Zero Evaluation Pt.3

The situation was as bad as it could possibly be: we were not only tangible, but also made entirely of soul.

The soul, as mentioned in earlier chapters, is one of the most unstable forms that exist. Any damage could destroy us, and I am sure that this time we would not be as lucky as we were with the triple sneeze situation, where we rebuilt ourselves.

Damn it, talking about the triple sneeze again during a serious scene….

The resolution of that situation rested entirely in my hands. In the few seconds we had left, I analyzed everything I knew about the soulless young man.

He was very strong, there was no way to let go by force.

The most important thing about Zero is that he always chooses the minimum. The only deliberate actions I saw him take were eating and trying to kidnap us... and the slap.

THE SLAP! HE HAS A SENSE OF PRESERVATION!

I already knew what to do. Extending my bony fingers, in a single blow to the tree in front of me, I executed my plan:

"Deadly Technique Number 329: Killer Karate Chop!!"

The tree trunk fell with millimetric precision toward Zero. He would have to choose: hold us and be crushed or save his short life.

With a leap backward, he made his choice. Freed, we flew, hiding among the branches and leaves of the immense forest. Come to think of it, why were we behind that thin oak tree until now and not here?

The giant black-barked tree, which for some reason we hadn't chosen either to hide behind, crashed to the ground. Jumping over the tree, the duo went straight to Zero, who was standing in the middle of a cloud of dust that rose up.

"Hey, are you okay? What happened?" asked Miss Zero.

"...Sorry," muttered Zero... the boy one, not her. Oh, you get it!

"He must be dizzy, check his carotid pulse, Zyg, I'll check his pulse in his feet," worried, she checked his whole body to see if there were any injuries, then went straight to his leg.

“Whoa, whoa, go easy there. He’s not made of sugar."

"D-did you hear that too? Didn't you hear it? He screamed!" She said it as if it were the very first time he had ever screamed. 'Besides, that tree didn't fall for nothing. There was someone else here."

"How about we ask him? Huh? He's not a baby," said the master, turning to Zero. "So, what brought you here?"

"I was looking for something..." said Zero, his voice weak.

"Looking for something? That’s news to me. What is it you’re trying to find — enlightenment, a new path? And why the violence against this beautiful tree?" the master asked, almost as if pondering the meaning of life.

"Huh… I don’t remember what I was looking for, but the tree was my fault. I beg your pardon."

"And the scream?" asked Madelyne, returning to the center of the conversation.

"I just got a little excited," Zero smiled, his facial muscles clearly trembling from lack of use.

I knew that smile. It was just like mine. Of course, leaving out all the muscles, ligaments, expression, eyes, mouth, nose, and everything else. But the vibe of the smile was the same as mine.

Zero was using longer sentences than his usual monosyllabic vocabulary. The direct bond he created between us worked as intended. Even his eyes had gone from fish eyes to half-dead eyes. A part, albeit a small part, of my soul had spread to the boy.

THAT BASTARD ROBBED ME... LITERALLY.

The two were more frightened by the smile than anything else, but the wiser one decided to take control of the conversation:

"Then everything is fine. The young man must have gotten upset listening to our argument and decided to train out here. Although it is a sin to destroy such beautiful nature, it was a beautiful blow."

"Huh... yes, it was," Zero hadn't directly said it was him, but it was a more than timely confusion.

Still, I couldn't hold back my happiness at being indirectly praised.

It was a beautiful chop, Shi-nii.

Somewhat confused, the woman went back to tying up her hair, which had become completely disheveled during the fight:

"What's going on? You've always been obedient... why did you decide to run around at night and act like a lumberjack right now?"

"Some chase after opportunities, but many are fortunate enough to cultivate value in their shortcomings. I believe opportunity is chasing after young Zero," the old man replied.

Was it just my imagination, or had the old man glanced at the two of us?

I think we'd better hide a bit more, that old man is creeping me out.

"We don't pay you to go around playing riddles," she said.

"Exactly, come on, kid. We have to work on defense today too." Turning his back on her, he grabbed Zero by the collar.

Nervous, she completely lost any false sense of politeness, shouting:

"Someone finally took an interest in him! Make sure he doesn't lose his cool or I'll make sure he stays in bed for the rest of the week!"

The old man stopped in his tracks, turning around, his back to the sunlight.

"I've been training for years on the pariah that the Zeros send here. All your bastards and hangers-on, and even after all kinds of humiliation, I never let out a single scream." He unbuttoned the collar of his flowery shirt. "If you touch him or prevent him from having the same training opportunities you had — I'll kill you."

The wise master's cry echoed throughout the small forest that adorned the grounds of the immense mansion.

One false move.

The old man made a sudden movement, as if to attack, but stopped abruptly, motionless, letting her react aimlessly. Ashamed, she tried to speak, but only murmurs came out of her mouth. The old man showed his yellow teeth in a smile from ear to ear.

"I wonder if young Zero is finally developing a bit of personality. This is the time you'll find out if you really like him or his passivity."

The lady just remained silent.

"It was good to have our annual fight. Mrs. Zero. I will make sure that nothing unusual happens to your nephew."

Ahhhh, so she was the aunt all along!

Sitting on a huge, comfy branch, we were left there alone, while Zero went back to his routine. The sunlight filtered through the purplish leaves, creating a relaxing atmosphere — perfect for a good talk.

"Okay, he loses a few points for lacking personality and almost killing us back there, but he earns way more for being ripped. Overall, still a positive score," I said.

"I don’t know if I want those rock-brained lunatics as family," Tadashi remarked, even though he hadn’t even properly seen the whole fight.

"They might be crazy, but they’re also really strong, and they do care a lot about the boy."

"Care about him? The master I can sort of get… but the aunt clearly only sees failure in Zero."

"Hey, what’s the point of having that third eye of yours if you don’t use it… Didn’t you see the energy she radiated when he screamed? She really does worry about him."

"Even though all she’s done so far is insult him?"

Geez, how do I put it in a way he’ll get?

"She’s a tsundere aunt."

"OOOH, RIIIIGHT!"

— — —

Zero slept peacefully, his breathing so quiet that it would be easy to mistake him for a corpse. And believe me, it’s hard for me to mistake a living person for a dead one. 

Despite his deep sleep, we had to be careful not to wake him up. It was our first time entering the mansion, and my idea, at least, was to leave through the front door with our new bodies.

The light from the double moons came through the window, illuminating just the bed, turning the entire empty room into vast darkness. Finally, the time had come to live out all the dreams I had promised to embody... in the literal sense of the word. 

We might not understand why we were in this world so different from ours, but that was no excuse not to take advantage of that cosmic mistake.

Unravel the mysteries and perform every cliché I loved so much in stories. Yes, that was our mission.

There was only one thing stopping me, or rather, one person:

"I don't know, Shi-nii, it just seems weird to me..." Tadashi said.

Tadashi's indecision was no surprise. Even as a soul, he was still a teenager, and if horror movies have taught me anything, it's that teenagers are indecisive... and dumb.

Up to that point, we had faced entities and all kinds of barriers to finally achieve the long-awaited beginning of the isekai I had so desired, and as the final boss, I encountered:

The complex feelings of a teenager!