Chapter 245 – Yasashi
Interactions between people are a magical thing.
Perhaps it’s the instinct of humans as social animals, but communication can bring about a transformation in the relationship between two individuals. The relationships between people need to be driven by various events, just like in any galgame. Only through repeated interactions and events can one improve the other’s perception of them and ultimately achieve their goal of capture.
Reality is certainly not as simple and fun as a game, but for Kazumi, dealing with a naive seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy was probably like playing on easy mode in the adult games she played.
“Especially now that the bothersome emotional interference is gone, it’s going as smoothly as expected…”
The young girl leaned against a park bench, gazing at the soft clouds in the sky. The early summer air was not yet oppressively hot; the temperature, transitioning from spring, felt just right, making one’s thoughts relax.
【Right, I can confirm now that Noyoru Yokota is the type who has never dated a girl, or rather, has no idea how to interact with the opposite sex? His behavior during our interaction was even worse than Shinichi’s. Is it because his appearance makes him completely unpopular with women?】
The young girl idly swung her small feet, which were resting on the bench. Her cute feet, clad in black socks, wiggled slightly according to her movements. The shocking bruise on her ankle was particularly conspicuous.
Although Noyoru Yokota was a player with a physical ability, Kazumi did not let her guard down. It was easy for her to use Little Black’s ability, “Death Parasitism,” to sprain her ankle. Kazumi could feel the pain from self-inflicted injuries, but for the potential reward, even she was part of Kazumi’s plan.
Kazumi’s method of interacting with Noyoru Yokota was to gather information about him and adjust her approach according to the current situation.
The young girl was very aware of the cards she had in hand, and the value Noyoru Yokota displayed was his ability to join one of the top hero studios in the industry. For now, he was a promising prospect worth investing in.
The obscure background of that “dog” and his so-called “trained” physique actually made Kazumi quite suspicious. But her own troublesome “thing” couldn’t even clearly explain his family situation. What else could she do but go along with him!
Believing herself to be no match for Grandpa Sato, Kazumi naturally wouldn’t go and test him like a suicide bomber. After all, it had taken her a lot of effort to make a good impression on him. If her persona collapsed because of it, it would be more loss than gain.
【In that case, can the previous interaction plan be slightly revised? The “fellow victim” persona can be kept, but the rest can be discarded and replaced with a more direct approach for favor?】
She gently poked her ankle with her hand. The stinging sensation caused the girl’s eyebrows to furrow, but Kazumi continued to look at the bench with a cold expression, contemplating future matters.
Unlike the boy’s fierce, almost delinquent appearance, during their short time together, Kazumi had also acutely sensed the boy’s gentle and sensitive heart. Whether it was his effort to enroll in Shikoku Gakuin as an ordinary student, his pleasant conversations with various elderly people during his part-time jobs, or the obvious respect he showed towards girls when they worked the night shift together.
Kazumi could see the heart of this boy who was disliked by those around him because of his appearance, yet still strived to love life.
This was probably the configuration of a novel’s protagonist, right? An appearance that others don’t like, a diligent and positive inner self, good talent, and the opportunity to potentially ascend into high society.
Of course, what does all this have to do with Kazumi?
Our young girl wouldn’t care if he was a good person with the protagonist’s aura or an utterly wicked villain.
In Kazumi’s eyes, the only benefit that this “flesh and blood material” named Noyoru Yokota could bring her was his potential to join a highly ranked studio and his future status.
This was also the reason why the girl raised his priority in her plan. Otherwise, in the girl’s original notebook, the only label she might have paid a little attention to for this boy who worked with her would probably have been the easily replaceable “Shikoku Gakuin Hero Department graduate.”
As for his appearance?
Sorry, in Kazumi’s eyes, what was there to care about the appearance of these people called flesh and blood materials? Without internal fluctuations, there would be no emotions of liking or disliking.
But why did she feel that her “dog” was quite handsome?
Shaking her head, she tossed aside the person who suddenly popped into her mind. The young girl shook her head helplessly and picked up her mobile phone again, sliding through it and looking at the passersby strolling in the park.
Without the strange emotional fluctuations she experienced in front of Shinichi Sato, Kazumi could finally make good use of her own advantages.
