Ultra: Heroes Don't Ask Where They Come From

Some time after I met the Crusaders.

"So you don't want to live a monotonous life in a hotel, but you're also uneasy about going to a bustling city?"

Chiaki Furuya had done a lot of jobs when he was outside. He was an electrician, a plasterer, a cook, a salesperson, and even knew a thing or two about car repair and hair cutting. The number of skills he had was so many that it made people feel "hardship".

Because most of the young people on the island wanted to work outside, and the diversity of occupations on the island made the labor force inevitably embarrassing, he took on a lot of work, and from time to time someone would ask him to work, or even buy things.

A few days ago, the radio in a room of the hot spring hotel broke, so Chiaki Furiya was asked to come and fix it. Chiaki Furiya brought it back and replaced it with new parts. This evening after dinner, he sent Xia Long to deliver it. Xia Long was about to leave after taking the money, but was stopped by Akiko, and they walked out of the hotel together for a walk and chat.

Jingzi nodded dejectedly.

She looked about 16 or 7 years old, with long, smooth hair, slender hands and feet, a beautiful face, and a hint of childishness. She was wearing a kimono, which gave her a touch of classical beauty that was different from her age.

There are some things that cannot be told to family members, but can be told and discussed with unrelated bystanders.

"So I thought... if it was Brother Xia Long, maybe he could give me some advice. Everyone says you are from outside the island."

"Yeah."

Xia Long said indifferently, looking very calm: "What do people say about me?"

"Um..." Jingzi hesitated over this sentence, her eyes moving around.

"Okay, I know that everyone says I'm a young man from a big city who tried to commit suicide but failed, right? But you know that, and you still ask me this question."

"No, no, no! But, that, even though it's like that, Brother Xia Long seems very reliable! So I think there are some false or untrue parts in the rumors, because Brother Xia Long has never said anything about himself, so how can we believe it just by listening to speculation?"

"Reliable?" Xia Long felt a sharp pain in his heart, "I'm not reliable at all."

"what?"

Xia Long spoke this so softly that Jingzi didn't hear it.

Xia Long shook his head and began to think seriously.

"Nothing, but I did come from the 'big city', at least it's much more advanced than here now. Let me think, first of all, why don't you want to inherit the hotel job?"

"Although life on the island may be more inconvenient than in the city, the hot spring hotel business is very good. You grew up in a hotel family, so you hate that kind of work."

Jingzi placed her hands on the benches on both sides - they were sitting on a bench outside the hotel at this time, and the island did not have the bright lights of various colors like those in the city - and looked at the stars that appeared one after another in the gradually darkening sky above her head. Those stars were so far away that they seemed to bring peace of mind to those who were away from them.

"Well, I originally lived in a hotel, so I didn't mind whether I hated it or not. However, when I started living outside in junior high school, my thoughts gradually changed. Before, my world was only as big as the island. The people, life and land on the island were just natural to me. But one day, life outside suddenly told me that the world is so big and there are all kinds of glittering things. My heart was suddenly greatly shocked, as if the world had been opened up. Brother Xia Long, you may not understand, because you are originally from a big city."

No, I can understand that, Xia Long thought.

"Of course, life on the island is good. As long as I inherit my family's hotel and become a hostess, and as long as I work diligently like my parents, I will be able to live on the island without worries about food and clothing. But life outside has opened another new window for me. The excitement outside the window is unimaginable. They seem to live on another planet that I don't know. They sing, they dance, they have a brand new and huge stage, they discuss which new clothes and hairstyles are good-looking, and their world is so unknown - and yet it makes people yearn for it in a terrifying way."

Jingzi stretched out her hand and touched those bright stars, which she could never reach in her lifetime.

In the black curtain, some stars twinkled.

"You know, Brother Xia Long, there used to be a primary school on the island, but it was closed due to population decline. Just last year, the last three children graduated. Now more and more of my peers are living outside. If I had not seen that kind of life before, I would be satisfied with living on the island now. But now I wonder, if I choose to step out, can I find another kind of life, a kind that appears in magazines, news, and TV, which can be happier for me... a better life?"

