Lies and Prejudice

 is an event in SINoALICE.Parrah:

Celebrating the Act of Reality release.

Noya:

From here on out, you’ll have to learn to understand others’ feelings.

Parrah:

I want you to observe a certain nightmare in that place.

Noya:

I would like to ask for your recognition once more.

Parrah:

Oh, speaking of…

Noya:

This time, the story is quite long…

Parrah:

So turn auto-skip on if you’re farming!

Noya:

It’s doable on the options screen, so

Parrah:

please don’t forget!!

Verse 1
Graduated from the School of Philosophy

at Yule University.

Graduated from the School of Philosophy

at Hatford University Graduate School

with a doctoral thesis on "Mentale

Philosophie."

Served in a number of national studies

and special forces.

In recent years, received training with a

foreign legion.

Founding member of the Juzenso style of

martial arts for soldiers.

Recognition of skills led to work as a

bodyguard

for prominent figures from several

countries.

Registered as No. 009 with the

International Association of

Security Organization Teachers.

Served in secrecy as a defense advisor

after returning to Japan last year.

Possesses deep ties to the financial world

and is often called upon during visits to

European territories.

Regularly involved with the arts

and actively posts to video websites.

While not well known,

his talents have been praised

by celebrities from many fields.

Age 16

Enrolled at N High School.

Got into fights all the time.

Due to strength and normally

mild-mannered personality,

became widely known as

the shadow leader of a gang of juvenile

delinquents.

Also a very good student,

has received a recommendation from Dr.

K,

Director of T University General

Psychiatric Hospital.

Age 18

Graduated at the top of his class in the

special armed forced.

Completed training and

enlisted as an active member.

Promptly promoted to commanding

officer.

Ages 19-24

Fought many serious battles with

international terrorist organizations.

Fought against human trafficking

organizations in Country S,

renowned for single-handedly

rescuing 9 hostages from an

armed group of 900.

* Rumored to have killed 700

Ages 25 to present

The battles he fought to protect others

led him to be widely known as a

legendary warrior in the underground

society.

Though he is not fond of it,

No. 009 is referred to by the codename

"Grim Reaper".

Real Hound (Fire):

Sir! We've sighted the old mercenary!

Should I bring him in for questioning?

Real Hound (Wind):

No. Leave him be.

Verse 2
All of the these events took place ten years

ago.

The sun's unforgiving heat scorches my

back.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see that not

even the strongest

members of the platoon can keep pace

with me.

Not that it matters.

I'm used to doing things on my own.

Despite being part of an organization,

leaving people behind was a daily

regimen

for an extraordinarily strong person like

myself.

Even against 100 marines,

I was the only one left standing

after 10 minutes.

Naturally, someone as strong as me

does not need help from anyone.

Taking down a group of armed terrorists

or trekking through a desert without

water

are all in a good day's work for me.

I imagine this mission will be just as easy.

—Or at least, it should've been.

When I arrived at the enemy's hideout,

I saw that the members of the platoon

had been tied up as hostages.

I knew right away it was a trap.

But I was born to protect others,

so I couldn't just abandon them.

I raided the base from the front

and announced my name

as always.

The enemy fled at the sound of my name,

flailing their arms as if casting off spider

webs.

Taking out an enemy who has lost their

cool on the battlefield

is like taking candy from a baby.

I sent them all to meet their maker.

After a while,

only one person stood to challenge me.

I could sense he was powerful. It gave me

goose bumps.

"So, are you the leader of this group?"

I had a feeling he was, but I just had to

make sure.

I didn't wait for a reply...

And immediately prepared for battle.

In the end,

calling it a fight would be an

exaggeration.

I destroyed the organization,

freed the hostages,

and continued on to the next mission.

Real Ghost (Fire):

Hey, do you know the old merc?

Real Ghost (Wind):

I don't know him. He seems decent enough, though.

Real Ghost (Fire):

You'll get your chance soon enough.

He's always skulking about here at night.

Verse 3
I awoke to find myself covered in sweat.

"That dream again..."

