As a Ninja, I Only Want to Live Off Women in Type-Moon

"I'm really curious about what you went through in the past. Your personality really doesn't suit someone your age—I mean, your apparent age of twelve."

Waver chuckled, stood up, and lit himself a cigar. After taking a satisfying puff, he asked, "Will you come back after you leave this time?"

"I don't know." Higashino Kanade leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and shook his head.

Waver hesitated for a moment before saying wistfully, "You've clearly caused me so much trouble, yet I'm actually a little reluctant to see you go. Is this friendship?"

"Maybe." Higashino Kanade shrugged.

Just then, a knock at the door interrupted their conversation.

"Come in."

"Teacher, Miss Reines is calling you. She says she needs to speak with you urgently."

Caules pushed open the door with an anxious expression.

Waver froze, then looked at Higashino Kanade.

Had it been exposed?

The first thing Waver thought of was that Higashino Kanade's theft from the Forbidden Library had been discovered. Even with his well-trained composure, he could not help panicking.

"Trust my methods. They won't find out." Higashino Kanade gave him a confident smile.

Higashino Kanade's theft methods could be called unprecedented and unsurpassable. He had not left behind the slightest flaw. He refused to believe that a bunch of Magi could crack the method behind his ninjutsu crime in a single night.

Waver swallowed, not even having time to change clothes before heading into the corridor in his pajamas to answer the landline.

Ten minutes later, Waver returned with a dark expression.

"How did it go? Did they suspect you?" Higashino Kanade asked curiously.

"They didn't suspect me. More accurately, the other Lords simply don't believe I have the ability to steal from the Forbidden Library. They merely notified me, then asked whether I had encountered anything noteworthy on the way to the Forbidden Library the day before yesterday."

Waver irritably scratched his hair. Once again, he had been underestimated.

He really had done the bad deed, yet because he was pathetically weak, he did not even qualify as a suspect. It was simply ridiculous.

"Reines told me that the intruder was killed immediately, but six bookshelves containing precious treasures vanished without a trace. The Lords are investigating the case now, but progress has been terrible."

As if remembering something amusing, Waver smiled self-deprecatingly. "These Lords, who refuse to value modern technology, have finally suffered for it. The Forbidden Library has existed for far too long, and its security was excellent. No one ever thought it could be robbed, so they never installed a product of modern technology there—cameras."

"When the Automatons arrived at the scene, they recorded that the culprit had already been killed by the traps. Since the Forbidden Library's barrier naturally repels magecraft and Mystic Eyes, even the Lords do not dare use Clairvoyant Mystic Eyes to observe the situation. They are afraid of activating the library's defense mechanisms and getting killed on the spot."

"With no clues at all, they turned their suspicions toward the True Ancestors. Only True Ancestors, with their extraordinary power and supernatural abilities, could possibly pull off such a crime. So the Lords first dispatched their elite Magi to investigate the True Ancestors' recent movements, while placing their hopes on divination to find the culprit."

"Divination?" Higashino Kanade heard a word that might threaten him.

"You don't need to worry. Since the Age of Gods ended, divination has been weakened to an absurd degree. During the Age of Gods, you could learn many things that might happen in the future just by observing the stars in the sky, including someone's fate and so on. But in modern times, even the best diviners can see only very limited things. Sometimes divination is not even as useful as Future Sight." Waver explained word by word.

"I estimate the Lords can at most divine a general range, such as the culprit's gender, age, birthplace, and so on. They probably cannot obtain specific information. In the end, they will likely be working for nothing."

"I see. I overestimated you people." Higashino Kanade smiled smugly. He had spent so long preparing, feeling as if he were walking on thin ice with every step, yet his opponents turned out to be so incompetent that they had even suspected the wrong direction.

Still, the Lords could not really be blamed for wasting their efforts. They simply never imagined that the Forbidden Library, which no one had breached in over a thousand years, could actually be robbed successfully!

Setting aside the gate that could make even dragons despair, and the countless traps capable of killing Magi, the spirits guarding the Forbidden Library alone had few equals in the world.

Because the Forbidden Library's security measures were simply too secure, the Lords had never considered the possibility of the library being robbed. Caught utterly off guard and lacking experience in handling such a situation, they could only focus their suspicions on the strongest creatures in the world.

After all, if you were not even a True Ancestor, you could not pass the gate alone.

"This matter is only circulating among us Lords. The longer it drags on without finding the culprit, the more likely they are to convict that corpse that died in the culprit's place and use it to save the Lords' face," Waver added.

After hearing that, Higashino Kanade looked calm on the surface, but inwardly, he relaxed.

Although this was only a parallel world and had nothing to do with him, during this past month, he had met Waver and Luvia and formed bonds with them.

