Chapter 186 The Second Player
For some unknown reason, Hanayamain Haruna felt a sense of sadness that was both vague and uncontrollable. Although it was faint, it was real.
She suddenly felt very homesick.
Until she parted with Saikai Haruto in a daze, she was still immersed in a depressed mood and did not realize that the rhythm of this conversation, which was originally started by her, was unconsciously controlled by Saikai Haruto. She even forgot the purpose of her initial visit to Saikai Haruto and the questions she had not yet asked.
But it doesn't matter... She thought, she still has plenty of time anyway. So she can come to him next time. It doesn't matter if she asks him next time, right?
Looking at Hanayamain Haruna's departing back, Saikai Haruto stretched himself, stood up from the ground, and also turned and left in the direction of the rising moon.
His steps were brisk, his expression was relaxed, and the corners of his lips were slightly raised. Anyone could only see his good mood from his posture, but no one could guess what he was really thinking at this moment.
"I hate this world." The innocent and stubborn face of Hanayamain Haruna emerged in his mind. That gorgeous and seductive face rarely revealed the childishness of a girl.
Those were the words Hanayamain Haruna said to him just before she left. Her voice was light and floating, like a fragile bubble that was colorful in the sunlight but would burst at the slightest touch.
Xi Haiqing Dou didn't ask her why. His answer was to give her a gentle smile and a sincere word: "I like this world very much."
Hanayamain Haruna seemed to think that he did not understand the meaning of her words. His answer and her words were originally two flowers blooming on the same branch. However, she thought that Saikai Haruto did not hear the voice hidden deep in her heart as a "player" or "traveler", and simply regarded those words as comfort.
That was not the result she wanted, so she finally chose to remain silent.
But who knew that he actually knew everything?
Only the system knows.
That was indeed what he meant sincerely and from the bottom of his heart.
Although some things were not going as planned, most of the time in this world was really a relaxation or a rare vacation for Saikai Haruto.
No need to use his brain, no sense of urgency, no need to be nervous and worry about what dangers he might encounter tomorrow... This world is indeed quite friendly to him.
Being a student is much safer and easier than being an undercover agent or living in Yokohama most of the time.
Maybe this is what they call "people's joys and sorrows are not the same"?
[Host, are you in a bad mood?] The system suddenly asked him cautiously.
[Why do you say that?] Xi Haiqing Dou did not answer but asked, [Shouldn't I look like I'm in a good mood now?]
[But what she just said to you...]
[Those words were just to comfort her.] Saikai Haruto calmly replied: [It seems that her mental state is not very stable now.]
[If nothing unexpected happens, I should be able to send her back successfully. Although she should be able to return to normal after returning to her original world, I am not a bad person, and I still can't bear to see someone collapse in front of me. That's too scary. Anyway, I didn't lie to her, I just asked her not to go crazy in front of me. ]
Hanayama Haruna's current state is like a bow that is trying to tighten itself... The string is already very tight, and she has noticed it, but she is still unwilling to stop. Saikai Haruto knows that if she continues like this, she will directly break both the bow and the string while she thinks she is sober.
Of course, he didn't have the good intention to do good things to make her really relax. In fact, he was even waiting for the string to continue to tighten. But Xi Haiqing Dou felt that it shouldn't be at least at this time. Now is not enough.
So he just gave her a little time to catch her breath. It seemed that she could breathe a sigh of relief, but he couldn't completely rescue her. Of course, Xi Haiqing Dou didn't think that he should "save" her, and he didn't have the ability to "save" her.
System: [……]
The system recalled how its host deceived the players.
With a seemingly innocent face and an extremely naive and optimistic tone, he makes the player wait, makes the player believe him, and promises the player that everything will be fine, her wishes will come true, and he will help her...
How should I put it? The system felt that the player's silence was enough to explain her attitude - she didn't believe what he said at all.
But the system thinks this is normal - after all, the host's tone and expression at that time were standard, textbook "comfort" expressions, and not something that people would take seriously. The player probably thought the host was just making fun of her, right?
But the system also felt that what its host said was indeed true: if it just waited a little longer, he would have killed the player and sent her back to her original world, and wouldn't the player's wish have come true? This in itself was helping her.
——So it’s the player’s loss if he doesn’t believe the host.
The system finally cleared up.
...No, the point it wants to make is not about the players!
[Host, do you really not hate these worlds? ]
[…Didn’t I just say that? ]
【Didn’t you just say that you like “Yuuki Igarashi”? 】
[Oh my, system, you have actually improved? ] Saikai Haruto pretended to be surprised.
