Shikime Natsu walked behind Kiryuuin Fuuka, the two of them leaving the rubberized running track side by side, one on the left and one on the right, before heading off in a particular direction.
Sunlight spilled down through the gaps between the leaves, forming patches of dappled light upon the ground.
They walked for about a few minutes.
Following Kiryuuin Fuuka, Shikime Natsu arrived beside a bench at the edge of the school's living quarters.
This place seemed exceptionally secluded.
There were no students passing by, only the rustling sound of the breeze brushing through the leaves.
Kiryuuin Fuuka came to a stop.
She turned around and gave Shikime Natsu a little smile.
"Here."
Kiryuuin Fuuka pointed to that wooden bench, which looked somewhat old and worn.
"This is the place I usually come to pass the time."
After Shikime Natsu heard her say these words—
His gaze fell upon that perfectly ordinary bench, and the corners of his mouth curved up slightly, revealing a somewhat surprised smile.
He really hadn't expected it.
That a girl like Kiryuuin Fuuka—so independent and unconventional among the second-years, with such a powerful aura—would have a place to pass the time that was merely a wholly inconspicuous bench tucked away in a corner like this.
She didn't go to some upscale café, nor to some lively place of entertainment.
She just sat here, plain and dry.
Shikime Natsu thought to himself that, if it were Morishita Ai's spot for passing the time, then a bench like this would more or less fit. After all, given Morishita Ai's personality, even though Shikime Natsu was already dating her, fully grasping what was going on in that girl's mind was still rather difficult.
Of course, if Morishita Ai were to tell Shikime Natsu that she could lie completely motionless on this bench for an entire day, then Shikime Natsu naturally wouldn't believe it. After all, though Morishita Ai might do some nonsensical things, simply lying on a bench—such a lonely thing to do—wasn't something Morishita Ai would do.
Unless, that is, the area near this bench just so happened to offer a view of some interesting ants, or perhaps some kind of bird.
Only things that could captivate the girl's gaze could make her stay quietly in one place.
Just as Shikime Natsu was looking at the bench, his mind wandering a little, thinking about matters concerning Morishita Ai—
Kiryuuin Fuuka, beside him, spoke up.
"Don't just stand there like a fool."
She tilted her head slightly, inviting Shikime Natsu.
"Sit."
Shikime Natsu snapped back to his senses and nodded.
He walked over to one side of the bench and, quite naturally, sat down.
After seeing Shikime Natsu take a seat—
Kiryuuin Fuuka didn't immediately sit down beside him.
Beside the bench, not far away, stood a vending machine.
Kiryuuin Fuuka walked up to that vending machine, then, quite naturally, turned around and looked at Shikime Natsu seated on the bench.
"What would you like to drink?"
She asked Shikime Natsu what beverage he wanted.
Since he had followed his senpai to her turf, Shikime Natsu naturally didn't stand on ceremony. "Orange juice will do."
Shikime Natsu spoke up and asked for a bottle of orange juice.
"Orange juice, huh."
Kiryuuin Fuuka indicated that she understood.
She turned back around, pulled out her phone from her pocket, and paid directly with her personal points.
Then, her slender fingers pressed the buttons twice in succession.
Accompanied by two soft "clunk, clunk" sounds—
Kiryuuin Fuuka bent down and quickly retrieved two bottles of drinks from the vending machine's dispensing slot.
One of them was exactly the chilled orange juice that Shikime Natsu had requested.
She walked back holding the drinks.
Kiryuuin Fuuka looked at Shikime Natsu and handed that bottle of orange juice straight over to him.
This time she was actually very polite, handing it directly to him by hand, rather than tossing it straight at him the way she had when they ran into each other at the shopping mall earlier.
Shikime Natsu reached out his hand.
After taking that bottle of drink, which was still giving off faint wisps of cold air, he lifted his head.
"Many thanks, Kiryuuin-senpai."
He thanked Kiryuuin Fuuka.
Kiryuuin Fuuka didn't say much more.
She walked over to the spot on the bench right up against the vending machine and, quite casually, sat down.
After sitting down—
She crossed those slender, eye-catching long legs over each other, casually resting one leg atop the other.
This sitting posture added a few touches of languidness and ease to her already dashing temperament.
Then she extended a finger and, with a "click," popped open the aluminum can in her hand.
Kiryuuin Fuuka tilted her head back and, with an elegant posture, took a sip of the drink inside.
Feeling the icy liquid slide down her throat—
She set the can down, turned her head, and those pale purple eyes settled upon Shikime Natsu.
"Shiki-kun."
Kiryuuin Fuuka looked at him and suddenly spoke.
"You really are an out-and-out monster, aren't you."
There wasn't the slightest derogatory meaning in her tone; on the contrary, it carried an undisguised admiration.
"Not only in your studies, where you've been able to hold firmly onto the number one spot in the first year."
"That little test just now also let me see that, in terms of athletics and physical ability, you can likewise be called quite strong."
