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Yukinoshita Yukino's hesitant expression, in Asakura's eyes, was simply her being speechless after he hit the nail on the head.
After this period of interaction (and persecution), Asakura actually had some understanding of Yukinoshita Yukino and no longer harbored as much animosity towards her as before.
Although this person was arrogant and incredibly troublesome, if he had a legitimate reason to ask for her help, she wouldn't refuse. And once she agreed to help, she would do her best, even if many times her abilities prevented her from doing things perfectly. Still, whether she put in effort was something he could tell.
At the same time, although Yukinoshita Yukino had always lacked friends and seemed to be alone, giving people an initial impression of a cold and aloof ice beauty, in reality, she actually valued friendship quite a lot. At least, Asakura had noticed that she would use her own methods to maintain her relationship with Yuigahama Yui.
So, his earlier statement that Yukinoshita Yukino was 'afraid of loneliness' was not groundless.
"If you really care that much, even if you can't enter our Magic Club's secret base, it's fine to take you in as a… cough, I mean, to make you an unofficial member of the Magic Club." Asakura gave the girl a thumbs-up.
"No need—" the girl refused stiffly. "If there's nothing else, please, Asakura-kun, don't continue to stay here and hinder my stage setup."
Asakura frowned slightly, carefully scrutinizing the girl's expression.
But Yukinoshita Yukino seemed to sense it and turned away, avoiding Asakura's gaze.
"Yukino, if there was an opportunity to make you forget the related existences and sights that ordinary people cannot access, and allow you to become your original self again, what would you choose?" Asakura asked.
Yukinoshita Yukino stopped her work and looked at Asakura. Seeing his rare serious expression, she realized he wasn't joking and pursed her lips.
"There's no need to hesitate. Rather than being kept in the dark and being a happy fool, I would still choose to know the truth of the world—" she said with almost no hesitation.
"But even if you know the truth of the world, worrying about potential death and destruction at any moment, and having no power to change any of it, at least the happiness of a fool is real by comparison." Asakura tried to debate with her, "Anyway, no matter what, the future cannot be changed, and you are powerless to change it. So why not choose the latter between being constantly worried and being happy every day, and live happily every day?"
"Your words are like telling pigs fattened in a pigsty that they just need to live happily and not worry about whether they'll be sent to the slaughterhouse tomorrow—" Yukinoshita Yukino said seriously. "I don't want to lose my life or even more important things in a muddled way. Even if I have to accept death, I hope to know why I'm dying."
"You're still the same as before, full of righteous arguments—" Asakura said, looking at the girl. He clenched his right fist, and a barely perceptible transparent flame flickered at his fingertips.
"And you're still the same as before, full of only yourself—" Yukinoshita Yukino said, meeting Asakura's gaze without any fear.
"Huh?" Asakura's brows furrowed even more.
He had never considered himself a saint, but being told he was 'full of only himself' still made Asakura feel particularly annoyed.
Moreover, the other party was someone he had saved.
"Seemingly incredibly gentle and kind, appearing like a hero to save those troubled by the supernatural, and never asking for any reward from those he saves, just like a hero out of a fairy tale…" Yukinoshita Yukino's voice softened slightly, probably not wanting others to hear. "Asakura Takuma is that kind of person—everyone, the Magic Club, and those you saved, probably all feel that way."
Asakura's face darkened, and he said nothing.
"But in reality, that's not the case… Asakura-kun, you have a bone-deep sense of detachment from the entire world. Aside from the children in the Magic Club, your ties to the outside world are pitifully few." Yukinoshita Yukino recalled a recent unexpected request as she spoke.
Actually, she didn't know that much about Asakura herself. The reason she had such a concrete feeling now, besides her observations during this period, was also due to some information provided by that client.
'Although I don't know why, and it's hard to tell from the surface, Takuma-kun actually has very severe self-destructive tendencies,' the other party had said. 'So I hope to entrust the Service Club here… entrust Yukinoshita to resolve Takuma-kun's psychological issues as much as possible.'
"All your actions are not 'doing good,' but rather a ritual, as if to prove your existence, to transform yourself from a 'fake' into a 'true' being." Yukinoshita Yukino looked at Asakura. "So what are you going to do now? Directly erase my memories? Just like parents who force their children to do things and say 'it's all for your future,' using the excuse of being for my own good?"
Asakura glared at her fiercely. The girl's gaze didn't waver; she just met Asakura's eyes.
After a long moment, the fire in Asakura's hand extinguished.
"I don't care if you die—" he snorted coldly, turning abruptly to leave.
But he was called back by Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Wait a moment."
"What?" Asakura turned back, annoyed.
"That script—" Yukinoshita Yukino extended her hand towards him and said very abruptly, "I accept it."
"What?"
Asakura looked at the other person in astonishment, his expression management out of control, making him look subtly disheveled.
"Didn't you come to me for that? Now that I've agreed, shouldn't you be happy?"
Yukinoshita Yukino said in a calm tone.
"Then I'm truly delighted..."
Asakura squeezed out this sentence through gritted teeth, with a fake smile, showing not a hint of happiness.
"You're happy too soon."
Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly showed a smile: "Remember to come to the club room for stage play rehearsals after school, starting today."
"This script, which at most totals twenty minutes, can have its lines memorized in just one night."
Asakura stared at the girl, a silent expression of resistance on his face.
"That's right, but performances require rehearsal. You can't just act with thin air, can you?"
Yukinoshita Yukino said loudly and matter-of-factly: "Alright, it's fine if you want to run away now. Anyway, we'll have plenty of time together later."
"Tsk..."
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