Chapter 707: Miss Shimizu Discovers Something Unusual
The atmosphere at dinner was somewhat delicate.
Kazumi had meticulously prepared several home-cooked dishes,
which were still arranged on the dining table.
However, the usual relaxed and warm atmosphere
was replaced by an inexplicable silence. Satō Shin’ichi was burying his head in his food,
his movements much slower than usual. His gaze would occasionally drift into the distance,
a faint cloud of worry veiled between his brows, clearly appearing preoccupied, as if wrestling with some matter.
At this moment, Kazumi, uncharacteristically, did not notice her boyfriend’s abnormality.
Her attention was completely engrossed by the mobile phone in her hand.
The girl’s slender eyebrows furrowed slightly,
the screen lit up, displaying a prepared promotional poster photo for a “Minkoshi City Home Cooking Exchange Gathering.”
She seemed to be browsing casually, but in reality, her mind was rapidly calculating and confirming every detail of the plan,
ensuring that this hastily concocted excuse was plausible enough to withstand scrutiny.
The two were each lost in their own thoughts,
and so this dinner concluded in an almost eerily quiet manner.
After the meal, Satō Shin’ichi voluntarily cleared the dishes and went into the kitchen,
the sound of running water and clanking dishes echoing from within.
Kazumi, as usual, curled up on the large, comfortable sofa in the living room,
continuing to look down at her phone, her fingers unconsciously sliding across the screen.
When Satō Shin’ichi finished cleaning and walked out of the kitchen, wiping his hands,
the scene he saw was that of the girl quietly curled up in a corner of the sofa,
the faint light from the screen illuminating her expressionless profile.
An indescribable awkwardness and silence permeated the air,
starkly different from the natural intimacy of their home in the preceding days.
This silence made Satō Shin’ichi, already burdened with guilt, even more uneasy.
He took a deep breath and mustered his courage.
Almost simultaneously, Kazumi, having confirmed the details of her plan,
was also preparing to bring up the “cooking gathering” as her excuse.
“That…”
“That…”
They both spoke at the same time, attempting to break the uncomfortable silence.
This sudden synchronicity instead froze the air for a moment,
instantly escalating the awkwardness.
It was Kazumi who reacted first. After all, she was someone with decades of experience across two lifetimes,
not a genuine young girl who would blush, have her heart race, and become flustered over such a minor matter.
She stopped the pretense of sliding her finger across the screen,
looked up, and calmly met Satō Shin’ichi’s somewhat flustered gaze, gesturing with her eyes.
“You go ahead.” Her voice carried no discernible emotion, as calm as a windless lake surface.
“Ah, okay.” Satō Shin’ichi nodded quickly as if pardoned,
and somewhat awkwardly sat down on the sofa a little distance from Kazumi,
but still maintaining some space. After all, he had received Kazumi’s consent to watch a movie yesterday,
and today he only dared to sit a bit closer to her.
He raised a hand and scratched his golden hair, a clear expression of embarrassment and apology on his face.
“It’s just… uh… it’s possible that for the next few days, the old man over there has suddenly arranged a new training schedule.”
He chose his words carefully, trying to make it sound plausible.
“I need to go to the neighboring city temporarily for a short-term special training.
My teacher is a very good old friend of the old man’s, a very formidable senior.
He’s recently managed to free up some time, and it’s an extremely rare opportunity…
So…”
His voice grew softer as he spoke, secretly observing Kazumi’s expression.
Seeing that her expression had not changed, he felt even more sheepish and quickly added,
“So… for about three or four days, I won’t be able to stay with you here.
I’m truly very sorry, Kazumi! We promised to go on vacation together,
and yet I have to leave temporarily…”
After finishing, he even stood up and bowed respectfully to Kazumi.
For the earnest and simple Satō Shin’ichi, who cherished his promises,
being unable to keep his commitment to his girlfriend,
regardless of the reason, was his fault.
Satō Shin’ichi’s words genuinely surprised Kazumi.
This… was truly beyond her expectations.
But soon, an extremely faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared at the corner of her lips,
only to be quickly suppressed.
Truly… I didn’t expect this. I was just struggling to find the perfect excuse to get rid of him,
and he’s come to me himself? And the reason is so legitimate – going to another city for special training with a highly skilled senior?
This is simply a perfect opportunity tailor-made for me!
