soul stone

Kamijou saw Qiao Huan again in mid-September.

In the southwest corner of Youkexin City, in a coffee shop that is not well-known but full of atmosphere, the sound of the piano flows slowly, refreshing.The Crow's Eye lowered his head, staring at the hot cocoa in his cup.Tiny air bubbles pool at the edge, swim, burst.It's like words that have come to the lips but don't know where to start.

Qiao Huan ordered iced lemon black tea.Asked for a double serving of ice so the tea was lighter in color than usual.The dark brown eyes looked at Kamijou, like an adventurer who had just discovered a new land.

"You mean, I can live thanks to Mrs. Laroyer...Her Majesty the 'Queen' of the monastery."

Kamijou nodded slowly and vigorously, but said nothing.

"That housekeeper, Kuroki, and that woman... Na Li, they came here on purpose to distract me."

It wasn't a question, so Kamijou only added: "It's Natalie. Natalie Lynch, old man Raphael's wife, old man La Royer's niece, and granddaughter of 'Godfather' Corleone."

Qiao Huan leaned back, put his arms on the back of the chair, and blew a virtual smoke ring towards the ceiling.If possible, he really wanted to ignite a "Seven Star" immediately, take a big puff with satisfaction, and then exhale the smoke reluctantly.Not that smoking is banned in cafes.Kamijou doesn't like the smell of smoke.

"It has a lot of background. I often hear it mentioned by colleagues, what is the 'dream lover of men all over the world'."

Kamijou shrank his neck subconsciously, and said softly: "Yes... there is such a saying."

"It's a pitiful thing to say, but it's just someone else's pawn. It's probably because of Madame Laroyer that she did 'that thing.'"

A shivering, crow's eye stared at the man opposite him with wide eyes, but lowered his head reflexively at the moment his four eyes met.

"That's right, that's impossible."

"Hey, why are your hands shaking? It's still hiding under the table."

"It's nothing."

"That woman is really surprising." Qiao Huan continued, "It's like being manipulated."

"……sorry."

Saying that, Kamijou stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

He took off his glasses, turned on the tap, and rinsed his face desperately.Can't let him see her crying.In the mirror, Kamijou's face was contorted to the extreme.It took a full 10 minutes for her to relax the muscles of her face one by one.

After wiping off the water on his face with a paper towel, and confirming that his expression was normal, Kamijou put on his glasses again and returned to the lobby of the cafe.The piano is reaching the end of a piece.Although she didn't know much about music, this piece touched an unknown place in her heart.

It's resonance.

From this angle, the pianist can be seen playing.The face and upper body were half blocked by the lifted piano cover.He is not tall and has a thin build.The contours of the face are very delicate.

A moment later, the Crow's Eye returned to his seat and sat down without saying a word.

Taking off the big sunglasses that covered half of his face, Qiao Huan grinned and said, "It's been a long time."

"It's okay." The tablet machine replied.

"Zeksis' piano skills have improved again."

Kamijou widened his eyes, "Do you know it's him there?"

Qiao Huan tapped the frame of the sunglasses on the table, as if to test which one was stronger.

"That's needless to say. I can smell his resentment fifty kilometers away."

Kamijou chuckled, and unconsciously covered his mouth with his hand.

"Why cover it up, you look pretty when you smile." Qiao Huan said solemnly, "Especially when you take off your glasses."

"...Why are you talking about this all of a sudden?" Although his tone was calm, Kamijou felt his cheeks burn slightly.

"Let's get down to business, I brought you here not only to fulfill the promise, but also for that guy." Qiao Huan gestured to the piano side with his thumb.

"I should have known, you're not the kind of guy who goes into a coffee shop for nothing. There's no romance at all."

"Thank you for the compliment." The other party was not angry, and showed a mouthful of white teeth.

Kamijou exhaled helplessly, sinking into the sofa.

"Okay, what do you want to do?"

"That guy seems to be depressed recently. Ten old men are dead, all dead, including his Raphael."

"Ah... um." Kamijou immediately realized that for Xaxis, who had been controlled by Raphael since he was a child, this incident hit him harder than anyone else.

"As friends, we should comfort that guy, what do you think?" Qiao Huan raised his glass.The ice cubes collided with each other, making a crisp sound.

"Comfort." Kamijou weighed the meaning of the word and frowned inexplicably.

Qiao Huan brought the glass to his mouth, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp.Cheeks are bulging, and teeth are chewing ice cubes, crunching.

"You don't have to do anything, just listen to the music here. For the 'pianist', the most important treasure is the audience."

"It's 'pianist'." Kamijou corrected.

"Anything is fine."

The vicious-looking man moved his Adam's apple up and down, sending all the crushed ice into his stomach pouch.Crow's Eye stared at Qiao Huan's neck, and said abruptly, "Eating ice is not good for the stomach."

"Huh." Qiao Huan patted her stomach contentedly, and said with a smile, "Smoking is not allowed, and ice is not allowed to be eaten. I care about this and that all day long. Are you my wife?"

A heat wave rose from the bottom of my heart.Kamijou blurted out: "No, no! Who said I'm going to be your wife?!"

After finishing speaking, I realized that other people in the store were paying attention to this side.

The Crow's Eye turned his head away, shrunk his shoulders, and blushed.A soft silence spread between the two of them like cirrus clouds high in the sky.

Now playing Rachmaninoff's "Hungarian March".Even at the moment when the whole store is focused on this, the sound of the piano is not affected in the slightest.A superb performance indeed.At the end of the song, the store fell into a moment of silence, as if a ghost named "Lonely" was floating around among the teahouses.

At this time, Kamijou took off his glasses, took out the faded glasses cloth from the mirror case, and wiped them carefully.

