“Of course, it’s just a matter of time.” Her shadow spoke again. “You were just lucky.”
Nozomi concluded that the shadow could hear her thoughts while the book could not. She had to be careful.
“What’s this? It’s like this is the first time that you’re meeting us. You haven’t recovered from earlier? Girl, you’re already losing it at such an early age! I’m disappointed!” Shrill mocking laughter that grated on Nozomi’s nerves echoed inside her head and worsened her mood.
“Are you really okay with going out just like that? You can’t possibly be okay leaving the world as it is?! How is it fair for you to be forsaken by everyone and suffer so much, only to die quietly like that?!” Slowly, the mocking voice changed to one of anger.
Throughout the entire time, BaoBao could not hear a thing. To him, Nozomi was either talking aloud to herself or thinking to herself. It was like listening to one half of a conversation while someone was
Streets were filled with natural and created monsters like never before. Magical people gathered a lot sooner, leading to pleasant and unpleasant encounters among them. This turned out to be fortunate for Nozomi. The magical people were so preoccupied with each other, that Nozomi had room to scutter around under their noses. Nozomi went on until she experienced her first fainting spell. The effects of her sleep deprivation had caught up to her. /Just a little more.../ Nozomi had to get to a place where no one was around before she could transform and teleport herself to some place safer to knock out at. However, she started to experience mini blackouts while she dragged her feet forward, step by step. Her eyelids were getting too heavy for her to keep open. /Damn it.../ Her gait became lop-sided, and her steps faltered. Then, she finally collapsed. Strangers and schoolmates stared at her in shock. [I think it’s time to meet Hina again. She’s here.] BaoBao reassured Nozom
Following the original story, Hina started to seek Nozomi out more frequently. Hina had taken it upon herself to find out who Nozomi was. However, all she could find was Nozomi’s name and class. No one really knew anything else about her. Even the teachers only remembered Nozomi by checking the class register, and the most they knew was how Nozomi was a poor orphan. Heck, the only ones who were aware of Nozomi’s presence in class were those who sat close to Nozomi and found her creepy. These students confided in Hina and revealed how they would rather Nozomi not come to school. “She’s always drifting in and out of sleep, she might as well stay home instead of spreading her gloominess around.” They gossiped. Hina frowned with reproach and suggested that Nozomi could be having a hard time. However, the girls brushed Hina’s comment off as her being nice and naïve as usual, then left her alone. Nozomi was fully aware of the background checks and investigation that Hina was doing
For such a clumsy and overzealous person, Nozomi went with an old and simple scheme. At the end of school, Hina appeared as usual. She greeted Nozomi as cheerfully as ever and bounded after Nozomi to extend yet another invite to her house. Nozomi eyed the coffee cup that someone else had in their hand. Then, she moved just in time for Hina to knock into the cup such that its contents poured all over Nozomi’s skirt and part of her shirt. Hina froze in horror. What had she done? Nozomi h
When Nozomi woke up, everything was dark. She was alone in the room, like the first night she had spent in this house.However, this time, she was so groggy that it was as if she had not slept for days. Her body screamed at her to fall back asleep, but Nozomi knew she should not. “Fuck...” She had not expected to sleep for this long, so she had not covered herself in spiritual energy. The moment she did, a huge weight on her shoulders became apparent and pressed her down against the table. There was also something cold and clammy holding onto her legs under the table. Goosebumps rose all over her body. /Will I ever get used to this?/
After several days and nights of having Nozomi at their house, Hikaru noticed some unusual things about Nozomi that worried him. Nozomi slept a lot. Every time he came home, he would tutor her, then she would nap. If they did not wake Nozomi up, her dinner would always end up as her supper, then she would return to sleep. Yet, she still looked haggard and dull. Did she have some sleep disorder or health condition? Despite feeding Nozomi large amounts of food with the intention to put some flesh on her bones, she did not look that much different. Then again, that would probably take more time.
BaoBao brought up everything that he could pass as an accomplishment, no matter how small it was, to argue all of Nozomi's self-deprecating thoughts. If Nozomi lacked optimism, BaoBao would be that voice for her. /Bao... Bao...?/ Nozomi finally responded. In his agitated state, BaoBao missed her weak voice and kept shouting. [IF YOU’RE SO DETESTABLE AND USELESS, HOW COULD ANYONE FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU?! DOESN'T YOUR FAMILY LOVE YOU? DOESN’T THE FAMILIAR SOUL
“Why the hell do they keep coming?” Hikaru grumbled in frustration. “What am I supposed to do when I don’t have anything that can kill them?” “To answer your first question, they must be drawn to something. As for your second question, you’d have to find another mage with offensive powers and support them. That IS your role.” Hikaru took this chance to clarify things with the book. Where did it come from? How did it find him? Why did it choose him? “My previous owner had died. I
Nozomi eventually left the toilet without a solution. She could not stay inside forever. Night came soon. This time, Hina volunteered to make dinner and insisted that Hikaru rest for the day because he had just “recovered”. With Hikaru asleep, Nozomi kept the monsters at bay by herself. She had her dinner on time then returned to Hikaru’s room. With BaoBao as the lookout, Nozomi whiled her time away in Hikaru’s room and kept the area clear of monsters, hoping to leave less work for Hikaru.&n