Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - The Blood-Colored Album (4)

"Um... how should I address this lady?"

The girl in the wheelchair asked timidly.

This was a girl who looked to be around ten years old. She was pale, her legs were limp and resting on her wheelchair, and there were deep shadows under her eyes. She looked sickly.

"... Who are you?"

"My name is... Neumann... Dream Sound Turing Neumann..."

Her voice was weak and listless, perfectly matching her frail appearance, but her expression remained unchanged.

Who exactly is this little girl that she has Kasser pushing her wheelchair?

"This child is a new high-level employee."

Huh?

High-level officials? Her!?

"Gustav just brought me here a while ago. I was responsible for showing her around and explaining everything. Goodbye then."

"Hey, wait--"

"I need to spend time with this child, so I can't chat with you any longer. Sorry."

The other party casually evaded the Sick Spider's attempt to persuade him to stay (or perhaps it could be considered an attempt?), waved his hand, and pushed his wheelchair away without saying another word.

The Sick Spider stood there dumbfounded, watching the person and wheelchair walk away.

Creak creak creak...

An unpleasant creaking sound drilled into my ears. At first, I thought it was the sound of the wheelchair rubbing against the floor, but after a moment I realized it was the sound of my own teeth clenching.

This bastard! This bastard! Why did we suddenly run into each other? Why did he greet me? Why didn't he show any sign of lingering affection? Or did he actually show it but I didn't notice? And what's with that sickly girl? Did that bastard Kasser deliberately let me see him with a new woman? Ughhhhh, why can't I understand you at all!

"It's really annoying, isn't it?"

The Sick Spider turned her head and suddenly found that an extremely beautiful noblewoman had appeared behind her at some point. She was sitting with her arms crossed, coldly watching Kasser disappear around the corner.

"You are... Madam Winsani?"

"I recognize you. You look like Warrensding's old flame."

"Well--!!!"

Critical hit!

"Hmph..." The lady took in the Sick Spider's panicked appearance, gave a soft snort, but did not mock it further.

"I can understand you, Warrensding. He completely ignored me for the sake of a sickly newbie. I can't swallow that!"

"If we're talking about things I can't swallow... it's me too! What's with suddenly showing up in front of me with a woman I've never seen before?! It's incredibly annoying!"

"Right, right? I knew it was her..."

After that, the Sick Spider and the lady forgot about the difference in their social status and chatted enthusiastically about the same topic all night long.

(Author's note: Luckily, Ye Jiang didn't inherit Blood Sister's subtle flirting skills, otherwise this book would have to be renamed Bloodstained Album...)

"I was discovered by Uncle Gustav when I was twelve years old, and then I was... or rather, 'forcibly' brought into the organization."

Forced to separate from family and hometown? Would you be willing to do that?

"I... I don't know either. From a very young age... how should I put it... everyone in town considered me an unlucky child. My older siblings thought so too, even... even my parents would whisper about it... I... I..."

"... Ah, I understand. If you don't want to talk about it, don't force yourself."

"Thank you, Miss Ye..."

Neumann gave me a grateful look, though her face remained expressionless. But I seemed to be gradually able to imagine the expression she should have through her eyes.

"But what is your connection to Blood Fiend?"

"Calling it 'Blood Fiend' isn't a good name, it sounds terrifying..."

"Huh?"

"Although, although many people think Blood Sister is scary and dangerous, but... no, that's not true! Everyone misunderstands her! Blood Sister is very gentle, and she's always been very kind to me... to me! So please don't use such a strange and frightening name as 'Blood Fiend'..."

Neumann's face flushed red as she waved her little hands. Though she couldn't make a face, the way she tried so hard to defend others... was truly...

"Okay, okay, let's not call her Blood Fiend anymore, let's just call her... uh..."

What else can I call her if not Blood Fiend? Kasser? Warrensding? Ai? Big Sister? Mother?

"Then I'll call her 'Sister Blood'. It seems Sister Blood took good care of you before?"

"Yes!!!"

She became excited immediately.

"Blood Sister was the one who first showed me around the organization, and she introduced me to all sorts of things. When I didn't know anyone at first, Blood Sister stayed with me the whole time. Later, she even introduced me to Yu He to take care of me! She taught me to cook, to knit, and she even sang hymns for me! And she sings so well. It would be even better if she could smile more, but the occasional smile she shows is absolutely gorgeous!"

What?! So Blood Fiend can not only flirt with women invisibly, but also launch direct attacks?

"I'm terrified of thunder, so on stormy nights she'd hold me and hum lullabies to lull me to sleep! Even if I didn't like something at mealtimes but didn't say anything, she'd still notice and make me a new dish! She tried several times to help me regain my ability to walk, and although she failed each time, I was still so happy! I've caused her so much trouble, but when I apologize, she always says, 'Because it's Neumann, even if it's trouble, I'm happy,' and at those times she often has a faint smile on her face, which feels so... ah... sorry, I... I've said too much..."

Her voice gradually lowered, she covered her flushed face with her small hands, and lowered her head, not daring to look at me.

