Chapter Eight: Omen
“Tian Shang Yuan Tian Yu…”
Naiyin finally managed to escape from Meijia’s grasp and arrived in the corridor.
She peered through the corridor window, secretly observing Kanade and the others in the courtyard.
Especially the girl with long silver-white hair standing in front of Kanade.
She was one of the recent subjects of Naiyin’s interest.
Her outstandingly cute appearance.
No matter from which angle you looked at her.
She was completely on par with the heroines from “Star Draw 2.”
But she wasn’t a heroine from “Star Draw 2,” nor was she even a character from the game.
It was simple reasoning.
Among the female characters, there was already the heroine Ayaka Mana, who had the “white” aesthetic.
To avoid repetition in character positioning and impression, it was impossible to design another heroine with silver-white hair.
Unless they were sisters or something similar.
In the original “Star Draw,” there were many “sisters” of Ayaka Mana.
But there was no character named Tian Shang Yuan Tian Yu.
The player perspective, separated from this “stage,” told Naiyin that there was no relationship between the two.
Here in the world of galgame, characters had vibrant hair colors to distinguish themselves from one another.
But Ayaka Mana’s platinum hair made it clear that she inherited the Nordic blood of her father, making her mixed-race.
During the week after school started, Naiyin conducted an investigation into this mysterious beauty.
She discovered that although Tian Shang Yuan Tian Yu had silver-white hair, she was 100% Asian and Japanese.
This truly puzzled Naiyin regarding her identity.
Not only was there no such character in “Star Draw 2,” there wasn’t even one in “Star Draw.”
In her previous life as a hardcore player of the “Star Draw” series, Naiyin had never heard of a character named “Tian Shang Yuan Tian Yu.”
The surname “Tian Shang Yuan” appeared quite frequently.
“Crosswing” was the logo of the company, and it was also the family crest of the Tian Shang Yuan clan.
It was a multinational corporation within the worldview of Star Draw.
Similar to a certain fruit technology company’s branding, they were at the forefront of technology in this world.
They were also involved in both “above” and “behind” businesses.
The only multinational corporation connected to original overseas works.
The name “Tian Shang Yuan” often appeared as a backdrop in the storyline.
“But I’ve never heard that Tian Shang Yuan has a young lady?”
Was it a result of her interference in this world?
Or was she a hidden heroine of “Star Draw 2”?
She suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Moreover, there were no magical energy fluctuations around her; she was an ordinary person.
Although Naiyin wanted to spend more time investigating her, she found herself a bit occupied recently.
Having half-returned to her “corporate slave” life.
During the day, as a student, she had to attend school.
At night, she had to secretly go out to fight crime… oh no, to tackle fantasy monsters.
It was only missing someone to light up the night sky with a bat logo.
On top of that, a crisis from the original storyline was about to occur.
In Kawano City, where the “Twilight Authority” no longer existed, she had no “insurance” at all.
So Naiyin had to be thoroughly prepared.
She had to change the trashy development from the original work.
Hoshimiya Naiyin.
She could not allow herself to awaken any supernatural abilities.
At least not this time.
…..
…..
“Naiyin, Naiyin?”
“Ah! Mom, what’s wrong?”
Naiyin’s mother’s call pulled her consciousness back to reality.
“Nothing, I just feel like Naiyin has been daydreaming a lot lately~” Naiyin’s mother smiled wryly as she placed a warm meal in front of her.
“Mm, thank you, Mom.” Naiyin smiled and took the bowl with both hands.
“Has the number of Super Research students increased recently?” Renji, who had already entered high school, asked.
“Mm, last week Kanade’s younger sister Yukino also joined Super Research.”
“Oh, really? Kanade’s sister, huh.”
“Tonight’s meal is red bean rice? Did something good happen?” Naiyin’s father asked in surprise.
To this, Naiyin’s mother silently glanced at Naiyin.
Naiyin herself slightly lowered her head, pretending not to notice.
After dinner.
Naiyin slowly walked back to her room.
She then flopped down exhaustedly onto her soft bed.
And reached for her phone…..
“Master? Master——!”
The voice of Garuda once again pulled Naiyin’s consciousness back to reality.
“Ah, Garuda? When did you come back?”
“You… are you okay?”
“Me? Ah, aside from a bit of blood loss, I was slightly startled—”
“No, no, I’m not talking about that.”
