Chapter Nine: The Girl Who Longed to Become a Evil Spirit
Night fell.
After dinner.
Nagi lay in the spacious bathtub, stretching her body, wanting to ease the fatigue accumulated throughout the day.
“But being young is different; I don’t feel tired at all.”
Nagi tied her jet-black hair high on her head, her shoulders submerged in water, her eyes squinting into a line as she let out a long sigh.
Today marked the moment she had a long-awaited encounter with the heroine of the original “Star Pull 2,” Kanade.
Though physically she didn’t feel tired, she was mentally under pressure.
But fortunately, everything went smoothly.
Since childhood, Nagi had communicated with Kanade, who was also an introverted wallflower, developing a knack for connecting with such personalities.
With this experience, after meeting with Amamiya Chika today, Nagi immediately exuded a friendly and approachable atmosphere, quickly closing the distance between them.
Moreover, Nagi created an ambiance in front of Chika that suggested she and Kanade were close and flirtatious, enticing her to ask that crucial question.
Finally, she showcased her exceptional acting skills, making it seem as if she and Kanade were mutually in love.
“This way, she won’t think of Kanade as a romantic contender for a while…”
But this insurance wouldn’t last long.
After all, love is a war; as long as she hadn’t confirmed a romantic relationship with Kanade, there was always the risk of him being taken by another heroine.
Yet, she could not become lovers with Kanade too early.
Because lovers have a shelf life.
As the relationship progresses, the affection given to each other gradually fades.
To ensure that Kanade experiences the deepest despair and regrets for a lifetime.
Ideally, the moment they become lovers would be when her countdown to death begins.
Of course, Nagi also prepared multiple contingencies in case her feelings for Kanade were misjudged, or if he confessed too early.
But she was still striving towards the goal of “formally dating in high school.”
After reorganizing her thoughts, Nagi stood up in the bathtub.
Her skin, as fair and radiant as a lotus flower, and the enticing curves obscured by the steam compelled her to exert her willpower, deliberately focusing her attention on other things.
The brilliant starlight in her eyes flickered wildly.
Fearing that a moment’s inattentiveness would lead her to be unable to extricate herself.
After leaving the bathroom, Nagi carefully dried her delicate skin with a towel and then followed a strict routine to care for her hair and skin.
Becoming a beautiful girl is not something that can be achieved overnight.
Even if she was born with inherent advantages, postnatal maintenance allows for no slack.
To maintain her slender figure, Nagi persisted in taking moderate morning runs since she was in elementary school.
To develop healthy and plump leg curves, she joined the swimming club and exercised day after day.
Now that she was in junior high, she could plan some yoga classes to work on her glutes…
As for her chest, Nagi was not worried.
Nagi’s measurements in the original “Star Pull 2” were among the top, abundantly so, and this generosity was already starting to show in junior high.
All this was to offer Kanade the ultimate—an experience of lifelong regret~
After completing her daily maintenance routine, Nagi changed into loungewear.
A lightweight sleeveless white tank top, shorts that exposed her thighs, and a cute light pink pair of non-prescription glasses.
Nagi tried to examine her appearance in the mirror.
Whether it was her freshly washed skin blushing with a rosy hue or the refreshing outfit revealing large areas of skin, she didn’t know where to focus her gaze.
But this appearance—perfectly matched the image Nagi had always played of a “natural beauty who is completely oblivious to her own body and looks while being utterly defenseless towards others.”
This was all laid as groundwork for Kanade’s future visit, even for an overnight stay.
Since she usually dressed like this, it wouldn’t seem strange at that time.
And this outfit, which made even her unsure of where to look, would undoubtedly create exceptional impact in front of the pure-hearted Kanade.
As for the light pink non-prescription glasses.
They were a prop to give Kanade a sense of superiority as if she was rare to see the cute side of her childhood friend.
A top-notch office worker should prepare everything in advance, rather than planning only when work comes knocking!
“Ah, Nii-chan.”
After leaving the bathroom, Nagi encountered her brother, Hoshimiya Renji, who was also dressed in loungewear.
He wore a pure white T-shirt on top and plain gray three-quarter pants on the bottom.
But even such plain attire on the tall Renji accentuated a certain relaxed charm.
Sharing the same parental genes as Nagi, Renji had been turning the neighborhood sisters and aunties into fans since childhood.
Now that he was in junior high, it was said that he received love letters from girls every day.
However, surprisingly, Renji had yet to experience dating any girls, and as for the reason…
“Come here.” After glancing at Nagi, Renji took her to a corner of the living room as usual.
Then he deftly took out a hairdryer and a comb.
“Thanks, Nii-chan~”
“No need to thank me every time.”
As Renji expertly blew Nagi’s hair dry, Nagi felt the need to confess regarding the reason why a seriously handsome and considerate guy like him was still single… she figured she had to repent.
In simple terms—he’s a sis-con.
But Nagi didn’t intend for it to happen; after all, the one she truly wanted to increase her affection for was Kanade.
