There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 397

Chapter 397: Chapter 389. Legacy

As expected, the voice of dissent toward the ’harsh’ punishment that House Horin received after the trial against House Ishetra died down after the citizens watched the trial for Operation Kronos.

Now, they thought that the punishment wasn’t harsh enough.

The extent of the atrocities mentioned in the prosecutor’s opening speech put Zein’s case in a new light. Previously, it was only seen as a conflict between two Old Houses. With the new trial, it became so much more.

Now, House Ishtera has become one of the many victims that people can relate to. It shone a light on the previous story about Zein’s struggle, and people were once again reminded that the guide did not come from a privileged place.

Not that Zein cared if their view of him improved or not.

That being said, he did not expect to be greeted by another bout of crying from the kids in Trinity.

"Captain!"

Zein tilted his head when Dheera was greeting him while crying again. He let the girl cling to him, but also looked around the guide lounge with confusion. Why did they look so down? A glance at his commlink told him today wasn’t the day for the simulation training, so why all the crying?

He shifted his gaze to the sound of reason in the room; Nadine and Alice. His assistant, as usual, swiftly provided him with an answer by lifting her tablet where an article was displayed. It connected his past of living in the red zone with the attack on House Ishtera twenty-nine years ago.

"Ah..." he looked down and flicked the weeping girl’s forehead. "Why? Do you think my life is sad? Are you pitying me?"

Dheera--and the other guides--immediately shook their head. "N-no," she said in the middle of her sob. She knew how strong her Captain was, and Zein had never shown any sign that he felt bad about what he had been through in his life. "It’s just...I’m ashamed because I’ve been too complacent with my lif--ouch!"

Again, Zein flicked the girl. "There’s nothing wrong with enjoying living your life as long as you bring no harm to others while doing it," Zein patted the groaning girl’s head before letting out a sigh. "Striving to be better is a separate thing."

"Ung..."

Zein chuckled and swept his gaze to the other guides. How interesting; their train of thought was quite naive, but they were all good people. It was hard to come across a group of people with no sound of dissent and toxicity. It almost made him feel bad about taking them to the Deathzone.

"More importantly, have you talked with your psychiatrist?"

"Yes, Captain..."

"Have you made your decision?" Zein looked around, observing their eyes. At that point, their gaze shifted--from a display of sadness to conviction.

Dheera looked up after stroking her twice-struck forehead, the tears in her eyes had turned into a blazing fire. "Captain, if we’re not taking care of the Deathzone, will it spread to the other region?"

The question brought Zein back to the memories of the marching forces and the white-eyed titan. "Perhaps," he said.

"Okay," the girl nodded then, and walked toward Alice while taking out her consultation result.

Zein held back his chuckle, but he couldn’t help the smile on his lips. He was proud--he didn’t mind to admit that. He still stood by his ideal; that above a guide’s ability, mental fortitude should be prioritized. Skill could be taught, but the willingness to bulldoze through fear could only come from within.

"But, Captain...is it true that the one who did the--ahem--execution was...Golden Viper?" Brisk scooted closer and asked carefully.

The question immediately turned the guides’ attention to Zein again. "So I heard."

Dheera gasped. "Was..." she lowered her voice, but with how quiet the others were, everyone could still hear her clearly. "Was Sir Vaski destroying his clan because of this? For you?"

Zein chuckled. "No; none of us knew about it at that time."

Moreover, Zein didn’t even know Bassena Vaski existed at that time. At the time Bassena made his revenge, Zein already pushed the man with the amber eyes he met in a cave out of his mind.

But that didn’t seem to deter these kids’ fantasies. Dheera clapped her hands, no trace of lament was left in her face. "Then it means you are fated, isn’t it? To think that he unknowingly avenged your family!"

"Mm," this time, not even Nadine was immune to the atmosphere. "Even if he hadn’t, I’m sure Sir Vaski would do it immediately after knowing, don’t you think?"

"Yes, yes! Absolutely!"

"Oh--Oh! Have you read this article? They talked about this exact thing! Like how it would go if Sir Vaski did not destroy the Golden Viper--what do they call it--star-crossed lover?"