Chapter 426

"Hehe..." Galah suddenly looked up and burst into loud laughter, "Hahaha! You've got guts, impressive! Not bad, I underestimated you..."

Galah walked slowly up to Xingqiri, coldly staring at the youth whose face remained expressionless, unshaken by wind and rain: "I admire you. Then what? Does this prove I killed your sister and that stowaway?"

"This is enough to prove you and the Memesis 【Death】 are of the same ilk."

Xingqiri clenched his fists, took a deep breath: "Listen up, I don't care how you did it... I only care about one thing, the answer to one question——"

Almost every word of his was squeezed out from between his teeth, each word, gritting his teeth: "——You bastard, damn stray dog, why did you kill her?!!"

Galah didn't directly answer him, merely laughing as he sat on the nearby sofa, flipping a lighter in his hand, igniting a faint flame in the shadow: "Those in authority are confused—people can't see the sand in their eyes, only knowing it's there."

"Want an answer? I can give you."

Galah swiftly extinguished the flickering flame, only to see a huge black shadow appear behind Xingqiri; before he could turn, the memesis's tail spike pierced his chest, splattering a pool of transparent "blood" on the ground.

"... Everything is only because of that damned fate playing tricks on people."

——

Frieren's Funeral

What?? He dares to kill even Xingqiri?!!

Just a moment ago, Thurtharke thought Xingqiri was hatching some world-shaking plot, with countless trump cards yet to play, and the next second he died?!

... A feeling of frustration like having trained in the mountains for thirty years, ready to go out and make a name for oneself, only to step into a hunter's trap and ultimately die.

What on earth is Mr. Galah's background? He can actually command the Memesis to kill in the Oak household... that's too outrageous! Zan Yin tilted his head back and gulped a mouthful of beer, his cheeks flushed, "Burp... well, now Xingqiri has gone down with Shajin. If the primal dream had a tavern, maybe they could sit down for a drink."

Let's hope they don't start fighting. Filien looked at the white-haired girl always burying her head in her meal, "Lady Frieren, do you know why Mr. Galah killed Miss Liuying and Miss Zhigengniao?"

I'm not sure, but the reason definitely isn't hatred. Frieren swallowed the food in her cheeks, showing a satisfied, content expression, "I guess... hehe, it's because they knew things they shouldn't have, and Galah wanted to silence them! One was investigating in the primal dream, the other was close to the truth, so they must have gathered a lot of information."

Frieren lowered her voice solemnly: "And this Galah... is merely a superficial good person; the fact that he's allied with the Memesis is enough to show he's not a benevolent sort. Remember, the Memesis originally planned to act against Starlight! Galah initially wanted to kill Starlight."

Thurtharke slapped his thigh in sudden realization: "Ah, I see! I didn't expect him to disguise himself so well, even deceiving Miss Jizi!... But if even Mr. Galah can't be trusted, who should the train crew believe now? Family?"

——

Re: Starting Life in Another World from Zero.

Oh dear?

Pak, floating on Emilia's shoulder, showed a brief surprised expression, his tail lightly swaying: "I didn't expect Xingqiri to care so much about his sister; I thought he was the type who, at crucial moments, could readily sacrifice his sister to achieve his plans, an ambitious sort."

Emilia turned her head to glance at the spirit on her shoulder, slightly furrowing her brows: "Pak, you can't say that... Mr. Xingqiri being able to preserve the light cone of him and his sister from childhood is enough to show he truly cherishes his feelings for Miss Zhigengniao."

As for Mr. Galah, his connection to 【Death】 is enough to indicate he's the mastermind behind everything, right?

But his stance is on the side of the train crew. Subaru sat on the sofa, enjoying the tea Rem had just brought, "This guy still claims he's only 13... thinking about it now, that 13 is probably the judgment he got after merging others' cognitions and beginning to form his self-awareness."

... The young uncle suddenly became reasonable.

Pak slowly floated above Subaru's head: "Speaking of which, what would 486 do in such a situation?"

Huh? What's that? Subaru didn't react at once.

——If Emilia were killed in a dream, and someone more powerful told you to drop investigating her cause of death, what would you do?

Me?

Subaru scratched his head, he held his chin in silent thought for a while, then suddenly thrust up his thumb: "Of course, I'd risk my life to find Emilia's whereabouts!"

Emilia's face instantly flushed, her voice stuttering: "4, 486! Don't suddenly say such things!"

Tsk...

Ram suddenly appeared behind Subaru out of nowhere, lightly tapping the back of his head with the tray in her hand, producing a crisp "pak" sound.

486, such a useless good-for-nothing who can't even do everyday cleaning, yet you spout big talk about risking your life—please don't bring up such arrogant and disgusting topics again.

——

The night was as dark as ink, a breeze sweeping over the desolate ruins. Among the broken walls, wild grass grew in clusters, swaying in the moonlight; fireflies swarmed over the pond, dancing in groups, tracing faint streams of light in the darkness.

The carcass of a true subterranean worm was slowly burning; by the pond, a mech stood on the grass, its cold mechanical voice breaking the night's silence: "Command, this is AR-26710, received, please respond."

Only the insects' chirping answered its call. On the water's surface, the reflections of fireflies intertwined with Starlight, resembling a miniature starry sky.

Footsteps sounded behind it; another mech of a different model approached slowly, calmly saying: "Most likely there will be no reply."

The rock wall beside it suddenly trembled; a heavier, more heavily built mech rose from the ruins, asking: "What do we do? The only survivors nearby are us."

"No matter what, we need to make contact with the other mechs... huh?"

AR-26710 seemed to sense something; it turned its head, only to see a flicker of firelight behind it, as a white-haired girl in a combat suit descended gracefully from the flames—she had actually deactivated her mech herself.

"In that case..."

The girl plucked a small purple flower from beside her, bringing it to her nose: "This way is faster, right?"