Her original plan was much more complicated. Satō Shin’ichi, as a quasi-hero who had been physically training for a long time,
paid very close attention to the subtle changes in his surroundings, especially to Kazumi, who was in the same room.
Combined with his somewhat excessive concern for her, Kazumi couldn’t be sure if this guy would sense her sleeping state at night.
Therefore, during this period, Kazumi only went to her territory in the mornings,
and at night, she mostly rested genuinely and remotely controlled everything in her territory by issuing commands to the lace.
However, this was also Kazumi’s understanding; for a long time, Kazumi had relied on the characteristic of her semi-undead body, which did not require much sleep, to forcefully accumulate power without rest. But now, at this juncture where a major battle was imminent, getting a good rest would be more beneficial for relaxing herself and performing better.
But thinking about it this way, secretly teleporting away at night while he was unaware carried a considerable risk.
She had originally planned to use the “cooking gathering” excuse to gain a full day and an evening of outdoor time.
In her opinion, this amount of time was enough to handle any mission from the Organization.
To be safe, she had even specifically requested several spare shadow teleportation crystals from Uncle Fukada, preparing for the worst-case scenario:
if the mission ran overtime or Satō Shin’ichi returned early to check on her, she would immediately teleport back, show her face, and then pretend to be reading a book in her room before teleporting back to Kyoto.
With Satō Shin’ichi’s trust in her and his relatively weak perception of energy fluctuations as an Abilityless, the success rate of this plan was actually not low, although it was more taxing and required more on-the-spot adaptability.
But now…
All these tedious arrangements and contingency plans had instantly become superfluous.
Satō Shin’ichi himself was leaving Minkoshi City for a few days?
This was simply a godsend! She could then brazenly teleport directly, complete the mission, and teleport back, waiting obediently for him to return in the apartment. No one would know, perfect!
While overjoyed internally, she still had to maintain her outward composure.
“Mhm, it’s fine.” Her tone was calm, even carrying a hint of understanding and tolerance.
“Since it’s a rare training opportunity, then go. Business first.”
“Eh? Really? Kazumi, I thought… you’d be angry…”
Satō Shin’ichi looked up, his face etched with surprise and disbelief.
He had already prepared himself mentally to be misunderstood or even coldly treated by his girlfriend.
After all, the cohabitation life during this period had been like a dreamlike happiness for him.
Every day after training, he could return to a “home” where she was present,
eat the meals she cooked with the taste of home, and even… even watch a movie together yesterday by leaning against each other.
Satō Shin’ichi dared not describe how he felt.
Sometimes, the young boy harbored thoughts of what would happen if there was further development.
But another voice in his heart told him that carrying so many secrets he hadn’t told Kazumi,
what right did he have to ask for further development?
But regardless, Satō Shin’ichi greatly enjoyed the incredibly happy and warm daily life between them now,
and he could also feel that the girl was very happy, her smiles even more frequent than usual.
He could even foresee the happy and joyful life they would have together in the future if they truly ended up together.
However, he himself was the one who had to shatter all of this with his own hands now.
As the closed-door disciple of Yesi, as a professional hero of the Association,
he bore responsibilities. In the face of the impending attack from the enemy organization,
the Organization needed his power, so he could only sacrifice the pleasant vacation with his girlfriend.
But in reality, all of this was unfair to Kazumi. The girl was just an ordinary person.
Even after receiving Kusakabe Hongmaru’s [Seed of Fire],
the girl, unable to control this power, was still just an ordinary person in Satō Shin’ichi’s eyes.
Yet he had to hide so many things from her. Perhaps from the girl’s perspective,
the relationship between them was just an ordinary sweet romance.
But in reality, the girl was already bearing everything that a hero’s family member needed to bear, and even more.
Yet Kazumi herself was completely unaware of this.
Satō Shin’ichi couldn’t imagine how heartbroken Kazumi would be if something happened to him one day,
and she finally learned all of this. He couldn’t bear to imagine this possibility.
The only thing he could do now was probably to train harder and harder,
to constantly become stronger, until… until he was strong enough to confess all of this to Kazumi.
And… to compensate the girl in front of him, who only had him in her eyes, to the greatest extent.
So much flashed through his mind in an instant.
At this moment, hearing that Kazumi so easily forgave him,
Satō Shin’ichi was filled with immense gratitude and… deeper guilt.
He felt that Kazumi was the most understanding, kindest, and most wonderful girl in the world!
“Kazumi… you’re so kind…” he murmured, his blue eyes flashing with complex emotions.