If possible, Higashino Kanade did not want to implicate them because of himself.

He could make a mistake, dust himself off, and leave, but they still had to continue living in this world.

When did I become so sentimental? I wasn't this kind-hearted before. Higashino Kanade questioned himself. He seemed to have changed quite a bit over the past month.

PS: Second update.

101. Higashino Kanade's Changes

Higashino Kanade had never considered himself a noble person. Whenever he did anything, he usually thought of himself first. In other words, he was selfish.

Higashino Kanade had mostly forgotten his life as an office worker in his first life. He did not know what kind of person he had once been, but it was only after surviving in the world of Hokage during his second life that he became an egoist.

He had no parents and few friends, so the only person he could consider was himself.

On top of that, he was a transmigrator and had a habit of thinking himself extraordinary. He spent all day thinking about how to become stronger, dreaming of punching Uchiha Madara and kicking Kaguya Otsutsuki. As a result, his social interactions were nearly nonexistent, and everyone called him a training maniac.

That only improved after he took Jiraiya and Tsunade as his teachers. His relationships with them, both teacher-student and friendship, made Higashino Kanade feel that life had become much happier. It was also during that period that he became friends with Naruto and the others.

If that happy life had continued, Higashino Kanade might have become an inheritor of the Will of Fire, striving to become Hokage and protect the village.

But Jiraiya's death dealt Higashino Kanade a crushing blow, and it was then that his personality returned to selfishness.

At the time, Jiraiya had wanted to go to the Land of Rain to gather intelligence. Higashino Kanade pestered him for several days, repeatedly telling him clearly that he would definitely die there and begging him not to throw his life away.

But Jiraiya only pretended to agree not to go. In reality, he went alone, and not long afterward, Higashino Kanade received news of Jiraiya's death.

Of course, Jiraiya's death had absolutely been meaningful. The intelligence he had traded for with his life allowed Konoha to survive the Six Paths of Pain's attack. Higashino Kanade also knew that Jiraiya was a hero.

But Higashino Kanade could not accept the fact that he had died. He felt that the damned Will of Fire had killed his teacher. He felt that good people were never rewarded. Why could Orochimaru cling to life until the very end?

Higashino Kanade also hated himself, hated that he lacked the power to change any of it.

From that day onward, Higashino Kanade became afraid of death. In everything he did, he considered his own life first, making survival his primary goal.

After all, even someone as powerful as Jiraiya had died so miserably. What could someone as weak as him possibly change?

The ninja world war would not have one more or one fewer person because of him. His role was undoubtedly zero.

Since his death would not accomplish anything at all, why should he throw his life away? Wasn't staying alive better?

And besides...

If he died, Teacher Tsunade would definitely be heartbroken again.

Teacher Tsunade had already lost so many family members and companions. If she lost him as well, her disciple and secretary, she would surely be devastated.

To avoid making the people important to him shed tears, Higashino Kanade became selfish again. He became an egoist, treating survival as his first priority in all things.

And worrying about people he had known for only a month clearly did not fit Higashino Kanade's principles for survival.

System, did you secretly alter my personality? I can understand Luvia, since I like her, but what about Waver? I don't think we're close enough for me to worry this much about him.

Deeply confused by his recent behavior, Higashino Kanade decided to ask his cheat.

How can you slander an innocent system out of nowhere? This system is not some schemer who wants to manipulate its host.

Although it was a mechanical voice, Higashino Kanade could still hear the system's anger.

Then tell me why I've changed so much.

According to this system's analysis, there are two reasons.

First, after the host reincarnated, you absorbed the soul fragments left behind after the original owner of this body died. This replenished your original soul, making it "younger," so naturally, your emotional fluctuations have become more frequent.

Second, the host was originally a decent person. Although your current personality is terrible and shows signs of corruption, it cannot be denied that you still retain a small amount of hope for the Will of Fire in your heart. You still have the potential to be remade into a Hokage.

Higashino Kanade's expression darkened as he replied unhappily in his heart, I can understand the first point. I've also felt younger lately, but how did you reach that second conclusion? You should know that what I hate most is that hypocritical Will of Fire. Right now, I just want to be a freeloader who eats and waits to die. Anyone who blocks my path has to die!

Host, perhaps you have not yet recognized your true nature. Would you like me to give you an example?

Spit it out!

The host died at Uchiha Madara's hands in your previous life, correct? Why did you not run away when you knew you were facing Uchiha Madara?

You probably don't know there's something called a disciplinary unit. If I deserted, my fate definitely wouldn't have been any better than dying at Uchiha Madara's hands.

Was it not because you wanted to buy time for your three subordinates to escape that you fought?

Damn it! System, did you look through my memories?

