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Of course, Asakura did not agree to such a request.
After all, the conditions were too broad. Would he really have to commit suicide if she said, 'Commit suicide, Caster'?
Even if there was no actual coercive force, having such a leash in someone else's hand was still somewhat unacceptable to Asakura.
After discussions between the two, Asakura finally used the Magic, Scale, to leave three bright red scales on the girl's hand.
This thing was both a switch and a battery, capable of tangibly preserving the Magic Asakura injected into Yukino's body.
At the same time, Yukino could also activate and consume the scales to unleash a simple Scale.
And Asakura could also feel the Magic being consumed, thereby locating and finding the girl to provide help: after all, under normal circumstances, the Magic, Scale, would not be used much, and when it was used, it meant it was already an emergency, or the girl desperately needed help.
"Can't you put these in a less conspicuous place?"
Yukinoshita Yukino looked at the three artistic scales on the back of her hand and said somewhat helplessly.
"Considering the convenience of activation, attaching the Scale to the back of the hand is the best option."
Asakura said, "You wouldn't want to have to take off your clothes to find where the scales are in a critical moment, would you?"
Yukinoshita Yukino felt that what he said was crooked logic, but for a moment, she couldn't think of how to refute it and could only shake her head helplessly.
If a teacher saw something like this, would they think it was a tattoo or something?
Thinking of this, Yukino suddenly remembered that Asakura had also been wrapping his left arm with bandages because of a 'skin condition' that caused scales to grow on his arm.
"Speaking of which, I was a little curious just now..."
Yukino's gaze drifted to the photo placed nearby: "The posture of the person in this postcard is indeed different from before, isn't it?"
"Yes, you can just think of this guy as someone who lives in the photo."
Asakura nodded: "The details are related to Hitori. If you want to know, you can ask Hitori..."
As he spoke, Asakura looked at Hitori, who was still unconscious, lying on a makeshift bed made of several chairs. The girl had already been cleaned by Yukino, and her clothes were properly put back on.
Asakura just felt a headache. How was he going to face her once she woke up?
Yukinoshita Yukino stood up.
"What's wrong?"
Asakura asked, snapping out of his thoughts.
"I'm going back."
The girl tidied her belongings neatly and said, "I have no intention of staying overnight at school."
"Should I call you a taxi?"
Asakura asked with concern.
The girl's movements paused for a moment, and a hint of color appeared on her expressionless face. She could no longer maintain her cold demeanor from before. She glared at Asakura: "No need. Take back your useless concern!"
After speaking, she quickly left the clubroom as if fleeing.
Only after Yukinoshita Yukino's footsteps disappeared down the hallway did Asakura finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then he said to Gotō Hitori, "Hitori, you've been awake for a while, haven't you? If you don't get up soon, the night security guard might catch you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gotō Hitori opened her eyes. She sat up, her gaze wandering aimlessly: "Th-that... I'm sorry... I haven't been able to find a good time to wake up..."
"Well, the atmosphere just now was indeed not very good."
Asakura nodded understandingly.
"Also... that, I'm really, really sorry... Although I'm not sure what happened... it seems I've messed everything up..."
Gotō Hitori said timidly, her hands unconsciously clasped together, turning a little white from pressing too hard. She clearly still retained memories of the Magic's rampage: "At that time... I didn't know what... I felt like I couldn't control myself..."
"It's not entirely Hitori's fault..."
Asakura shook his head and reflected, "I was also careless."
After all, after he could use Magic, among the witches he encountered, only Gokou Ruri genuinely possessed Magic. The witches after that, for various reasons, either didn't possess or couldn't activate their Magic.
Coupled with the reaction speed granted by the Snake, Asakura felt confident that he had enough ability to respond when something happened. Over time, he became somewhat complacent about such matters.
As a result, the Magic rampage he encountered this time directly affected his mind. Asakura's proud reaction ability was useless. By the time he realized he was affected, it was already too late.
"Why did this happen...?"
The pink-haired girl curled up into a small ball on the chair, blaming herself: "Things I want to do never go smoothly... Even if I try hard, it always ends up a mess..."
To make friends, to be noticed at school, that's why she worked hard to learn the Guitar Hero, but even now, she's still alone at school, and all her efforts have been completely meaningless;
She attracted some fans online as Guitar Hero, but in reality, all the words and personas she left on that account were lies she fabricated. She couldn't even perform well in Kessoku Band, only dragging down Nijika's live performance into a mess;
She was highly anticipated by Hoshino Ai, went to Miyazaki Prefecture, but accomplished nothing, and ultimately relied on Asakura to solve the problem;
Even this time, she had planned to work hard and get on the festival stage for Asakura, but before that, she caused such a huge mess.
"I'm sorry that someone like me is still alive in this world..."
Her life was a complete mess, utterly meaningless. On the contrary, she only dragged down the people around her, truly pathetic to the extreme...
The girl curled up into a tiny ball, as if trying to disappear from this world, filled with immense pessimism.
"That's not true."
Asakura said gently.
"Asakura-kun, like Nijika-senpai, is a gentle person like the sun. Even if I'm this incompetent, he'll gently comfort me... But it's okay, I already have a full understanding of what a terrible good-for-nothing I am..."
"That's not the case."
Asakura said seriously again. He cupped the girl's face, forcing her to look at him: "Although it's a bit strange, Hitori, you are definitely not the person you imagine yourself to be."
"Your appearance prevented Izuchi and her band from having an empty Live. While there's room for improvement, helping each other and improving together, isn't that also the fun of a band? If you hadn't existed, Hoshino Ai would have been directly eliminated by me from the start, and naturally, she wouldn't have been able to visit and save Tendoji Sarina, who had fallen into despair. Even the Founders' Festival, if it weren't for you, Hitori, I wouldn't know how to fill the gaps in the program."
Asakura looked at the girl, his eyes completely sincere, "And just now, I clearly did many bad things to you. I'm the one who should apologize. I'm truly sorry, Hitori, can you forgive me?"
"Eh?"
Gotō Hitori, feeling a bit dizzy, said helplessly, "I, I'm not unhappy... No, um... Didn't Asakura-kun also say he'd take care of me for life...? I guess it's not that unacceptable..."
Asakura looked at the girl's cute and flustered appearance and couldn't help but laugh, "How should I put it, it's just like Hitori."
"Ah..."
Gotō Hitori's gaze drifted awkwardly, "I know, this isn't a compliment, is it?"
"No, this time it's a compliment. It's just like Hitori. It should be said that Hitori is such a good child."
Asakura said, taking out the ring where Hoshino Ai had previously resided from his pocket: "Although a lot has happened, I want to give you this ring again."
"But... isn't Hoshino Ai no longer with me?"
Gotō Hitori showed a somewhat silly, confused expression.
"This is to prevent a Magic rampage like just now... and it's also a gift from me to you, Hitori."
Asakura took the girl's hand and put the ring on her ring finger: "From now on, Hitori, although we still lack some mutual understanding, I will take responsibility. Will you be in a relationship with me with marriage in mind?"
Gotō Hitori stared blankly at the ring on her hand. After a long while, she looked up at Asakura and asked, "Huh, weren't we already dating before?"
Asakura: ?
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