“Why do you always say things like that? Can you even live a normal life?”
Rin wipes her tears with the sleeve of her kimono while holding a pharmacy bag that Kim Deok-Sung has in his hand.
“You didn’t go, did you…?”
Thank goodness.
I’m not disliked yet.
“Ugh.”
With a sigh, Kim Deok-Sung takes a pain patch out of the bag and applies it to her ankle.
“Yikes!”
As his touch reaches her, Rin’s heart starts racing.
Her face turns bright red.
“Just stay still for a moment.”
Watching her squirm like a fish, Kim Deok-Sung smears the ointment between her toes where her slippers have worn them down.
Slather.
Feeling the mixed sensation of the cold ointment and Kim Deok-Sung’s body heat, Rin’s face gets even redder.
“Ugh.”
A moan slips out of her mouth.
Regardless, after applying all the ointment, Kim Deok-Sung wipes the leftover on his hands with a tissue and hands the pharmacy bag to Rin.
“If it hurts, you apply it yourself. Don’t annoy me.”
“…Okay, I got it…”
Rustle.
With the pharmacy bag hugged tightly to her chest, Rin’s face is flushed.
Her heart feels like it’s going to burst.
‘He, he came back…’
She thought she was disliked.
She thought he would use going to buy medicine as an excuse to leave her.
But he returned.
And he even bought medicine for her and applied it himself.
She recalls the touch of his hand that just was on her foot.
Her toes feel like they’ve been burned by fire.
Rin’s face is so hot.
“Hey, Rin.”
She hears his voice by her ear.
She looks up.
There’s Kim Deok-Sung’s face full of irritation.
“And stop with the, uh, physical charges. It annoys people. Why do it if you know it doesn’t work?”
“That’s…”
Rin is at a loss for words.
She lowers her head.
“I, my feminine charm is low and… I can’t do much… I can’t cook well like Nishizawa… I can’t be thoughtful like Bonaparte… All I’ve got left is my body…”
Rin stumbles over her words.
She goes over her situation.
Feeling miserable.
Tears roll down her cheeks.
“The only thing I can do is that, just that…”
“What nonsense is this? Why are you comparing yourself to other people?”
“Why are you comparing yourself to others?”
At Kim Deok-Sung’s words, Rin’s mind lights up.
Kim Deok-Sung sighs and says, “The rice balls you made last time were pretty tasty, and you did great today as a tour guide, right? Just keep doing that. Don’t go around comparing yourself to others and developing inferiority complexes, charging in headfirst like a madman. It’s embarrassing for anyone who sees it, and it ticks me off.”
“Th-that’s…”
Rin’s eyes widen.
Her heart races.
Her sapphire eyes tremble.
“Is it really okay for me to be me, not Nishizawa or Bonaparte?”
“I’m saying don’t go charging in like a fool; why does it always turn out like this? Do whatever you want. It’s not like this is the first time you’ve twisted my words to fit what you want to hear.”
Kim Deok-Sung waves his hand dismissively and shuts up.
But Rin knows.
He’s surprisingly not honest.
His denial is really just a positive in disguise.
Rin bows her head.
Clutching her heart as it threatens to explode, she says, “You’re really a bad guy. Y-you are…”
How could she not fall for a guy who says things like that?
After all, I, Shinozaki Rin, am infatuated with that bad guy.
But even though this moment is nice,
‘Maybe I should be a little greedier…’
I want to be loved by him even more.
Thinking that, Rin smiles.
*
At the same time.
Kiyomizu Temple’s main hall.
A beautiful girl with long purple hair in a white school uniform, Kasumi, hums to herself.
“Kyoto for the second time is also fun.”
Last year and this year too.
The Kyoto trip has been joyful.
Among the students, some complained about going to Kyoto every time for the school trip, but not Kasumi.
Being an orphan, a spy, and a chimera with mixed non-human genes, reading and traveling were her only means of soothing loneliness.
“I wish the juniors and cute little juniors could have come along…”
Kasumi unintentionally lets out such words and is slightly taken aback.
“I’ve gotten used to not being alone now…”
She misses the juniors.
Kasumi quietly swallows her words and smiles brightly.
Just then, her face blushes like cherry blossoms.
Bzzzt.
Kasumi’s phone rings.
“Is it… the juniors?”
Thump, thump.
With her racing heart, as she checks the message with trembling hands, it reads:
[This is an order from the League. Code name: Purple.]
[Day 9 of training, the night is the execution date.]
[The targets include Kurosawa Yuji, Kim Deok-Sung, and all students of Shuo.]
[The mission type is ‘extermination’.]
[For details, consult Student Council President Maruyama Ryosuke. End.]
Kasumi’s face turns cold and stiff.
Cold sweat trickles down her forehead.
New World League.
They’ve begun to move behind the scenes.
What’s wrong with this woman?
“Is it enough now?”
“It’s gotten quite better, but I still can’t walk alone… It’s a bit too much… Can you help me?”
Rin’s face reddens as she bows her head.
Right, it’s tough to say anything to someone who’s hurt. Sigh.
Such is my fate.
I let out an internal sigh and reach out my hand.
“Alright.”
“Thanks, Kim Deok-Sung.”
With her hand in mine, Rin crosses her arms again.
I can feel her soft touch against my forearm.
Rin’s face turns red.
“T-this… it’s not… I-it’s not my intention… my… my breast size is just… so… big…”
“I get it, so stop with the extra explanations. Everyone’s watching us.”
