Chapter 57: Cultivation Day 57
Chapter 57
One year, on his birthday, Yuta Otsutsu received a gift from Rika Norimoto: a pair of his mother's wedding rings that she secretly took from her grandmother's house.
Rika Kimoto's mother died of unknown causes when she was five years old. Later, two days before she started elementary school, Rika Kimoto's father also disappeared during a mountain climbing trip.
All of the above happened before she met Yuta Otsutsukota, and Rika Kimoto rarely mentioned them to him after that.
However, perhaps it was this unusual childhood that created Rika Kimoto's unique personality. She has a strong possessiveness towards her things, from small things like a pencil and a used eraser to big things like her cherished childhood friends.
"Rika-chan, I didn't bring my eraser today. Can I borrow yours?" a female classmate from elementary school once asked.
Rika Kimoto's smile was perfect, a black mole just below the corner of her mouth moving upwards as the curve of her mouth lifted. She said, "No problem, you don't have to give it back to me."
"That's not good..." The female classmate said, following the common sense, "Oh, okay, I'll give it back to you."
After taking the eraser that originally belonged to her and was handed back to her, Rika Kimoto watched her female classmate walk away and silently threw it into the trash bag.
This was the existence of Rika Kimoto when she was still alive.
And Yuta Otsutsuki also vaguely knew her true nature.
It's just... he didn't really care.
Back to the present.
Rika Norimoto, who vaguely but keenly sensed the truth, asked Kanako a question.
"If Kanako wants to understand 'love' so badly, why not just go find a man...oh no, that's not right, a date with someone of the opposite sex?" she said.
"No. I don't want to date or fall in love with someone for any special purpose." Kanako's rebuttal was very decisive, as if she had thought about similar questions in her mind several times.
But the fact is, this was the first time Kanako had considered such a question, and everything she said came straight from her heart.
Kanako: "I sound like a scumbag, so lame! Even if I were to become the King of the Sea, I wouldn't be such a scumbag."
Rika Kimoto smiled and said, "So for Kanako, instead of worrying about 'love', it's better to say that what she wants to understand more is 'love'."
Kanako thought about it and rephrased her previous question: "Love... well, I just don't understand it! I can't tell. Is love for my own good life, or for the good lives of others?"
"To put it in context - your question is whether love is for yourself or for others?" the system summarized.
Then it continued: "From a theoretical point of view, I think I can answer this question..."
Kanako was anxious: "Hurry up and tell me!"
System: "According to the database and analysis, the life forms represented by humans are born with 'love'. Loving others is the nature of every human being. Tracing back to the root cause of this emotion..."
"Love is for oneself, love is possession."
*
"Why does Rika want to marry me?" For the young Yuuta Otsutsuki, giving birthday gifts such as wedding rings must be more of a surprise than a shock.
He didn't have to worry too much like Rika Kimoto, and the joy brought by the surprise filled his mind.
"Yuta, we will be together forever, right?" Rika Kimoto said, "Because we want to be together forever, never, ever abandon each other, that's why we are getting married."
Young Yuta Otsutsuki subconsciously said, "Even if we don't get married, we can still do that now, right?"
The smile on Qi Benlixiang's face disappeared: "Do you think it's okay, Yuta?"
Yuta Otsutsuki: "If the target is Rika, I can do it!"
"Great! Yuta is indeed the most special!" Rika Kimoto said happily, "You know, Yuta, many people like me."
"But what they like is the well-behaved and cute girl who listens carefully to whatever you say and doesn't show any dissatisfaction or denial, not Rika Kimoto as a person," she said.
"Every day they imagine Rika to be their ideal image, and then they fall madly in love with 'her'. But when they find out that Rika doesn't match their imagination, they blame her and ask why I haven't become 'better'."
"Some of them will also come up with some high-sounding excuses, such as 'I like the way I imagine you so much, and I want to encourage you to become a better person!'"
"What do they take me for? Just a doll they leave at home and can dress up however they want?" Rika's tone was sarcastic.
"People like this are very selfish, aren't they?" Rika Kimoto stuck out her tongue. "They're just—disgusting!"
"When Rika grows up, the first thing she'll do is become a badass who's the complete opposite of what they expect her to be. The second thing will be to stay with Yuta."
"Is this love?" the little boy asked blankly in his memory.
"Of course it is." Rika replied.
"...Is this love?"
The scene returned to reality, and the current Yuta Otsutsuki murmured and repeated the topic that was mentioned at the beginning.
At the same time, he also affirmed the answer to this question: "...It is love."
If we look at everything according to the criteria for love given by the system, there is no emotion that is more like love than Rika Kimoto's feelings for Yuuta Otsutsukoshi.
Love is for oneself, love is possession.
Although Rika Kimoto never expresses it directly in words, she strictly implements this standard in everything she does.
She never concealed her possessive desire for Yuta Okkotsu, and it became even worse after she became a cursed spirit.
"Kanako...I'm going to tell you something in secret." Rika Kimoto walked to the corner and stood next to Kanako.
"Yuta is very interesting." She said slowly, "He wants to be a kind person to the world, but even though he knows that Rika is not a good person and will slowly and continuously become worse in the future, he still firmly stands on Rika's side."
