Mister Zero, Her Story: Chapter 49 – End of an Era
Anna had almost found the café; the sign was just up ahead.
They had only walked for a few minutes after encountering Elise.
…It was indeed quite remote, even for a hidden corner of Construction Street Six.
But the advantage was the quiet environment, far from the bustling market.
Anna pushed open the café door, the wind chimes tinkling.
The café’s decor was simple, yet elegant.
Several sofas were arranged seemingly randomly, but each offered a different view: the scenery outside, the barista at work, or the precious items displayed in the cabinets.
“Make yourselves comfortable. We’re not open today, so just treat it like a friend’s home,” Elise said softly, placing her bag on the counter and removing her slightly damp gloves.
These seemed like ordinary actions.
But Luo Yan noticed the faint clinking of metal from the bag and the subtle, putrid scent of blood from the gloves.
…It seemed she hadn’t just been out buying groceries.
Elise, noticing Luo Yan’s attention, didn’t react.
She carefully wiped her hands with a dry towel, then turned to Anna.
“Anna, could you help me with the groceries? I’m a bit tired from walking. I’ll make you some coffee later~”
“Sure, no problem!”
Anna readily agreed, hopped off the barstool, grabbed the bag, and headed towards the kitchen.
It seemed she was a regular here.
As Anna left, Elise walked over to Luo Yan and sat down on a nearby sofa, her back to Luo Yan’s.
“So, you’ve been staring at me for a while now. What else do you want to ask?”
Elise’s voice was soft and gentle, a hint of amusement in her tone, completely different from her cold mental voice.
“…Will you answer?” Luo Yan asked.
She had even sent Anna away…
Luo Yan wondered if Anna was simply oblivious, or if she had sensed something and deliberately left.
“It depends,” Elise continued. “As long as it’s a question ‘Elise’ can answer, I won’t hide anything.”
“And…” she changed the subject. “I’m also very curious about you, Miss ‘Luo Yan’.”
“‘Luo Yan’? Who is that?” Luo Yan asked gravely.
Elise seemed surprised by the question. She was silent for a moment, then replied,
“…Her existence has been completely erased, leaving only the name ‘Luo Yan.’ I don’t know who she was.”
“Alright, I’ll ask a different question. Why are you curious about me? Just because my name is ‘Luo Yan’?”
Luo Yan hadn’t forgotten that Mrs. Natalie had also mistaken her for someone named “Luo Yan.”
Until finally realizing that this “Luo Yan” wasn’t the same person.
But at least… the current Luo Yan had no memory of this other person.
However… perhaps it wasn’t just a coincidence.
Because Luo Yan’s only memory of her past was this name.
“You remind me of someone. I feel like I’ve met you before,” Elise replied. “But I don’t have any memories of you, they seem to have been erased as well.”
This wasn’t the first time Luo Yan had heard this.
The Sword Saint Sect Master, the mysterious old man at the end of the Flower Street incident, and now Elise.
They all claimed to have met her before.
Yet, they also said she wasn’t “Luo Yan.”
“And… you’re a Demonically Infected, aren’t you?” Elise raised an eyebrow. “And ‘Envy,’ no less. When I saw you, I almost thought that… she… had returned. After all, the ‘Witch of Envy’ is the most active ‘Primordial Demon’.”
“She?”
Luo Yan asked curiously.
“Who she is… I can’t say, but she was a remarkable senior, unfortunately lost to herself in the end,” Elise tapped the sofa, a flicker of remembrance in her eyes. “Those seniors were all remarkable, but none of them met a good end. Such a pity.”
“What seniors…?”
“I can’t say that either,” Elise turned slightly and winked playfully.
“But I can tell you that I’m here to bid farewell to one of those seniors, the last one. He took care of me once.”
“…”
Luo Yan was silent for a moment, then mumbled,
“I have no further questions.”
So many things she couldn’t ask about; it was pointless.
“You can ask about this last senior,” Elise leaned back on the sofa, a hint of amusement in her voice. “Actually, I wanted to take you to meet him. I have a feeling he would know you.”
“I’ve suddenly lost interest.”
Luo Yan said, sounding like a petulant child.
Elise was strange, acting as if she were playing a role.
She was deliberately portraying herself as “Elise,” but her true self was probably closer to that cold, mental voice.
Luo Yan didn’t like talking to people who hid behind a mask.
“Of course, he might not be in the mood for visitors anymore,” Elise shrugged.
“…What happened to him?”
Luo Yan couldn’t help but ask.
Elise had said “farewell,” could it be…?
“He’s dying,” Elise’s expression turned somber, a hint of genuine emotion finally showing.
“And sadly, no one cares. Everyone is waiting for his death, even his family.”
Luo Yan felt a pang of… something.
…Heartache.
“What about you?” Luo Yan asked softly. “Are you also waiting for this senior’s death?”
“Yes,” Elise replied without hesitation. “His death signifies the end of the Old Era, and the beginning of a new one. I came to Yan City, in this identity, to witness this moment.
“Although I… do respect him, I also have… more complicated feelings.”
Elise paused and glanced at Luo Yan.
“I’m certain now, I mistook you for someone else.”
“Oh?” Luo Yan paused.
“You’re neither ‘Luo Yan,’ nor the person I once knew but have forgotten,” Elise said with a smile.
“…Why?” Luo Yan tilted her head, puzzled. “Because I’m too weak?”
She had a vague idea of who Elise was talking about, but she wasn’t sure.
Because if that was the case… Elise’s true identity could be terrifying.
But Elise’s current aura was, at most, “Ruin” level.