For now, Kazumi had been grasping Noyoru Yokota’s psychology very accurately. Compared to other beneficial relationships, perhaps emotion was the best, and the most difficult way to control a person.
However, the young girl was still confident in this regard. On one hand, she had her extremely calm and efficient thinking mode as a foundation; dealing with a little brat who had no romantic experience was truly too easy. On the other hand, even if she failed, Kazumi had almost no price to pay for such a thing, which was a method that the girl, who originally had few resources, had to choose.
It seemed that everything was under Kazumi’s control. Having personally experienced that age, Kazumi knew exactly what a young boy in the throes of puberty, who had no experience with the opposite sex, was thinking!
And in all of Kazumi’s assumptions, this was merely the beginning of their plan, because what the girl wanted was never a pursuer who truly gave their heart.
Instead, it was a dog that only obeyed its master’s orders and perfectly completed its requests!
“Is this the sense of control that only women possess…”
Murmuring with a hint of emotion, the young girl seemed to sense something. A faint smile appeared on her cold little face, and she gazed into the distance at the black-haired boy running her way with something in his hand.
“Shimizu! *Huff* – **Huff** – Sorry to keep you waiting.”
Noyoru Yokota ran to the girl’s side, his breathing slightly ragged as if he had moved too quickly.
But the boy didn’t seem to mind, handing the item in his hand to the girl and saying with a hint of apology.
“It’s alright, thank you for the trouble.”
“Yeah, then… shall I help you apply it? This bone-setting medicine is something we often use. With the help of energy, it can quickly eliminate bruises and heal quickly.”
Noyoru Yokota nodded, but the hand holding the medicine box was suspended in mid-air in an awkward manner. After all, if he were to help apply the medicine, there would inevitably be some skin contact between them. But for a girl, making contact like this without her consent seemed rather impolite.
“How about you, Shimizu…” “You can apply it for me.”
The boy paused and was about to speak when he was interrupted by the girl’s cold voice. A small, cute foot stepped onto his thigh without hesitation. Noyoru Yokota instinctively looked up, only to meet the girl’s pleading gaze.
“Okay!”
For a moment, Noyoru Yokota didn’t know how to respond. As if unwilling to see the girl’s pitiable look, he answered and immediately crouched down, lowering his head as if concealing something, and diligently treated the girl’s wound.
A cool, slightly itchy sensation passed through his ankle, followed by a warm current with a throbbing pain as the boy’s fingers touched it. Watching the boy’s serious expression as he looked down, not daring to look at her, Kazumi tilted her head, her black pupils fixed on the focused boy.
The stinging sensation in her ankle slowly disappeared. Kazumi, who had been calculating the time in her heart, leaned closer to the boy beside her. When the boy just moved his fingers away from her foot, she spoke at the perfect moment.
“It’s really different.”
“Huh?”
The abrupt words made Noyoru Yokota, who had just completed the simple treatment, look up in confusion. His gaze met Kazumi’s deep and focused black eyes again.
The girl’s eyes always held an indescribable meaning. They were black and deep, as if devoid of any emotion, yet beneath that emptiness, they seemed to contain the girl’s truest inner self, making one irresistibly want to get closer.
The girl in the light gray coat had, at some point, moved closer to him. Her slender right hand slowly raised, pushing aside her hair to reveal her delicate, fair neck. Her usually cold face was adorned with a touch of heart-stirring gentleness. Her emotionless eyes were now filled with a few shimmering tears, and her glistening gaze, in that moment, seemed to reflect only him.
The girl’s short hair fluttered slightly in the warm early summer breeze, and the unique faint fragrance emanating from her drifted into the boy’s nostrils. Her small, delicate body leaned against the park bench, exuding a fragile and pitiable aura that made one want to protect her. This image was completely unlike the delinquent girl he remembered from that night, who was even more of a troublemaker than him.
Her light pink lips parted slightly, and her clear, slightly tear-filled eyes looked directly at Noyoru Yokota. Her voice, softer than usual, echoed in the boy’s ears, and at the same time, it exploded in his surging heart.
“Yokota-kun, you’re actually a very gentle person!”
