Fumiya Jin gave Kei Shirogane a rough explanation of most of what he knew about the Samsara Game.
While he was explaining, the voice of Kei Shirogane's father kept coming from behind the sofa— but Fumiya Jin couldn't see anyone, and Kei Shirogane didn't dare to look back.
Towards the latter half of his explanation, the voice finally disappeared for a while, probably because it realized that impersonating her father was no longer effective.
Kei Shirogane breathed a small sigh of relief and listened to Fumiya Jin's explanation with even more focus.
By the end, Kei Shirogane had more or less come to understand the existence of the Samsara Game. She pondered for a few seconds before looking up at Fumiya Jin again and asking, "Then just now..." "It was probably some kind of illusion," Fumiya Jin said. "Or rather, a mental attack that uses sound as a medium."
Fumiya Jin didn't believe that the fake Nijika from earlier, or the thing making sounds now, were actual physical monsters. One piece of evidence was that the fake Nijika hadn't shown any disgust towards him.
The second piece of evidence was... he hadn't seen Kei's father making the sound at all. The space behind the sofa was completely empty. Perhaps only the target of the mental attack could see, or even feel, this illusion. However, it seemed that others could hear the sound it made.
"But why my father's..." Kei Shirogane couldn't understand. "This kind of mental attack can probably read and use parts of our memories directly," Fumiya Jin said. "It makes you hear the voices of people you know, see their figures, and even feel their touch... According to the rules the system just explained, I'm guessing that if you respond to it, you'll be considered to have broken the rules. You might even be killed instantly, you know!"
"Huh? K-Killed?" Kei Shirogane's face paled. "People die just like that?"
"What else? Did you think the Samsara Game was some kind of forgiving baby bus?" Fumiya Jin said with a shrug.
Kei Shirogane thought back to just a moment ago. If Fumiya Jin hadn't rushed over to warn her beforehand and held her hand to remind her, she probably would have responded subconsciously, and then she might have...
"Hiss—"
She couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath of cold air, a wave of fear washing over her.
"Don't be too scared. The Samsara Game is cruel, but the more explicit the rules are, the safer you usually are as long as you follow them," Fumiya Jin said, patting the back of her soft hand. "I reckon that as long as you don't respond with your voice, you won't be harmed at all, even if you see it or even uncover it. And it won't attack you directly if you don't respond. In a way, this is a relatively easy anomaly to deal with."
"Is that so?" Hearing him say that, Kei Shirogane calmed down a little.
Just don't make a sound... If I try hard to suppress my instincts, I should be able to do that, right?
"Kei-chan?" a playful and melodious female voice suddenly came from behind her.
Kei Shirogane immediately recognized it. It was the voice of her best friend, Moeha Fujiwara.
But with the lesson from her near-disaster just moments ago, she reacted instantly this time and had no intention of responding.
She didn't want to look back, either. She just looked earnestly at Fumiya Jin, conveying her meaning with her eyes: Is this right?
Fumiya Jin nodded and even gave her a thumbs-up.
"Kei-chan, why are you ignoring me? Are you ditching me now that you have a crush? That's so mean!" Moeha Fujiwara's voice continued from behind the sofa. "If you're going to be like that, then don't blame me for having a loose tongue~"
Hearing this, Kei Shirogane suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Yare yare, with so much to tell, where should I begin?"
"Should I start with the day Kei-chan was rescued, when for the first time ever, she vividly described to me how a boy had so coolly saved her?"
"Or should I start with how Kei-chan couldn't sleep at night because she was thinking about him, so she suddenly called me and indirectly asked how to win a boy's affection, though she couldn't hide at all that she was the one who wanted to know...?"
"It's worth mentioning that when you called that night, I could hear you tossing and turning in bed! It seems you really were restless!"
"Oh!! I know! How about we start with the first time Kei-chan had a wet dream, dreaming about being pushed against the windowsill and teased by her handsome landlord, and then her face was flushed red all day at school the next day, which was so cute that several boys from her class confessed to her."
"Right, and when I asked you what was wrong that day, you refused to tell me at first. It was only after I interrogated you for a whole afternoon, until I was about to go crazy with curiosity right before we went home, that you finally spilled... Kei-chan is so tight-lipped! Hehe!"
Kei Shirogane was stunned. On her fair cheeks, a crimson blush spread rapidly, like a drop of red ink in clear water.
She had thought that after Fumiya Jin explained the rules, dealing with this anomaly would be very simple. But who could have known... how does it know everything! Did it really dig up all her memories?
Where are your manners, you anomaly!!!
The crucial thing was, if she were here alone, it wouldn't matter that much if these things were brought up. At most, she'd just feel a little embarrassed. But the problem was—there was another "person" here. And that person just had to be Fumiya-san! Isn't this basically a public execution???
Kei Shirogane couldn't take it anymore. Her body began to tremble slightly with shame—at that moment, Fumiya Jin could feel her soft palm suddenly tighten, gripping his hand firmly. The palm of the young girl's tender hand had become scorching hot and was starting to sweat.
However, Kei Shirogane of course knew what was more important—knowing full well that the entity was an anomaly, she would never respond, no matter how embarrassed she was.
So she kept her lips pressed tightly together, not saying a word, which naturally meant she couldn't explain or refute anything.
But, facing Fumiya Jin's calm and gentle gaze... A minute ago, that same gaze had made her feel incredibly at ease, comfortable, and warm. But now, it felt scorching, and she couldn't meet it directly. So she subconsciously lowered her head, not daring to look at his face. This immediately made Fumiya Jin sense the danger.
If Kei Shirogane wasn't looking at him, how would she know if he was the one speaking? If the anomaly imitated his voice at a time like this, Kei Shirogane might let her guard down and respond. So Fumiya Jin immediately raised his other hand, hooked the girl's chin, and gently lifted her fair face, making her look at him.
"Kei-chan, look at me and listen," Fumiya Jin said, looking her seriously in the eyes. "In my mind, Kei-chan has always been the image of a perfect girl—innocent, kind, cute, and smart. Knowing a few little things now won't change that image in the slightest. If anything, it just makes you seem more real and even cuter, understand? So... you don't need to worry about it, okay?"
Kei Shirogane froze. Her watery eyes stared blankly at Fumiya Jin.
She had never imagined that she would hear words that sounded so much like a confession under these circumstances.
If the fake Moeha's words had been like countless wolf-hair brushes scratching at her heart, making her almost unable to bear the shame... then Fumiya Jin's declaration now was like two large, warm, and strong hands, holding her heart in their palms and protecting it completely.
In an instant, her heart was filled with nothing but joy, contentment, and sweetness... leaving no room for shame.
_____
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