“Tch, what’s there to be angry about?” Kazumi rolled her eyes slightly, her tone carrying a hint of disdain, yet also a trace of undetectable concern.
“You’re always busy with training anyway. It’s just changing locations for a few days.
I can have a few quiet days, not having to prepare food for you every day.”
Her words sounded like a scolding, but to Satō Shin’ichi, they were like heavenly music.
“Mhm! I will definitely train well and come back as soon as possible!”
The young boy nodded vigorously, as if making a vow.
The gloom in his heart dissipated considerably due to Kazumi’s leniency, and his mood stabilized.
At this point, he remembered that Kazumi seemed to have something to say earlier.
“So… Kazumi, what were you going to tell me earlier?” he asked curiously.
Kazumi blinked in surprise when he asked, then quickly ran through the rehearsed dialogue in her mind.
She pretended to ponder and recall, then picked up her phone,
skillfully navigated to the prepared page, and handed it to Satō Shin’ichi.
“Here, it’s this.”
She pointed to the exquisitely designed poster on the screen.
“A Minkoshi City Home Cooking Exchange Gathering. It seems like an event to showcase one’s cooking skills, learn from each other, and there’s even a small competition. Most importantly—”
She deliberately drew out her tone, emphasizing, “The prize for the competition is— premium A5-grade wagyu beef!
I thought it looked quite interesting, and the prize was tempting, so I signed up.
I was originally planning to ask you to participate with me and see if we could win the beef. Ah… what a shame.”
She said, letting out a long sigh, a suitably regretful expression on her face, as if truly disappointed about not being able to participate with her boyfriend.
“Ah! Sorry, sorry, sorry!!” Satō Shin’ichi saw this and, as expected, his temporary departure had ruined his girlfriend’s plan again, making him feel even more embarrassed. He quickly clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture and apologized repeatedly.
“This time, only you can participate, Kazumi… ummm, how about this?
When I get back, I’ll definitely buy the best beef to compensate you!
Or… we could have a barbecue at home then?”
He tried to propose a compensation plan.
“Hmph!” Kazumi’s brows immediately furrowed, and she glared at him irritably.
“A barbecue at home? Aren’t you afraid Ryunosuke will skin you alive if he finds out?
You’re an idiot who doesn’t understand cooking at all! The fumes will make the entire apartment stink!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t think it through!” Satō Shin’ichi flinched in fear and quickly apologized again,
but a smile reappeared on his face. Regardless, the fact that Kazumi was still scolding him meant she wasn’t truly angry, and that was enough.
“Then we’ll eat out! I know a great barbecue restaurant! My treat! You can eat whatever you want then!”
“That’s more like it.” Kazumi let out a soft hum, thus accepting his compensation plan.
The scene seemed to pull back at this moment. In the living room, the young boy’s clumsy yet sincere apologies and promises,
and the girl’s seemingly disdainful yet composed replies.
The atmosphere between them finally returned to its usual ease and warmth,
and even, due to this small incident and the impending brief separation, a hint of ineffable intimacy and longing was added.
Late at night.
Satō Shin’ichi seemed to have fallen asleep, his worries resolved.
In the master bedroom next door, Kazumi lay lazily propped up on the soft, large bed,
the bedside lamp casting a warm, gentle halo.
She casually held a collection of essays, but her gaze was not focused on the pages.
Her mood was very good, a faint smile even gracing the corner of her lips.
Things had gone smoother than she could have imagined.
Satō Shin’ichi’s temporary departure had perfectly resolved all her worries.
The risks she had previously worried about, the carefully designed lies, the backup plans…
They were all rendered unnecessary. She could directly teleport over brazenly, complete the mission, and then return.
It couldn’t be any easier.
She stretched comfortably like a contented cat, her entire being immersed in the smugness and relaxation of a perfectly executed plan.
However, as her fingertips lightly turned a page, her movement suddenly paused.
In her dark, deep eyes, a flicker of extremely subtle, imperceptible doubt flashed.
As her previously elated mind calmed down, the details she had overlooked began to ripple like stones cast into a calm lake.
“But… Satō Shin’ichi, the timing of this temporary departure for special training…
How could it be such a coincidence?”
Not earlier, not later, but precisely at this critical juncture when the [Dark] Organization was about to launch a large-scale attack on Kyoto,
he needed to go out for training?
Is this really… just a coincidence?
