"Betty doesn't have anything to hide!!!"
Beatrice almost spat the words at Satou Kazuma.
"Don't worry, I understand."
Satou Kazuma nodded, looking like he totally got it.
"Little girls, with the right amount of 'trying to be cool,' can definitely be more cute."
"Ughhhh, Betty is not a little girl! And that 'trying to be cool' thing you said, Betty doesn't even know what it is!"
"Yeah, yeah, I don't know either~"
"Betty is so done with this!"
Beatrice, looking annoyed, opened the book she was holding and showed it to Satou Kazuma. It was just page after page of blank paper.
"Oh, you haven't had time to write yet?"
"This isn't that little book you're talking about, okay!"
"Then what are you keeping an empty book for?"
"That... that's Betty's business, and it's none of your concern!"
Beatrice answered quickly, holding the Book of Wisdom even tighter.
Deep down, she was longing for someone to show up and save her from this hopeless situation.
Even though Satou Kazuma had brought a lot of change to Beatrice's life, and wasn't like the previous visitors who came because of the forbidden book, but came into the forbidden library because of Beatrice herself.
But from the start to now, the Book of Wisdom in Beatrice's hands hadn't changed at all.
Satou Kazuma, he wasn't that person.
A trace of sadness that she couldn't hide flashed in Beatrice's eyes. Satou Kazuma narrowed his eyes slightly, focusing on her.
"What do you mean it's none of my business? Of course it is!"
A few seconds later, Satou Kazuma looked incredibly serious and said loudly.
"How is it your business?"
"We're going to be teammates who rely on each other from now on!"
"Betty didn't agree to that!"
"And since you're a little girl, it's my responsibility to help you out! As they say, respect the old and love the young... Ouch, Aqua probably counts as an old lady, huh. Well, if I can't respect the old, then I can still love the young. But I have to make it clear, I'm not into little kids!"
"Are you even listening to Betty!"
Beatrice clenched her small right fist tightly. Satou Kazuma's nonsense completely blew away her sadness from just now.
She'd lived for over 400 years, and now she was being lectured by this young and ordinary guy?
Beatrice gripped the Book of Wisdom tightly, biting her lip. Countless thoughts flooded her brain.
After several seconds of silence, Beatrice slowly said:
"You, you're not Betty's 'that person'..."
"Huh?"
"Betty has been waiting for that person to arrive. Betty has been waiting for a long, long time. Mother told Betty to stay in the forbidden library until that person appears and takes Betty away... but this book has never changed..."
Finally, Beatrice explained her situation.
Her voice choked up, and tears welled up in her eyes. Her eyes were like flower petals wet with dew, and her breathing became rapid.
"You're saying that this book decides how you live your life? Because of this, you've been in the forbidden library for 400 years?"
Satou Kazuma pointed to the Book of Wisdom in Beatrice's arms.
"Yeah... So Betty will ask you, are you willing to be that person? Even if you're lying to Betty, Betty will believe you."
Beatrice looked at Satou Kazuma with tears in her eyes, a hint of hope in her gaze.
She hadn't known him for very long.
But Beatrice didn't know why, ever since this guy showed up, her life had changed completely.
Even though she was busy, it was because of him that she'd stepped outside for the first time in a long time.
Anyone who could be that person, even if it was a lie, would be fine.
"You might have the wrong idea about me. I'm not the kind of jerk who would lie to a little girl!"
Satou Kazuma didn't answer right away. He just looked at the Book of Wisdom thoughtfully and waved his hand, saying seriously.
"Is that so... You're not willing to be Betty's person..."
Her only hope shattered, Beatrice's eyes seemed to dim instantly. She lowered her head, her face filled with loss and sadness.
"But I'm a pretty capable guy, you know. I never lie. So I just have to turn the lie into the truth!"
Satou Kazuma smiled.
"What are you talking about?"
Beatrice looked up again, looking at him in confusion.
"Steal!"
Before Beatrice could react, Satou Kazuma suddenly used his skill.
"Huh!? What's going on!?"
The next moment, what appeared in Satou Kazuma's hands was...
The Book of Wisdom.
Beatrice looked down in surprise. The Book of Wisdom was gone from her arms.
She had no idea how Satou Kazuma had done it.
Satou Kazuma immediately opened the Book of Wisdom, grabbed a pen from the table, and wrote a sentence in it.
--Satou Kazuma is that person, Betty will go on adventures with Satou Kazuma!
"Since you say this book decides your fate, then all you have to do is write something about it in there, right?"
Satou Kazuma put the book down and gave it back to Beatrice along with the pen.
"The rest is up to you to write."
Beatrice looked down at the Book of Wisdom in her hands.
In that moment, countless thoughts flooded her mind.
Satou Kazuma had actually written those words directly in the Book of Wisdom?
And the words he'd just said were like a brand, deeply engraved in Beatrice's heart.
The rest is up to me to write?
The rest is up to me to write...
The rest is up to me to write.
Betty had never thought of that before.
Was that what Mother meant?
No matter how it happened, the book did contain words about 'that person'.
Satou Kazuma, is that person.
"Kazuma..."
Beatrice turned to look at Satou Kazuma, her heart filled with mixed feelings.
Satou Kazuma really was different from other people.
Maybe his usual goofy and unreliable appearance was just a disguise?
And just then, Beatrice saw Satou Kazuma pick up the pen again, looking at Beatrice with a perverted expression:
"If I wrote in the book that Betty became a mature woman, would you--"
"You really are still that idiot, Kazuma."
"Oh, it's the first time I've heard you call me anything other than 'idiot'."
"BaKazuma!"
Beatrice wiped the tears from her cheeks, and the corners of her mouth finally turned up in a smile.
----
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