Because of that, Shoko kept transferring from one school to another. She never truly settled down, never truly found a place where she could feel completely accepted. Every new beginning always ended the same way—loneliness repeating itself over and over again.
I remembered all of it very clearly, as if I had just seen it yesterday. An uneasy feeling began to rise, slowly creeping into my chest. And now… I knew that Shoko truly existed in this world. A crossover world of various anime.
After previously meeting and seeing characters from Jujutsu Kaisen, High School DxD, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, and Highschool of the Dead, now I was once again brought face to face with a character from Koe no Katachi. This world was truly absurd, yet somehow it felt more real with each passing day.
I didn't expect that the woman I saw this morning turned out to be Shoko's mother. No wonder her face had felt so familiar from the very beginning. There was a clear resemblance between them—especially in the eyes and the contours of their faces—though earlier I couldn't immediately recall Yaeko with certainty.
Damn… so that woman was a single mother who had to face everything on her own, without anyone's help. A mother who still looked young, beautiful, and had a charm that was hard to ignore, yet had to carry a heavy burden in life.
"Yaeko Nishimiya is also known to be pregnant with her second child from her ex-husband. However, since they are already divorced, Yaeko no longer receives financial support. At the moment, she is trying to find a job to support her life," Mei Mei continued, her voice calm and steady, as if information that heavy was nothing more than numbers in an ordinary report.
I fell silent for a moment, staring at the file in my hand a little longer. The information felt heavy, pressing down without a sound. A woman who had just gone through a divorce, had a child with special needs, and now had to support her family on her own while pregnant—that was not something anyone could handle easily.
My thoughts began to move slowly, arranging one possibility after another. Each idea appeared, was considered, then compared with the current situation.
What if I hired Yaeko?
The idea felt simple, yet reasonable. That way, Yaeko could have a stable income, and I could also keep an eye on her situation more easily.
Then… another thought emerged, deeper, more significant.
What if I cured Shoko?
That ability was not something impossible for me. I knew I could do it. Erasing Shoko's hearing impairment, completely changing the course of her life—giving her the chance to live without constantly having to face a cruel world.
The idea came just like that, yet it felt too reasonable to ignore. There was no strong reason to reject it.
Alright… let's do it.
I slowly closed the file, then lifted my gaze.
"What if I hired Yaeko?" I finally asked, breaking the silence that had been hanging between us for quite some time.
"See! You really like that woman!" Shizuka immediately reacted as soon as I finished speaking. Her face turned into a pout in an instant, her brows furrowed sharply, and her lips puckered, clearly showing her disbelief. Her gaze was accusatory, as if she had already reached her own conclusion without needing any further explanation.
"I told you, no," I replied quickly, letting out a small sigh as I tried to ease the tension that was starting to rise.
"I'm just thinking… this woman is in a difficult situation. So what's wrong with helping someone?" I added in a calm tone, even though deep down I knew that explanation sounded a little too simple.
"Really?" Rika then asked, her eyes narrowing slightly, full of suspicion. Her gaze never left me, as if trying to read even the slightest lie from my expression.
"Yes," I answered briefly, nodding slowly while maintaining as calm an expression as possible to avoid raising further suspicion.
"It's up to you," Mei Mei said, then she looked at me with undisguised curiosity. She tilted her head slightly, as if analyzing my decision. "But what are you going to hire Yaeko for?"
"To sell cheap, low-quality Cursed Tools," I replied with a faint smile, my tone relaxed as if it were nothing more than an ordinary business decision with no deeper meaning behind it.
"But why?" Shizuka asked again quickly. This time, her expression turned genuinely confused, her brows furrowing deeply as her eyes fixed on me without understanding. "After all, you can make hundreds of millions per month just by auctioning Cursed Tools in Akihabara."
"…Yeah, just for fun," I said casually, shrugging slightly. The answer sounded light—too light for something that was actually far more significant. Of course, that wasn't the real reason.
There was no way I could explain that I had other plans—plans that would slowly shake the higher-ups of the Jujutsu world. So, hiding part of my intentions was the most reasonable choice for now.
"Suit yourself," Rika shrugged lightly, though a trace of doubt still lingered on her face. "But do you think Yaeko would be willing to work selling something mystical like that?"
"Of course," I answered without the slightest hesitation. My tone was firm, as if I had already thought everything through carefully. "In return, I'll heal Shoko. I'll make her able to live like a normal child."
"That…" Shizuka looked shocked. Her eyes widened slightly, and for a moment, she was completely at a loss for words. Her reaction was very different from before, as if she hadn't expected me to say something like that.
"What's wrong?" I asked, frowning slightly, puzzled by her sudden change in expression.
"I didn't expect you to think that far… to the point of wanting to heal Yaeko's child," Shizuka finally said, this time with a faint smile that rarely appeared on her face. Her tone softened, no longer filled with accusation like before.
"That's true," Mei Mei added, the corner of her lips lifting into a subtle, almost imperceptible smile. "I didn't expect you to do something like that either."
"Yeah," Rika nodded slowly, her gaze now calmer. "Usually, you wouldn't do something this big for someone you've never even met."
Is that so?
I fell silent for a moment, letting their words hang in the air. Maybe from their perspective, my actions did sound strange, even unreasonable. But for me, this wasn't just about helping a stranger who happened to be in trouble.
I already knew Shoko Nishimiya.
I knew how Shoko's life would unfold—full of wounds, an unending cycle of loneliness, and regrets that never truly faded. I knew how she kept forcing a smile onto her face, trying to appear fine even though the world around her never truly stood on her side.
All of it was etched clearly in my memory. Too clear to ignore. And this time… I didn't want to see the same thing happen again.
But of course, I couldn't tell them that. Not now—maybe not ever.
"Obviously, it's because I'm a good person," I said casually, smiling a little as if it were just a simple answer with no hidden meaning.
"So, which city are you going to employ Yaeko in?" Mei Mei asked again, this time in a more serious and focused tone.
"Where else?" I replied as I looked back at the file in my hand. My gaze stopped right at Yaeko's neatly printed photo. "In Ogaki City, where she lives."
I stared at the photo longer than before. The face of a woman who looked strong, with an expression that tried to remain firm under the pressure of life. But if one looked closer, there was a subtle fatigue hidden behind her eyes—a weariness she likely never showed to anyone. And somehow… that only made me even more certain of my decision.
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[Note: This novel is updated on every even-numbered date]
[Note: This is my other novel: As the White Spider-Man in Earth-76 with the Spider-Man System]
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