Chapter 174 Ashes
On the ordinary path to school, a boy and a girl in uniform walked side-by-side. Although it was just another ordinary school day, an atmosphere of ambiguous pinkness surrounded the two of them today.
The boy’s left hand gently held the girl’s right hand. His seemingly calm face was filled with an undeniable smug smile. He wanted to turn back to look at the girl he was holding, but he immediately pulled his gaze back before he could turn, acting as if nothing had happened, and walked forward with his head held high.
The merchants who were open early around them also watched the young couple full of youthful energy passing by with smiles. Beneath their kind smiles lay sighs of admiration and nostalgia for their own beautiful youth.
In fact, Kazumi finally realized something was wrong. Perhaps it was because of yesterday’s good fortune that she was now a little too complacent, or perhaps it was because she had stayed up all night and relaxed her control over her body. In any case, in a moment of distraction, she seemed to have done some strange things according to her body’s rules.
Feeling the strange gazes of the passers-by, and seeing Sato Shinichi foolishly shielding her on the inside of the road, even Kazumi, who usually had a bland expression, now had a hint of unnatural blush on her face.
She wanted to gently pull her hand out of the boy’s hot palm, but for some reason, she couldn’t muster even that insignificant strength. She could only be led forward by Sato Shinichi like a doll.
“Kiyomizu-san!”
Just as the girl was thinking about what kind of consequences would arise if they walked to the school gate holding hands, a sudden shout broke the strange, ambiguous atmosphere between them.
Like naughty students caught by a teacher for doing something wrong, the two of them almost simultaneously let go of their hands and looked nervously in the direction of the voice.
[Why are they afraid of being discovered if they are a couple!]
Complaining in her mind with an unknown intention, Kazumi finally managed to release the boy’s hand thanks to the unknown caller’s shout. Otherwise, she felt she would have been entangled until the school gate without willing to let go.
Raising her slightly flushed cheek, Kazumi, who had regained a little of her reason, still looked at the person calling her with some doubt. After all, in this school, there were almost no people who were close enough to her to greet her in the morning.
With her tall stature, jet-black and smooth shoulder-length hair, and her characteristic emerald green eyes, as well as a completely different aura from ordinary students, Kazumi instantly confirmed the identity of the person with just one glance.
[Mai Shinomiyai? What does she want?]
Her gaze, which had been warm, immediately turned cold. The turmoil in her heart, which had been caused by Sato Shinichi, was also tightened. Kazumi immediately began to ponder why this girl, whom she had coldly rejected before, had deliberately waited for her on the way to school today.
“Good morning, Kiyomizu-san, and Sato-kun!”
Mai Shinomiyai seemed to have been waiting for them on this road. She stood before them with a bashful expression, holding two small bags of unknown contents, and greeted them.
“Good morning, Shinomiyai-san. Is there anything you need help with?”
Completely oblivious to the death-gazing look from his girlfriend beside him, the kind-hearted and unusual boy, adhering to his usual style, thought that the new transfer student had encountered some difficulty and asked directly.
“Ah, no, thank you for your concern, Sato-kun.”
“I’ve come to find you today mainly to apologize for yesterday’s matter. I’m sorry, Kiyomizu-san. I made a request to be friends without considering everyone’s personality, and I apologize for causing you trouble.”
Mai Shinomiyai’s posture was very low. She bowed respectfully and sincerely apologized to the girl before her. Her sincere attitude even startled Sato Shinichi.
“Shinomiyai-san, you…”
“It was only later, when I was eating with Nakamura-san and the others, that I learned that Kiyomizu-san is not very fond of interacting with strangers, so I felt that my request might cause you trouble,” Mai Shinomiyai replied with a smile, nodding to Sato Shinichi. This was also an explanation for her deliberately apologizing.
“Ah, you don’t need to do all this. Kazumi doesn’t blame you particularly. She’s just not used to interacting with people she doesn’t know well. You don’t need to take this to heart, Shinomiyai!”
Seeing the girl with an apologetic expression, Sato Shinichi comforted her. After all, this matter was ultimately caused by his girlfriend’s unusual personality compared to ordinary people. Since the other party was so sincerely apologizing, he couldn’t really refuse.
“Yes, yes, if possible, I still hope to become friends with you.”
“This is an amulet specially made by my family’s shrine. It’s just a small handmade item, not particularly precious. I’m giving it to you as an apology for what happened before.”
Mai Shinomiyai had a faint smile on her face, showing no embarrassment from the previous incident. Instead, she earnestly handed over the two small bags in her hand and spoke.
The girl’s voice was very soft, and her words were filled with a strange, convincing magic that made people unable to help but believe what she said.
Coupled with Mai Shinomiyai’s proper and sincere apology, before Kazumi could even speak, Sato Shinichi had already reached out and accepted the small gift.
“Yes, thank you.”
Taking the small gift from his classmate on behalf of his girlfriend, Sato Shinichi not only found it difficult to refuse the proper apology but also hoped that his girlfriend, who was unwilling to interact with people, could find some good friends in the class and gradually emerge from the darkness in her heart.
“Kazumi, I don’t think Shinomiyai-san is a bad person. Do you want to try becoming friends with her? She seems to be playing with Nakamura Yu and the others.”
Sato Shinichi handed the small red cloth bag in his hand to the girl beside him and earnestly persuaded his introverted girlfriend.
“I don’t like her.”
Kazumi replied coldly to Sato’s evaluation of Mai Shinomiyai, but she didn’t feel displeased by Sato Shinichi’s overstepping.
Perhaps this was the unique understanding between lovers. Rather than breaking her usual persona to respond to this troublesome person, Kazumi preferred Sato Shinichi to interact with her and try to extract more information.
After all, if she responded herself, it would probably only be a few simple words like “no” or “can’t,” which would not be conducive to analyzing the other party’s true intentions.
[So now I can see what this Psychic’s plan has in store for me.]
Casting a sidelong glance at Sato Shinichi, who had taken out an amulet from a small blue cloth bag beside her, Kazumi also opened the red cloth bag in her hand in imitation of him.
However, the girl’s expression, which was usually as calm as a still well, changed at this moment. Her delicate eyebrows twitched imperceptibly, and her dark eyes were filled with confusion as she looked at the item in her hand.
Because in Kazumi’s view, inside the small cloth bag with a shrine-like style in her hand was a pile of ashes?
