Chapter 36 Goodbye to the Weak Self
“Mana-senpai~”
The call from behind made Mana stop in the hallway.
It was a first-year junior.
She had interacted with Mana during the new student orientation this year and was an enthusiastic and cheerful junior.
“I heard that Nagi-senpai is coming back to school today. Is that true?”
She asked excitedly.
It seemed that the news of Nagi coming back to class had spread to every grade.
“This is a gift we prepared as a class for Nagi-senpai to celebrate her return.”
The junior took out a beautifully wrapped box and handed it to Mana.
“Okay, I understand. I’ll pass it on to Nagi-chan.”
Mana nodded and accepted the gift.
Judging by the weight in her hands, it was probably some small snacks inside.
Mana couldn’t help but marvel at Nagi’s popularity in school.
During the days Nagi was absent, many students who knew about her good relationship with Nagi came to her to inquire about news regarding Nagi.
After receiving the gift, Mana resumed her footsteps toward her original destination.
As the end of the month approached, the Chouzi Research Group needed to submit their activities’ results for the month.
With Nagi, the president, absent, Mana had to step in temporarily.
After organizing this month’s activity report, she was now heading to the teacher’s office to submit the reports to Mr. Maki, the supervisor of the Chouzi Research Group.
“I’m sorry~ Mr. Maki has been on leave for a few days~”
Upon entering the office, a teacher sitting next to Mr. Maki’s desk said apologetically.
“But you can leave the report with me, and I will pass it on to Mr. Maki when he returns.”
“Alright, thank you for your help.”
Actually, Mr. Maki hadn’t been to school all week.
The situation with hunters and clients had put a lot of pressure on the Special Environment Management Authority (SEMA) in Kawano City.
As the second-in-command at the Kawano City SEMA branch, Mr. Maki was still busy on the front lines.
In stark contrast to the busy atmosphere at SEMA, the mood at Hoshikage High School was very relaxed.
With the school trip approaching, both students and teachers were eager to board the luxurious cruise ship.
This school trip was seen as a truly legitimate “travel” by everyone.
Although Hoshikage High School is a private school, it was evidently unrealistic for the school to allocate such a large sum of money for a small school trip.
Officially, this luxurious cruise trip was funded by the school.
However, the true sponsor was the Tenkan-in Corporation.
Tenkan-u, the next head of the Tenkan-in family, personally decided on the destination and mode of travel for this school trip and provided financial support.
The school was very grateful for the Tenkan-in family’s generosity.
However, what had caught the school’s attention lately was that Tenkan-u had not attended school this week and had even taken leave for the upcoming school trip.
……
……
“Starlight” refers to forcibly interrupting the process of enacting the Star Eye ability, getting stuck in the state of separating the “self” while infinitely leaning towards the object of impersonation.
……
……
“How is it? Does it feel itchy?”
Sitting in front of the mirror, Nagi was having her hair styled by Sayaka, who stood behind her.
Her long black hair, reaching her waist, shimmered like top-quality silk under the light.
In Sayaka’s hands, it flowed like a pitch-black waterfall.
“A bit….” Nagi admitted.
Every time the strands brushed against her neck, it made her feel slightly uncomfortable, as if she wasn’t accustomed to having long hair.
Not used to being in a girl’s body.
Nagi had always found this strange.
For example, she could easily put on a light, flowing dress, adjusting the waist perfectly.
But once dressed, she felt uncomfortable due to the chill on her lower half.
These small details of discomfort seemed to remind her of something.
But what was it reminding her of?
The purple-black starlight in her eyes was slowly flickering.
“Alright, today’s little Nagi is very cute~”
“Thank you, sister….. sister…..”
Nagi slightly turned her head in response.
At the same time, she realized that she was indeed a beautiful girl now.
With delicate and cute features, fair skin, and a good figure.
Nagi couldn’t help but wonder, am I really only 14 years old?
If she were to wear a more mature outfit, claiming to be 18 would feel entirely natural.
And who was the childhood friend, unfazed by such a beautiful girl showing her affection and constantly making advances?
This made Nagi increasingly curious about Kanade.
This time Nagi returned to school not only to fulfill the promise made with Kanade last year to attend the school trip together but also to clarify one thing.
That is, the current relationship between her and Kanade.
In the past two days, Nagi spent a lot of time in her room, rereading nearly ten years’ worth of diary entries.
She felt that this relationship ultimately needed to come to a conclusion.
For the sake of “herself” and “Kanade-kun.”
Continuing to drag this out—
If Kanade had a beautiful girl like herself around him all day, other girls who might have feelings for him would definitely stay away.
If she continued to cling to Kanade, then other boys who might have feelings for her wouldn’t reach out either.
In the end, it would only hurt both of them.
Waiting for love like she did in the past would not yield good results.
Thus, Nagi made up her mind.
If they were still pretending to be in a romantic relationship, then she needed to express her feelings to Kanade.
However, this did not mean that Nagi planned to confess directly to Kanade.
Because based on the content of her diary, she deduced that Kanade did not like her now, and a rash confession would only end in failure.
If she was going to do it, she needed to aim for success.
This unrequited love that had lasted nearly ten years, if only pursuing the “process,” would be too sad.
The results are more important than the process.
Nagi planned to bid farewell to her weak and indecisive past self.
Take the initiative and make advances towards Kanade!
Make him like her, then confess, and bring this relationship to a perfect conclusion.
As she thought of this, the starlight in Nagi’s eyes dimmed slightly.
“Little Nagi, your face is a bit red~” Sayaka suddenly bent down and whispered in Nagi’s ear.
“Not, not at all!” Nagi, startled, shivered.
She quickly covered her ears and pulled away from Sayaka, her face flushed.
…It seemed her ears were very sensitive, a weakness she noted in her heart.
“Then let’s set off! I’ll drive little Nagi to school.”
“Eh!?”
“Such a rude reaction~ I also have a driver’s license, you know~” Sayaka said with a confident smile, showcasing the car keys in her hand.
…..
…..
At the entrance of Hoshikage High School.
Many students recognized Kanade standing at the gate and waved at him.
The news of Nagi returning to school today had spread across all grades at Hoshikage High School.
Everyone knew that Kanade was waiting for someone at the gate.
However, they also learned about Nagi’s amnesia, which made them feel sad.
As students passed by Kanade, they offered him encouraging words.
It was said that Nagi would also participate in this school trip.
In response to this situation, the school planned to combine the second-year classes A and B during the trip, so Nagi could always stay near her friends.