However, due to the lack of boys her age around her while growing up to practice flirting, Renji could only become the target of Nagi’s practice and experimentation.
Young Renji was no match for his adorable sister’s fierce advances.
…I’m sorry, brother! Before I die, I promise to find you a suitable beautiful girl!
“Nagi, are you really planning to join the Super Self-Research?”
Renji’s voice was low.
Under the noise of the hairdryer, Nagi could hear him clearly thanks to her extraordinary hearing but decided to play dumb.
“Nii-chan? What did you just say?”
“…Nothing.”
If Kanade were by your side, everything would be fine, right? Renji’s murmurs were drowned out by the sound of the hairdryer.
“Well, I’m going to take a bath now.”
“Okay, thanks, Nii-chan.”
After Renji efficiently helped Nagi dry her hair, he turned to head to the bathroom.
Ah, what a caring brother~ Nagi watched Renji’s departing figure, realizing why he might be worried about her joining the Super Self-Research.
Nagi had to admit, it all stemmed from a mistake she made during her childhood…
…
…
That year, Nagi was about to turn seven and had just started elementary school.
Seeing that so many pure-hearted, adorable girls suddenly appeared beside Kanade, Nagi admitted she panicked.
Although they were just innocent elementary students, they were real girls.
And due to the habits and thoughts retained from her two previous lives as a male.
Even though she had consciously leaned towards girls, the distinct presence of a male mindset continuously asserting itself was always evident.
The gap had already begun to show in elementary school; if it reached junior high, or even high school, the gap would only widen.
Did she really have the ability to compete with those true beautiful girls from the original work?
To ensure that she could become the flawless childhood friend in Kanade’s heart in the future, Nagi realized she desperately needed “acting skills.”
Thus, Nagi started searching for a suitable reason for her sudden desire to become an actress.
Due to her dignity as an adult from her past lives, Nagi had behaved as a child who desired nothing in front of her parents.
When making birthday wishes, she would often dismiss them as “I hope Dad and Mom can be happy forever,” leaving her parents tearful.
From the moment she became aware, her birthday wish had always been this.
Among her peers, this was quite abnormal.
However, fortunately, Nagi’s unusual nature could be explained well by her background.
Nagi was a premature baby, born a full three months early.
Whether it was due to her soul reincarnating into this body, she somehow survived and flourished in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Additionally, her maturity due to an adult’s mindset since childhood meant she never cried at night, which had even caused her parents distress, leading them to take her to see doctors at one time.
This year, she suddenly wanted to learn acting; she needed an opportunity to make it seem less abrupt and prevent her parents from worrying again.
But her birthday was fast approaching, and Nagi grew anxious and scrambled for ideas.
Coincidentally, her older sister, Hoshimiya Sayaka, who was six years her senior, was in junior high, where it was trendy among the girls to rent movie tapes.
Desperate, Nagi seized this opportunity and pestered her sister to rent tapes daily, watching them together.
“The previously indifferent elementary student felt the charm of movies for the first time because of her sister, thus wishing to become an actress on her birthday.”
What a wonderful script! What a fitting reason! Nagi thought to herself, truly heaven-sent.
Then, on that birthday, Nagi put on her most serious face, indicating she had a wish.
This made her father, who longed to pamper Nagi, beam with joy.
He thought he finally had the chance to fulfill his precious little daughter’s wish.
“I, I… want to be an actress…”
Nagi’s wish seemed a bit sudden to her father, who looked uncertainly at her.
Nagi’s mother explained to him, “Nagi has been pestering Sayaka to watch movies lately; it seems she really is enchanted.”
“Is that so? What does Nagi want to act in as an actress?” Nagi’s father asked encouragingly, while internally planning to enroll Nagi in the best children’s acting class.
However, this time, Nagi’s stammering wasn’t acting.
“I… want to act… as Sadako… or Kayako…”
Nagi acknowledged this was her biggest mistake.
That year, among the junior high girls, the rented films were all… horror movies.
So Nagi had been watching horror films with her sister Sayaka.
The characters in those movies were either evil spirits or victims killed by evil spirits.
Between the two, choosing to be a victim would make her seem suicidal… probably getting her sent to see a doctor again.
So Nagi could only… build a persona of “longing to become an evil spirit” in front of her parents.
Alright, it always felt like choosing this would also get her sent to a doctor.
Yet fortunately, in the end, Nagi’s parents accepted her wish and took her to the best children’s acting training class in the city.
In the eyes of everyone, Nagi was just an innocent girl longing to become an evil spirit.
Nagi quickly revealed her talent for acting and met the young Mana, even debuting together as “child star geniuses.”
But to save Mana, Nagi personally destroyed her infinite prospects in the entertainment industry.
Since then, the term “evil spirit” became a taboo among Nagi’s family and friends; no one would ever mention it.
However, Nagi’s “psychological trauma” in the eyes of others was merely a means to connect her feelings with Kanade.
“Because you rescued me from my darkest moments, it’s only reasonable that I would fall in love with you, right, Kanade-kun~”