Was I feeling uncomfortable due to the

sweat,

or was it the dream?

I slowly lit a cigarette

to calm my nerves.

Light flickered in my eyes.

The blurry images in my head

were of the

violent battlefield at Jafgan.

"It's useless.

I can't shake off that feeling

from the battlefield."

Even the plants that I sometimes spoke to

jokingly

swayed silently in the wind

that blew from the window.

Several years have passed since I

returned to this country.

But even this seemingly peaceful place

is not beyond the reach of that

organization.

They manipulated their image through

the mass media

and quietly ate away at the emotions of

the people.

Before long, the citizens had abandoned

thinking for themselves.

"The organization will make its move

soon.

I have to stop them."

I don't want to see anyone else die.

That reason alone

has kept me going.

Verse 4
I began patrolling the town

and soon my suspicions grew to

certainty.

Although it looked like a normal town,

the dark veil that shrouded it

was visible to me.

In this town that had grown complacent

with peace,

none were skeptical of the organization.

For someone like me, who had just

returned from war, though...

It proved a difficult place to live.

Take these sunglasses, for example.

Even in the dark, I never take them off.

When a normal person sees the

glow of determination in my eyes,

they become frightened.

But that's not all.

If I try to shake hands with someone, the

power of my grip is strong enough

to break their bones with ease.

In an environment where even my

daily behaviors can wound others,

it's only natural

that my interactions with others would

lessen.

And protecting the peace of the nation

was not the only problem that needed

solving.

I needed to face my resentment,

born from a never-fading regret.

It was always there, despite my efforts to

drown it out.

The resentment takes the form of a

woman.

Even now, I can see her smiling before

me.

Before long,

my memory returns to the day I was

supposed to be tracking the organization,

but instead found my impetus

for my return from Jafgan.

Verse 5
...It was a snowy Christmas day.

The armed group's insurrection was the

cause.

While working for a certain country's

defense force,

I received a request for emergency

assistance

and immediately departed for the

battlefield shown in the coordinates.

I arrived,

white breath emerging from my mouth.

But I soon found myself gasping for air.

A burnt odor filled the air.

It was so rotten that

even I, who had experienced

countless battles,

felt a wave of nausea.

In such an unforgiving environment,

it's only natural ordinary soldiers would

prove useless.

For the sake of those less experienced,

I suppressed my desire to go into an

immediate frenzy

and offered to help with the mountain of

corpses.

I pulled the charred bodies

from the rubble

and cast them into the back of a truck.

The indiscriminant

fires of war

consumed everyone,

whether they be a boy or girl.

The ground was littered with small

bodies

and the cries of wounded children

echoed like a woeful choir.

After a while,

an old comrade in arms emerged from

the crowd and approached me.

Or perhaps it's more accurate to say

he snuck up on me.

He was desperately trying

to hold his guts inside his body

as he came close to me.

He managed to pull a dry chuckle.

Perhaps he was pretending to be calm.

But I painfully understood him.

If I had been in his position,

I'm sure I would have done the same.

We shook hands in silence

and made trivial small talk about the

weather.

I wanted that moment to continue as long

as possible.

Such weak thoughts

echoed through my mind.

Despite my futile prayers,

it was only seconds later that his tired

body

slumped against me.

Of course,

on the battlefield,

we should disregard those we recognize

or who are important to us.

...but I cannot accept this.

I cried so much after that.

I made sure he knew I was holding him

tightly

until his body was cold.

I wrapped him in my uniform

and made my way to

the graveyard at the edge of the town.

Was my weary pace being hampered by

the snow,

or was it the burden in my soul?

I repeated answers that I already knew

and tried to stay calm.

I arrived at the graveyard,

a place awash with souls

who lamented their death.

As I dug his grave,

someone nearby noticed the corpse

and made their way over.

I realized right away who that sad figure

was.

It was his lover, the one he had told me

about.

The woman grabbed my friend

and burst into tears.

Only then did I realize

that he was dead.

He was never coming back.

That's why

all I could do was apologize.

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time!"

