In the afternoon, they finally began their regular classes.
The course was titled Basic Theory of Theism, and the teacher was yet another old man with thinning, gray hair.
‘This school really has a lot of old men. I suppose all the able-bodied men have been forcibly conscripted for strange missions,’ Lin Yu thought.
The old man called the roll and began his lecture, completely indifferent to his audience.
Kobayashi Mirai had no intention of listening at all.
She led Lin Yu to a seat in the back row by the window and brazenly pulled out her phone to watch anime.
Lin Yu glanced at her in surprise.
Sensing his gaze, the girl tilted her head, thought for a moment, and tucked her hair back to pull something out.
It was one half of a pair of Bluetooth earbuds.
Kobayashi Mirai had completely misunderstood his intention.
Lin Yu froze for a second but took the earbud and put it on anyway.
The girl then considerately moved her phone screen toward the center between them.
Once he put on Kobayashi Mirai’s earbud, he felt utterly helpless.
After taking off Vigus’s headset, he could neither understand the old man’s English lecture nor follow the anime on the girl’s phone, which lacked Chinese subtitles.
And so it continued until evening.
When all classes ended, Kobayashi Mirai took back her sword, gave a small wave, and used her Teleportation ability to leave the classroom.
After carrying that sword all day, Lin Yu felt a sense of liberation the moment it left his hand.
It was, after all, a chunk of iron weighing more than ten pounds.
Carrying it for an entire day had left him truly exhausted.
At that moment, Lin Yu suddenly thought of Zhou Cang, the man from Romance of the Three Kingdoms who specialized in carrying Guan Yu’s blade.
Compared to the sword he had been holding, Zhou Cang not only had to carry the Green Dragon Crescent Blade—which weighed eighty-two pounds in the novel—but also had to lead Guan Yu’s horse.
Thinking about it that way, it made perfect sense why Zhou Cang received offerings in Guan Yu’s temples.
‘But Kobayashi Mirai isn’t Guan Yu. Why does she insist on carrying this sword everywhere?’
It weighed over ten pounds and she never used it.
It wouldn’t get stolen if she left it in the dormitory.
What was the point of always having it on her?
Was it to look cool?
It wasn’t like she was a fictional character with a fixed design.
Even that guy from Jackie Chan Adventures who said a Sumo wrestler never removes his mask eventually took it off.
Lin Yu shook out his hands and stood up to leave the classroom.
The moment he opened the dormitory door, Li Hao looked over with a face full of gossip.
Surprisingly, Mu Chengfeng was also there.
“So, what happened today?”
Li Hao asked with anticipation.
Mu Chengfeng looked over as well.
“What are you so curious about?”
Lin Yu replied helplessly.
“Of course I’m curious! I’ve been playing games all day, and I’m bored out of my mind,” Li Hao said, pointing at his computer screen.
“There was an exam in the morning. She single-handedly took down several burly guys,” Lin Yu said after a brief thought.
“An exam?”
“Yeah, the semester is ending soon. Break starts after final exams,” Mu Chengfeng added.
“And then?”
Li Hao pressed.
“Then… we had a class in the afternoon called Basic Theory of Theism. She didn’t listen at all… She made me watch a Japanese anime with her.”
“Anime? Which one?”
Li Hao’s eyes lit up at the mention of anime.
“No idea. There were no Chinese subtitles, so I didn’t understand it anyway.”
“”
Ranma 1/2
Probably something similar to the adventures of Rainbow Cat & Blue Rabbit or Little Carp.
I helped her carry her sword.
It’s quite heavy.
After carrying it for a day, I think she must get tired holding it all the time.
After all, that thing is a genuine weapon.
Did you treat her to a meal?
I didn’t treat her; we just ate together.
Besides, she sent me the money for breakfast, and it seemed like she even included a delivery fee…
No way.
Charging your girlfriend for breakfast is one thing, but you actually took a delivery fee?
‘I don’t really care about the money, and I wouldn’t mind treating her, but someone who drives a convertible supercar probably doesn’t lack such a small amount of change.’
‘Since she gave it to me, there’s no need to return it.’
