NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 8
Chapter 8, Chapter 6, A Glimpse Eternally
“Why do you look like that? I hope you didn’t have any problems with Teacher.” Shizuka Hiratsuka, who ran right into the situation, asked innocently.
Yukinoshita Yukino, not expecting someone to actually show up, was momentarily stunned, but quickly adjusted her expression and smoothed out her furrowed brows. “Teacher, you forgot to knock again.”
“Ah, I will next time, for sure, absolutely.” The female teacher said on the surface, but showed no remorse on her face.
She suddenly narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the girl’s fair and cute little face. “What’s this on your face? Did you hurt yourself?”
Shizuka was referring to the fine trails resembling scars beneath Yukinoyuki’s eyes. The latter pursed her lips and her gaze drifted as she replied, “It just happened by chance… Teacher, did you come here for a specific purpose?”
Given the current trend of young people getting various pierces or tattoos on We- Lu-Si novel site, wouldn’t Yuino be following suit and indulging in wrongdoing too?
Facing Yukinoshita’s awkward attempt to shift the topic, Shizuka considered notifying her family about the matter while silently dragging a boy hiding behind her to the front.
“This guy here is Hachiman Hikigaya; he’s here to join the club.”
Like a vampire seeing sunlight, a mouse facing a cat, Hachiman’s wandering gaze was a sign that this lethargic youth wasn’t comfortable with his surroundings at all, desperately wanting to get away.
“Huh? Wait a moment! I’ve never heard of such a thing!”
Upon hearing Shizuka’s words, Hachiman hurriedly rebutted, even though he was being evaluated by the beautiful girl referred to as the high blossom with a scrutinizing glance.
With a light thud, the stern teacher tapped Hachiman’s head. “This is punishment for submitting an essay brimming with nihilism and immaturity!” she declared with unyielding harshness and resolve. “Your twisted thinking and immature ways are to be corrected by Yukinon as part of my duty as a teacher.”
Forcing me to share a room with such an exquisite yet hostile girl already pushed well beyond punishment into torture!
Gripped with unease from being under Yukinon’s watchful eye, Hachiman tried to refuse. However, seeing the stern teacher smile and raise her fist, he swallowed his protest.
“Pardon me, accompanying this boy in one room threatens my personal safety,” Yukino spoke calmly.
Yet, in reality, it was Hachiman who felt the threat. According to Lin Qi, a powerful cursed spirit would eventually find him. Owing to that, Yukinon couldn’t allow anyone to join the Servant Club.
“You can rest assured. Although, this guy has decaying eyes and a rotten disposition, he’s quite courageous and capable at risk assessment. He won’t do anything outrageous,” Shizuka reassured him with a slap on the shoulder.
“Please refer to it as a regular person’s moral judgment,” Hachiman murmured, yet no one paid attention.
“So that means he’s a timid troublemaker,” Yukinon understood. “But regardless, I still have to decline.”
“Why, don’t you believe that you can reform this fellow’s character?”
With baited words, Shizuka was successful in provocation!
However, it didn’t work.
Unmoved, Yukinoshita flipped through her book. “Even if you use provocation tactics, it won’t alter my decision. If I say no, it’s no…”
Let me accept it.
Lin Qi’s voice unexpectedly resounded in her mind.
Why? Don’t you know what’s at stake? What if a cursed spirit attacks you at school? Yukino frowned inwardly.
That boy might meet the same fate even without you. In any case, agree first, and explain later.
The conversation ended swiftly. All they saw was Yukinon frowning, then turning to speak a little more forcibly, “Alright, since it is a request of a teacher, I take it on.”
Before Hachiman could reveal his smile, it froze.
“What?! You went back on your word!”
Though the smile vanished from Hachiman, it transferred smoothly to Shizuka’s face. Despite Yukinon’s awkward behavior, getting troublesome students together brought her a sense of satisfaction.
“Good, good. I look forward to it,” Shizuka laughed heartily, then departed, leaving behind a troubled and lethargic boy.
Yukinon sighed helplessly and resumed reading.
Now you can start explaining, right?
Before the explanation, let me teach you a lesson first. All humans contain curse energy, and a cursed spirit arises from excessive curse energy accumulating within individuals. Those who can control such energy are called curse sorcerers.
Yukinon listened attentively, memorized every word Lin Qi imparted.
I understand everything, but what does this have to do with accepting Teacher’s request?
An ordinary person can only see a cursed spirit when they are on the brink of death or in a special scenario, but that boy, like you, could also perceive cursed spirits directly. His level of curse energy far exceeds a normal human’s.
Many possessed a higher amount of curse energy, making them delicious targets for cursed spirits.
Yukinon was startled and instinctively glanced at the standing and seemingly observing Hachiman.
Contact with Yukinon’s sudden gaze made him avert his eyes to the floor immediately.
This floor, is really, really, a floor.
“Stop staring blankly and try sitting down yourself?”
Yukinon’s clear voice brought immediate relief to Hachiman, who rushed to fetch a chair and clean it before sitting down.
Though he sat down, his state shifted from standing uneasily to seated, yet the discomfort didn’t lessen but increased after detecting suspicious glances.
Fortunately, Yukinon stopped speaking to him, allowing Hachiman time to process his emotions. He gradually fell into a daze, a contemplative state.
Do you have any evidence?
You should ease your restrictions on me.
Why don’t you commit any bad things?
Oh, stop hesitating.
…
This awkwardness, this absolute awkwardness.
Like having ants crawling on you, in such a predicament, even Hachiman with the longest record of eight hours of daze wouldn’t find a moment of clarity.
If only hadn’t written that essay.
But to vent that shock and disbelief, writing was inevitable. Otherwise, Hachiman feared he might truly go crazy.
Perhaps he already was.
That morning on his way to school, when he saw those terrifying monsters and how everyone else remained oblivious.
In that moment, apart from the unbearable panic, Hachiman naturally felt like the world was a game, where everybody else was NPC and he alone was the player.
When he pinched himself, the pain told him what he saw was real, not some fabricated dream.
Monsters are real, the world is real, only I am false?
Fortunately, the monster didn’t attack him, and he finally reached the school with deep relief.
At least there were no signs of monsters in there, giving him ample time to ponder.
Only I can see… did I awaken a superpower suddenly? No, no, graduating middle-school madness was long ago.
A dead-fish-eyed boy puzzled endlessly, his mixed emotions bottling up. Coincidentally, a midterm test was ongoing, leading to that essay severely criticized by Teacher Shizuka.
After a calm morning, Hachiman finally persuaded himself that his sightings might merely be illusions – a product of staying up late gaming, mental fog in the morning, or a resurgence of past fantasies.
Yes, definitely so! After all, monsters and supernatural beings can’t exist, right?
As Hachiman thought such, a strong feeling of oppression suddenly radiated from Yukinoshita, seated by the window. He twisted and turned to look, facing a ghostly figure composed of black mist, four eyes, and four arms, resembling a demon.
…
Five…
After school, become a jujutsu sorcerer.