Sunlight entered the library, falling on Slady's eyes, who finally woke up. As he turned his head, he noticed Ferinish was beside him, softly snoring in his ear, a sound he didn't dislike. He got up, noticing the absence of his shirt, then searched for it and put it on.
Going downstairs, he was surprised to see that Shaphira and Elisa were already awake, having breakfast and preparing for something.
"Good morning, Slady."
Elisa commented in a calmer and more relaxed tone, as if her relationship with Slady had improved after the previous night. Shaphira gave a small smile and hugged him.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes... but what's going on?"
"We're preparing to go to work."
Elisa replied, grabbing her sword and strapping it to her back. Shaphira stretched, doing a quick warm-up.
"Faller and Victoria helped us while you were away. They got us into the Demon Hunters Association."
The demon girl wore her kimono in a way that concealed her tail, adjusted her hair, and flattened her fox ears to hide them.
"Enjoy your time off, Slady. Before going back to work."
Elisa said, but her tone was almost confidential, as if she wasn't just talking about working as a librarian. Shaphira finished dressing, placing her hands on her hips.
"You should be proud of us, Slady! We've matured and become very strong in a year!"
A small smile almost appeared on Slady's lips, but returned to a straight line. He walked toward them, placing his hands on their heads.
"I'm very proud of you both. Have a great day at work."
The two hugged Slady, Shaphira in a more relaxed way, while Elisa hugged more intimately, as if she were speaking to him through the gesture.
"Welcome back, Slady."
She whispered into his ear. The two then stepped out of the hug and waved goodbye, leaving the library. Slady crossed his arms, deep in thought. But suddenly...
"It must be terrible not being able to smile at your own daughters, huh...?"
Truth appeared in front of him. The ghostly figure crossed her legs, floating.
"But I also can't deny that I'm happy to be back with them."
"Thank you, Truth..."
He turned around, sat at his new counter, and started looking for his computer.
"But I need to correct my mistakes. I failed as a father to Elisa. I'll delete my assassination website and try working on something else."
"Ferinish is very lucky to have a man like you by her side..."
Truth said seductively while glancing at Slady's chest. Then she gave a playful cough and sat on the counter.
"But seriously, how are you going to erase your entire past? You're not a lonely man anymore who had all the time in the world to do whatever you wanted. You have a partner and two girls who see you as their father, you idiot."
Slady stared at Truth, who kept her eyes closed, as if staring back. The man placed his hands on his head, thinking of a solution.
"I think I'm going to become a Demon Hunter too."
Truth placed a hand over her lips, almost surprised.
"I never thought someone who only knows how to kill criminals would decide to hunt demons. But how will you do it? You don't even have a legal identity in the system. Besides, you're an experienced killer. You'll definitely end up becoming a top-tier Destruction Hunter, and people will investigate you. After all, to them, you've 'never' killed anyone."
Slady bit his lip, deeply thinking about it.
"I'll find a way, Truth."
"We'll see then..."
She leaned her head on his shoulder, facing the computer screen. Slady accessed the device, realizing it had been accessed previously.
"Elisa managed to figure out the password. She's very clever."
He murmured. Truth simply chuckled softly, caressing Slady's shoulders.
"She's a very smart girl, Slady. You need to learn to notice that."
"I already noticed, but not in this way."
When he entered a website, he noticed the numerous requests, images, and evidence that nearly made him give in...
"Slady, control yourself..."
Her tone became firmer than usual.
"You can't do this anymore. This is for your family and... for yourself."
"You're right..."
He sighed, beginning to delete data from the site, erasing decades of assassinations. Seeing that hurt him. Not just like an attack on his own sense of justice or the thought that he was "allowing" criminals to stay alive...
It was like erasing parts of his own life. Of his essence. Truth sensed her friend's tension and caressed his hair, causing the area in real life to become warm.
"Slady, you're a good man. You'll manage to overcome this. You have friends, a family... and me too."
"Truth."
"What is it?"
"I want to stop doing this. Maybe I'll try to pursue justice another way, but..."
"I want to do this perfectly. I want to do this one last time, but it can't be just anyone, it has to be..."
"Meaningful."
Truth laughed, as if she were used to that kind of behavior.
"You always have to do something for the last time, don't you? If it makes you feel better, go ahead. I can't stop you anyway. Just... don't let this affect the people around you, Slady."
"I'll be careful. Thank you, Truth."
The ghostly figure disappeared, leaving Slady alone. He resumed deleting all the data, proof of his existence as the "Assassin of the Century" or... "Theatrical Assassin"?
"What is this?"
He stared at the computer screen, reading the news...
There was a lecture in Libretãnhya about the future captains of the Criminal Investigation of Libretãnhya (C.I.L.), where the main candidates were two very familiar names...
Rin Yuang and Roger Trager.
"The C.I.L is holding a competition between them to investigate the 'Theatrical Assassin'? Let me see who this guy is."
When he searched for the images, Slady realized they were of the very murders he had committed. Then he connected the dots.
"I understand now. I always created contexts in my murders to make it seem like it was something 'personal' between the criminals. Preventing the police from investigating further. But apparently, they believe someone is behind all of it..."
Slady stood up from the counter, taking a deep breath.
"I have to see what they're doing. I won't let them discover who I am."
As he prepared to leave the library, footsteps echoed from the stairs, revealing Ferinish, who was sleepy and with her hair disheveled.
"Good morning..."
She blushed slightly upon seeing Slady's bare chest but quickly regained her composure. The man stood up, inviting her.
"Ferinish, want to enjoy the morning and explore Libretãnhya? We have a lot to resolve."