Volume 3, Chapter 20 – The Way of Living

However, even though she said that, once Samael sensed Tianyin starting to get irritated, she still let out an amused sound.

「Well well, since I already brought it up, of course I’m going to keep talking~」

In Tianyin’s mind, Samael’s voice echoed faintly.

「Xiaoyin… yesterday, on that half-beast girl’s body, I also sensed the aura of the Seven Deadly Sins~」

A completely direct line.

『Eh eh eh eh…!!?』

The instant she heard this, Tianyin’s pupils instinctively shrank, and she subconsciously let out a surprised cry.

The Seven Deadly Sins.

Before Samael said this, Tianyin had never even considered such a possibility.

Of course, even though that was the case, after Samael spoke those words, Tianyin was without a doubt shocked to her core.

Unbelievable.

Unimaginable.

Incomprehensible.

But at a time like this, Samael would never be joking, so even if Tianyin didn’t want to believe it, this fact should be true.

Which meant… Yeluo, that cute cat-eared girl, was actually one of the Seven Deadly…

「Pfft, Xiaoyin, you still made a surprised sound. You clearly said you wouldn’t just a moment ago~」

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『Wuu… b-but this kind of thing is way too sudden!』

Tianyin’s little face flushed, but she still managed to squeeze out a stiff rebuttal.

『Wait, Samael, you’re saying Sister Yeluo is one of the Seven Deadly Sins? Is that… possible?』

Honestly, Tianyin didn’t really believe it.

After all, logically speaking, there were only seven Seven Deadly Sins in the entire Main World, and only seven. There was no way she would run into one by pure coincidence, right?

Honestly, only after meeting Samael did Tianyin realize just how ridiculously coincidental all her encounters with the Seven Deadly Sins had been.

「Well, don’t doubt me about that. I noticed it yesterday, but it wasn’t certain. But today… I can state it with complete certainty, Xiaoyin…」

Hearing Samael’s words, Tianyin knew she absolutely couldn’t deny something Samael had said seriously.

『Wuu…』

But to be honest, Tianyin really did not want to believe that Yeluo was one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

『Sister Yeluo is one of the Seven Deadly Sins… Samael, why would it be like that?』

「Even if you ask me, I don’t know. Each of the Seven Deadly Sins exists independently. Well, if that half-beast girl really is a Seven Deadly Sin, then… if Xiaoyin, you want the power of the Seven Deadly Sins, that girl… would have to end up like Sargus…」

Samael phrased it gently, but the meaning behind the words was painfully clear.

The Undead Grand Duke Sargus.

Bearer of the Sin of Greed.

And how the Sin of Greed became Tianyin’s power was simple: after Grand Duke Sargus died, it successfully fused into Tianyin’s body.

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Even so, Greed did not possess an independent personality like Wrath. Rather, Greed seemed to be just a form of power, naturally blending into Tianyin as a part of her.

Unfortunately, if Tianyin wanted to use Greed, she still had to activate the Seven Deadly Sins state.

And Tianyin could only maintain the Seven Deadly Sins state for five minutes each day.

Even though having Greed made her combat strength more than double, its duration had not increased, something Tianyin found disappointing.

But thinking about it, by this logic, if Tianyin really wanted to assemble all Seven Original Sins, then the unavoidable prerequisite was the death of each Sin’s bearer.

Without question, Yeluo, who possessed one of the Seven Original Sins… if Tianyin wanted her power, then Yeluo would naturally stand opposite her.

If you want the Seven Deadly Sins, fine, then Yeluo must die.

But…

But such a thing…

Tianyin could not accept it.

『Hey, Samael, isn’t there any other way? Do I really need someone else to die if I want the power of the Seven Deadly Sins?』

To be honest, Tianyin wasn’t very familiar with the Undead Grand Duke Sargus.

But when the Undead Grand Duke fell in battle, Tianyin still felt terrible inside.

Even though she deeply admired the Grand Duke for staying behind to cover the retreat and sacrificing himself, Tianyin still felt uncomfortable…

Well, at the root of it, he just died too suddenly.

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「Xiaoyin, I’m not exactly sure about this either. But if that half-beast girl’s situation is the same as the Grand Duke’s… then I can be certain. If Xiaoyin wants the Seven Original Sins from that girl…」

「Her death would have to be inevitable, right?」

Samael’s final sentence was phrased like a question.

But Tianyin knew those words were simply the truth.

But if that really was the truth…

Then how was Tianyin supposed to choose?

She wanted the power of the Seven Original Sins.

But the problem was that each bearer would have to die for her to obtain it.

『If it’s like that, Samael… then I don’t want it. Is that okay?』

In the end, this was what Tianyin said.

Even though her desire for the power of the Seven Deadly Sins was incredibly strong.

Not only because she wanted to grow stronger.

But because Tianyin’s heart now held things she wanted to protect.

She wanted to protect the person she liked most, protect the important people in her heart.

Whether it was Sister Xiaomu or Xiaomengyao or Xiaobingxue.

Even Eden itself…

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Tianyin’s heart had slowly begun to form these thoughts.

Even if this was a game world, as long as everyone here could keep living happily with smiles on their faces… wasn’t that good enough?

Because of this innocent thought, Tianyin knew the only thing she could do was obtain a power that no one would dare casually offend.

「Hmm, so Xiaoyin doesn’t want to take the Seven Deadly Sins from that girl’s body?」

In her mind, Samael sounded genuinely surprised.

『Hey, Samael…』

In response, Tianyin only parted her lips slightly and replied in a voice only she could hear.

『Even though I really want… and really need that power… but, Samael…』

『If just for that reason, if obtaining power means hurting someone else, especially killing them for no reason…』

『Wouldn’t that make me… far too cruel…?』

This wasn’t some kind of misguided self-sacrifice.

When facing a real enemy, Tianyin could, without emotion, annihilate every last one of them.

But when facing someone she didn’t consider an enemy, someone she even saw as a friend, Tianyin simply didn’t want to hurt them.

And that was Tianyin’s own way of living… her way of being in this world.