Cleaning up the curse spirit's blood was quite troublesome, especially since Hayashizaki had cut it into several pieces. The purple blood splattered everywhere like a fountain. It wasn't until dinner time that Yukinoshita Yukino finally cleaned the entire living room, even taking the shattered glass coffee table to the trash area in the hallway.
After cleaning the house, she immediately started preparing dinner for herself. Despite working all afternoon, she didn't feel tired at all.
Yukinoshita Yukino used to think that lack of stamina was her only weakness, but now it seemed that this weakness had disappeared.
After dinner, while washing an apple for herself, Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly heard a chewing sound. She switched the apple to her left hand and, sure enough, there was a bite mark on the red apple, and a mouth was chewing in her right hand.
"Of course,"
Hayashizaki, who had been silent all afternoon, reappeared.
"You are now Sukuna's vessel. Whatever you were before doesn't matter, but now, your body is no longer that of an ordinary human."
Yukinoshita Yukino, who was about to get angry, paused at his words. Then, as if realizing something, she asked worriedly,
"Will I turn into that monster in the future?"
"No,"
Hayashizaki said, taking another bite of the sweet, juicy apple.
"What I mean is, your body's strength is now far beyond that of a normal person, and it will only get stronger over time."
"Eventually, you might even reach Sukuna's level of strength."
"I see."
Yukinoshita Yukino's expression was complicated. She couldn't tell if the changes in her body were good or bad.
To Hayashizaki, her expression showed that she was still struggling with her human identity. If she could be as straightforward as him and stop being human, she would probably be very happy about these changes.
From the moment Hayashizaki replaced Sukuna and mysteriously awakened inside Yukinoshita Yukino, her ordinary life had ended.
She had been drawn into the world of the
"abnormal,"
where strength was everything.
It wouldn't be long before Yukinoshita Yukino understood this herself.
Meanwhile, Hayashizaki had quietly eaten almost half of the apple.
Yukinoshita Yukino sighed helplessly and gave him the rest of the apple, then sat back on the sofa to read a book.
"I'm bored. Turn on the TV,"
Hayashizaki said after watching her read for a while.
"No, it will disturb my reading."
"Reoreoreoreoreo."
"..."
Veins popped on the girl's forehead, but she eventually turned on the TV and lowered the volume.
"What do you want to watch?"
"Anything."
"Then let's stick with this."
"Boring, change it."
"What do you want to watch?"
"Anything."
"..."
Yukinoshita Yukino finally couldn't take it anymore and accidentally crushed the remote control in her hand.
"Please stop! I'm not your nanny!"
"That's not true,"
Hayashizaki said calmly.
"We are two parts of the same being. You are part of me, and I am part of you. You are not my nanny; you are your own nanny!"
"Can you stop saying such disgusting things? You're just a shameless parasite,"
Yukinoshita Yukino snorted.
"Hey, don't forget who saved your life today,"
Hayashizaki remarked, amazed at how quickly she changed her attitude.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this situation!"
Hayashizaki thought about it and realized she might be right.
But he couldn't admit that, so he calmly argued,
"You only saw a glimpse of the real world through me. Before today, you didn't even know curses and curse spirits existed, right?"
"Every year, many people die mysteriously because of curses. Can you be sure you won't encounter this in your life? Do you want to bet your life on luck?"
Hayashizaki's eyes on Yukinoshita Yukino's face, flashed with wisdom.
"You only see what you see, but beneath the calm surface, there are hidden currents. This is the true nature of the world!"
Yukinoshita Yukino was taken aback. She knew nothing about curses or curse spirits.
"But you're right. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been attacked by a curse spirit today,"
Hayashizaki didn't press his advantage but cleverly retreated.
"The truth is also a curse. Knowing more doesn't make you happier, but ignorance can bring happiness."
He sincerely said,
"I'll give you a choice. I can erase all your memories of curses and then put myself to sleep. Your life will go back to normal."
"Yukinoshita, live in ignorance but happiness."
"Hmph, how do I know you're not lying or playing tricks?"
Yukinoshita Yukino retorted.
"You are an evil person who has done bad things for a thousand years."
"We can make a contract. For a sorcerer, a contract must be followed, or there will be severe consequences."
"No need. Even if this is the real world, I won't choose to escape."
Her eyes wavered for a moment, thinking about the future Hayashizaki described, but then she spoke seriously,
"If I'm weak, I'll learn to become strong. If society is unfair, I'll work to improve it. If the world is wrong, I'll find a way to change it!"
"Covering your eyes and ears to avoid the scary and dangerous real world is meaningless and wrong!"
Yukinoshita Yukino spoke firmly, her eyes clear, and she seemed to shine with determination.
But Hayashizaki just wanted to laugh.
He wondered where Miss Yukinoshita got her confidence.
To him, Yukinoshita was like a cute little kitten declaring that cats would rule humans and make all humans their slaves, both naive and adorable.
"Ah, you crushed the remote. Now we can't change the channel."
Hayashizaki's irrelevant words instantly made Yukinoshita Yukino lose her temper, as if she had hit cotton with a punch that was as hard to bear as it was depressing, with a little bit of embarrassment and exasperation mixed in.
This guy's ability to irritate people has reached the highest level, and it's clear that after just a few words with him, the girl was so angry that she broke out in a sweat.
She needs to go take a shower.
It was only after she stood at the bathroom door with a change of clothes that she suddenly realized the problem.
"Go, why don't you go? It's not like there's a man-eating monster in there." Hayashizaki smiled in a way that was alive like a Martial Spirit Hall Elder.
Unreasonable mockery that was echoed in her ears, after calming herself with a few deep breaths, Yukinoshita Yukino bit her lower lip and resolutely stepped into the bathroom.
...
...