Guide to tamming vilanesses-Chapter 34: On the way to China

Shin and Hiroto sat on a random park bench.

The hero really hated the strawberry ice cream, but he would never refuse a gift, so he forced himself to eat.

"It’s too sweet!" he complained. He liked bitter or spicy things. Despite his childish mind, his tastes were the opposite. "And why did you buy ice cream anyway?"

"I wanted to eat something sweet," Shin said simply with a small smile on his face.

"Aren’t you on a diet?"

"Ahem! Weren’t we talking about you?" He abruptly changed the subject. Dieting was a sensitive topic for him.

"You’re following your diet properly, right?" Hiroto asked, his eyes widening with surprise.

"Of course I am..." Shin hesitated a little. The truth was that sometimes his body craved sugar so much that it was hard to resist. "But let’s not talk about that now!"

Seeing this, the hero finished his terrible strawberry ice cream in one bite.

"You can give the rest of your ice cream to me," he smiled mischievously. "I’ll make the sacrifice of consuming those calories for you."

Shin hesitated but finally handed over the ice cream, even if it pained his soul. In fact, he needed to consume as little sugar as possible.

Witnessing this, Hiroto couldn’t help but laugh.

It wouldn’t be the first time they had an interaction like this after training together. Eva would be stunned to learn how close they’d grown while Izumi was threatening her.

"Thanks, I feel a little better..." he finally murmured.

Being able to laugh like that again seemed to lift a weight from his heart.

"About what we were talking about before, what do you think I should do?" Hiroto asked more calmly. "I don’t want to be deceived anymore, I can’t take it..."

"Making mistakes is part of learning, don’t worry so much. You can take your time to learn about the world. But it would be a good start not to trust people so much. You need to analyze carefully and discover for yourself who deserves your trust."

"That sounds difficult..." he frowned. "Isn’t there a trick? A technique? Come on, tell me, who should I trust?"

"For now, no one..." Shin murmured and then remembered something. "Maybe only your family. Your parents are definitely good people."

"Wait, not even you?" Hiroto asked in surprise.

"Of course not. You can and should listen to my advice, but if you do everything I say, you’ll just be my minion."

Shin stood up, puffing out his chest and speaking with more firmness than usual.

"We’re different people, so I can’t decide for you. Hiroto, think for yourself. Make mistakes and try again. That’s what you should do. And figure out on your own when you want to follow me, and when you want to walk your own path."

Shin had no interest in turning the hero into an idiot who simply obeyed orders. People incapable of thinking for themselves inevitably became a problem.

And more importantly... he simply didn’t want that.

After hearing those words, Hiroto fell silent for a long time. It was as if he were absorbing them, engraving them deep into his mind.

"Do you think I can do it?" the boy finally asked.

"Of course," Shin replied. "I gave you hints, sure; but you were the one who investigated on your own and uncovered the people who were deceiving you, right?"

Hiroto nodded. The memory of that discovery still caused a sharp pain in his chest. There was clearly a lot of sadness left in his heart.

And inevitably, his thoughts returned to Eva.

"One more thing," he said, his body trembling. "You told me this sadness would fade with time, right? And that I just needed to focus on something else... How do I do that? How do I forget that moment?"

"Hmmm..." Shin thought for a bit. "I’d say you have three options."

He raised three of his thick fingers, representing the possible paths the hero could take. Then he lowered one and asked:

"Do you want revenge on Eva? If you do, I can tell you who the man she calls ’master’ really is."

Shin wasn’t lying. If Hiroto truly wanted revenge, he was prepared to bear all of his anger.

Still, the hero answered exactly as he expected.

"I don’t want to waste any more time on that. And I don’t care who her master is," Hiroto said quietly. "In the end, she never loved me. That’s all there is to it."

"Then you could drown your regrets in alcohol and women," Shin said, lowering another finger. "If you want, I know the best bars in the city. Or even some... less appropriate places."

As if he were about to sneeze, Hiroto’s face twisted into a grimace. Drinking until he collapsed and numbing his pain with alcohol didn’t suit him at all.

He would choose almost anything over that.

In truth, there were only two paths men took after having their hearts broken: self-destruction... or rebuilding themselves.

"Then you can train."

"Train?" Hiroto tilted his head in confusion. "But I’m already strong. And my system already maxed out my muscles."

He struck a small pose, subtly showing off his well-defined body.

In fact, no matter how many days he trained nonstop at the gym or how many hamburgers he ate, his body never changed.

<Health Body> had been his first skill, and it was passive.

It automatically kept his body at peak condition and made it unchangeable. He would still age... but very slowly.

"Yes," Shin said, unimpressed. "But muscle is just one small part of training. It’s the reason most people start, but it’s not the most important part."

He leaned back slightly.

"Training is about getting stronger as a whole. Learning control. Understanding your own mind. Evolving."

Hiroto went silent again and clenched his fists.

"Then train me," he said firmly. "I want to get stronger. Strong enough that I won’t break again."

Shin looked at him for a long moment... then sighed.

"I can’t."

Hiroto blinked. "What?"

"You’re already too strong for me," Shin said bluntly. "At least in terms of raw power. If I tried to train you seriously, I’d just end up holding you back."

That answer hit harder than Hiroto expected.

"But," Shin continued, "there is one place where you could become truly powerful. But I believe you already know about that.

Hiroto looked confused at first. But soon a memory came to his mind. He had received an invitation from a Chinese organization that would secretly train the strongest chosen one of the generation.

It was a secret governmental program, meant to increase Chinese power, on the tower.

"But joining them would mean betraying our country," Hiroto murmured.

"Yes, but once we are inside the tower, it won’t matter."

"We?" Hiroto asked, and just then Shin realized he hadn’t told him that he was a chosen one too.

"We can talk about it later..." Shin murmured.

"Ok," The hero answered with a happy smile. It would be good to have a friend inside the place.

"About the training, it would be brutal. You’d be surrounded by liars, seductresses, and people who would stab you in the back without hesitation."

Hiroto looked down, clearly discouraged after hearing all of that. He doubted he had what it took to survive in a place like that.

It would be hard. Cruel, even. But Shin believed Hiroto could endure it.

"But if you keep thinking for yourself and moving forward, you will endure it," Shin added. "You’ll eventually reach a point where you can choose your own path."

Hiroto didn’t answer right away.

He looked down at his hands, hands that once couldn’t even leave a hospital bed.

Then he looked up.

"I’ll go," he said.

Shin laughed softly.

"Yeah," he muttered. "I thought you would. Then, for now... this is our farewell."

"Wait, you’re not coming?" Hiroto asked, shocked.

"Of course not. I wasn’t invited," Shin explained.

"Then how do you know about it?"

"Sorry, but I can’t reveal my sources."

They parted ways soon after.

Hiroto walked back home alone. He was sure Hiroto would survive and grow extremely strong. After all, there were multiple routes through which he joined the organization.

Now it was time to deal with his sister. Izumi had guaranteed him access to Yumemi’s computer, and he had more than enough material for blackmail.