Hoshino Gen stared meaningfully into Shimizu Yuu's eyes for a while. Suddenly, as if he'd thought of something, he showed a rather mischievous smile. "Are you sure you want to know?"
Hearing this, Shimizu Yuu's eyes immediately lit up and she nodded hurriedly.
Hoshino Gen walked to the bay window and sat down, smiling as he looked at Shimizu Yuu. "I remember you seem to be quite good at kendo. How are you in actual combat?"
"Ah?" Shimizu Yuu was taken aback. She didn't quite understand why Hoshino Gen brought this up, but she still nodded honestly. "I participated in the national junior high school kendo championship and won the second place."
"That should be pretty impressive." Hoshino Gen thought for a moment, and his smile became even brighter. "I can tell you what you want to know, but there's a condition."
"What's the condition?" Shimizu Yuu blinked her eyes. Then she hugged her chest warily, and her expression turned fierce. "If it's some excessive request, I won't agree to it."
Hoshino Gen ignored her and still smiled. "As long as you help me achieve my goal, not only will I tell you what you want to know, but I can also teach you some mystical skills that you can learn."
"Really?!" Shimizu Yuu was so excited that she almost jumped up. Immediately, she imagined herself transforming into a magical girl and fighting against evil spirits in her mind.
But in the next moment, Hoshino Gen's words were like a basin of cold water pouring all over her. "I want you to help me confront the fierce ghost in the dojo head-on. If you succeed, everyone will be happy. If you fail, I'll help you collect your body for free."
"Ha?!" Shimizu Yuu's expression froze. "I... I don't have the power to deal with ghosts."
"I can give it to you." Hoshino Gen said with a smile. "Dealing with ghosts isn't as difficult as you think. As long as you have the corresponding tools, just like what you saw yesterday. I just used a wooden sword with something added to it and fought against that guy. Isn't your kendo level quite good? I can help you add something to the wooden sword, and then you can go up and fight against that ghost like I did yesterday—you don't need to kill it, just hold it off for thirty seconds."
Watching the protagonist in a story go on adventures and challenge powerful enemies through a screen or in a book might make one feel excited and passionate. But if the monsters in the story were put into reality and you had to face them in person—believe that most people wouldn't be too interested in something that's several times more dangerous than "facing gun-wielding criminals with bare hands".
After all, no one likes to joke with their own lives.
So at this moment, facing Hoshino Gen's words and expression that showed no sign of joking at all, Shimizu Yuu's high enthusiasm for "superpowers" immediately waned.
"Can we... change the condition?" Shimizu Yuu tried hard to force out a cute smile. "If I really get killed, it'll be troublesome for you too, right?"
"That's true." Hoshino Gen smiled. "But for me, your only value lies in this. Even stray cats know that there's no such thing as a free lunch. Don't you understand that?"
"..." Shimizu Yuu fell silent. She lowered her head slightly and quickly weighed in her mind whether the reward of "getting superpowers" was worth "taking a life-threatening risk".
Perhaps because she'd read a lot of novels and animations, or maybe because she hadn't outgrown her middle-schooler's fantasies yet, the temptation of "superpowers" was almost irresistible for teenagers at this age. So Shimizu Yuu quickly made a decision. She gritted her teeth. "If I succeed, will you teach me superpowers?"
"I don't have superpowers, nor can I teach you any superpowers." Hoshino Gen shook his head and thought for a while. "If you're referring to the mystical abilities that I possess, they can probably be summed up as a little bit of Taoist arts and a little bit of alchemy."
Then he added, "And even if you really succeed, I can only teach you some simple and basic skills at most. You won't be able to learn more."
"Why?"
"You don't have that innate talent." Hoshino Gen's words were concise and hit the nail on the head.
"Ugh!" Shimizu Yuu's cheeks twitched. She was hit hard.
She asked unwillingly, "How do you know?"
Hoshino Gen showed a smile and looked at her quietly. Shimizu Yuu twitched the corners of her mouth and looked away.
"Well? Do you want to agree? If you agree, we'll get ready and set off. If you don't... it's getting late, so I won't keep you for dinner."
Shimizu Yuu lowered her head and remained silent for a long time. Finally, she raised her face and asked tentatively, "What kind of little skills will you teach me?"
Hoshino Gen casually wiped his hand on his lower back, and a bright yellow talisman paper appeared in his hand. He gently shook it, and the talisman paper instantly turned into ashes. In its place, a bright red fireball quietly floated in Hoshino Gen's palm.
Shimizu Yuu's jaw made a crisp clicking sound. Her eyes were fixed on the fireball in Hoshino Gen's hand, and her mouth opened wide.
Although she knew in her heart that Hoshino Gen had some incredible abilities, seeing it with her own eyes at such a close distance still gave her a huge shock.
It wasn't until Hoshino Gen waved his hand and dispersed the fireball that Shimizu Yuu gradually came back to her senses. Her voice trembled a little. "You... you're going to teach me to conjure fireballs?"
"Can't you tell that the fireball was manifested from the talisman paper?" Hoshino Gen tilted his head and looked at Shimizu Yuu, probably wondering why this person's intelligence was so low.
Shimizu Yuu didn't care. At this moment, her enthusiasm for exploring mysticism was higher than ever before. She was still uncontrollably excited. "Then are you going to teach me to make talisman papers?"
Hoshino Gen sighed. "I've already told you that you don't have that talent. Even if I teach you to draw talismans, you'll at most be able to compete with shrines for business in the future, and you definitely won't be able to win."
"..." Shimizu Yuu's face darkened again, and her lips pouted slightly. "Then what are you going to teach me?"
"Teach you how to activate talismans."
"But you said I can't learn to make them..." Halfway through her words, Shimizu Yuu realized something. Her eyes twitched as she asked, "So even if I learn how to activate them, I can only get the real talismans from you—"
"Pretty much what it means." Hoshino Gen smiled. "So what's your answer?"
Shimizu Yuu pinched the hem of her clothes in a tangled way. The gap between reality and expectation was too big. She felt that such gains weren't really worth taking a life-threatening risk to obtain. But deep in her heart, she was really eager to touch that fantasy that had come into reality with her own hands. Or rather, the sight of Hoshino Gen just waving his hand and a big fireball appearing was just too alluring.
She almost gritted her teeth and asked the last question. "If I can't hold on... will you save me?"
"Probably, but don't expect too much. There might not be enough time." Hoshino Gen had a gentle smile, but his words were cold.
Shimizu Yuu took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and mustered up the greatest courage she'd ever had in her life—
"I'll go with you."