"Even though I had the power

to help him!"

"I didn't make it!"

"He's dead because of me!"

"It's my fault!"

"I killed him!"

"I should have

protected him!"

"He was just one person,

yet I couldn't help him!"

The snow piled up on the muddy ground

as

I rubbed my hands against my head.

I'm sure that she understood.

I had done my best to help him.

If I hadn't been there,

he would have suffered even more.

Even if I could save this small country,

if I failed to save

every single person in it,

I would never

be able to forgive myself.

The first defeat triggered something in

me

and I became obsessed.

From that day forth,

a ghostly woman would appear before

me.

Real Orc (Fire):

Argh! Would that stupid old man shut up already?!

I should have hit him harder!

Real Orc (Wind):

Settle down. You're not gonna do any good beating up a dead guy!

Real Orc (Fire):

Shut up! I know!!

Verse 6
My consciousness returned to that city

filled with exhaust fumes.

You could tell I had been crying.

The events of that day torment me

in the form of a ghost, ever at my side.

She's there when I stop by the store,

take out the trash in the morning,

or patrol the city.

Wherever she may be,

she smiles back at me.

Within that specter,

whom I loathe to look at in her ugliness,

I could see my friend's penchant for

mischief.

Back then

we used to talk a lot about girls.

I remember how we used to joke about it.

—11 years earlier

"I will only be with

women who are worthy of me!"

"Speaking of which,

didn't you say you wanted a girlfriend?"

"What about that girl?"

"If you want her, I'll let you have her."

"Unlike you, I can get a girlfriend

all by myself."

"Girls always end up

getting us into trouble."

"It seems girls

can't get enough of you, eh?"

Real Ghost (Fire):

Hey! It's the old merc's admirer!

Real Ghost (Wind):

Really? Where!?

Real Ghost (Fire):

You know what that means. The old merc must be nearby!

I get it now.

I need to deal with this grudge

or the curse of my dead friend

won't ever go away.

Even though I've managed to heal,

it seems like

I just can't talk to women.

I'm not scared of talking to others now.

I must try to make peace

with this terrible hatred.

Yet another person inside of my is

screaming out.

"I will never forget!"

"I will not forget his voice or

his attachments to this world!"

"I have not changed enough

to forget that."

"I still cannot forgive

the powerless me from that day."

I've told this to myself time and time

again.

Surely he's laughing

at what a coward I am.

But now it's ok.

As long as I destroy the evil in this place

I'll be able to move on.

I should also try to

be more sociable.

Verse 7
But even these unchanging days

are coming to an end.

I kept trying to find

the organization's members.

They blend in so well with the rest

of society that they would be

undetectable to the untrained eye.

But I've killed so many of them

that they can't fool me.

"I'm sorry," I would say

before taking them down with all of my

strength,

my hand like a bolt of lightning

aimed straight for the neck.

—But, even though they may look weak,

they'r still members of the organization.

My surprise attack was easily avoided.

Noticing something strange,

the enemy called for reinforcements in

an unusual voice.

"This is really bad".

Despite my strength,

I've never killed without a weapon,

let alone fight many enemies.

While I still had the upper hand

I decided to reveal myself

and give them a a chance to escape.

But, regardless of my compassion,

the organization's hoodlums

grabbed my lapels.

"Sh...ghh...

L-leave now and I'll...forgive..."

Hm? How strange.

Why is my voice...

I've faced death so many times before,

yet my legs still tremble.

The organization members point

and laugh at me.

Stop it!

Don't look at me like that.

Stop making fun of me...

I continue to tremble as their

provocative voices ring in my ears.

"You're that guy who's always prowling

around town

acting like some sort of mercenary.

Am I right, old man?"

"I thought he was a bit off his rocker,

he was always laughing..."

"If I attacked you,

you'd have to fight back, right?

All right! Here I come!"

Verse 8
How long has he been hitting me?

I can't even squeeze out the words

to ask him to stop.

Actually, I get it.

I have never

been of any use to anyone.

I'm unemployed.

I was under the delusion

that I could hide away my miserable past.

