Life Is a Dream; May Each Shine in Their Own Way (5K) (Continued)

Moreover, who would be so audacious as to impersonate a member of the Stadtfeld family in the Tokyo Settlement in Area 11?!

Are you willing to risk your life for a mere Eleven?!

"Hmph, you guys are ruthless. We'll let Eleven go today. Let's go!"

After weighing the pros and cons, the man snorted coldly and then led his group away to make way.

They didn't even dare to look back, as if they wanted to escape from this place, and hurriedly left.

"See? This is what happens when a snake has its own path. Even a local snake will give way when it encounters a dragon crossing the river like you."

The idea that "even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake" is utter nonsense. If a dragon can't suppress a local snake, it simply means it's not strong enough!

It's like big fish eating small fish, and small fish eating shrimp.

Has anyone ever seen a shrimp eat a big fish?

"..."

Kallen fell silent.

For the first time, she discovered that the identity she once loathed and hated was actually so useful; she could even make those bastards who bullied the Japan stop and slink away with their tails between their legs without using her fists.

If I could make good use of this identity, wouldn't that be...?

Thinking of this, Kallen's eyes gradually brightened, as if she had pushed open the door to a new world.

"It's best not to have dreams that are so unattainable."

Mahiro immediately poured cold water on the girl's enthusiasm.

He saw right through Kallen's thoughts and said casually, "If you want to use power to liberate Area 11, then the status of the eight great families alone is not enough. At the very least, you need to be a member of the Britannia royal family, one of those princes and princesses who can become governors of the colonies."

Moreover, it will require paying a considerable price.

Kallen realized that she had indeed been indulging in wishful thinking.

However, the instant Mahiro speaking, she saw the man reach out and snap his fingers lightly again.

Snap--

The few thugs who were fleeing in the distance were instantly and silently Decomposition to dust.

Even passersby didn't notice.

All I could smell was a strange, acrid odor and a puddle of dust on the ground.

However, Kallen saw all of this.

She stared Mahiro, noticing his nonchalant expression, and said, "Didn't you just say 'rats have their paths, snakes have their ways'? Then what were you doing just now?"

She didn't care about the lives of those Britannia bastards, and she wasn't surprised by Yotsuba Mahiro's methods of killing.

Right now, all she wants to know and understand is what Yotsuba Mahiro truly thinks!

To this, Mahiro simply gave a faint smile and said:

"I let them go only because of the conflict over Eleven, but those guys dared to harass my lovely student, that's a separate matter."

"Besides, what I just taught you was simply to show you that everything in this world has its own rules of operation."

"However, there are also those who make the rules and those who don't need to follow them, who can trample on the rules."

And I happen to belong to the latter.

"Then I want to be the latter too," Kallen said without hesitation.

"You?" Upon Mahiro glanced at Kallen briefly, then shook his head and said, "You can't do it."

"Why? Just because you possess that magical power?"

"Yes, but not entirely."

Faced with Kallen's questioning, Mahiro only gave an ambiguous answer, "If you want to trample on the rules, you must at least have the power to break and overturn them."

"Break, overturn the rules..."

Kallen carefully considered these words and phrases.

Although she is portrayed as a sickly young lady, and indeed acted recklessly as Kallen Kouzuki, she is actually quite intelligent and ranks among the top students in her school.

So, while constantly pondering this sentence, Kallen had already figured something out.

The existing world rules were set by Britannia, and to break these rules would be tantamount to overthrowing Britannia.

But this man claimed to possess the power to trample on the rules.

Doesn't that mean...?

Does he possess the power to overthrow Britannia, one of the three existing superpowers?!

Thinking of this, Kallen turned around in surprise, wanting to ask something more, but saw Mahiro walking towards the shop assistant who had just been beaten up.

Are you alright?

"Yes... yes."

When he reached the shop assistant, the assistant had already shakily gotten up from the ground.

However, the shop assistant first noticed Kallen, who had chased after him. When he saw her school uniform, he looked surprised, and then noticed the Ashford Academy badge on Kallen's chest.

"No, a student from Britannia..."

The shop assistant quickly concealed the pain on her face and put on a fawning smile.

"Welcome! Would you like a California hot dog?"

Seeing the shop assistant's rapid change of expression, even Kallen couldn't help but twitch her brow slightly.

Immediately afterwards, the shop assistant noticed Yotsuba Mahiro, who had initially spoken to him. He was dressed in equally high-end clothes, looked young and handsome, and was accompanied by the female student.

He said it thus:

"Ah... so you're with your boyfriend? If you don't mind, why don't you buy two to share? We also have special ice cream, a couple's flavor."

The shop assistant's pale face always wore an almost obsequious smile.

Just as Yotsuba Mahiro said before, these people have abandoned their dignity to follow the way of the rats.

In order to survive, they will not resist even when insulted and bullied, but will continue to fawn over their abusers and live a humble life.

Kallen bit her lower lip tightly, as if she wanted to say something.

But Mahiro stepped forward, gently put his arm around Kallen's shoulder, and said to the obsequious shop assistant:

"Then give me two hot dogs and two ice creams, please."

