Chapter 284: Don’t Overestimate Your Cultivation Ability
Morning is always the most beautiful time of the day, especially for Sato Shinichi.
He would wake up precisely at 6:30 AM, shortly after dawn. The fatigue accumulated from yesterday’s training would be completely gone after a night’s rest, and his body would be filled with a sense of full power.
After a simple wash-up and a cup of warm water, he would put on his towel and special weights and jog ten laps around Kyoto. Along the way, he would also review the lessons he needed to study for the day.
Then, he would return home to enjoy the perfect breakfast that Aunt Mieko had prepared, tidy up his uniform and backpack, and head out leisurely. Such mornings could be considered regular and fulfilling from any perspective.
And perhaps the most important point for the young boy was being able to see the person he had been longing for!
…
“Huh? Did she oversleep?”
As the sun slowly rose in the sky, Sato Shinichi, as usual, had prepared breakfast and was waiting at the entrance of his familiar residential area. However, by the time they were supposed to meet, the figure he had been longing for did not appear at the entrance.
Muttering in confusion, the young boy took out his mobile phone from his pocket and tapped on the little skeleton head at the top of his chat list.
The conversation with the girl ended with her brief goodnight message, followed by a large expanse of his own morning greetings and sharing of random things.
The young boy actually understood his girlfriend’s nature quite well. Although she seemed more cheerful in text messages than in reality, Kazumi’s cold and aloof personality had never changed.
Except when she was in a good mood and would rarely talk a lot, she was basically no different from their daily interactions. Sometimes, she would disappear for a while due to being too focused on her studies.
Moreover, it was usually best not to disturb her at such times. If his seemingly adorable girlfriend got angry, even he would feel a little scared.
Don’t ask Sato Shinichi how he knew; he valued his dignity.
While his mind was wandering, Sato Shinichi glanced towards the stairwell with his phone, wondering if he should try calling her. Maybe the girl had forgotten to set her alarm and accidentally overslept.
But the next moment, the sound of the familiar door opening came from the stairwell.
Sato Shinichi’s initially confused eyes lit up, and a bright smile filled his cheeks again. He eagerly picked up the food in his hands and walked towards the stairwell where the girl was.
“Kazumi, good morning…”
He looked up with a slight smile, intending to give the girl a beautiful morning greeting as usual.
However, what appeared in Sato Shinichi’s eyes at that moment was the familiar girl, as always, and on her face, a tangible… ethereal aura?
…
“Kazumi… are you… alright?”
On the path to school, it was as noisy as usual, with students going to school in small groups, passing vehicles, and office workers rushing to their companies. Everything seemed the same as usual.
But looking at the cute girl beside him, who was holding his sleeve and walking forward in a daze, Sato Shinichi asked with some concern.
“I’m fine… I just need to doze off for a bit…”
A weak voice came from the girl’s mouth, but her unsteady footsteps and lack of spirit did not suggest she was fine at all.
“You… stayed up very late yesterday? Do you want me to ask for leave for you?”
He gently stroked the girl’s rough hair with some heartache. It seemed that due to lack of sleep, even her hair lacked its usual luster. The girl did not react to the boy’s slightly intrusive action; she subconsciously rubbed her head against his palm and let out a few soft hums, replying dazedly.
“No need… I’ll be fine just by lying down during morning study…”
“You stayed up late reading again… I told you you don’t have to work so hard. Your health is the most important thing.”
“No… catching… ‘Went to find food!!!”
A warm feeling permeated Kazumi’s surroundings, along with the subtle scent of body wash from the boy, making her feel a bit hazy. She answered his questions while being half-asleep.
But after a second, she seemed to realize something was wrong. She shot up like a kitten, cutting off what she was about to say, and looked at Sato Shinichi beside her with her hazy eyes, answering loudly.
“Ah, alright, alright, I won’t ask anymore. Kazumi, you should rest well.”
Seeing the girl suddenly jump up, Sato Shinichi quickly patted her fluffy head a few more times in an attempt to comfort her. Although he didn’t know what had triggered her again, the most important thing now was to let this pitiful little one get a little more sleep.
“Okay… rest…”
The boy’s gentle words seemed to have a special magic, making her already fatigued body feel a warm sensation, and her mind entered a state of emptiness again.
Who knew how she had gotten through last night. In Kazumi’s opinion, with the help of her ghoul army and Little Black, catching those unruly ghouls should have been a piece of cake.
But in reality, without the ability to overturn the entire ground, trying to catch ghouls with good digging abilities in a large area of land was no less difficult than catching fish in the sea with bare hands.
Especially the energy consumption from frequently switching ghoul perspectives and greatly activating the ghoul swarm, which placed a heavier burden on Kazumi, who had already depleted a lot of her mental energy from training her abilities. If it weren’t for Little Black’s help and some kind of obsession to make up the numbers, Kazumi might not have been able to gather thirty ghouls.
This also made Kazumi feel the lingering obsession of her past life staying up late to play games, and the ethereal aura on her face the next day when she had to wake up early for work…
Furthermore, the girl, who had a semi-undead body talent, clearly underestimated her body’s need for rest. If her body’s internal voice hadn’t urged her to get up, she might have slept through the day.
But even so, the drowsiness she felt after washing her face only led her to hold onto the sleeve of the only boy she felt safe with, hoping he could take her to her seat at school so she could rest her head.
“Kazumi…”
Looking at the girl beside him, who was holding his sleeve and swaying back and forth like an inverted tumbler with her eyes closed, Sato Shinichi’s face showed a helpless smile. He reached out and took her thin arm to prevent her from falling in the other direction. The pampering and concern in his eyes were impossible to hide, and as if thinking of something, he hesitantly asked the girl beside him.
“How about you lean on me? Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll fall while walking.”
After the boy’s cautious words, there was a long silence. This made Sato Shinichi feel that his words might not be appropriate, as the girl was still very resistant to such things. For example, the last time he kissed her cheek, she had given him the cold shoulder for a solid three to four days. The current level of occasionally holding hands felt pretty good, and the boy didn’t want to leave a bad impression in front of the person he liked.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to, I was just…”
Scratching the back of his head, Sato Shinichi explained regretfully, as his original intention was truly to care for the girl.
But before the boy could finish speaking, a faint fragrance wafted from the side, followed by a soft and peculiar touch beside him. The girl’s cheek rested on his shoulder, and due to the pressure of gravity, it formed a cute, fleshy circle. Her eyes were slightly closed, but her small mouth kept opening and closing, emitting thin, soft breaths, like a sleeping kitten, cute yet lazy.
“Mmm…”