"...It's good that you live." She said softly.

"I didn't sleep with that woman." The person opposite replied.

"Huh?" Kamijou blinked.

"She rushed over, and I knocked her out. At that time, I lit a cigarette, thinking that someone might have deliberately arranged this, so I went along with the flow and stayed obediently for an hour. I didn't expect your news to be true. "Speaking, Qiao Huan really took out a pack of "Seven Stars", pulled out one, and was about to light it, but his hand stopped on the lighter switch.

"Just smoke if you want," Kamijou said.

"No, you're right." Putting the cigarette and lighter back where they were, "Quitting smoking requires perseverance. Maybe... I'm a weak person at all."

"...Why did you say that suddenly?"

"At that time, I remembered what you said. If you rush back to the ten old man, you will definitely be killed. After all, I will stay there for a full hour, just because I am afraid."

"..." Kamijou closed his eyes, and put his clean glasses back on.

Qiao Huan propped her elbows on the table, crossed her hands against her flat square forehead.

"You know what, Kamijou. I only found out recently. I'm afraid of death."

"It's a human instinct to be afraid of death. I am the one who wants to run away when there is danger."

"That is determined by your physique. But I am different. I thought I was not afraid of death. Looking at it today, maybe I was wrong."

"You're not wrong." Kamijou said calmly, "If you die, it's meaningless for me to live. So you are afraid of death, but it's because of me."

The last ray of sunlight disappeared, and the deep blue twilight sneaked into this small coffee shop through the floor-to-ceiling windows.Kamijou was about to reach for the bill, but Qiao Huan took a step ahead.

"As agreed, please." He grinned.

Walking out of the coffee shop and turning a corner, Kamijou suddenly let out a "ah".

"I forgot the glasses case in the store," she looked up at Qiao Huan, "wait for me here, and I'll be right back."

"Okay." Eyes reminiscent of wild animals, watching the back of Kamijou leave, revealing a rare tenderness.

Back at the coffee shop, the piano sound continued.Kamijou didn't look for the glasses case where he was sitting just now, but went straight to the back of the bathroom, where the grand piano was.

"Zeksis."

The other party didn't seem to hear, and didn't even move his eyebrows.

"It's a bit of a thing to say, and even though I've always hated you, it doesn't mean I despise you. In all fairness, you're very good, artistically talented, and loyal."

Still no reply.

"Mr. Rafael's matter, I feel very sorry. The Phantom Brigade is not an ordinary enemy. Even if the entire underworld group unites, they can't do anything to them. However, more than half of the brigade was killed or injured. It's revenge. Even if it is for the sake of Mr. Rafael, I hope you will cheer up as soon as possible. Every family still has a lot of things to deal with, such as the heir..."

"Heir." Cherry blossom-like lips moved twice.

"That's right. Mr. Rafael's son Boman is dead, so the inheritance should fall on your head, right?"

"so what."

Kamijou took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

"In that case, why did you commit suicide?"

The pianist raised his blue eyes and looked straight at Kamijou, from head to toe.The sound of the piano is still smooth, and it seems to exist out of the player's consciousness.

"Looking at the appearance, it should be a concentrated explosive of less than [-] tons. Although it is a small explosive, it is more than enough to blow up such a coffee shop."

Zexis narrowed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a mocking yet appreciative arc.

"Although it's hidden in your clothes, you still can't escape your ugly glasses. When did you find it?"

"When you came out of the bathroom and found you behind the piano." Kamijou subconsciously touched the lower edge of his glasses, "To make a long story short, what were you thinking?"

"..."

Zexis closed his eyes, as if intoxicated by the music.After a long time, he spoke quietly:

"Alright, it's rare for you to come back specially, so I'll tell you patiently once. I really always wanted Mr. Raphael's inheritance. But I made a mistake. What I want is not some shit Inheritance."

Kamijou opened his eyes slightly.It was the first time I heard Zexis swear.

"What I want is Mr. Raphael's attention. Do you understand? I don't even think about it."

Kamijou nodded slightly: "Maybe I can..."

"Whether you are Qiao Huan or not," the pianist interrupted her, his eyes became dark and his tone was full of contempt, "I think my friends are all pretending. Just seeing your faces makes me sick. "

"..."

"The activation switch for this bomb, do you know what it is?"

Kamijou secretly bit his lower lip.If you abandon this guy now and escape by yourself, there is still time.

"Once my playing stops, the dynamite will detonate. At the same time, my 'shuddering rest' ability will also activate. At that time, even you will not be able to escape."

"Thrilling rest" is the ability to read at the end of the performance.For those who listen to the whole performance, the life energy "Qi" will be reduced with the length of the performance.Zexis has been playing for at least two hours. If what he said is true, an ordinary person would die instantly when the performance is over. Even Kamijou would have difficulty even mobilizing his telekinetic ability.

When the time comes, the moment the bomb goes off...

No, it won't be like this.

Crow's Eye closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.As long as it is a bomb, there is a way to disarm it.

There were not many people in the coffee shop, there were nine people including the clerk.With this specially crafted lens, you can see the palm-sized bomb lying on the pianist's heart, rising and falling with the breath.The sound of the piano never stopped.The music is reaching its climax, like the melody of the dark tide, hitting the eardrum one after another.

If you can get rid of the bomb strapped to his chest before Zexis stops playing, you can be saved.

The right index finger bent and touched the lower edge of the mirror frame.Rather than saying that this habit will eliminate anxiety, not doing it will make you more anxious.

The moment he withdrew his hand, the weight under his feet increased.She rushed over.

The violin stopped abruptly.

At the same time, the bang of the explosion drowned out everything.