So, Luo Yan wasn’t sure.
“Weak? Ahahaha… no, it’s because they wouldn’t possess such a pure heart, it’s impossible,” Elise’s eyes flickered with complex emotions. “They, like me, know too much, think too much, and are no longer in control of themselves.”
As a junior, she simply wanted to bid farewell to this dying senior.
As for her other identity, she had to witness the end of an era, or rather, confirm that it had truly ended.
“Let’s not talk about that, those are… impure matters,” Elise waved her hand and extended it towards Luo Yan. “Consider this a new introduction, little Miss Luo Yan.”
Luo Yan hesitated, then placed her small, pale hand in Elise’s.
“Mm.”
Regardless, “Elise” seemed… not bad?
…Just a little… annoying.
Just then, Anna emerged from the kitchen, having finally finished preparing the ingredients, and saw them holding hands.
“What… are you doing?”
“Nothing, just a handshake to signify our agreement,” Elise stood up and walked towards the kitchen. “Anna, little Miss Luo Yan, wait patiently. I rarely cook, you know. Many people would kill for this opportunity!”
Anna approached them, nudging Luo Yan with her elbow.
“Lady Luo Yan, what happened? Why did Elise suddenly call you ‘little Miss Luo Yan’? Wasn’t it ‘Miss Luo Yan’ just now?”
“I… I don’t know,” Luo Yan said after a moment of hesitation.
But she could clearly sense the change in Elise’s attitude.
After confirming that she wasn’t the “Luo Yan” or “that person” she knew, Elise’s tone had completely changed.
It was now the same as when she spoke to Anna, neither distant nor overly familiar, with a deliberate friendliness.
“…What a strange person…”
Luo Yan muttered.
“What? Lady Luo Yan, what did you say?”
Anna scratched her head, confused.
She had only been in the kitchen for less than ten minutes.
Why had the atmosphere between Lady Luo Yan and Elise changed so much…?
“Nothing.”
Luo Yan gave the same answer as Elise, then pulled out a book from her wheelchair and began reading.
Although she couldn’t open her eyes, her “life hack” still allowed her to read.
…It had to be said, even if not used for combat, demonic powers were very convenient in daily life.
But this power… demanded a heavy price, either your soul, or your life.
…
At the Anomaly Management Bureau, reports of various incidents piled up.
Including the recent incident on Construction Street Six, but in this mountain of files, it seemed insignificant.
“It seems this storm won’t be over anytime soon,” Lin Cheng stood by the window, frowning. “It will last for a while.”
“I disagree.”
Li Ping said without looking up, continuing to read through the reports.
Lin Cheng raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why?”
“Judging from the timing, it should be almost time,” Li Ping put down the file. “I’m talking about his time.”
The Anomaly Management Bureau was practically empty, all available personnel deployed throughout Yan City.
Only a few clerks processing files and Oversight Department researchers remained.
—The only ones with combat abilities left were Li Ping and Lin Cheng.
Although both were “Ruin” level ability users, their strength was close to “Peril” level, and together, they could even rival a weaker “Peril” level ability user.
The reason they hadn’t advanced was because they had expended too much energy and suffered many hidden injuries while pioneering Yan City with their parents.
By the time they had settled down, they had missed the optimal period for growth, their progress stagnating at “Ruin” level.
“…Are you certain he’s in Yan City?” Lin Cheng suddenly became nervous.
“He” referred to Dawn’s Mister, but both Li Ping and Lin Cheng avoided mentioning his name directly.
Whether out of respect for the legend, or a vague sense of dread, or perhaps both.
After all, Mister’s reputation was such that even their grandparents, and their grandparents’ grandparents, would have addressed him with the utmost respect.
Such a legend, possibly in Yan City…
It was a terrifying thought.
The reason Li Ping and Lin Cheng had been so reluctant to get involved with Dawn was because of “Mister.”
Unfortunately, the Yan City Apprehension Department wasn’t entirely under their control. Starting with the pursuit of Ling Qi, Yan City had been inevitably dragged into the conflict between Dawn and Noah.
And now…
“The ‘Wall of Resentment’ was silently infiltrated. How many people in the world are capable of that?” Li Ping sighed. “Even for us, with the ‘key,’ it’s quite difficult to enter.
“Moreover… after the intrusion, the ‘Ice Coffin Weapon’ wasn’t taken, nothing was even touched. Besides ‘him,’ I can’t think of anyone else.”
Frick had figured it out; how could Li Ping not?
And he had already suspected it when two “Peril” level ability users were dispatched to rescue a “Calamity” level Dawn member.
He just hadn’t dared to consider it seriously.
And even knowing Mister was in Yan City, Li Ping didn’t dare announce it, let alone report it to “Noah.”
The consequences would be unimaginable.
They might even lose this mega-city, built with the blood and tears of two generations.
“Why Yan City…?” Lin Cheng said dejectedly. “We’ve already had a Devil’s Apostle, something we haven’t seen in centuries, and even a Primordial Demon’s aura.
“We’re just a small, remote city, how can we handle all this?”
“…Fate,” Li Ping said.
“Fate made that old man choose Yan City as his final resting place?”
“Perhaps,” Li Ping shook his head. “Perhaps we’ll only get our answer after he’s gone.”
“But many things will happen before then,” Lin Cheng’s expression turned serious. “Yan City will face a life-or-death crisis.”
“Perhaps… this storm will also end because of this,” Li Ping whispered. “We’re waiting, many are waiting, even he himself is waiting.”
“Waiting for the day his long life, spanning the Old and New Eras, finally reaches its end.”
Leave a Reply