"It's alright, I already understand how deep your feelings are for Blood Fiend... Sister Blood."

He glanced at the people next to him. Haoyue seemed to be thinking, Xiao Wu frowning, Sin Annihilation and Little Ying looked very longing, and Sick Spider looked like he had swallowed a fly.

Tsk tsk. Blood Fiend, oh Blood Fiend.

I can run into your harem no matter which map I switch to.

May you spend the rest of your life in hell reflecting on your actions, you heartless, despicable woman who toyed with young girls' feelings! Sinai Sinai!

"... So, shouldn't you tell me your real purpose for coming here? You didn't just appear in front of me to tell me about your sweet memories with Sister Blood, did you?"

"Excuse me, I'll get down to business now."

Neumann cleared her throat and said seriously... although she had the same expression whether she was serious or not.

"In short, I came here to fulfill Blood Sister's last wish."

"Last wish?"

That guy has a last wish? Is it to expand the Crystal Palace to another world?

"What is the content?"

"... I'm sorry, I don't know either."

Neumann shook his head.

"It might seem a bit ridiculous, but... I don't know what her last wish was, but I'm certain that Blood Sister had some unfinished business, something she tried to do but couldn't succeed at. I was depressed for a long time when I heard the news of her passing, but I can't let myself sink any further. I want to do something too, especially when Evelynths disappeared—"

"--etc!"

Xiao Wu suddenly shouted and strode up to Neumann, exuding an imposing aura.

"You just said, what happened to Evelynths?"

"Eh? Evelynths -chan is... an acquaintance of Xiao Wu?"

"Of course! Anyway, tell me first, what happened to Evelynths?"

"Uh... when she was first brought into the organization, she was put in my care, and we lived together for a while, but not long ago... she suddenly disappeared. The lower-ranking members didn't know anything, Uncle Gustav and the others wouldn't say anything either, Yu He had already left headquarters for Business Capital at that time..."

"... Don't you have any clue?"

"Well... I didn't mean to say anything unlucky, but she is, after all, the vessel for karmic fire. The time to construct the World Crossing Gate is drawing ever closer, so I'm afraid she's probably... being 'frozen out' in preparation for use."

"... Depend on!!!"

Xiao Wu roared angrily and threw a punch into the air, creating a large hole in the wall several meters away.

"It's already... I... I thought I could find her!"

"Miss Xiao Wu, don't get too excited!"

"How could I not be excited, Evelynths— "

"Leader wants is the karmic fire. He has no reason or need to kill Evelynths- chan! Being 'frozen' is probably to prevent any accidents from happening now that the construction of the World Crossing Gate is approaching. When the construction officially begins, the karmic fire should just be extracted from her body!"

"But without the karmic fire, she'll be useless as a vessel! At that point, who among those bastards will care whether she lives or dies!?"

"Yu He will meet you!"

"... ah?"

Neumann explained anxiously, his face flushing again.

"I was worried about Evelynths's safety before, so I asked Yu He to spend a lot of money to get her... uh, I think it's called 'reverse life insurance' or something, which uses a large amount of assets to guarantee her life safety in one go... I don't really understand it, but she definitely won't die like this! And even if something happens to Yu He, this insurance won't disappear!"

"..."

Xiao Wu stared at her for a while with her lips tightly pressed together, then her expression finally relaxed slightly. She sighed and stepped back behind me.

With the minor incident over, Neumann returned to the main topic.

"So I came here for two things: first, to find out what Blood Sister's last wish was, and second, to help her fulfill it as much as possible."

"And I'm your only clue? But I'm completely clueless..."

However, I am genuinely curious about what Blood Fiend's "last wish" might be. It seems there are still some unsolved mysteries surrounding her; she is truly a mysterious woman.

"I didn't mean to make things difficult for Miss Ye. In fact, I already have some ideas... or rather, I've started thinking about a direction."

She cleared her throat and continued—

"As I said before, Blood Sister has always taken good care of me. She not only helped me in various ways in life, but also tried to improve my physical condition."

"But it failed, right?"

"The leg and facial paralysis cannot be cured, but there have been achievements in other areas."

She pointed to herself.

"I've been plagued by illnesses, both major and minor, since I was a child. When I first joined the organization, I had deep shadows under my eyes, and my skin wasn't in good condition due to my illnesses. But now I've recovered, and the number of times I've been sick has greatly decreased over the years. Although it's a bit tough, I can basically take care of myself now."

Isn't this a good thing?

"It's a good thing... but it shouldn't have been like this."

"Ah?"

"Didn't I already say? My crippled legs, paralyzed facial nerves, and this frail body are all 'warnings from the world.' Logically speaking, no method in this world could cure them, but... Blood Sister has achieved results."

"..."

Of course I know why.

Because of the remnants of the "Blood King" within her—and now within me.

However, Neumann's next move surprised me.

She took something out of the inside pocket of her clothes.

"If I remember correctly... my physical condition started improving from the moment Blood Sister gave me this thing."

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I've finally made it back into the top ten in Monthly Votes, everyone please help me stay there! /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~