Kazuma's words not only shocked the beautiful driver, but Aoi beside him was also dumbfounded. She swallowed, wondering if Kazuma had hit his head and damaged his brain.
"Um, you're just joking, right…" The female driver forced a dry laugh, thinking he was teasing her.
"Who's joking with you?!" Kazuma angrily grabbed her collar, completely unfazed by her beautiful face. "Didn't you say you'd do anything? And now you're unwilling to do even this small thing?! Believe it or not, I'll make you regret it!"
"But, but—"
"Kazuma-kun," Aoi's expression was extremely complicated. She pulled at the young man's hand that was gripping the driver. Although Aoi didn't have a good impression of the woman either, Kazuma's words were far too shocking. "You're being too reckless. This is very dangerous."
"You don't understand. What recklessness? I'm serious," Kazuma truly meant it. In the instant he was hit and sent flying, he felt like he had glimpsed another world. Of course, it wasn't heaven or hell.
He guessed it was the paradise Nanakamado Nanaka had mentioned—a place that seemed to exist between life and death. One could only enter it when facing fatal danger, just like when he had been hit by the car.
It was simply too much of a coincidence. Without that collision, he would never have discovered it.
But it still wasn't enough! Although he had glimpsed paradise at the very end, he couldn't touch it, let alone step into it, and was quickly pulled back to reality. That was why Kazuma was asking this beautiful driver to do it again.
However, in the eyes of the two women, Kazuma's behavior was no different from that of a madman.
"Just hit me. My body is very strong—nothing will happen," he said. And it was true. After taking that hit earlier, aside from a few scrapes, he hadn't suffered any serious injuries.
The beautiful driver was deeply shaken by Kazuma's bizarre request. Even though he seemed completely sincere, there was no way she could agree to something like that!!
Aoi opened her mouth, but no words came out. Not knowing what to say, she simply grabbed Kazuma's hand and dragged him away.
"Stop being crazy. You're making things difficult for her."
"Hey! I told you, I'm not crazy! Let go of me! I really need to get hit again!"
"Stop messing around and come home with me."
Watching the shouting boy being dragged away by the girl, the beautiful driver finally breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the marks left on the ground. "Luckily, he wasn't seriously injured. How strange… did I brake in time?"
But in the end, it was a good outcome.
It's just that the boy was a bit too peculiar, leaving a deep impression on her. If she ever met him again, she would try to compensate him—although she really hoped she wouldn't run into that strange guy again.
But after all, he was the victim.
Kazuma was half-pulled, half-dragged away by Aoi, which was actually intentional. He also knew that the driver wouldn't dare try that again. Seeing Kazuma-kun gradually calm down, the short-haired beauty finally let go. In the darkness, Aoi looked at the young man's face and hesitantly asked,
"Are you really okay?"
"I'm fine, didn't you see?" Kazuma waved his arm.
"I wasn't talking about your body. I was asking about your head. Is it okay?"
"..."
Kazuma's face went blank. "What do you mean? Do you think something's wrong with my head?"
Aoi nervously averted her gaze. "Those strange actions just now made it hard not to think you'd gone crazy."
"I'm not crazy! I told you it was something important," Kazuma sighed. "Didn't you question whether the supernatural exists in this world? If I had let her hit me again just now, you would have seen a real paranormal phenomenon! What a pity—the chance is gone."
Aoi looked at him, half-believing, half-doubting. After everything that had happened, even she felt uncertain. The main reason was that Kazuma was too strange and unpredictable. Ever since he appeared, she had encountered more and more bizarre situations, even falling into danger.
She truly couldn't understand him—his actions always left her confused.
And yet, because of that, her heart was stirred… and she found herself drawn to him.
Silence fell between them as they walked along the roadside. Aoi didn't argue about the supernatural anymore. She secretly glanced at Kazuma in the darkness, and seeing him lost in thought, she spoke softly,
"I'm sorry..."
"You already apologized."
"I meant for misunderstanding you before," Aoi lowered her head, her voice barely above a whisper. "Suiren told me the reason. I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that to you."
"Hmph. If apologies solved everything, what would we need the police for?" Kazuma snorted.
"Then… what do you want?" Aoi muttered.
"At least a dogeza, right? I've never seen that famous Japanese tradition."
Aoi looked at him helplessly, then turned her head away. "If you really want to see it, I…"
As she spoke, she suddenly noticed the scrape on Kazuma's arm under the streetlight. She froze, then quickly grabbed his hand.