If she keeps talking like that, I’ll lose the bit of dignity I managed to muster just a moment ago.
“…Fine. Hehe.”
Rin clings to me with a knowing smile, as if something good has happened.
She seems to be a bit more confident than before.
But hey, good vibes are good vibes.
“Our next destination is the main hall of Kiyomizu Temple. It’s famous for being built on a cliff. The guidebook says it’s a must-see if you’re in Kyoto.”
Rin explains as she leads me on.
We walk a bit through the Kiyomizu Temple grounds.
Suddenly, I feel cold droplets on my cheek.
“What’s that?”
Just as I frown…
Whoooosh.
A sudden torrential downpour pours down.
Great.
Why does it always rain like crazy when I’m with her?
Feels like it’s just one of those unlucky days.
“Out of nowhere, rain… ugh…”
Rin starts to shiver in the downpour.
Her wet kimono clings to her body, making things awkward for her.
What a headache.
Is she going to catch a cold doing this?
“L-let’s hurry to the main hall. I’m sorry for being a bother…”
Rin says, looking downcast.
If she gets sick on top of her already injured leg, that’d be a disaster.
I can’t have any setbacks given I don’t know what the original story holds.
Ugh, I really don’t want to deal with this.
“My clothes are ruined.”
“What do you mean…”
With shaky hands, I take off my school uniform shirt and wrap it around Rin.
It doesn’t matter since I’m wearing a black t-shirt underneath anyway.
“W-what…!”
“If you catch a cold, it’ll be a pain, so wear this.”
“Y-you’re worrying about me… just like that time…”
Rin’s eyes tremble.
Do you really want to dive into that right now?
“No, just shut up and follow me.”
“…Understood.”
With a smile that suggests she’s happy about something, Rin follows me as we head towards the Kiyomizu Temple main hall.
Whoooosh.
We enter the roofed stage area.
As expected from a famous photo spot and the representative landmark of Kiyomizu Temple and Kyoto, it’s bustling with people.
Maybe because of the sudden downpour, there are plenty of people taking shelter too.
Ignoring them, I guide Rin towards the railing.
The Kiyomizu Temple stage built on the cliff overlooks the sparkling night view of Kyoto.
The scenery is quite grand, representing a popular tourist spot in Japan, allowing me to forget my complicated thoughts, even if just for a moment.
“What do you think? The view of Kyoto from the Kiyomizu Temple stage. They say it’s a standard course to take a commemorative photo at the railing when you’re in Kyoto.”
Rin starts explaining again, even though I didn’t ask her to.
I’ve seen this scenery over and over in anime and manga already.
The scenery was repetitively dull.
It was my first time seeing it in person.
“Uh, um, if it’s okay… can we take a commemorative… p-photo together?”
Rin fumbles around and pulls out a selfie stick, attaching it to her smartphone.
Wait, when did she even bring that out?
“If… if you don’t want to, I understand…”
Rin’s shoulders droop.
Drop, drop.
Wet raindrops fall onto the stage.
If I don’t agree, she’s going to sit there silently, urging me without words.
Isn’t this gaslighting?
“Give it here.”
I snatch the selfie stick from Rin’s hands.
“W-we’re taking a picture together, right?”
“Just this once.”
I’m not doing this twice; that’s too annoying.
“Of course. O-one picture is enough for me.”
Rin smiles faintly.
We take a selfie together, her wearing a strange outfit with a shirt over her kimono.
Click.
“Is it done?”
I hand the selfie stick back to her.
Rin nods with a flushed face.
“…Y-yeah.”
“Send the photo via message later.”
Whatever the case, as she said, a commemorative photo at Kiyomizu Temple is a must.
Having at least one commemorative photo should be fine.
Having fallen into this crazy world, I finally get to visit Japan, a trip I couldn’t take due to family circumstances back in the original world.
There’s no irony quite like this.
My taste is bitter.
“Ah, got it!”
Rin smiles lightly as she taps on her phone.
Buzz.
A message arrives.
[Here’s the photo we took together today.]
It shows Rin and me stuck close together.
In the background, the night view of Kyoto city is reflected.
Not bad.
Just as I’m about to hit the save button, I hear a familiar voice by my ear.
“Junior…?”
I look up.
There stands Kasumi-senpai, a beautiful girl with purple hair, looking like she’s about to cry.
“Senpai?”
“Is it really you, Junior? Junior… I… uh, sniff… hee-hee!”
As soon as she sees me, she rushes over, grabs my hand, and starts crying pitifully.
The gazes of people around us all turn towards our group.
“What’s up with her? Why’s she crying?”
“He looks like a neat young man with two girls. It’s obvious without looking.”
“He’s a player. A player.”
“They say if you abandon your first wife, you’ll get punished by heaven.”
These extras really have no sense of time or place for their commentary.
“Can you stop crying already?”
Before more weird misunderstandings pile up.
Kasumi-senpai wipes her tears and whispers softly.
“Sniff, I’m sorry, Junior… but you’re the only one I can rely on now…”
“Hoshino-senpai, what happened?”
“Y-you were with Shinozaki too… ugh…”
Kasumi-senpai’s eyes start to tremble as she sees Rin.
Her hand shakes nervously.
Clearly in a panic.
I’ve seen a similar scene in animations before, just in a different context.
I recall the original content.
‘Looks like she received a betrayal order.’
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