Please do not misunderstand. This system is not an unscrupulous system that casually looks through its host's memories. This information was all seen in your dreams.

As you know, a system's life is actually very boring. There are no means of entertainment at all. Watching what you dream about every night is already one of this system's few joys.

Then you saw my wet dreams too?

Yes. This system has some understanding of the host's preferences.

Damn, damn, damn, damn! You're not allowed to peek at my dreams anymore! Otherwise, we'll die together!

Higashino Kanade angrily smashed the table apart with one punch, startling Waver beside him.

Sorry, I got sidetracked. According to your dreams, after discovering that the enemy was Uchiha Madara, you ordered the three genin in your squad to retreat immediately, while choosing to remain behind yourself. Is that not the Will of Fire?

No, no, no! I may be scum, but I'm not deranged enough to send three children to their deaths. That only means I have basic morals. It doesn't count as the Will of Fire.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, also chose to leave behind the seed of the village during a moment of life and death, facing the pursuing force alone. Judging from the course of events, the host was no different from Lord Tobirama Senju.

Stop making things up about me. I'm really not that noble. This has nothing to do with the Will of Fire.

This is the Will of Fire.

Forget it, forget it. Arguing with you was my biggest mistake today. Go cool off somewhere. And! Don't watch my dreams anymore.

Understood.

The system obediently left, and Higashino Kanade wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Looking at the beads of sweat in his palm, Higashino Kanade said in confusion, "Am I nervous? What am I afraid of?"

"Uchiha, are you all right? You look terrible, and..."

Waver pointed at his own head and cautiously asked, "Is there something wrong with your mind? Do you need me to recommend a doctor? I know a teacher from Spiritual Evocation who has studied the human soul extensively."

"Get lost! I'm perfectly fine!"

Higashino Kanade snapped back irritably, then dusted himself off and walked to the door. "I'm going out for some air. Call my name if anything happens. Don't get yourselves killed."

PS: We've broken one hundred chapters—a milestone! Woohoo~~~

Also, please vote with recommendation tickets. Thank you, everyone.

102. What It Means to Hit It Off at First Sight

Leaving behind a bewildered Waver, Higashino Kanade walked irritably through the corridor, intending to get a drink in the bar carriage.

But before he had taken more than a few steps, he ran into Olga Marie and Theresa head-on.

"Morning."

Higashino Kanade gave them a perfunctory greeting, lowered his head, and intended to leave.

"Why did you come out of Lord El-Melloi II's room? Isn't your room quite far from here? You really are part of the El-Melloi faction, aren't you?!" Olga Marie stared at Higashino Kanade in shock. Her expression turned ugly, and a trace of barely noticeable disappointment flashed through her eyes.

Higashino Kanade had always spent time with Luvia, so outsiders generally regarded him as part of the Edelfelt faction. Yet just as the Holy Grail War was about to begin, he had repeatedly contacted Waver. It was only natural for others to think he intended to switch factions.

Incidentally, the Clock Tower's factional conflicts were also severe. The twelve Lords were each the core of their own faction, with countless smaller families attached to them.

It would not have mattered much if Higashino Kanade had joined the El-Melloi faction under normal circumstances. But Olga Marie intended to participate in the Holy Grail War, and everyone already knew Waver would participate as well. If someone important to Olga Marie like Higashino Kanade defected to her enemy at such a crucial moment, it would be a major blow to her.

Olga Marie had already told Higashino Kanade that she intended to participate in the Holy Grail War, yet he had supposedly joined her enemy despite knowing that.

So love could disappear?

In your eyes, Uchiha Kanade, was I, Olga Marie, nothing more than a ridiculous toy?

Seeing Olga Marie's expression grow increasingly gloomy, even Higashino Kanade could tell something was wrong. So he asked, "What's wrong? Is it strange for me to come out of Waver's room? I'm his bodyguard right now."

"B-bodyguard? You didn't join the El-Melloi faction?" Olga Marie looked at him in disbelief.

"Why would I join the El-Melloi faction? Waver's family is so poor and buried under debt. He can't even afford to pay me a salary. There's no financial future in joining him." Higashino Kanade scratched his head in confusion. He found Olga Marie's question rather baffling.

"Is that so? That's good, then." Olga Marie sighed inwardly in relief. Her face then reddened slightly, and she wondered why she cared so much about Higashino Kanade.

They had known each other for such a short time, and he was only a lowly mercenary. Why should she, the Daughter of the Lord, worry over whether he stayed or left?

"By the way, how did you know my room is far from here? I never told you, did I? Did you investigate me?" Higashino Kanade's scrutinizing gaze moved back and forth between Olga Marie and Theresa.

Olga Marie was momentarily speechless. She really had investigated which room Higashino Kanade was staying in, because she cared about him somewhat.