Recognizing all of this,

I saw the truth about myself.

Then the hoodlums said

mockingly:

"All right, old man. Time to confess."

"Spit it out!

Admit you're just a stupid, ordinary old

man."

"Tell us that everything was the

delusions of an old man."

"You were just acting tough,

lost in your own imagination."

"If you admit that,

we might just let you live."

"N...No! I...I'm..."

"I'm the strongest mercenary..."

Aah!

"Huh? What was that?!"

"Come on! Say it! Say what's next!"

"I'm just a hopeless liar,

I'm a waste of xx.

I'm a worthless insect. Now say it!"

Urgh! Arrgh!

They struck me heavily on the back of my

head with a bat.

My pride shattered.

I became an unsightly worm,

groveling to the great ones before me.

A metallic taste filled my mouth,

my body burning up,

unable to move a single finger.

I wanted this

to end as soon as possible.

My pride

no longer mattered.

"I'm a...

...a hopeless liar...

I'm a worthless...insect..."

"Come again?"

"I can't hear you!"

"I...I'm a..."

"...a hopeless..."

"...liar!"

"I'm...not...a mercenary..."

"It was all a delusion!"

Weeping and sobbing in humiliation,

my true self

was absolutely pitiful.

Verse 9
"Are you satisfied now?"

"Let him go."

Is this an illusion?

That woman's ghost appeared...

She stood between me and the thugs,

as if to protect me.

"Ehh? What the...?!"

"Who's this ugly chick?"

"Way to spoil the mood, lady."

I knelt on the ground

in total submission,

but the ghost wouldn't leave my side.

The thugs

spat on me,

but the ghost just smiled

and held my hand firmly.

After several seconds of glaring at each

other,

they may have understood her resolve.

Or perhaps they were afraid

that she might call for help.

Whatever the reason,

the thugs finally left us alone.

We walked into a crowded avenue.

The ghost

wiped my bloody forehead with a

handkerchief

and cleaned it with water that looked as

though it had been

purchased at a vending machine.

She looked after me with total devotion,

yet instead of showering my savior with

gratitude,

I remained skeptical.

"Why did you help me?"

Despite the doubt in my voice,

the woman replied gently.

"Let's talk about a certain girl."

Verse 10
That girl was a victim of bullying.

The reason was clear.

That girl was undoubtedly inferior

to those around her.

Her clothes spoke of her poverty,

and she was unsightly.

But, no girl chooses

to be like that.

Having been bullied

ever since she was born,

the girl understood.

Bullying drives a wedge between people,

but time is a great healer.

Experience has taught me

that changing to another environment,

such as another classroom,

can prevent such bullying

from taking place.

However, what this girl has gone

through

was very different from the experience

of others who have led normal lives.

She was ugly.

So ugly that she stood out.

She was bullied and her

mind warped as a form of self defense.

Those who have been broken

do not make friends.

It was, in fact, the opposite.

Everyday was hell.

No, being in hell would actually

have been more pleasant.

Her parents were the only ones who were

kind to her.

But within that small microcosm called

school

where she spent most of her time,

she had nothing but enemies.

Choosing to end it all

was not a hard decision.

Through the rain and the tears,

she finally reached the dark alley.

That's where she would die.

She took the rope and carefully read over

her last words.

She wanted those who bullied her to

know the darkness she had been

plunged into.

It was then that her savior appeared.

He was clearly

agitated.

He stammered as he spoke,

making it very hard to understand what

he said.

But she did understand

that he was trying to stop her.

The fact that someone other than her

family

would go out of her way to help her

felt totally alien.

She realized that she was

in love with this boy who

cared so much for her.

Someone who has lived a normal life

may not understand.

But the fact that he

was so desperate to help her

was too much for her to bear.

She decided to give up her

own life and devote

herself to his.

The reason was that she and

they boy were the same - both ugly.

She immediately realized that

he was also bullied.

And she felt that she had to

help him somehow.

And so she came

to watch over

him.

She would pretend to read books

that she didn't understand to

maintain her self respect.