"Strong to a downright absurd degree. If someone were to say you aren't human, I might actually believe them."
Hearing this praise from Kiryuuin Fuuka—
Shikime Natsu merely gave a little smile, holding that bottle of orange juice in his hand without rushing to open it.
Kiryuuin Fuuka looked at that unflappable manner of his and spoke up once again.
"To be honest."
"With the kind of absolute ability you're displaying right now."
"Even if you had absolutely no need for that so-called 'Class A recommendation qualification' that this Advanced Nurturing Academy provides upon graduation."
"Whether you wanted to get into a top-tier university, or step directly into society and enter some large corporation."
Kiryuuin Fuuka looked at Shikime Natsu.
"You could waltz right in with ease and thrive there, couldn't you?"
Faced with this rhetorical question from Kiryuuin Fuuka—
Shikime Natsu's face still maintained that mild smile.
Those pale golden eyes of his looked at the silver-haired senpai seated beside him.
"Senpai flatters me too much."
Shikime Natsu spoke softly, then tossed the question back.
"If we're speaking purely of individual ability."
"You yourself, Kiryuuin-senpai, are actually the same way, aren't you?"
He looked at her.
"With your ability, even without relying on the school's recommendation, those opportunities out in the wider world would likewise be yours to pick and choose from."
Hearing this incisive counter-question from Shikime Natsu—
Kiryuuin Fuuka didn't refute it.
She merely smiled.
Her smile carried a few touches of the carefree air of someone who saw through worldly matters.
She withdrew her gaze and looked at the leaves swaying in the wind ahead.
"Want to... have a little chat?"
Kiryuuin Fuuka spoke slowly to Shikime Natsu, casting out a casual invitation.
Upon hearing this invitation—
Shikime Natsu smiled and replied to Kiryuuin Fuuka.
"Aren't the two of us chatting right now?"
Hearing this clever reply—
Kiryuuin Fuuka was first taken aback for a moment, then couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
She nodded with a smile.
"True enough."
Then she turned her head, and those pale purple eyes once again looked toward Shikime Natsu.
"Since we're chatting."
Kiryuuin Fuuka spoke up and asked Shikime Natsu.
"Then, Shiki-kun."
"Have you ever thought about what you want to do with your future, after graduating from this school?"
This topic was clearly a bit too heavy for a high schooler who had only just stepped into high school life; even if you were to ask a third-year student, quite a few of them would feel lost.
However, before Shikime Natsu could answer—
Kiryuuin Fuuka didn't seem to intend to get an answer from him right away.
She withdrew her gaze and looked at the can in her own hand.
Just like that, on her own, in this quiet after-school hour, she slowly began to speak to the Shikime Natsu beside her.
"As for me..."
Kiryuuin Fuuka's voice grew somewhat gentle and slow.
"I was born into a relatively wealthy family."
She briefly accounted for her own origins.
"I know that, for the vast majority of people in this world, having such a background—one where you're free of worries about food and clothing, where you never have to fret over money."
"That is quite a fortunate thing."
It was even a blessing that ordinary people dreamed of, one they couldn't attain even after several lifetimes of cultivation.
Saying this, a flicker of complicated emotion flashed through Kiryuuin Fuuka's eyes.
"But."
"I find this kind of life to be very tiresome."
She furrowed her brow, a trace of resistance entering her tone.
"I don't want to inherit some enormous family enterprise, nor do I want to walk down that so-called elite path they've already paved out for me."
That was someone else's life, not hers.
"What I want."
Kiryuuin Fuuka lifted her head and looked at the sunlight spilling down through the leaves.
"Is simply to live freely and as I please, according to my own will."
"To study diligently on my own, to acquire knowledge through my own strength, and then slowly make my way toward adulthood."
She painted that seemingly plain, unremarkable blueprint of the future in her heart.
"After I graduate from this high school."
"I don't intend to rely on any of the elders in my family, nor do I need their recommendation letters or funding."
"I plan to get into an ordinary university on my own merits, as nothing more than an ordinary honor student."
A radiance of longing shimmered in Kiryuuin Fuuka's eyes.
"As for living expenses and tuition during university and all that."
"I plan to earn it all myself by working part-time jobs."
The more she spoke, the more absorbed she became, as if she could already see her own future life.
"And after graduating from university, I won't go to some multinational conglomerate either."
"I'll just casually find some ordinary small or medium-sized enterprise to work at, doing an ordinary job."
"In this complex society, being a person who doesn't draw attention."
"Living an unfettered life that belongs to me alone."
Kiryuuin Fuuka drew in a deep breath.
In this quiet corner, she spoke out, to Shikime Natsu, the truest yearning deep within her heart.
"Shiki-kun."
"I... want to become no one at all."
When Kiryuuin Fuuka spoke these words—
Those eyes of hers, always so sharp and full of wildness, now carried an obvious trace of yearning.
Even the tone of her speech underwent some subtle changes.
