Chapter 128 Encouragement
“…”
Fukada Akihiko stood frozen in place. Having witnessed countless strange abilities, he never expected the young girl to give him such an answer.
Seeing the girl’s utterly determined and confident demeanor, Fukada Akihiko couldn’t bring himself to crush her spirit.
Having watched Kazumi grow up, he also understood the emotions the girl was currently displaying. The brilliant glimmer of hope contained within her eyes made him reluctant to extinguish it.
Indeed, no matter how precocious, even attending Shikoku, the First Hero Academy, Kazumi was, in the end, just a civilian who had never encountered a psychic. Let alone directly experiencing the true power of professional heroes.
Fukada Akihiko, who had personally experienced Kazumi’s attack, admitted that compared to the coffin that could only transport things at a snail’s pace before, the girl had indeed developed her ability to a good extent after awakening it. At the very least, he now had to use his own abilities to block her attacks.
However, at the current level, it was far from enough to become a professional who relied on abilities as their primary means. Judging by the girl’s demonstrated potential, she probably wouldn’t even meet the requirements for D-class personnel of the organization.
But this was good news for Fukada Akihiko.
Perhaps the girl, still in her teenage years, harbored some unrealistic chuunibyou fantasies, and when she grew up and truly recognized the gap between reality and fantasy, she would naturally give up the thought of revenge.
Thinking these somewhat cruel real thoughts, Fukada Akihiko couldn’t help but purse his slightly bitter lips. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped halfway. In the end, he reached out and touched Kazumi’s head, asking,
“Kazumi, why do you want corpses and specific tombstones? If it’s just to increase weight, you don’t need to go through so much trouble to achieve significant weight.”
“Ah… because the ability gave me feedback that it wants these things…”
As if stumped by Fukada Akihiko’s question, Kazumi scratched her head awkwardly and stammered her reply, but soon resumed her previously excited tone,
“But I believe this ability will definitely become very strong in the future!!”
“Yes, yes, our Kazumi is the strongest.”
Listening to the girl’s voice, which rarely showed such obvious emotional fluctuations, Fukada Akihiko wore a slight smile, responding to her like he was coaxing a little girl.
Based on his experience, the girl’s so-called ability awakening was probably just the secondary development that ordinary people experience. But a useless ability is still useless, and even with secondary development, the extent of improvement would be very limited.
As for the specific materials required by the ability, there might be some changes in the future, but judging by the current growth rate, it should still be an ordinary ability with not much use.
Perhaps she would gain a cold storage and preservation ability in the future?
These abilities of the girl would probably only allow her to play her pretend hero games. Relying on this for revenge or anything else was probably impossible in this lifetime.
However, this didn’t matter to Fukada Akihiko. For the sake of the girl’s flower-like smile, spending a few years playing pretend with her, accompanying her as she grew up, was all acceptable. He had been doing so before.
As long as the girl could grow up safely, find an ordinary job, marry a boy who only had eyes for her, and live a happy life, his responsibility as her uncle would be fulfilled. This was probably also what Masato and the others would have wanted…
“Uncle, your tone is too perfunctory!!”
Furious, Kazumi shouted at Fukada Akihiko, but a hint of a smile flickered in her heart. Regardless, she had successfully fumbled her way through the matter of her abilities.
The “Death Aura” had excellent shielding effects, and the condensed vortex blocked the view inside the “Black Coffin.” As for her abilities, as long as it was within a reasonable range, she could just make it up as she went along. She believed no one would completely expose their abilities to others, would they?
As long as Fukada Akihiko didn’t believe she possessed a sufficiently powerful ability, both the supervision and care would be significantly relaxed.
Moreover, she could use Uncle Fukada’s doting affection for her to obtain some hard-to-get things. He might have some objections regarding corpses, but if it were some burial items with a strong “Death Aura,” or specific materials, she believed Uncle Fukada wouldn’t refuse her.
“Hahahaha, let’s not talk about that. Kazumi, Uncle has prepared a small gift for you.”
Fukada Akihiko smiled sheepishly, his perfunctory tone exposed, and then reached into the shadows, pulling out a small item and handing it to Kazumi.
“A gift?”
With a puzzled look, she extended her hand and took the wooden token-like amulet from Fukada Akihiko.
“Things might be a bit unstable recently. This is an amulet that Uncle got a friend to make. Remember to wear it on you during this time. Also, don’t go out at night for the next few days. If you have a part-time job, remember to come home early.”
Watching Kazumi still playing with the amulet, Fukada Akihiko nodded and entered his “nagging father” mode.
“No way, Uncle Fukada. What era is this? Still so superstitious? Isn’t this a plot from a horror novel?”
Holding the amulet in her hand, Kazumi put on a speechless expression and looked at Fukada Akihiko.
“There’s a supernatural criminal with a rather strange ability recently that has been causing trouble in Kyoto. This amulet contains something that can counter his power. I can’t stay by your side all the time, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
Fukada Akihiko awkwardly scratched his cheek, giving a slightly more plausible excuse.
After all, for a civilian like Kazumi, knowing more would only be detrimental to her. It was best to just use the excuse of a supernatural criminal, as this explanation was widely accepted.
“Supernatural criminal… Mmhmm, I understand. Thank you, Uncle Fukada.”
This was probably why Fukada Akihiko liked Kazumi so much. Not to mention the feelings developed over their long time together, Kazumi’s obedient nature in important matters made it impossible to dislike her.
Coupled with her gradually becoming more lively after overcoming her past gloom, for a seasoned “daughter-lover” like Fukada Akihiko, it was simply irresistible!
Looking at the well-behaved and sensible Kazumi before him, Fukada Akihiko stood up. His main purpose for coming here today was to check the changes in the girl’s ability and to remind Kazumi of the things she needed to pay attention to recently.
However, seeing that the girl looked no different than before, Fukada Akihiko’s worries were dispelled. His shadow flashed, erasing all traces of his visit.
“Then Uncle will be leaving now. It’s getting late, so Kazumi, remember to rest early. Don’t always fall asleep on the table; it’s not good for your neck.”
A dark shadow spread beneath Fukada Akihiko’s feet. Even as he was leaving, Fukada Akihiko didn’t forget to nag. The caring words coming from the mouth of this over-six-foot tall man felt so out of place.
“Mmhmm, I’ll be careful.”
Sticking out her tongue, these nagging words inevitably reminded her of her mother who always nagged her in her previous life. Although the situation was completely different, the concern contained within these words could be fully felt.
The shadow on the ground exhibited a viscosity that completely didn’t belong to it as a substance, as if she were stepping on a swamp. Fukada Akihiko’s body gradually sank into it.
As if suddenly remembering something, Fukada Akihiko, who had been with his back to her, turned around. A smile appeared on his serious face as he said to Kazumi,
“Also, Little Kazumi, good luck with tomorrow’s test!”
Staring blankly at the ground where Fukada Akihiko had finally disappeared, the echo of Uncle Fu’s final encouragement lingered in her ears. A complex expression flickered in the girl’s eyes, and she finally pouted helplessly, looking at the study notes densely filled over the past two days on the table.
“I know…”
(P.S.: My condition is a bit poor. I will try my best to maintain the quality and updates…)
