from exhaustion was enough to choke one up…

Meanwhile, Pandora sat chewing a lollipop, motionless beside Vis, her eyes unblinkingly watching her sister–After learning what had happened, she nearly set out to slaughter everyone involved in the “Absolute Ability” project right then and there, if not for Big Sister’s timely intervention that prevented a bloodbath in Academy City.

“Ah Jun! You’re finally back!”

With such a cheer, Qianqian threw herself into my arms, light as a butterfly, and I hugged the soft body in my arms, deeply moved.

Was she that worried about me just for stepping out for a bit? Silly girl, it wasn’t any dangerous place…

“Now we can finally start dinner! Sister said we had to wait for you to come back before we could eat…”

Putting down my girlfriend, I faced the setting sun, tears streaming down my face.

“Has Tsuruya gone back?”

Noticing the absence of a certain bubbly girl running around the Institute, I casually asked.

“Oh, she’s gone back. She’s coming over tomorrow for the award ceremony.”

Just as I was about to head for the dining table, I froze in place, then turned around, bewildered. “Award ceremony? What’s that?”

Qianqian pointed toward Pandora, “I didn’t know about it either, it was Pandora who told me. Turns out Tsuruya has gained recognition from a section of the Imperial Soldiers and met the standards to become an official Commander: She has undergone the basic Commander training courses, possesses at least the strength of a Junior Commander, responded to the Empire’s call to participate in real combat, leading soldiers to victory or completing missions, and has made a certain contribution to the Empire as acknowledged by her own troops–Tsuruya has met all these criteria, particularly as she managed to lead a group of soldiers to successfully confront a Leader Level officer, a feat that would be considered outstanding even among Xyrin Apostle Commanders–if we could ignore all those cheat points, of course. As for why they want to make Tsuruya an official Commander, on the one hand, Pandora suggested it from the perspective of ‘not allowing the Empire’s military forces to be leaked’, and on the other hand, it’s for protection. The power she suddenly acquired might not necessarily be good for Tsuruya. If we classify her as an Imperial Soldier, then it’s only natural to engage in war in case of an emergency, right? Of course, they won’t actually give her any military authority… except for the necessary guards.”

After hearing Qianqian’s explanation, I remained silent for a long time.

Superpowers raining from the sky, after finishing training, I could go toe-to-toe with battle-hardened Imperial Officers in boxing, the first boss I encountered in actual combat was a severely weakened, half-crippled version, and I even had a bunch of Bronze Saints holding the title of soldiers to help me out. After completing the mission, a bunch of big shots were lining up to award me medals…

Could Tsuruya Zuotian have transformed and crossed over from some corny corner?

As I sighed over the girl named Tsuruya Zuotian’s fantastical experiences, I still listened seriously to Qianqian telling me about the awarding ceremony, because she only said one thing, “I have no clue, ask your sister.”

…Anyway, I hadn’t asked.

Aside from our little family, there was one more person at the dinner table tonight: that was the clone we had rescued, Misaka 10031.

Although it was confirmed that the Absolute Ability project was about to be shut down, and Sister Misaka was now safe, since we had saved her, we certainly had no reason to send her back to the research base. In addition, Big Sister and Qianqian were moved by the sisters’ unfortunate circumstances, so Misaka 10031, known as Sister Misaka, was unabashedly claimed as Xyrin Research Institute’s property. According to Qianqian, in the days ahead I still had to handle the handover of over ten thousand more sisters…

As they were mass-produced tools for experiments, all the Misaka sisters had their growth periods forcibly shortened and were equipped with learning devices to standardize their personalities, which resulted in their lifespans being significantly shorter than that of a normal person, even only a quarter of that. Originally in the “script,” after everything was resolved by the Kamijou Youth, the sisters all underwent bodily adjustments to regain most of their human lifespans. However, from a sociological perspective, Xyrin Technology’s solutions are definitely more reliable than Academy City’s, so since we decided to get involved in this matter, it was better to have Sister Misaka undergo our treatment — provided those unreliable scientists don’t actually set up a Clone Armor Group under the instigation of some madman.

Though it claimed to be a research institute, at its roots, this place was more like a spot for a bored family to mess around when idle. Except for when Tsuruya was there, which brought a somewhat serious research atmosphere, we basically treated this place like home. At times like these, Qianqian’s foresight was evident. Although her cooking skills were on par with mine, the integrated kitchen she brought over solved Big Sister’s problem with using unfamiliar utensils nicely. The dinner time at Xyrin Research Institute always piqued the curiosity of Misaka Mikoto and the others — she had never seen any research institute’s work meals as joyful and lively as family dinners.

Previously, just a tool for experiments, dining every day with other “tools,” strictly measured and apportioned, this kind of atmosphere where a family sits together for a meal must be their first experience, right?

Watching Misaka 10031, who might have been a bit nervous, looking around ceaselessly, I thought to myself.

“Alright, alright, the food is ready,” Big Sister finally heated up the last dish and set it on the table, then stood by with an imposing stance and declared, “Everyone go wash your hands — Ah Jun, you too! The little girls are more conscientious than you.”

And then the Imperial Leader led a bunch of Lolis to the kitchen to line up for handwashing…

“Your name is Misaka 10031, right?”

I turned my head to look at Sister Misaka, who was seriously washing her hands, and she lifted her head to look back, her ashy eyes devoid of any expression.

“How are you feeling now? The weakness should have subsided, right?”

“All normal, that’s truly amazing medical technology. I’m very grateful for your help, Misaka 10031 expresses her wonder at the miraculous technology that cured her in a day and her thanks to her saviors.”

“Uh, that’s good…”

Still, dealing with Sister Misaka’s very particular way of speaking is problematic because you have to add a mechanism for translating language instead of analyzing their facial expressions…

Big Sister’s skills were undeniable, the most obvious proof being Pandora fighting Visca over a piece of braised ribs on the dining table, and even Misaka 10031, who usually showed no emotional fluctuations when she spoke, widened her eyes immediately after tasting Big Sister’s dishes and then started wolfing them down. I wondered if Little Ghost, who was exceptional in domestic skills, came over, could her dormant emotions be suddenly awakened.

Taking advantage of the mealtime, I also briefly described my meeting with Aresta earlier in the day. Even Big Sister, who is meticulous, couldn’t understand his strange indulgence and the rash “deal” he proposed. No matter what, this was not a disadvantage for us. Aresta’s intentions were obvious; as long as we didn’t dismantle Academy City and could help protect it when necessary, he wouldn’t interfere too much in what we dubious Outsiders did here. As for conspiracies — no need to worry about that.

Qianqian and Big Sister were also quite interested in the Silvia who had neither past nor future that I had mentioned casually. Although Lin Xue determined that the other party couldn’t possibly be an Angel, this did not prevent the two girls’ wild imaginations. At the start of dinner, Silvia’s identity was just a normal orphan raised by Academy City, but by the time we were almost done, she had almost become a Daluo Golden Immortal cast down to the Lower Realm. It’s a good thing we ate quickly; if Big Sister served a couple more dishes, I reckon the conversation would have veered toward the commonalities between Blade Queen and Faschi…(To be continued, for more information on this story, please visit www.NovelFire.net. More chapters are available, support the author, support genuine reading!)