For the last ten or so days of the previous semester plus three months of this semester, he was used to buying breakfast.
Lin Yu skillfully distributed the breakfast, giving one to Kobayashi Mirai and a sandwich with extra ham to another girl.
She was Kobayashi Mirai’s new roommate who arrived this semester, a Japanese girl assigned to the dorm by the school based on nationality.
Supposedly she was seventeen, but the saying ‘a woman is seventeen until she dies’ didn’t really apply here.
Based on Lin Yu’s impression of her, she acted more like she was ten.
The girl had been a bit shy at first, but now she was used to her “delivery man” bringing her breakfast.
Perhaps because this girl’s course selection had been influenced by Kobayashi Mirai, their schedules were surprisingly identical, even though Kobayashi Mirai was a year ahead of them.
Since he had to attend classes too, he felt that being responsible for taking Sakuraba Yoru to and from class made him feel like a kindergarten teacher.
His communication with Sakuraba Yoru wasn’t extensive until the homework appeared.
That’s right, it was… the internet.
Maybe.
Taekwondo or Sanda?
Japan.
The number of Ghostification Events there is second only to the USA and Mexico.
In fact, the school has been planning to establish a branch in Japan for a while.
Being kicked off a Shinkansen train…
Only to find out…
Lin Yu realized that she was actually very sad.
She was actually very afraid.
She knew her master’s strength better than anyone.
But she…
She didn’t care about many people in this world, so she made arrangements for both Lin Yu and Kobayashi Ryuji.
Because no matter what that thing was…
Lin Yu felt his heartbeat…
It was X; the man was as fast as a gust of wind.
What they needed more was Kobayashi Mirai’s familiarity with the local area.
The Academy had tried…
One of the solutions was to delete memories.
The natural fading of memory is a human self-protection mechanism.
But that former Ace of the Execution Department went berserk in an instant, his gaze as fierce as a blade.
The person at the school with the memory-deletion Divine Sense felt as though they would be killed by that venomous glare.
After a long while, that blade-like gaze dimmed again, like a flashlight that had completely run out of power.
Psychological issues, Freud…
The man limped as he slowly walked out.
But having witnessed that just now, the person stayed in place even after the limping man had left, realizing they were drenched in sweat.
But what could he do by running back now?
The reason No.
2 told him all this was for the trade.
Lin Yu had once seen a post on a forum.
It basically said that all of a person’s negative emotions stem from their own mental deficiencies.
Anger is because one isn’t generous enough; jealousy is because one isn’t excellent enough; sadness is because one isn’t strong enough; gloom is because one isn’t broad-minded enough; anxiety is because one isn’t composed enough, and so on.
Lin Yu had always sneered at such toxic “chicken soup” posts.
According to that logic…
A deal is a deal.
Being kicked off the Shinkansen train was…
It turned out he was the biggest fool of all.
Once he was away from Kobayashi Mirai and Sakuraba Yoru, he was nothing more than a waste who couldn’t even put up a fight.
No one would know that he…
That burly old man had actually been sliced in half at the waist.
In the center of the chest was an opening.
In less than half an hour…
That was definitely not a human arm!
The train traveled through the pitch-black night, from… to…
Lin Yu… among them, only Mu Chengfeng was somewhat reliable.
“Mikasa?”
“Actually, I prefer Sasha. She was great when she saved that little girl.”
“By the way, why do you think I’m like Mikasa?”
Lin Yu fell silent.
Kobayashi Mirai’s short hair on her student ID did look a bit like Mikasa, but other than that, he couldn’t exactly say:
‘Because Mikasa is a super fighter and you’re a super fighter, and both of you are like protein-fueled muscle queens with several packs of abs, so I think you’re similar.’
“Whatever. Don’t you dislike many colors? Anyway, I just felt that since my master didn’t let me dye it before, now that I’ve left Japan and I’m free, I have to dye it twice as much to make up for it.”
Necrotic cells continuously shed from him as Kobayashi Mirai held him tightly.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
He had just displayed a destructive power and strength more terrifying than any monster right in front of the girl.