Gone was that rather dashing feeling she'd had earlier when racing him on the field.
Gone, too, was that arrogance of not caring about anything.
At this moment, she was more like an ordinary girl who had been bound by heavy shackles for far too long, longing to break free of the cage and breathe fresh air.
Shikime Natsu sat beside her.
Those pale golden eyes of his quietly watched Kiryuuin Fuuka's profile.
He could tell.
The surname "Kiryuuin," though it brought her wealth and status beyond the reach of ordinary people—
At the same time, it also brought this freedom-craving girl no small amount of invisible pressure and heavy burden.
With Kiryuuin Fuuka's ability, she could at least become the kind of person that most people wanted to be; yet just now, Kiryuuin Fuuka had said that she didn't want to become anyone, didn't want to be defined by anyone.
If these words of hers were to be heard by certain people, they would surely say that Kiryuuin Fuuka was wasting her own talent.
During the few minutes that Kiryuuin Fuuka poured out her heart, Shikime Natsu merely sat there quietly, listening.
He didn't anxiously cut in to interrupt her, nor did he voice any opinions of agreement or opposition.
He simply played the role of a competent listener.
After Kiryuuin Fuuka had finished saying everything on her mind—
She turned her head, and her gaze settled once more upon Shikime Natsu.
"Shiki-kun."
She spoke up and asked Shikime Natsu.
"Now that you've heard all this, what's your view of me?"
There was a touch of curiosity in her eyes; she wanted to know what this kouhai of hers, Shikime Natsu, thought of her. In truth... Kiryuuin Fuuka herself wasn't sure why she had told Shikime Natsu so much—even the thoughts deep within her own heart. It was just that... looking at Shikime Natsu, deep down Kiryuuin Fuuka felt that he was a person worthy of trust.
"Do you think my way of thinking is rather strange? Even somewhat ungrateful?"
After all, she had clearly been born into a relatively wealthy family, didn't have to toil for a livelihood, and had a splendid future ahead—yet she was set on going off to live a life as ordinary as ordinary could be.
On top of that, working part-time to earn her own living expenses, going to work at a small or medium-sized enterprise.
And furthermore declaring that she didn't want to become anyone.
When the life she currently possessed was already the very destination that ordinary people in this world dreamed of, even if they gave it their all.
And yet she was thinking of escaping from it.
A way of thinking like this, in others' ears, probably sounded just like a rich young miss who'd had too much of a good thing, moaning and groaning without any real ailment.
Faced with this question from Kiryuuin Fuuka, tinged with a few touches of self-mockery—
Shikime Natsu looked at her.
At this moment, he gently shook his head.
"I don't think it's strange."
Shikime Natsu spoke to Kiryuuin Fuuka, his tone still that steady and mild one.
"I haven't experienced the things you've experienced, Kiryuuin-senpai."
"I haven't stood in your position, nor have I borne the kind of pressure you face from your family."
Shikime Natsu looked into her eyes and slowly spoke.
"So..."
"I naturally can't, and have no right to, rashly pass any judgment on your life."
He paused, then continued.
"What's more."
"Senpai's tone just now was very firm."
Shikime Natsu smiled.
"Which means that you, Kiryuuin-senpai, have actually long since formed your own mature ideas about your future and the path you want to walk."
"Since you've already found the freedom you want."
"If I were now to take a self-righteous attitude and point fingers at and criticize the path you've chosen, senpai."
Shikime Natsu looked at her.
"Then, wouldn't that version of me."
"Be just the same as those people you despise, Kiryuuin-senpai?"
Hearing this reply from Shikime Natsu, which held not the slightest hint of preaching—
Kiryuuin Fuuka was visibly taken aback for a moment.
Then, within those pale purple eyes of hers, a brilliant radiance blossomed.
She looked at Shikime Natsu and, in a fine mood, smiled.
"Interesting."
Kiryuuin Fuuka said to Shikime Natsu, her tone carrying a thick admiration.
"You really aren't an ordinary person, you guy. Mm... at the very least, you're not a detestable fellow. I'm starting to rather like you."
It was merely a single line—"I haven't experienced your life, so I won't point fingers."
Yet it made Kiryuuin Fuuka feel that inviting this kouhai out for a walk today had truly been quite the correct decision.
After her mood had brightened—
Kiryuuin Fuuka set the empty can in her hand down beside the bench.
She turned her body to face Shikime Natsu head-on.
"Well then, my story's been told."
Kiryuuin Fuuka looked at him, the corners of her mouth curving up into a lovely arc.
"So... do you have a story to let me hear?"
A flicker of curiosity flashed through those purple eyes of Kiryuuin Fuuka's.
She had grown curious about Shikime Natsu's experiences as well, wanting to know just what kind of environment had cultivated a monster like Shikime Natsu.
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan — Patre*n🔥👻
🔥 New history: DanMachi: But I am a Monster — now on The_Mikudayo
📚 Walnut-chan → 40 chapters ahead + you're funding the next translations
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone