21st Century Necromancer

Chapter 95

Every person has their own good nature, even those who seem utterly vicious; deep within their hearts, there must be a place of kindness.

Kindness does not need a reason; it may simply be an instinctive compassion, or the help offered on impulse. To extend help to those in need out of sympathy, and to reach out to those in distress, such sentiment is undoubtedly a very precious quality.

However, the giving of kindness must not be without restraint, or else it will lead the helped to assume that your kindness should be taken for granted.

True kindness should be about assisting those who genuinely need help, yet even then, it must be measured. Helping others is not about limitless giving; it should be about stopping in time, once they are out of trouble, to avoid making them feel as if your help is cheap and expected.

Chen Yu's help for Xiao Sanmao was born from his compassion and empathy for the girl, but this did not mean that he was obligated to fulfill her last wishes in life.

To provide a proper burial for her, and then to fulfill her last wish, what if after fulfilling it, she still felt regrets about life and wanted to resurrect? And what if, after resurrection, she found her previous life too difficult and wanted a better life?

Despite Xiao Sanmao's sacrificial nature demonstrated before her death, Chen Yu believed she was not the type to make such unreasonable demands, but he still needed to consider the possibility of such a situation arising. The human heart is unpredictable and fragile, unable to withstand any testing or probing.

Chen Yu's silence made Xiao Sanmao pause, but she quickly understood. Indeed, he was a stranger to her; him willing to ensure her proper burial was already a great kindness. Why should he help her fulfill her last wish as well?

"I'm sorry, that was presumptuous of me." In Japan's culture, there has always been a tradition of not troubling others, so after realizing her mistake, Xiao Sanmao quickly apologized to Chen Yu.

"It's nothing; you don't need to apologize." Chen Yu didn't mind, and instead explained to her, "Death is final; once you've died, you should not disturb the living. There is a boundary between the living and the dead that neither side should cross, so I can't do this for you."

As for the timing of Xiao Sanmao's burial, Chen Yu didn't know too much about these matters. A Necromancer isn't a geomancer who talks about feng shui and auspicious times—no matter how ominous the location or time, even if a body were to rise from the grave immediately after being buried, to a Necromancer, it would just be another subject for research.

However, since it was tradition and Xiao Sanmao herself wished for a proper funeral, Chen Yu still respected her opinion. He not only contacted monks to chant sutras and help her soul transcend, arranged the burial time, but also specifically invited Misumi Mikoto and Kube Rokuro to attend the funeral and had Misumi Mikoto inform Xiao Sanmao's dear friend Hana-chan about it.

During the time the funeral was being prepared, Xiao Sanmao's ashes were still kept at Chen Yu's home. Meanwhile, her soul stayed within that Black Crystal, which was filled with Negative Energy, an excellent nourishment for souls; Xiao Sanmao didn't want to come out of it. To Chen Yu, it wasn't a big deal—it was just a Black Crystal, and he considered it an accompaniment for her burial.

While arranging these matters, Chen Yu also finally learned Xiao Sanmao's real name—Saegusa Mikie, a very ordinary name, much like she was. But no matter how ordinary the name was, it was her given name, the first gift from her parents.

Chen Yu also asked Saegusa Mikie about her family: whether she wanted to inform her family or relatives about her death. But the answer Saegusa Mikie gave Chen Yu was disheartening.

Saegusa Mikie wasn't from Tokyo originally; her home had been in Fukushima Prefecture. Although her family wasn't wealthy, her parents weren't destitute either. Besides herself, she had a younger sister and also lived with her grandmother. Their life wasn't luxurious, but it was harmonious and happy.

At the time, Saegusa Mikie was still in high school, and her greatest ambition was to find a good job to contribute to the family finances and meet a good man who loved her, with whom she could build a happy family.

But everything was destroyed by the tsunami that followed the earthquake.

The house was gone, her parents were buried under the collapsed house never to emerge again; her sister was swept away by the tsunami and is still listed as missing; unable to withstand the shock, her grandmother contracted a disease from the tsunami and also departed from this world... Their complete family was shattered in an instant.

She still had an aunt who took her to Tokyo to take care of her, but a few years ago, the aunt also died in a car accident, leaving her alone, drifting and unsupported in Tokyo. This was also why she thought of dying—life was hard, so what harm would death do?