"No, my sister...she has always been an introvert." Chi Shang Yaomeng stuttered, "I have never seen her try to hurt me."

The girl's mind was in a mess and she didn't even know what to refute.

Her mother told her that she had been ignoring Linghua because she wanted to protect her because her sister was a demon.

"That was intentional!" Chi Shang Yuan Yan was excited. She grabbed Yao Meng's wrist tightly. "Don't believe him, Xiao Meng. Don't believe anything she says. She loves to lie. She loves to say how innocent and sad she is. Her heart is dirty. She will only hurt you."

"But this is just my mother's one-sided opinion."

Chi Shang Yuanyan exhaled heavily. She pulled Yao Meng's arm and rolled up her sleeves. The next moment, a scar was revealed.

"Xiao Meng, do you still remember this wound? At that time, you accidentally entered the neighbor's house. The neighbor's dog had just given birth, and because of maternal instinct, it attacked anyone who approached. Because you walked past, the big dog knocked you down and bit your arm."

"…That's why I'm afraid of dogs. But, this has nothing to do with my sister, right?"

"Of course it is related." Ikegami Yuanyan almost cried, "Because you were too scared and too young, you forgot, but have you ever thought about why you suddenly entered the neighbor's house and provoked the neighbor's dog? It was because Linghua told you that there were fun dolls inside."

"You have been smart since you were a child, but you are naive to death. She is your sister, so you believed her and ran in to find the doll. Then..."

Chi Shang Yaomeng grabbed his hair, "How could this happen, how could this happen!"

The girl ran out of the house. Her mother looked at her daughter's back in surprise, then followed her out, calling her name. She even forgot that there was a Hinata Hajime in the house. It was really not good for an outsider to stay alone in someone else's home, so Hinata Hajime followed her out of the house.

The Ikegami mother and daughter were no longer outside, and Hinata Hajime prepared to go back to the store.

As he walked, he thought about what he had just heard.

Ikegami Reika has had murderous intentions towards Yao Meng since she was a child. She has said terrible words to her mother several times and even put them into action. Her mother, who discovered her thoughts, has always protected her older sister and ignored her younger sister, but in the eyes of outsiders, this is proof that her mother is harshly criticizing her ordinary younger sister.

The weak and helpless Reika Ikegami is the object of sympathy from outsiders.

Hinata Hajime finds it difficult to explain how he feels right now.

[Has she always been pretending to be herself like this? ]

[It is human nature to sympathize with the weak.] Kamiya said, [Or it is human nature.]

Hinata Hajime frowned slightly, "So Ikegami Reika has always put herself in the position of the weak, doing little things behind her back. Even if she is discovered by her mother, because of her natural superior position, it will make her look even more unfair? 】

【Um.】

Hinata Sou sighed, "I am not suitable to deal with people who put themselves in an absolutely weak position to attract sympathy."

【Your sympathy is too high. 】

[Maybe.] Hinata Souma said: [Because no matter how you look at it, I look like a bad person, and people like this like to put themselves in the spotlight.]

Kamuzou Izuru said calmly, "Don't even think about letting me take over."

[…Izuru, are you becoming less and less willing to go out? Is this world so scary?] Hinata Hajime didn’t understand, “Come out and move around for a while.”

【refuse.】

【At least give me a reason. 】

【No reason.】

After failing to induce her again, Hinata Hajime calmed down and started thinking about a problem.

If Ikegami Reika is the host of despair, why was she chosen as despair? She has had this terrible personality since she was a child, so why would she despair of the world? Everything is clearly what she wants, and why is she wantonly snatching the talents of various geniuses?

Her mother knew her true nature and would never accept her no matter what she became.

So everything she said before was false.

What is the purpose of her actions?

Hinata Hajime returned to the store while thinking. He looked at the empty store entrance. Komaeda Nagisa was sitting next to the entrance, basking in the sun with a dull look on her face.

Hinata Hajime turned around and looked at the 'Open' sign on the doorplate again.

This was truly the most leisurely day he had had since he was tricked into opening this store.

"Good afternoon, Hinata-kun." Seeing him coming, Nagito Komaeda showed a seemingly very gentle smile, "Have you found out any news?"

"It's hard to say for now." Hinata Sou walked into the store and took a look. Then he said, "Where's the cat?"

"I ate it."

Hinata Hajime: ...

"Hahaha, how is that possible? Even if I'm a piece of trash, I wouldn't eat a cat, especially one that's covered in fur." ​​Komaeda Nagito said, "Its owner came to take it back, but I think I forgot to collect the money. The owner seemed very scared."

"Did you say something unnecessary again?"

"Is that redundant?" Komaeda Nagito pondered. "I just told him that instead of worrying about whether his cat-phobic girlfriend would accept his cat, he should break up with her."

Not surprising.

Hinata's idea: Nagito Komaeda always sees a lot of things in advance, and then talks about the things that the other party least wants to hear.

He walked into the store as usual, turned the sign over, and took out a bottle of iced coffee from the refrigerator. This was bought yesterday after Hinata Hajime went out, and it had been kept in the refrigerator without being drunk.

"Hinata-kun looks calm?" Nagito Komaeda looked at him. "It seems that Hinata-kun has solved the problem of the desperate host."

"No, I'm actually thinking about something." Hinata Hajime looked at the drink in his hand, with a hint of seriousness in his green eyes.