“Your whole person belongs to me. Why should I be afraid of you?”
The incident in the Mediterranean Sea, the one in Japan… was it always like this?
‘It’s not that I didn’t think about telling you, it’s just that it sounds unbelievable and it’s a hassle to explain.’
‘But you know, as long as you say you didn’t lie to me, I’ll believe you.’
After a moment of silence…
“Let me use an example you’ll understand. It’s like Aki Hayakawa in Chainsaw Man—it’s like trading your life to a demon.”
“Your life?”
“Yeah, he said he needs this body.”
“What is the price?”
“Perhaps it’s this body.”
“So…”
“Stop. If…”
“At worst, if a situation like that happens again, we’ll go to hell together.”
‘Typical. Using my power and then seeking death.’
‘I won’t let you just die like that. The moment your consciousness fades, I will repair this body. If you want release, then just hand the body over to me obediently.’
“Is it strange?”
“Just like how boys always want to be some hero saving the world, is it strange for a girl to fantasize about a beautiful romance?”
“I’ve always looked forward to someone appearing. Whether it’s a prince on a white horse or a little person riding a pig, as long as I need him, he will always be with me. Whether in life or death, even if we go to hell, he won’t leave me alone.”
It wasn’t that kind of…
Lin Yu suddenly felt that, beneath her lively and cheerful exterior, Kobayashi Mirai was…
It turned out everyone was quite lonely.
Sakuraba Yoru.
The girl was barely one and a half meters tall.
She was naturally treated as…
Kobayashi Mirai seemed to have grown weary.
Nagare-zakura left its sheath and pointed at him.
“Go. I don’t want to say it a third time.”
Lin Yu didn’t dodge, letting the long blade rest against his neck.
He could feel the coldness of the steel, but he wasn’t afraid at all.
In the bone-chilling depths of the winter sea, how could that warm embrace have been an illusion?
Just as the questions were about to burst forth, Lin Yu suddenly understood.
So that was it.
No wonder Kobayashi Mirai paid so much attention to him and took the initiative to use “winner’s privilege” to make him her boyfriend.
Being submerged in the freezing deep sea was the same as being swallowed by a swarm of beetles.
In that darkness and terror, when you think you’re going to die, someone disregards their own life and rushes forward to embrace you.
Sometimes, a person needs to be held tightly to feel alive.
So how could you not care?
How could you not trust the person who threw everything away to hold you?
The long blade was at his neck, but he wasn’t afraid at all.
Just as Kobayashi Mirai had shown no defenses against him during club activities, or how she didn’t worry that he would snitch to his roommate Mu Chengfeng when she planned to send Karazawa Megumi away—the same way she felt about him, he had developed a strange sense of trust and security toward her at some point.
But it was too late.
After the last trip, their relationship as a couple had already ended.
Kobayashi Mirai had done many things to understand him, while he seemed to have lost the chance to understand her.
Kobayashi Ryuji slowly looked at Kobayashi Mirai.
‘It’s not bad, though. This top student from Kyoto University seems much more reliable than me anyway. The girl is a martial arts master, and the boy is brilliantly talented. Haha.’
He laughed to himself.
Though it was a bit strange, they were quite a match.
The two were childhood friends who grew up together.
After getting together, they could even play League of Legends using that account they had always shared.
Compared to them, he was nothing but a pure accident.
Even the embrace he gave Kobayashi Mirai—he hadn’t even done that himself; No.
2 had done it…
He shouldn’t have gained the girl’s attention in the first place.
So, at a time like this, an accident like him should naturally disappear, letting things return to how they were meant to be.
This kind of scene wasn’t rare in movies—the classic “childhood friend versus the newcomer.”
But why?
Why should the childhood friend lose to the newcomer?
Why should “love at first sight” outweigh long-term companionship?
Besides, he was just a pure accident; even that embrace for Kobayashi Mirai was done by No. 2…
He shouldn’t have gained her attention.
Even if Kobayashi Mirai really did fall in love at first sight, so what?
Why should the childhood friend lose to the newcomer?
Why should love at first sight outweigh long-term companionship?
