Chapter 153: Dog Training Master Kazumi Shimizu
A skull suddenly popped out from the side, interrupting the young girl’s thoughts. Her cold gaze swept over it, and her right hand instinctively reached for the fruit knife on top of the cabinet.
However, upon seeing the familiar blond hair beneath the comical skull mask, Kazumi’s action stopped and turned into a playful punch to the young man beside her.
“What is it?”
Sato Shinichi’s heart fluttered at the girl’s dissatisfied yet slightly coquettish tone. He shyly scratched the back of his head, took off the mask, revealing a handsome yet somewhat goofy face, and looked at his visibly annoyed girlfriend with embarrassment.
“That… Dr. Shinmoku said making a mask out of something you like can help distract you from your resistance towards me, so I thought…”
For some reason, after he finished talking to the dog earlier, the dog’s attitude towards him seemed to have become subtle again?
He had already gotten a bit used to their way of interacting, but now he had become like a young boy experiencing his first crush, his gaze towards her becoming more and more evasive, and even his words becoming more hesitant.
However, considering that he was a clueless little virgin, any psychological change was acceptable. Perhaps one of her actions had touched a nerve within him, leading to a further increase in her favorability?
Amused by the flustered young man in front of her, Kazumi gestured for him to hand over the mask. She thought that only her dog, this cute virgin who hadn’t done anything, could be so nervous in front of his girlfriend.
“You don’t need to go through all this trouble. Dr. Shinmoku’s treatment effect is very good, and I don’t have any major problems now.”
Watching the dog submissively hand over the item, a satisfied smile crept onto the girl’s lips. She played with the comical white skull mask and replied to the young man sitting beside her.
“But even if you’ve recovered, there will still be aftereffects! Dr. Shinmoku said this would make you feel a little better, Kazumi!”
It seemed that whenever the topic shifted to the girl, the young man would become uncontrollably excited. Only in this regard, the usually obedient dog would unexpectedly and strongly retort to Kazumi.
“Okay, okay, I’ll listen to you.”
After all, he was doing this for her own good, and the girl didn’t want to appear too overbearing on these points. She nodded submissively, accepting the dog’s concern. After all, from a man’s perspective, a gentle, sensible, and obedient girlfriend was simply irresistible, especially for such an inexperienced young man.
Moreover, from another perspective, his foolish behavior was quite touching to her.
To many people, emotions were merely prettily disguised transactions, where needs were met without explicit acknowledgment, appearing as vows of eternal love yet being incredibly fragile.
Perhaps in the simple times of the past, people would hold onto many things for the sake of love, but in today’s society, seemingly profound relationships could not withstand external[“impacts”](https://www.deepl.com/translator). Serious illness, debt, or even a slight external pressure could shatter the “eternal love” between them, and then both parties would move on as if nothing happened to seek their next great love.
It might sound cruel, but that was indeed the reality. If your partner of many years suddenly fell seriously ill, and your family conditions were average, would you choose to spend all your family’s resources to help your partner recover, or would you leave the partner you had only dated for a few years?
In this impetuous and self-serving society, most people would choose the latter…
But Sato Shinichi was different. In Kazumi’s eyes, this forever hot-blooded idiot would probably have been the kind of person in his past life who would have given everything for his partner without any regrets.
Even though he wasn’t a psychic himself, he only had a retired hero grandfather, and he was still blaming himself for not being able to rush over to rescue her at that time. As if his rushing over would have made any difference, he would have been like that automaton, unable to betray her by being controlled.
[But this guilt is a very good area to exploit~]
A hint of a sly smile appeared on her lips. This was also why the girl had said those words at that time. Putting aside the point of testing the mental effects of the black mist, as long as she could control her emotions, maximizing her interests was the girl’s most fundamental need.
And Kazumi naturally wouldn’t give up the opportunity to increase her favorability in front of the young man, or perhaps Grandpa Sato’s favorability?
After all, in her opinion, the dog’s favorability was already maxed out. What needed to be increased now was the level of “taming.” As for an elder like Grandpa Sato, who possessed powerful abilities and connections, her impression in front of him couldn’t be as easily maxed out by a few small incidents as Sato Shinichi’s could. Therefore, playing the role of a deeply affectionate and sensible young girl was the best way to gain favor with elders.
Watching the young man put the mask back on, revealing only his bright blue eyes, his unique foolishness was so strong that even the mask couldn’t hide it. Like a puppy waiting for its owner to pet it, he sat quietly watching her.
She shook her head helplessly, but even the girl herself didn’t realize that the cold expression on her face had completely melted away at that moment, replaced by a youthful smile.
“Shinichi.”
“Yes?”
“I want to eat an apple.”
“Okay!!”
…
Outside the hospital room door, an old man leaning on a cane and a middle-aged man with disheveled brown hair stood by the door, their eyes filled with a look of relief.
When Sato Shinichi excitedly picked up the small knife and apple, Hamano Tsukasa smiled and turned his head to look at the brown-haired man beside him.
“Shinmoku, thank you this time.”
The old man’s words surprised Shinmoku Satoru, but he quickly waved his hand and replied.
“We’re all from Shikoku, it’s only right.”
“Moreover, my abilities only played a small part inside. The effects on the other patients were not as good. I can only say that this girl is quite… special.”
“Yes… quite special.”
Hamano Tsukasa nodded, acknowledging Shinmoku Satoru’s statement. Even Shinmoku Satoru, who specialized in mental abilities, had little explanation for the invasive black mist of “Cloud Mist.” While other patients had improved with his help, they had certainly not reached the point where Kazumi Shimizu could communicate normally with their designated target.
The girl’s image in the hospital room, reaching out to pull Sato Shinichi and saying those weak yet firm words, reappeared in his mind. Even for Hamano Tsukasa, a rare ripple of reminiscence appeared in his eyes as he recalled the familiar scene.
Shaking his head with an unreadable expression, Hamano Tsukasa planned to take Shinmoku Satoru, who had come for a room check, elsewhere, leaving some time for this lucky brat.
Shinmoku Satoru’s notebook was never put down. Helping out this time had also greatly aided his ability development, especially regarding the “love” aspect of mental influence, giving him a more profound understanding.
Shinmoku Satoru, who had intended to leave with Hamano Tsukasa, suddenly turned his head as if remembering something. He looked at the blond young man sitting in the hospital room, then looked at Hamano Tsukasa in front of him, hesitating to speak.
“Hamano… I have a rather personal question, is it convenient to ask?”
“Hm? Go ahead.”
“That child… is he yours… and Dragonji’s?”
“………”
“He’s adopted!!”
(PS: Wuwuwu, for the sake of plot coherence, I’ve realized that every chapter I write is around 2400-2500 words, but for SF, anything less than 1000 words isn’t charged. Of course, this trash fish won’t pad the word count to 3000 just for money. Therefore, considering that Fish likes to give you guys benefits, how about some monthly tickets, ying ying ying, orz)