"Ah, thank you for your patronage, please wait a moment!"

The shop assistant, without bothering to wipe the stains off his clothes, hurriedly prepared two couple-style ice creams and two hot dogs from the shop, even arranging them in a couple's style, and then respectfully handed them to Yotsuba Mahiro.

Mahiro took out the money, left a message saying "Keep the change," and then pulled the distraught Kallen away from the place.

After sitting down on a bench in a nearby park, Mahiro stuffed the ice cream into Kallen's hand and then started eating a hot dog by himself.

Well, to be honest, the taste is pretty good.

However, he prefers beef tacos made with tortillas to hot dogs wrapped in ham, topped with ketchup and yellow mustard.

However, after he finished both hot dogs and even his own ice cream, Kallen didn't touch her ice cream at all.

Let it melt slowly, the cream dripping down, flowing between the slender white fingers, and finally dripping onto the ground.

One drop, two drops.

It gradually formed a milky white puddle.

"I suggest you eat your ice cream now, or it'll melt. And if you don't eat it soon, people on the street might think I did something to you."

She looked completely lost and dejected, and there was a small, milky-white puddle between her legs under her uniform skirt.

This thing doesn't look quite right, does it?

Kallen, realizing what he was saying, glared at him angrily before picking up her melted ice cream and eating it.

However, the ice cream, which should have been very sweet, melted into a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Hey teacher, why is that?"

"Yes, why is that?"

Mahiro back in his chair, looking at Kallen who had once again become dejected, and couldn't help but tease her, "Even though I, as her teacher, haven't done anything, I'm being treated as if I've done something to my student..."

"Can we please stop talking about this?"

Kallen blushed and angrily rebuked them, then used her shoe to lift up some dust and cover the milky white puddles beneath her legs.

Seeing her little gestures, Mahiro suppressed a laugh and replied, "Okay, okay, I won't say anymore."

However, he then looked at the towering buildings around him and looked up at the clear blue sky above.

"Isn't Japan in its Area 11 much more prosperous now than it used to be?"

Mahiro spoke softly:

"Although the Britannia abandoned some of Japan's lands for development, under their colonial rule, the military, economy, and public security were all more stable than before."

People also gained citizenship rights; they could become honorary Britannia simply by going to the district government to complete the formalities.

However, all of this was achieved by sacrificing one's original dignity... But ultimately, as a defeated nation, one is essentially a subjugated people, so what dignity can one speak of?

These words were extremely harsh to Kallen.

But she also understood that these were undoubtedly true, and she never believed that pre-war Japan was anything special.

Kallen's gaze fell upon the tree-lined avenue, where a woman, while anxiously scolding her child for playing the ZERO game, asked:

"Then what?"

"And then what?"

"Now that you understand this, as Yotsuba Mahiro's teacher who has witnessed everything in Britannia, and as Shadow, the leader of the Shadow Garden, what exactly are you thinking? And what do you intend to do?"

Is this considered an interrogation?

Mahiro chuckled and looked at the girl beside him.

"This was just casual conversation; I wanted to know your thoughts, teacher."

Kallen was also looking at him, and their eyes met.

"Okay, actually I don't have any ideas, and I don't want to do anything."

Mahiro confessed, and under Kallen's shocked gaze, continued:

"In the end, isn't all of this the choice these people themselves made? The so-called 'smart people' thought that fearlessly resisting the strong was a dangerous and foolish thing, so they didn't hesitate to sell out their country and their homeland to the invaders."

The weak, however, only want to survive. Eleven, for example, clearly understood this: only by bowing down and fawning over the Britannia could they have a good life.

They themselves abandoned their fighting spirit and gave up resistance, so why should I do anything for them?

"Then... then what did you mean by establishing the Shadow Garden and showing your face to the world on that day?!" Kallen asked, her voice trembling.

"It was more of a spur-of-the-moment thing; I just did it because I thought it would be fun, including the collaboration with ZERO."

Kallen was shocked by this. She had originally held some hope and expectation for Yotsuba Mahiro, but this bastard's answer was something else entirely.

Could it be that all of this is just a game for him to amuse himself?!

Snap!

A crisp sound suddenly rang out.

Coming to her senses, Kallen found herself standing up from the chair, but her wrist was being gripped Mahiro, so tightly that she felt a slight pain.

At the same time, Mahiro's cold voice drifted in quietly.

"What, you're so angry after hearing my honest opinion that you want to hit me?"

"Let go of me! Yes, that's right, I want to hit you, to wake you up, you bastard! You think this is cool!? Acting like a critic, only seeing the distorted side of the world!"

Kallen rebuked him angrily in a sorrowful voice, and struggled violently.

But it was all in vain; it was just as powerless as Eleven when she was bullied by Britannia.

Only Mahiro relaxed her grip did she manage to pull her hand back, but her wrist was already red and swollen from being squeezed.

However, Kallen paid no attention to any of this, only glaring angrily at Yotsuba Mahiro, her teacher, and the man she once thought was her comrade-in-arms.