The system is very proud: [I will also improve. So what about you, host? ]
[Aren’t I making progress all the time?] Xi Haiqing Dou responded nonchalantly.
Then, before the system gets angry, he stops and answers seriously: [I don’t hate these worlds now.]
[I know what you are worried about, but don't worry, I know I am different from the players, so you don't need to worry.] Xi Haiqing Dou said: [She hates this world because she can't see her future clearly, but isn't my future always clear? I don't have so much messy hatred towards these worlds, I am just a worker without any feelings.]
Hanayamain Haruna might go crazy because she can't tell the difference between reality and reality, but Saikai Haruto will never do that. He is always clear-headed.
The system breathed a sigh of relief.
It's not easy to find a host with a stable mental state these days... Of course, my host is good in every way, but after being bound for a long time, the system is also worried that he will suddenly become abnormal one day. Not to mention that in that world, most of the vests that the host immersively plays are villains or crazy scripts, which makes the system even more worried, okay?
Fortunately, the host looks good now?
[Don't mention it, this world really feels a bit like a "vacation".] Xi Hai Qing Dou chuckled: [I know everything, thank you very much, system.]
The system shyly hid in the small dark room.
Xihai Qingdou: [……]
...Forget it, since it's so stupid, I'll use fewer commas next time.
It's another day with no updates on either the manga or the forum...
...It's not like we have to wait until he completes his mission before updating the comics, right?
The moon was setting and the stars were sparse until late at night. Saikai Haruto finally gave up and slowly reviewed today's conversations with Gojo Satoru and Hanayamain Haruna in his mind. He was relieved only after he was sure that there were no omissions.
But in fact, whether it is Gojo Satoru or Hanayamain Haruna, they are both relatively easy to fool for Saikai Haruto, and these two conversations seem to be a back-and-forth of questions and answers between the two sides, but in fact the rhythm of each question is firmly in his hands, and it is normal if there are no omissions.
The last one left is Xia Yujie.
Although Ieiri Shoko doesn't seem to have any special presence, Nishimi Haruto knows that she is one of the people who sees things most clearly besides him. She just keeps a good distance and doesn't ask too many questions.
Therefore, there were not as many questions and answers between him and Ieiri Shoko as there were today between him, Gojo Satoru, and Hanayamain Haruna. Instead, they just briefly talked about some topics as if they were just chatting casually.
Not deliberately, not intentionally, Ieiri Naoko didn't ask too many questions and he didn't answer much, it was just a casual chat and joke like in daily life, but that was enough.
But Getsu is different.
In a way, Geto Suguru and Yuuki Igarashi know each other too well.
When it comes to tacit understanding, sometimes they are the ones with the highest tacit understanding, not based on intuition, but relying on their understanding of themselves.
In some ways, they are both very similar: they both have gentle personalities, are thoughtful, strict with themselves, care about their companions, considerate of others, and to a certain extent put themselves second... They are even both top students in the eyes of their teachers, and they both stepped into the world of sorcery from the outside world without any knowledge.
Although there are many differences, the longer they know each other, the more similarities they can find with each other.
Therefore, the relationship between Geto Suguru and Haruto Nishimi is also very close.
——But this also means that both people can easily detect abnormalities in each other.
This is not a good thing for Xi Haiqing Dou at the moment.
Although Geto Kagome has not seen each other for a long time because the amount of tasks has increased dramatically recently and everyone is very busy and it is rare for them to get together, and Nishimi Haruto has also been avoiding them on purpose, he and Geto Kagome have not seen each other for a long time. Even though they live in the same dormitory of the Jujutsu High School, they have not even run into each other for many days.
But even so, Saikai Haruto still doesn't plan to go find Geto Suguru so soon and have a "conversation" like today.
Besides not wanting him to notice his "abnormality" so quickly, it was also because these "conversations" of mine went on and ended so quickly...it seemed as if these conversations were deliberate and intentional.
Although it's true that he did it on purpose, he can't let people see it, right?
Even if these dialogues don't necessarily appear in the comics, it's always better to be prepared.
So it would be best to wait until Geto comes to him and wants to chat with him, just like Hanayamain Haruna is waiting for him and chatting with her.
Then we have to wait a little longer - wait for a good opportunity to come.
Fortunately, Xi Haiqing Dou didn't have to wait for long, and the opportunity soon came.