Garuda interrupted her: “Lately, master, you seem to be daydreaming a lot…”
“Is, is that so?” Upon hearing this, Naiyin tilted her head, seemingly unaware of it at all.
“For example, just now, I called you no less than ten times, and you were just silly smiling while browsing your chat history with Kanade.”
“Huh?! How is that possible—”
Naiyin picked up her phone and found that the screen was indeed showing her chat history with Kanade on LINE.
She shuddered and tossed her phone away.
Me?
Silly smiling while looking at my chat history with Kanade?
“Master, you…” Garuda hesitated.
Was she going to be teased by Garuda for being submissive again?
But if what she said was true, what other explanation could there be aside from being submissive?
Moreover, she did “submit” today…
“…Have you lost yourself?” Finally, Garuda spoke out.
The air in the room seemed to cool down a few degrees.
“What?” Naiyin suddenly looked up, her eyes sparkling but chaotic.
“When was the last time you extinguished your starlight?”
“I….” Naiyin rummaged through her memory, unable to recall.
She hadn’t activated her star-eye card in a long time.
She had planned to wait for the starlight to naturally deplete.
But a week had passed, and there was still so much stored?
“No, wait, I didn’t use that ability?”
Naiyin shook her head, countering Garuda’s perspective.
Star Eyes weren’t something one could use casually; it was the power of a curse.
But if it was about starlight.
Through her years of experience, she had confirmed that there were no side effects.
“Normally, that’s true, but nobody can guarantee that this bugged approach…”
“Don’t worry~” Naiyin smiled, reassuring Garuda not to be concerned.
“If there really is a problem with the starlight, I can exit the star state at any time.”
“First, let’s report the investigation results. Have you figured out who Tian Shang Yuan Tian Yu is?” Naiyin asked as if to change the subject.
“Strangely, there’s indeed no magical reaction from her, and she recently moved to Kawano City with a few servants, all of whom are ordinary people.”
Garuda had not discovered anything suspicious about this girl after a week of investigation.
“I tried to reveal a flaw in front of her, but she showed no reaction; this girl should be an ordinary person who has never been in contact with the extraordinary world.”
“Is that so… What about the special circle SEMA?”
“They’ve recently focused on the ‘ability users’ flooding into Kawano City,” Garuda reported.
“The reason is unclear, but recently many ‘hunters’ have arrived in Kawano City; I haven’t found any leads related to them so far.”
Garuda shook his head, indicating he had no thoughts either.
He initially thought everything was connected to the existence named Tian Shang Yuan Tian Yu but later found there was no interaction between the two.
Experience told Naiyin and Garuda that something big was about to happen in Kawano City.
Although there were many fantasy monsters in Kawano City.
The pseudo-god Bai Ling had already disappeared.
Natural disasters had not yet descended.
Why were so many people flocking to Kawano City? Who was truly orchestrating all of this behind the scenes?
“I got it; in a few days, I’ll personally investigate…” A glimmer flashed in Naiyin’s eyes.
If she used the power of Star Eyes, she could easily obtain information.
“I don’t recommend you to use that ability in this state, master…”
“Yes, yes, Garuda, you don’t have to worry about that~ If you’re so concerned, I can just exit the star state for the next few days~” Naiyin shrugged dismissively.
After Garuda left the room.
Naiyin lay back on her bed, pondering Garuda’s worries again.
Could it be that there truly was a problem with her starlight recently?
But if that were the case, it would indeed explain why she had become so concerned about Kanade.
No, rather than being concerned, it was clear that she had fallen for him.
Silly smiling at the chat history was just too frightening.
It seems it would be better to avoid using starlight for a while…
Otherwise, if she truly fell for Kanade, that would be troublesome.
For the sake of her plans, she couldn’t afford to fall in love—
— I can’t love Kanade?
The starlight in her eyes flickered chaotically.
Naiyin suddenly felt a pang of pain in her heart.
What’s going on?
What is this feeling?
Why does it hurt so much?
Had she fallen for Kanade because of the starlight?
If she exited that state—
Would she no longer like Kanade?
No, don’t.
Kanade, Kanade, Kanade—
Naiyin’s hands frantically reached for her phone on the bed.
Kanade’s voice, please, let me hear Kanade’s voice again—
In the dim room.
Only the countless starlights in the girl’s eyes flickered chaotically.
Kanade, I—
