“Corpse?”
Kazumi’s sudden utterance stunned Fukada Akihiko. He had expected her to ask for something she wanted to buy or new clothes, but he never anticipated that Kazumi would make such a request.
“Yes, it’s the material needed for my ability awakening. Uncle Fukada, you’re probably the only one who can help me with this.”
Seeing Fukada Akihiko’s reaction, Kazumi didn’t hesitate. She raised her hand and summoned the Black Coffin, a giant coffin emitting a faint death aura, which stood between them.
“You mean… your ability has awakened?”
Fukada Akihiko frowned as he looked at the pure black coffin, which was slightly different from how he remembered it. He looked at Kazumi and asked.
Ability awakening refers to the phenomenon where ability users might experience changes in their abilities under certain unknown conditions, but these changes are usually unknown and uncontrollable.
“That’s roughly it, but it might require some materials to make it stronger.”
Kazumi nodded, feeling no need to hide anything from Fukada Akihiko. She revealed all the information she could.
“You need… corpses? That does seem to fit with this ability.”
Fukada Akihiko’s frown did not relax. Kazumi’s sudden ability awakening was something he hadn’t expected. He had thought that under his protection, Kazumi would at least live a stable life as a civilian.
However, her previously useless ability had awakened, and it had developed in such a dark and bloody direction. One must know that an ability is a manifestation of a person’s spirit, and if Kazumi’s ability requires corpses for awakening, it proves the state of the young girl’s heart.
If the original [Black Coffin] could still be explained by the girl’s dark and isolated childhood, then the current situation made Fukada Akihiko somewhat worried. After all, within the organization, any member whose abilities intersect with this aspect is invariably a pervert.
“Kazumi, are you alright now?”
Looking at the young girl with some concern, Fukada Akihiko still asked his question.
“Yes, I’m fine. What’s wrong?”
The young girl blinked and looked at Fukada Akihiko, not quite understanding the situation, and replied.
“I mean your current psychological state, or rather, if your ability has awakened, what do you want to do, Kazumi?”
Fukada Akihiko’s rephrased question finally made Kazumi understand his meaning. He was probably afraid that her ability awakening was due to a psychological change, as corpses were not something good, no matter how you looked at it.
“I’m fine. My ability awakening was due to some accident and has nothing to do with a psychological change. As for the future, when I have the ability, I’ll help Uncle Fukada with his work.”
Kazumi slightly smiled, undetectable, and said to Fukada Akihiko.
The change in her abilities was due to the golden finger she got from transmigration, not due to any psychological breakdown. She still had to appear normal, otherwise, it would be bad if she was caught and sent for mandatory treatment as a lunatic.
“Mmm… In that case, I’m relieved. But Uncle doesn’t need Kazumi’s help. Kazumi living peacefully is my greatest wish.”
Fukada Akihiko nodded, but then quickly shook his head.
Research on abilities still lacked a standard, acceptable framework, and bizarre abilities emerged endlessly. Compared to the so-called correlation between spirit and ability, Fukada Akihiko trusted his eyes more.
At the very least, the Kazumi he saw now was more willing to talk to him than before, and occasionally smiled. Now, she even had a boyfriend she longed for and was living the campus life she desired. These were all signs of her slowly emerging from the darkness. As for any ability changes or awakenings, they could all go away!
This was enough. Fukada Akihiko did not want Kazumi’s peaceful and beautiful life to be shattered by anything else.
“But, Father and Mother’s revenge, I…”
Kazumi completely disagreed with Fukada Akihiko’s statement. She raised her head, her stubborn gaze fixed on Fukada Akihiko opposite her.
Looking at the girl’s incredibly determined eyes, Fukada Akihiko fell silent. He was probably the most qualified to speak about the personality of the girl he watched grow up.
She looked thin and small, but once she set her mind on something, she would find a way to achieve it. It was like when she learned the truth of her parents’ deaths, she almost cut ties with him.
He thought the girl had long given up on such thoughts, but he didn’t expect that even now, she was still silently persevering in her heart…
Looking at Kazumi with a complex gaze, Fukada Akihiko was at a loss for words for a moment. From the organization’s perspective, someone like her, who had a deep hatred for the Association and possessed considerable abilities, was definitely a target for the organization to actively recruit.
But from Fukada Akihiko’s personal perspective, he really didn’t want Kazumi to get involved in such a vortex of hatred at such a young age. Even Shimizu Masato had only asked him to take good care of Kazumi before he died, not to seek revenge against the Heroes Association.
“Kazumi, you know I don’t want you to avenge your parents, and they…”
“If you don’t try, how will you know the result?”