So at this time, an accident like him should naturally disappear, letting things return to how they were meant to be.
Without another word, he gripped the medicine in his hand.
Lin Yu turned around and walked away without looking back.
Lin Yu felt his heart twitch inexplicably.
Even with a blank expression, he knew everything was too late.
How many beauties love… how many… don’t cherish?
Heaven had granted him a wonderful destiny, but unfortunately, he hadn’t cherished it.
Destiny is sometimes like a book; you flip through it casually and think it’s ordinary, but when you truly reflect on it, you weep with sorrow.
Without another word, Lin Yu turned and walked away without looking back.
Under the sunset on the snowy ground…
“Honestly, the more I grow up, the less I understand you. But I feel like you care about him. This is like the plot of some melodramatic drama. Are you trying to make him angry on purpose?”
“No. He doesn’t like me, and I have no reason to make him angry.”
Kobayashi Mirai shook her head gently.
“It’s just that, regardless of anything else, staying here is too dangerous for him. It’s the same for you. Go back to Kyoto.”
“Can this be resolved safely?”
“Don’t worry. After all, Nagare-zakura chose me and not you, didn’t it?”
Kobayashi Ryuji smiled helplessly.
For so many years, Kobayashi Mirai had always used Nagare-zakura as her trump card in arguments, and he could only ever offer a helpless smile in response.
Originally, he wasn’t going to try and draw the long blade.
He didn’t want to be an Exorcist like his father and grandfather.
But since he wouldn’t go, his grandfather was going to take Kobayashi Mirai to try drawing the sword instead.
As a boy, letting a girl take his place to draw a sword and exorcise ghosts—what kind of thing was that?
So he eventually went to the shrine and tried to make the blade leave its sheath.
Whether it was fate or something else, he failed.
The long blade he couldn’t pull out even with all his might was drawn effortlessly by Kobayashi Mirai.
Consequently, he got to live the life he wanted—the life of an ordinary person.
Destiny is sometimes like a book; you flip through it casually and think it’s ordinary, but when you truly reflect on it, you weep with sorrow.
Only, unlike that embrace in the Mediterranean, this time was no accident.
Goodnight, I love you.
Why do you always… whenever you sleep…
Because…
Because it feels like you’re one, so…
There was still a chance for everything, still time for everything.
Before the mid-game of fate came to a final halt, he had to do something.
‘I don’t believe in any Gods, but I believe in you…’
Megumi.
Hide for a while.
They watched anime together that neither of them had seen before, eating various takeouts ordered with “new user” discounts on delivery apps.
Every person used every phone number they had to get group-buy deals on Meituan or Ele.me, including the “Crazy Thursday” super deals at KFC.
Sometimes…
Watching Xiaoye in her silly, cute Pikachu pajamas asking dumb questions, and then Kobayashi Mirai would complain about the plot being unrealistic, while he would follow up their conversation with some lame jokes.
For an entire week.
Xiaoye naturally recommended her favorite Pokémon, while Kobayashi Mirai recommended a newer show, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners—a rather sad story that even made Xiaoye cry by the end.
In turn, he recommended one of his favorite Chinese animations, Star Journey, a classic hot-blooded series with a story and world-building somewhat similar to One Piece.
Living like this sounds like a waste of life.
But Lin Yu felt an unprecedented sense of comfort.
He felt this life was good—so good that he wished it would never end.
‘I hate these headstrong “good people” the most; no matter what happens, they suddenly block the way and stand in front of you.’
But that day…
Lin Yu wasn’t exactly what you’d call a romantic person.
Flowers always evoke fantasies of romance.
Mentioning flowers might make people think of the unique rose on Asteroid B-612 in The Little Prince, or perhaps the “Rose” who left his youth with the Chicago Bulls.
That’s why people always equate flowers with romance.
A young girl’s feelings are as bright as light, but a young man’s realization is like a mist that only clears far too late.
The winter wind is so cold; it’s as cold as time.
Once it blows past, there is no going back.
Just like the lyrics of a certain song say, some destinies are predetermined; no matter how hard you try, there’s nothing you can do.
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