After carefully bringing Aqua home and settling her on his relatively clean bed, Koushi suddenly slapped his forehead as a realization struck him.
(Wait! Am I an idiot? This body is a construct she made using the The core of reason! If I just reclaim this construct, wouldn't her consciousness naturally return to her inner world? Why did I go through all the trouble of carrying her back!)
He sighed helplessly, pressing a hand to his forehead, feeling like he had truly panicked in the moment.
However, looking at Aqua's still-furrowed brow even in unconsciousness, the tear stains not yet dry on her face, and the stains on her skirt, he hesitated.
(Forget it... This foolish kid isn't in a good state right now. Forcibly reclaiming her might have side effects. And... she looks so sad. Let her rest like this for now.)
He let out a sigh, sat on the edge of the bed, gently drew Aqua into his arms, letting her lean against his chest. Like comforting a real little sister, he patted her back in a slow, steady rhythm.
Perhaps sensing the familiar presence and the soothing rhythm, Aqua's tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed, and her breathing became steady and even.
Koushi looked down at the peaceful sleeping face of the girl in his arms, but the confusion in his heart only grew deeper.
(Something's off... This is too off.)
(The Aqua I know feels like a spoiled, somewhat domineering but not fundamentally bad brat. She loves good food, loves novel things. Even though her mouth is sharp, her heart is actually quite simple.)
(Even if there was gang trouble, with her personality, at most she'd scare them off or beat them up. How could she... how could she resort to such extreme, cruel methods? Directly crushing people to pulp? This completely doesn't fit her behavioral logic!)
He kept feeling that he must have overlooked some crucial link. Aqua's rage must have had a more direct trigger, one that touched a sensitive spot deep within her.
(She just bought some food at the night market, had some contact with the vendors... Could it be...)
He suddenly thought of a possibility. Immediately, with his free hand, he grabbed his phone from the bedside table and quickly typed keywords about last night's night market incident into the search bar.
Soon, more news reports and scattered information from social media came into view.
Besides the repeated descriptions of the gang disturbance and the bloody outcome of being 'cleansed' by the mysterious silver-haired girl, some earlier photos and videos circulating at the night market before the incident caught his attention.
Those were precisely the photos and short clips of Aqua sitting at the grilled meat stall, holding up a 'Payment Here' sign, sneakily eating skewers while helping to collect money.
In the photos, she was smiling like a child who had gotten her favorite toy, and the surrounding tourists and vendors also wore kind smiles.
There were also scenes of her curiously lingering at various stalls, with vendors enthusiastically handing her all sorts of snacks...
(So... she even helped the vendors... and so many people were nice to her...)
Looking at these photos, Koushi could almost picture in his mind the first half of Aqua's experience at the night market last night—a time completely different from the terror she later created.
—A time filled with kindness, curiosity, and simple joy.
I see...
A clear logical chain formed in his mind:
Aqua felt purposeless kindness and warmth from strangers at the night market.
For her, newly born and craving recognition and belonging, this was an extremely precious and beautiful experience. She even reciprocated with her own labor, immersing herself in the joy of 'being accepted.'
However, the appearance of the gangs brutally destroyed this 'wonderful place' she had just discovered.
They smashed, looted, and harmed those who had shown her kindness, especially... that scar-faced uncle who first treated her to meat and let her help—it seemed he was even injured?
(So, in her eyes, these gangs weren't simply causing trouble. They were destroying the precious, beautiful thing she had just obtained. They were harming the people who had shown her kindness!)
For Aqua, with her simple mind, direct logic, and absolute power, the nature of this act completely changed.
This was no longer just 'bad behavior she disapproved of,' but an invasion of her personal territory, a trampling of the things she cherished!
Therefore, her reaction was no longer ordinary 'punishment,' but escalated into the most extreme, unequivocal 'annihilation'!
She wanted to completely eradicate these 'destroyers of beauty,' using the most terrifying method to warn any who dared invade again!
(This idiot... had marked that night market and those vendors as part of her 'territory to protect'...)
Having figured this out, Koushi's gaze at Aqua in his arms grew even more complex.
There was helplessness, heartache, and also a glimmer of understanding.
Her actions were still unforgivable; the consequences and impact were catastrophic.
But her motivation might not have been pure brutality. Perhaps it stemmed from a twisted, overly simplistic desire to 'protect.'
(Now... the trouble is really serious.)
(Not only do I need to figure out how to comfort her, but I also have to consider how to handle the aftermath... AST and Fraxinus have definitely set their sights on her. No, on Chinatsu, though they still can't do much to Chinatsu, but... sigh.)
Koushi felt a splitting headache. He gently tightened his embrace around Aqua, as if doing so could offer some support, both to her and to himself.
(Let's wait for her to wake up first... At the very least, I need to understand her current state, and... how to explain this world's rules to this 'misbehaving' brat.)
The sunlight outside the window was bright, but Koushi's heart was filled with gloom. He knew that retrieving Aqua was only the first step. How to guide this 'little sister' who possessed destructive power but had an incomplete mind would be a huge challenge laid out before him.
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