The young girl interrupted Fukada Akihiko’s lecture. She still stared at Fukada Akihiko with the same expression, her cold little face filled with stubbornness and resilience.
Looking at Kazumi’s almost pleading eyes, Fukada Akihiko finally relented. He sighed helplessly, his body softening as he leaned back on the sofa, a rare hint of fatigue showing in his eyes.
“Sigh, let’s try. Tell me in detail later what’s going on with your ability now.”
He looked at Kazumi with a sense of resignation. Perhaps when she made such a pained expression, he had already lost.
“Thank you, Uncle Fukada!!”
The young girl’s previously heartbreakingly resilient expression melted away in an instant. Her usually cold face even showed a faint smile, like the first tender bud in spring after the ice melts, exuding the youthful vitality that only a girl of her age should have.
It also made Fukada Akihiko feel that his decision was probably worth it.
…
In the messy little room, Kazumi sat alone on the small bed. On the table was a stack of money Fukada Akihiko insisted on leaving for her and a pile of strange snacks, all of which were things she used to like.
Leaning lazily against the headboard, Kazumi felt an indescribable sense of relief in her heart. The golden finger problem that had been bothering her finally had a solution in sight.
Although there were some elements of performance, she had also relied on the residual desire of “her own” Shimizu Kazumi to avenge her parents, and had thus gained Fukada Akihiko’s trust and his promise to help her find the materials she needed.
For a large villain organization like [Shadow], collecting corpses would be as easy as eating and drinking.
Moreover, Fukada Akihiko had also left her some cash when he left. Although the amount was not large, likely to prevent her from having a large amount of unexplained funds that would arouse suspicion, it was a lifesaver for Kazumi. As for the snacks, she would keep the ones she liked and take the ones she didn’t to school to feed the golden retriever, improving their relationship to some extent and not wasting them.
With that thought, Kazumi closed the notebook in her hand and casually threw it into the still-open coffin. The dark coffin stood beside Kazumi, and a faint death aura wafted from inside, filling the entire small room like air conditioning, also slowly healing the soul that Kazumi had injured due to Hamano Tsukasa.
She reached out and picked up the mobile phone by her side. As expected, the familiar little flame appeared at the top of the screen.
Ah, you could say that Sato Shinichi was the only contact Kazumi had in her phone. That was indeed the case, so it was fine.
Casually picking up a small cookie from the table and popping it into her mouth, Kazumi began to reply to Sato Shinichi’s messages with great interest.
Essentially, Sato Shinichi was explaining some of the day’s events. However, even through the screen, Kazumi felt as though she could see his flustered look as he lied.
Unable to help but smile, Kazumi patiently comforted Sato Shinichi a few times, telling him to rest well and recover, and that she would help him with his studies later. Finally, she even subtly acted a little coquettish with Sato Shinichi.
Heh, she could even imagine the pathetic sight of the little virgin squirming on the hospital bed with a smile!
Of course, the reason for all this was definitely not that Kazumi had fallen in love with her cheap boyfriend. Based on Kazumi’s experience of maintaining her fixed sexual orientation for many years in her previous life despite playing as a “gender-changing” character, she was merely using her identity to gain more benefits now.
Especially after knowing about today’s events, she definitely couldn’t let go of Sato Shinichi, this powerful connection. Just the ambiguous relationship between Grandpa Sato and the active hero [Dragonji] was enough for Kazumi to bet on. Although the intelligence needed information from Fukada Akihiko to be fully judged, he was still an ally anyway.
And Kazumi, who seemed to have been recognized by Dragonji, would never give up this excellent opportunity she had obtained. After all, with Sato Shinichi’s level of novice virginity, Kazumi stated that no matter how many came, she wouldn’t be afraid.
Happily putting down her phone, perhaps because the matter was resolved or because she finally spoke to her boyfriend, Kazumi stood up and sat down at the desk to prepare for her usual studies.
But seeing the stack of money on the table made Kazumi think of a new problem.
[It seems like it’s time to find a part-time job.]
(P.S.: The dried fish is gone. SF reforms now require 3k daily updates. Bury me now, don’t dig me up. Consider me dead if I stop updating.)
(Another P.S.: I realized I forgot to thank the powerful Flame Emperor. Many thanks to Arang for the Flame Emperor, love you. Also, this big shot is now tempting me with the Flame Emperor to abuse the female lead. I didn’t plan to write it like this, but he gave too much. jpg I’m trying to ask for opinions from the old brothers,嗚嗚嗚, emitting the sound of wanting the Flame Emperor.)