This world has given you a more diversified life, but has failed to give you an education that matches your diversified perspectives. The principle of infinity actually means emptiness. A world where everyone claims that they can realize themselves actually presupposes that everyone must have a self that can be realized, but many people don't know what they want and can't find what they want in their entire lives.

This feeling of emptiness and confusion was also experienced by Xia Long's generation of young people who were more futuristic than this generation. Because the purpose of school is to keep young people in school to maintain social order and select talents, not to teach them how to be human.

"Classes used to be very fixed." Xia Long had been looking at Jingzi, who had raised his head and reached out to the starry night sky. Now he retracted his gaze, "A farmer's son is a farmer, and a blacksmith's son is a blacksmith. Their lives are fixed, so how can their mentality not be fixed?"

"Then my words..."

"Don't rush to speak. Compared with the past thousand years, you are all experiencing different historical changes, so even I can't give you a definite answer. Who in this world can give another person a clear truth?"

Xia Long didn't look at the starry sky, nor at the ground under his feet, but just fixed his eyes on the front, as if he was placing his sight in the void, or as if he was looking at the thick and indissoluble night in the distance. The black trees seemed to merge into one with different shades of light.

"But, I can still give you some not-so-good advice. If possible, you should choose to follow your own nature. No matter what everyone does, only the way they like is right for them. But reality needs to be adjusted to personal wishes. So money is important. Behind all noble forces there is material support. Then, I don't know whether your parents are optimistic about your education, but anyway, you should think more about it."

"Think too much?"

"That's right. You have to think more. Many people in the world can succeed because they think two steps further than ordinary people. But even ordinary people can achieve this through hard work." Xia Long said, "Then, you have to remember the last thing."

Seeing Xia Long's serious tone, Jingzi also spoke in a serious tone with a tense face: "Yes!"

"Human wisdom and thinking are limited tools we use to fight against infinite dangers. No matter how much preparation you make and how many backup plans you take, accidents may still come one after another and knock you to the bottom of the abyss. Even if you are mentally prepared, you will still feel so painful that you want to die."

After saying this, Xia Long stood up.

"If that's the case, go back home and recover in the warmest place. We can talk about the rest next time. It's getting late, and I should go back."

Jingzi watched Xia Long walk away step by step. She was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses. She quickly stood up and shouted at Xia Long's back:

"Brother Xia Long! Can I still chat with you next time?"

"up to you."

Xia Long responded, then suddenly stopped and tilted his head slightly towards the back.

"One last thing."

"what?"

"I didn't come here to commit suicide, I came here to take the lives of others."

After saying that, Xia Long finally left.

Jingzi was the only one left, she clenched one hand into a fist and pressed it tightly against her chest over her heart.

When he returned to Chiaki Furiya's home, Takumi was feeling a little embarrassed as Chiaki Furiya was holding a lunch box in his hand.

Takumi is one year younger than Akiko. He is young and taciturn. He looks strong because he works a lot and his skin is slightly darker. He lives with his grandfather. Takumi's grandfather has a good relationship with Chiaki Furuya, and Takumi often helps them with work.

Like Akiko, he is one of the few students who came back during the holidays, and he also has a good relationship with Xia Long. However, Xia Long feels that Takumi approached him at first because he was worried about his identity and wanted to protect Grandpa Chiaki Furuya, but now he seems to trust him.

"This is the pork rib soup we made. Take it back and let the room taste it."

"It's getting dark. I'll take him there."

Under the cover of night, Xia Long saw Jiang off. Jiang was carrying the lunch box and Xia Long had his hands in his pockets. Neither of them spoke and the journey seemed very quiet.

"That's right, Takumi."

Xia Long thought of something and said, Jiang didn't agree, but Xia Long knew he was listening, so he continued to ask:

"Everyone else is staying outside, why are you still staying on the island? Don't you want to go to the big city?"

Jiang was silent for a while, as if he needed to think about this question carefully, and then he spoke slowly:

"I don't think people have to go outside. Grandpa is on the island, and there are already many cities in the world."

"No matter what Japan does, there is no 100% urbanization in the world, right? I don't think their choice is right, and the choice here is wrong... People are needed here too."

"Yes."

Xia Long put his hands in his trouser pockets and walked.