A figure too afraid to buy adult books

at the local convenience store.

A figure that dogs barked at

when taking out the trash.

All this she did lovingly.

Days and years passed as if nothing.

She kept watching over

the young man.

And then, one day - today -

the opportunity came.

Real Plant (Fire):

Listen to this!

I just saw the old merc talking to the stalker lady!

Real Plant (Wind):

You did?

That's so nice! They finally got to talk.

Good for them.

Verse 11
I was caught up

by the words coming out from the girl

before me.

I felt I had to talk about the past

of this young boy she had come to love.

And then the whole

story started flooding out.

The boy didn't use

to be alone.

The first lie the boy told

was a small one.

"I know a celebrity."

His friends said that

was amazing, even

though they knew it to be a lie.

The boy had nothing

in his life to boast about

but for a moment, it

had made him feel special.

The boy couldn't forget how

that lie had made him feel.

He wanted to feel that way

again, so he lied once more.

Then he had to tell another lie

to clear up a contradiction.

The lies piled up on one another

and whenever he spoke more

lies came spilling out.

He no longer felt the guilt

he had felt with that first lie.

Lying had become easier

than he could have imagined.

As he got older,

his compulsive lying became more

problematic.

He was so shrouded in lies

that he hid the truth even from himself.

He was no longer able to tell

what was real and what wasn't.

Of course, everyone

thought he was strange.

The boys just treated him

like a toy.

They watched with mirth

how the boy got confused when

faced with the truth.

Of course, the boy

wasn't able to admit it.

If he did, he just knew

that it'd go to their heads.

And so he built new lies based

on old lies.

His catalog of lies had grown

so complex and numerous that

he could no longer

control them.

His lies had gotten so far

they were completely out of control.

Instead of a tranquilizer,

he used lies...

Verse 12
But the boy was finally able

to face his true self.

And then that happened, he had a

chance encounter with something

important.

Today was the day.

"This may seem ridiculous, but

I feel like I finally

understood myself."

"I am such an idiot..."

"Could I still be worthy of love?"

"Everyday I have pursued you.

You are the only one I want."

"Ever since we met, our lives

have been intertwined."

"You are my everything."

"This time I want to rescue you."

"There is nothing fake about my feelings."

"We cannot survive

alone.

We need a connection with someone."

"There are few like you

in this world."

"I wanted people to think I was someone

else

so I lied."

"I had to lie more to

maintain that lie."

"And then when I realized

that I had isolated myself,

it was already too late."

"I read books to understand

you illness.

"They said that if you have

someone who supports you,

you can heal."

"So I have been waiting

for the chance for you to

hear me."

"I am here for you.

So you'll be okay."

"It's not too late, even now.

Why don't you admit everything

and start a new life together with me?"

"But there's nothing I can do..."

This life you saved...

I have dedicated it all

to supporting you."

"But I might...

I might lie."

"And the lie I tell

might hurt you."

"I know that."

"Saving you was

selfish. It was something I only

did for myself."

"Yes. I know that."

"But what was important to me

in that moment was definitely you."

"But..."

"You don't need to say anymore."

He found it difficult to utter the next

words.

His lips refused to move.

It had been a long time since I had felt

the warmth of another

and it thawed my frozen heart.

Three months later...

Reality is harsh, but you have

to face your true self

nonetheless.

I had made a friend.

You can never rest

when your life is a lie.

To others it looks like a boring,

normal life.

Now I know how important that is.

I will live my normal days

and make them worthwhile.

"Hey! Listen to me!"

"My girlfriend is an actress!"

"Amazing!"

Epilogue
Parrah:

Nice work!

Noya:

Sorry for the long story...

Parrah:

Even so, can his bad habit be healed?

Noya:

As long as she's with him, he should be fine!

Parrah:

It would be wonderful if that's really the case.

Noya:

Who knows?

Parrah:

Truth is in the eyes of the beholder!

Noya:

Well then, see you again!

Parrah:

Kee-hee-hee!

Noya:

Keee-hee-hee-hee-hee!