"You're hurt!"
"..."
Obviously. I took that hit head-on. This is already pretty mild—I'm not a superhero.
"Don't move, let me see," she said gently, touching it with her soft fingers. "Does it hurt?"
"A little," Kazuma twitched slightly.
She softly blew on the wound, then took out a handkerchief and carefully wrapped it. "When we get back, I'll apply some medicine. You were too reckless… you didn't have to go that far for me."
"In that situation, you would've definitely reincarnated into another world," Kazuma said, watching her gentle movements. "Honestly, I didn't expect to get hit. I was planning to deflect the car."
But when I jumped in, I realized the Reflective Cloak wasn't on me. I searched my backpack for ages but couldn't find it. What the heck… I'm turning into a blue robot, my brain's completely scrambled.
Kazuma sighed in frustration. "It's all your sister's fault!"
"???"
After finishing the bandage, Aoi didn't let go of his hand. She looked at him with complicated emotions and continued supporting him as she said softly,
"Thank you."
She finally understood why Suiren treated him so differently. He really was unlike anyone else—someone who could unknowingly stir people's hearts… even her mother's.
Come to think of it, he seemed to have rejected Suiren.
That had been her first confession.
Aoi almost felt like laughing.
"Kazuma…"
A sudden voice cut through the quiet night. A blur flashed before their eyes—golden strands of hair fluttered in the air, followed by a graceful figure that leaped straight onto Kazuma from nowhere.
"Nanakamado Nanaka?"
"Where did you go? I was just about to find you so we could explore the town. Huh? What happened to you? How did you get hurt?!" Nanakamado Nanaka noticed the scratches on his arm, and her long, golden hair began to sway and lash around in the air.
It was obvious she was furious.
Smack.
Kazuma pressed down on her head, rubbing it gently. "It was just a minor car accident. Nothing serious. Actually, it worked out well—I've already confirmed the existence of the paradise."
"Really?!"
Nanakamado Nanaka wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him like a koala without hesitation. But seeing how dirty he looked, her excitement faded slightly.
"Even so, you still need to be careful… people will worry."
Her sisters were important—but so was he.
"Miss Aoi, you're here too," Nanakamado Nanaka said, waving.
"You're… that girl…" Aoi recognized her immediately. Then, as if realizing something, her eyes widened. "So during the day… you were here too?"
"Didn't Kazuma say? I'm a ghost," Nanakamado Nanaka suddenly said with a sinister tone, her pretty face darkening in the shadows. "Heh… I was beside you all day. You just couldn't see me—"
As she spoke, her golden hair spread wildly through the air, writhing in every direction like a terrifying spirit.
Aoi nearly fainted from fear.
"…There really are ghosts?!"
"Don't scare her to death," Kazuma said, cupping Nanakamado Nanaka's soft cheeks and rubbing them, breaking her act and restoring her usual cute appearance. "How was your investigation with Mifuyu Yukino around the town? Any discoveries?"
"Yes. We found an old shrine that's been abandoned for many years. I felt a familiar presence there."
"Are you talking about the Seven Goddesses?" Although still scared, Aoi felt calmer seeing how close she was to Kazuma-kun. "My mother once mentioned it—it's an ancient shrine dedicated to the seven goddesses of this mountain."
"But aside from that, I don't know anything else. Even the elders in town don't know much," she shook her head. "After all, these so-called Seven Goddesses are probably just myths."
Then she hesitated. "Kazuma-kun… could it be that gods and demons really exist?"
Could the deities in that shrine actually be real?
"I'm not sure. I haven't seen any gods or demons," Kazuma shrugged. "But I have seen ghosts and people with supernatural abilities. How about we go check out the shrine?"
"Not tonight," Nanakamado Nanaka quickly shook her head. "We already have a lead, so there's no need to rush. Even though it's the weekend, today was exhausting. Let's go back and rest."
She had originally wanted to take Kazuma out to explore—since she could only appear at night—but now she felt a bit sorry for him.
"Alright, let's head back," Kazuma agreed. Then he patted Aoi's head again. "Miss Aoi, don't forget the dogeza when we get back."
"..."
Aoi paused as he stroked her head, then bit her lip and sighed helplessly. "Yes, yes… I won't forget. Honestly, you're always going on about dogeza…"
As she muttered, she didn't even realize that under the moonlight, a faint, charming blush had appeared on her cheeks.
*****
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