Chapter 355: Identity Exposed?
Kazumi couldn’t utter the words.
Although the atmosphere, environment, and the young girl’s true feelings were perfectly ripe for those words, the boy’s urgent and flustered expression, his hesitant but clumsy attempt to comfort her for fear of saying the wrong thing, and his eyes filled with such tenderness for her ultimately made it impossible for the words to leave the young girl’s lips.
It was too cruel.
Perhaps for Kazumi, all of this was merely a series of logical deductions.
As her abilities recovered, her body’s susceptibility to rational thought lessened, and certain actions by the boy during their interactions made her realize that if their relationship progressed further, his level of concern for her would undoubtedly lead to significant trouble.
After carefully differentiating the potential benefits and the alternative paths available to her, she decisively made the choice to give up. Efficiently, ruthlessly, and in typical Kazumi Shimizu fashion.
However, for Sato Shinichi, a practically fifteen-year-old kid, to receive such an outcome from the person he loved most during an incredibly wonderful class trip, after a day of happy outings, was indeed too cruel.
Kazumi had experienced the feeling of being cruelly rejected by the person she loved too many times in her past life. The hollow feeling of her heart being torn apart was something she absolutely didn’t want this adorably exasperating guy to go through.
[At the very least, give him a reason for breaking up that he can accept…]
Standing in the corridor outside the room, Kazumi shook her head helplessly.
Perhaps her body’s influence on her emotions was still present, or maybe this time it was empathy stemming from her past life’s soul. Even though she felt no empathy or pity for other beings, the young girl found it difficult to take that step to hurt him.
Rituals were indeed a boring and useless thing, merely for the sake of an extremely abstract emotion like “peace of mind,” compelling one to perform meaningless or even detrimental actions that harmed their own interests.
The only fortunate thing was that Kazumi’s current identity in this relationship was that of the female, or rather… the one in control.
The powerful always held the advantage in interactions; this was a reflection of an eternal natural law on another level.
Setting aside so-called techniques for writing romance, which in reality were more akin to PUA, at an age not yet corrupted by a fickle society, the one who acted as the dominant force in a budding romance was usually the more mature party.
Of course, this wasn’t to say all boys were immature, but rather that boys who hadn’t experienced romance would naturally choose the most immature approach of lowering their stance when facing a relationship.
A young boy, full of promise and youth, brimming with endless possibilities, but also impulsive, naive, and irresponsible.
Perhaps in a relationship between equals, hormones could sustain the connection; but if one party was an experienced individual, after the initial infatuation of love at first sight faded, the cruel reality would gradually turn the original merits into their opposite flaws, eventually accumulating to a point where separation became inevitable.
Looking at it this way, Sato Shinichi’s excellence became even more apparent. He possessed the youthful spirit and enthusiasm expected of his age, yet lacked the jaded, slick cynicism that society often grinds into people. He was earnest and devoted in his emotions, his personality was warm and sunny, and while his family background wasn’t as illustrious as imagined, it was still a bonus. From a girl’s perspective, spending a lifetime with someone like him would likely be a very happy thing.
But Kazumi wanted more than just that! Or rather, after the young girl chose to embark on the path of “pursuing power,” it was destined that she could no longer equate that with such a peaceful and stable life.
Humans were inherently greedy and ugly; no one could resist opening Pandora’s box filled with misfortune and curses.
If she could go back, the young girl would still steadfastly choose the path of using her abilities to pursue power. Even setting aside the male soul’s rejection of the original body and relationships, and the subtle arrogance of a transmigrator, who could resist the inherent animalistic drive for power when holding the key oneself?
The stable livelihood of a small city versus the bustling opportunities of a large city; the choice would always be the latter. Moreover, Kazumi wasn’t so old that her spirit had been worn away. Although her sharp edges had long been smoothed by reality, the fire within her to become someone superior still burned.
She, Kazumi Shimizu, wanted to survive, wanted power, wanted to become the supreme controller!
[We stopped being people of the same world long ago…]
Thinking this with a touch of sadness, the young girl raised her head and looked towards the boys’ dormitory. Noise was always synonymous with youth, and that exceptionally beautiful and aspirational boy was, after all, just an ordinary boy.
Exhaling a long breath, the young girl cleared her thoughts. Everything was still progressing within her overarching plan, and the sense of emptiness and sadness she felt at that moment was merely the subconscious rejection that arose after making a decision.
It had no impact.
Patting imaginary dust off her clothes, Kazumi turned and walked towards her small dormitory room. Standing in the corridor for too long could easily attract the attention of teachers and classmates. As for her temporary roommate, Mai Shinomiyai, she could simply ignore her.
The fair-skinned hand gently pushed open the room door, and a faint aroma of incense wafted out. The young girl frowned slightly in surprise, about to look at the person inside the room, when a semi-transparent, glowing small ball slowly floated past her eyes.
Instinctively turning to dodge, Kazumi’s mind was still on trying to get a clear look at this small ball emanating spiritual energy.
But in the next second, a chill shot from her tailbone to the top of her head. Her movement to turn was completely halted, her entire body tensed instantly, yet she was still unable to conceal the slight carelessness of that moment.
[Damn it!]
Her lifeless eyes gained a sharp glint, and she abruptly turned her head to look into the room. The tall, slender figure was already seated in a chair as if prepared, seemingly waiting for Kazumi in the room.
Mischievous blue spiritual energy filled her eyes, mixing with a hint of allure. Mai Shinomiyai slightly raised her head, a triumphant and confident expression on her face. Her delicate pink lips slowly parted, and her relaxed tone pierced Kazumi’s heart like a sharp sword.
“As expected, Kiyomizu-san, you can see them, can’t you!”