"What is the problem that can trouble the great Hinata-kun?"

Hinata Hajime looked at Komaeda Nagito, and after a moment he spoke, "Why would a wicked person be desperate?"

"Evil?" Nagito Komaeda stroked his chin, "What kind of evil is he?"

“Something like an antisocial personality.”

Komaeda Nagito looked at Hinata Hajime, and after a moment he spoke, "...Did Kamizuru-kun give you any hints about this?"

"No, what's the problem?"

"As expected, without Kamisama-kun, Hyuga-kun is just an ordinary preparatory subject. It's really despairing that he can easily fall into the wrong zone of thinking." Komaeda Nagito looked like he was going crazy online. "But, even such a Hyuga-kun is actually a symbol of hope. Is this what hope for ordinary people is like?"

"It's hard to understand hope." Nagito Komaeda regretted.

"Hey, Komaeda, don't say something weird all of a sudden."

Nagito Komaeda looked at Hyuga Hajime, "So, why does Hyuga-kun care about how desperate this desperate host is?"

Hinata Hajime was stunned for a moment, and then he spoke, "Because in order to obtain the fragment of hope, you need to purify the fragment of despair, and you must let the despair host gain hope. Otherwise, even if the despair host dies, the fragment of despair will still spread despair."

"But in my opinion, there is no need to know why the Despair Host is desperate, especially when this Despair Host is a villain."

Nagito Komaeda said, "Why do you care why he is desperate? Despair should be eliminated completely! Hinata-kun should have the ability to give a desperate host hope."

"Huh?" Hinata Hajime was stunned, "Why do you want to use this iconic phrase on me?"

"Anyway, don't let me down." Nagito Komaeda said as a matter of course: "I didn't see Hinata-kun spreading hope in the New World Program, but here I'm really looking forward to seeing the strength of the preparatory department."

After saying this, Nagito Komaeda turned around and left, soon disappearing at the store entrance.

Hinata Hajime tilted his head, "...How suspicious."

Hinata Hajime took another sip of his iced coffee and thought back to what Nagito Komaeda had just said.

Although it sounds suspicious, perhaps what Nagito Komaeda said is correct. Paying too much attention to the reasons for the despair of the desperate host will often cover up some of the most real intentions. Taking Ikegami Reika out of that family temporarily and only relying on her nature to infer, why is she plundering the talents of those people?

Throwing the finished iced coffee into the trash can, Hinata Hajime prepared to go to the hospital to see the little girl who was injured yesterday.

When he arrived at the hospital, Hinata Socai discovered that the girl was in the same hospital as the boy whose mind was taken away before.

On the way to the girl's floor, Hinata Hajime heard the boy's mother crying in the stair corridor.

"What if he can't recover? He can't call me mom anymore." The middle-aged woman cried. "Everyone is reporting this. He can't be on TV anymore, and he can't be a star anymore. Honey, what should we do?"

"Don't say anything." The man's voice was filled with anger. "Anyway, let the doctor try his best first."

"But what about the penalty? We signed a contract."

"This is an accident!"

"But the contract doesn't say that. We still have to file a lawsuit. Maybe they will expose our fraud as well."

At that moment, Hinata Hajime felt the two people's unconcealable despair.

Hinata frowned, something suddenly popped up in his mind, he seemed to realize something, but he had not yet fully grasped this inspiration.

After taking a turn, Hinata Hajime did not meet the two people, but went upstairs from another staircase. The girl was still in the intensive care unit. The bar owner was sitting outside. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked even more haggard than his daughter inside. When the owner saw Hinata Hajime, he hurriedly came up to him and kept saying thank you.

Although Hinata Souji did not wait until the ambulance arrived, he did take some measures to stop the girl's bleeding. During the rescue, the boss heard the doctor say that the treatment was very good.

"I'm glad she's okay." Hinata Hajime asked, "How is it? Can her voice be restored?"

"The doctor said it's basically impossible." The bar owner smiled bitterly, "She's still sleeping now. The doctor said she'll wake up soon. I...actually don't know how to face her."

"well?"

"Because she likes singing very much." The bar owner lowered his head, his eyes full of confusion. "She has loved singing since she was a child, and she has a good voice. Singing is an extremely happy thing for her. I am also working hard to support her. I believe that singing will become the most important thing in her life."

"……but."

But her vocal cords were gone, and her voice was taken away.

This was so despairing for a girl who loved singing.

"I could only comfort her as much as I could and even consulted a psychiatrist," the bar owner said, seeming to be trying hard to face a new life. But as he spoke, he began to cry, "I'm sorry, sir. I'm really sorry."

He hurriedly wiped his tears, "I just wonder why she, a child who loves singing so much, has to face a future where she can no longer make a sound."

“This is so cruel.”

It shouldn't be like this.

Sakura has the most beautiful voice and the purest love. She can go very far in singing.

Rather than trying to accept the fate of suddenly losing your voice.

At that moment, Hinata Hajime suddenly understood Ikegami Reika's purpose.

Just like what Nagito Komaeda said, there is no need to care why she is desperate, because Ikegami Reika is a bad person.

She took away other children's talents not to possess something for herself. She was using those weak words to cover up her real purpose. She took them just because she wanted to take them.

The days when the things you are best at and love most are taken away and you have a huge breakdown because of it are all days of despair.

So she was always smiling happily.