"When I was in elementary school, the first person who dared to bully Yuta was a boy. Rika decided to take revenge on Yuta. So, I complained to the teacher that he had molested me, and then exposed his 'crime' in front of all the classmates, causing him to suspend his studies amidst a barrage of accusations and injustice."
"After that incident, Rika found that she was not punished, but instead received more care and love - of course, this kind of love that came from a disgusting source was not what Rika wanted."
"The only use is...other people's love for Rika can be transformed into a good resource that will come in handy one day."
Rika Kimoto laughed playfully, "Kanako, can you imagine?"
"Yuta, he knows that Rika is such a person, but he never thinks that I have done anything wrong." She said, "Youta is kind-hearted and wants to be a good person, but he always protects Rika like this. Isn't this love?"
Yigu Youta: "...Lixiang."
Kanako had gotten over the shame of the date and had regained her composure.
"You're mistaken, Rika-chan." Kanako's expression was calm. "Of course the connection between you two is love. I've never denied it, okay?"
"I don't know why you're so excited, but thank you for providing me with a fairly complete story as a reference example."
Kanako curled her lips: "Humans really like to define love into various specific things."
"The love of parents for their newborn biological child, the love of adoptive parents for their child, the love of siblings, the love between friends, the love between different individuals... I think it's unnecessary to divide love into so many categories."
"This kind of definition can indeed clarify the position of others in your heart, but at the same time, it is easy for people to regard this definition as the whole of love."
Kanako said seriously, "If you mistake a small part of love for all of love, it will be counterproductive."
"Yes, love is of course for the sake of possession." Kanako asked doubtfully, "Then why do humans confine love to a very small corner?"
"Well, just like I was still worried about 'love' a few minutes ago, my understanding of this has evolved! A person's absence is worth seeing again. I am a completely new person now!" Kanako rallied, "I declare—humans are a bunch of selfish narcissists!"
System: “??? Why is it even more extreme?”
Kanako had a good reason: "Listen to me, when people first love others, they actually love themselves, or rather, they love the fantasy in their hearts. In short, they have always been narcissists!"
System: "That seems to make sense..."
Kanako explained it clearly: "Because of narcissism, their thinking pattern is roughly 'What's mine is mine, and what's yours is still mine!', which is possessive; then it becomes 'What I can't get is always a commotion~', and loving others is all for their own satisfaction!"
System: "This... this is actually described in simple language!"
Otsutsuki: "Was someone singing just now...?"
Kanako dropped her playful tone and asked sharply, as if to conduct a spot check: "Otsuboshi-kun, you've hit the nail on the head! Now, listen to the question: What's the second half of the lyrics to 'What you can't have is always a commotion'?"
"Being, being favored, feeling fearless?" Yuta Otsutsuki almost sang out loud.
"That's right, the next level of love is just like this line in the lyrics." Kanako showed an attitude of enlightenment, "When people fall in love with someone out of selfishness, after passing the impulsive limit of the passionate period, they begin to gradually get to know what kind of person the other person is through daily interactions..."
"If you feel bored during this process and want to give up and escape, then it cannot be considered love. In other words, love that remains selfish is incomplete."
"Don't love the perfect good person who only exists in your imagination. Instead, love someone more specific, someone like Rika, who has both advantages and disadvantages." Kanako tapped the blackboard, "After this, what will love become?"
"'Being favored,'" Rika whispered softly, "is the love that allows you to always see the other person's strengths and tolerate their flaws."
"Anyway, I'm too lazy to dwell on it!" Kanako shouted, "You two, just know that the other person is a very precious and special existence in your heart."
"Leave the rest to your heart. Don't be led astray by those simple definitions." Kanako clasped her hands together and said happily, "As expected of me! I managed to hold my second date perfectly!"
"What about you? Have you learned it?" Kanako quickly approached Yuta Okkotsu.
Yuta Otsutsuki was so frightened that he closed his eyes: "I learned it!"
Kanako turned around and asked, "Rika, where do you want to go next?"
"I don't know."
"Kanako, there's something I want to ask you." Rika Kimoto took a few steps forward, swaying.
Kanako was in a trance for a moment, and her figure suddenly disappeared in front of her.
Rika seemed to have chosen to disappear on her own initiative, leaving only her voice secretly enveloping Kanako's ears, whispering to her.
"Kanako, you know, right? Yuta is someone who can't leave Rika."
Otherwise, he would not have cursed her, who had no magical power, into a special-grade cursed spirit.
"He is timid and cowardly. Even though he holds absolute power, he doesn't know how to resist others. He won't fight back when he is bullied. Rika sees all of this."
"Without someone to command him, he wouldn't even be able to seek justice for himself or pursue a happy life..."
"Don't worry, when You Tai passes away, we will be together forever again! But not now, hopefully in the distant future."
"Kanako... Rika hates you so much, I'm so jealous of you, I hate you so much!"
Rika Kimoto ground the sharp teeth of her back molars hard.
"I really don't want to say this to other women...but there is no other way." Rika Kimoto said, "This is the last thing I can give him, all my love."
"Please, on my behalf, let the sorcerer's world give him a reason to live again."
【Author’s words】
I spent a long time pondering the chapter about Rika's morbid gentleness, referring to the information in Rika's only official book.
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