40 [40] Counter Force
"Ding dong—"
Kanako Sawada pressed the doorbell and took a few steps back, confirming once again that this was indeed the home of her student, "Kurokawa Kazumi."
During this period, she had visited quite a few students' homes, from being nervous at the beginning to now being able to handle it smoothly.
According to Kurokawa Kazumi's information.
She lived with her brother, which meant that the main purpose of her visit this time was to meet Kurokawa Kazumi's brother, a person named Kurokawa Kazuya...
According to the classmates in the class, this person was likely a mangaka.
She heard that there was a mangaka with the same name on JUMP.
Thinking about this, she automatically imagined the appearance of a stereotypical otaku.
She couldn't help but feel a little disgusted... and even had some thoughts of not coming. However, for the sake of her student, she still came. She had just decided to put this family at the end of the list so that by then, she would be more accustomed to it after meeting many other people...
Probably...
Click—
The door slowly opened.
Kanako's heart skipped a beat slightly. However—
It was completely different from what she had expected...
The door did not open to reveal light, but a person, about the height of the door, stood in front, blocking her view.
"So tall..."
She couldn't help but exclaim internally. Her height was 151 cm, and the person in front of her seemed to be several heads taller than herself.
However, it didn't give off a pillar-like feeling, but rather a handsome and strong appearance.
Could this person be?
"Um... are you Kurokawa Kazuya-san?"
"That's right... given the time, you must be Kazumi's teacher, Kanako Sawada, right?"
"Huh? Yes... hello." Kanako bowed and said, "I am Kazumi's teacher. Nice to meet you, Kurokawa-san."
...
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing at all." Shiki who was in the middle of a lesson, withdrew her gaze from a distance and placed it on the textbook in front of her. She sighed slightly in her heart, "Let's continue."
"Um... now let me explain this lesson..."
The teacher was explaining a lesson, but she wasn't paying attention at all.
It had never been like this before.
But for some reason now... her mind was a little restless today.
"...Ryougi-kun?"
"Um... sensei, is something the matter?"
"...Let's end here for today." The elderly man in his eighties shook his head helplessly. He could tell that Shiki Ryougi had completely lost interest in continuing her studies today. However... he didn't plan to delve into it or say anything else.
He was not from the Ryougi family but was invited to teach Shiki Ryougi.
However, he had a good grasp of the Ryougi family's situation. Although he couldn't view the young girl in front of him like an ordinary child of her age, he did have some understanding.
But... he felt a bit sorry for her.
So young, yet burdened with such weight.
"Yes... I understand, thank you." Shiki bowed and said.
"Um." The old man nodded, opened the door, and left. "I'll try talking to your father to see if we can cancel the afternoon class." Saying this, he slowly turned back, "Vacations... still need a little, right?"
Shiki was stunned for a moment, and before she could say anything, the old man had already closed the door and left.
Indeed... After that, there was no swordsmanship class today...
Her father had heeded the advice of this teacher and given her a day off.
But...
For some reason, she always felt a bit uneasy...
"What on earth... is going on?"
Shiki Ryougi's inner thoughts—
Deep within... an entity that neither Shiki nor SHIKI had noticed, their true root, the existence representing The Root, awakened.
This existence is "Void Shiki."
Now, it had awakened.
Although it hadn't taken control of Shiki Ryougi's body...
"It's starting... Counter Force." Void Shiki chuckled.
Void Shiki... this entity had been monitoring the Counter Force for a long time, or rather, it had been monitoring her.
Although she could conceal things from the Counter Force if she wanted to, when she was born, she didn't have such thoughts, so the Counter Force noticed her.
Now it was too late to hide even if she wanted to.
However, apart from the Counter Force, it is still possible to conceal it from those who can see the past and the future.
Therefore, those people... Most of them are unaware of Shiki Ryougi existence.
However—Kurokawa Kazuya was an exception.
Surprise, variables, unknowns.
And these unknowns had a strong relationship with Shiki Ryougi.
In other words, in the eyes of the Counter Force, Kurokawa Kazuya had a significant possibility of being the one who might eventually be with Shiki Ryougi.
Especially in the mystical world, age wasn't a significant factor.
And, with Shiki Ryougi...
It meant having everything in the world, whether it was to destroy or rebuild the world.
So, the Counter Force couldn't ignore the possibility of its own demise. Originally, in the Counter Force's view, there should have been someone around Shiki Ryougi who was desireless and able to control her, but now, before this person appeared.
The unknown was inserted...
Because it was unknown, everything was possible. The Counter Force couldn't believe in this possibility...
So...
The Counter Force took action.
Due to Shiki Ryougi's situation, the Counter Force couldn't take lethal or cruel actions... but it could do other things.
For example...
Make Kurokawa Kazuya interested in another woman.
For Shiki Ryougi, she couldn't bear the idea of sharing a person with others... so, if Kurokawa Kazuya accepted one of the many people arranged by the Counter Force...
Then, it meant moving away from Shiki Ryougi.
The reason Shiki felt restless was also because of this. She had an almost precognitive intuition... or rather, insight. There was no doubt that it was A-level...
She felt that something was wrong...
It wasn't about anything else, but... someone was targeting her.
Void Shiki pondered for a moment and suppressed this feeling. Now, everything was still within her tolerance...
In the future, whether Kurokawa Kazuya and Shiki Ryougi would be together, what would happen to the world, she didn't care.
As long as... Shiki Ryougi, this existence, could feel happiness.
That was enough.
In simple terms, if Kurokawa Kazuya wanted to be with Shiki Ryougi in the future, there was one condition—reject all other people.
Only then would there be a slight possibility.
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