Hanadasaki Ame was not generally the type to strike up conversations with strangers. He had no intention of casually expanding his social circle and wasting unnecessary energy on that sort of thing.
Even if the other person happened to be an extremely cute girl, he did not particularly care.
After returning to his original seat, he could feel that the girl had glanced their way several times, but in the end she behaved herself and simply continued reading her magazine without doing anything else.
Nibutani Shinka stole a couple of glances at the girl, then lowered her voice and said to Hanadasaki Ame,
"Was she really talking just now? I didn't hear anything at all!"
"Hmm… people usually only hear the sounds they want to hear. It's perfectly normal to ignore the outside world."
Hanadasaki Ame replied offhandedly.
What he was actually thinking about was that inner voice he had heard a moment ago. His current guess was that what he caught might only be sincere mental activity produced when a person's thoughts and actions were aligned. There were probably more conditions involved as well…
Didn't that make the ability feel a little useless?
Normally, with only a little observation, he could already determine a person's mental state and judge whether their words were true. If someone's thoughts and actions were already consistent, then what need was there to hear their inner voice in the first place?
After a moment of consideration, Hanadasaki Ame decided to introduce a more reasonable theoretical framework to interpret these so-called inner voices—
mental activity level.
His simulation ability could collect information, which meant there had to be some sort of exchange of information involved. The mind was too abstract, existing on a different plane from ordinary things, so perhaps the hearts of ordinary people could be treated as low-activity—unable to reach the level of normal phenomena—while the girl just now was high-activity, her mind releasing information that his ability could actually collect.
In that case, what was it that caused the mind to become active?
Hanadasaki Ame began listing various possibilities in detail: the strength of a person's mind, the intensity of their emotions, the degree to which thought and action were unified, and perhaps certain even harder-to-observe innate qualities of the spirit…
It would be difficult to arrive at a reliable answer in the short term.
He would continue observing that girl.
And…
he would try asking her to serve as a test subject.
Research into the mind was quite necessary. After all, Magnetic Field Rotation contained a strong idealistic, mind-over-matter component. There was no way he could miss the chance to explore that direction.
The girl was dressed casually in everyday clothes, carrying a magazine, and it was still vacation season. She most likely lived nearby and, not wanting to cook for herself, had simply come out to solve lunch by eating here.
Since she lived so close, there would be plenty of chances to run into her again in the future.
Also, given her apparent age, she might even be a student at Inaba High School. If so, the chances to interact with her would become even more plentiful.
After finishing his analysis, Hanadasaki Ame resumed chatting casually with Nibutani Shinka and slowly finished lunch.
A little after three in the afternoon, the two of them returned to the villa.
Mr. Ishiguro had already prepared most of the remaining matters. The sales contract had been revised, a lawyer and judicial scrivener had been invited over… anything he could handle independently and quickly had already been more or less taken care of.
All Hanadasaki Ame needed to do was sign, stamp, pay, and then wait for the government procedures to run their course.
The efficiency of the Japanese bureaucracy was famous for being what it was. If things moved quickly, the process could be completed in two weeks, and the house would be officially registered under Hanadasaki Ame's name.
Hanadasaki Ame had no interest in waiting that long before beginning renovations. He had already discussed it in advance with Mr. Ishiguro and signed an additional contract. While the property still legally belonged to Mr. Ishiguro, Hanadasaki Ame was authorized to begin modifying the villa, avoiding a number of possible complications.
The procedures themselves were not especially complicated, but they still took a fair amount of time. Hanadasaki Ame stayed busy with them until the sky was nearly dark.
There were still more things to handle afterward—hiring a construction company for renovations, bringing in new equipment, and so on. At this rate, school would probably already have started before the private research institute was completely ready.
As he mentally listed everything that still needed to be done, Hanadasaki Ame felt a faint sense of satisfaction.
Every bit of effort he put in today was like watering a seed and waiting for it to grow into the fruit he desired in the future.
After stopping at another restaurant to take care of dinner, Hanadasaki Ame finally took a taxi home with Nibutani Shinka.
Along the way, Nibutani Shinka grew much quieter, staring blankly out the car window.
The Hanadasaki Ame she usually saw was a little lazy, a little impish, and possessed a tiny streak of mischievous cruelty. But the Hanadasaki Ame she had seen today had been extremely serious—speaking with others like an adult, orderly and composed, so calm and self-possessed that it formed a huge contrast with his somewhat delicate, cute appearance. She had nearly started wondering whether she had mistaken him for someone else.
But what sent her thoughts drifting even more was the question of life itself. For once, she found herself thinking about her own more distant future.
Hanadasaki Ame had already planned out his life long ago and was carrying it through with determination.
What about her?
After fixing her chuunibyou, what was she supposed to do after finishing high school? What path was she supposed to walk?
Those complicated questions kept surfacing, leaving her feeling somewhat lost.
Only then did she suddenly realize that the days when she could carefree indulge in chuunibyou had maybe been rather nice after all.
Of course, it was only a passing thought. There was absolutely no way she would return to that former self. Thinking about it even a little was like whipping her own heart.
The taxi stopped in front of Hanadasaki Ame's house, and at a glance he noticed the lights on inside.
His father, Hanadasaki Tatsuya, was probably back.
Hanadasaki Ame calmly paid the fare, walked Nibutani Shinka the few steps to her house next door, and only then returned to his own home.
The houses in this residential area were mostly fully finished detached homes—nowhere near as extravagant as the villa, but still all fairly refined, complete with small courtyards and garages.
The Hanadasaki home was like that as well: two stories plus an attic. Since only he and his father lived there, many of the rooms sat empty.
After entering the courtyard and opening the front door, the first thing he saw was three pairs of shoes on the genkan floor.
One pair of men's shoes—his father's.
The other two were women's, which most likely meant the Nagasaki mother and daughter. One pair even matched the size of Nagasaki Soyo's slender little feet.
Hanadasaki Ame's visual estimate of foot size was astonishingly precise, comparable to measuring with a ruler. He did not make mistakes in that kind of thing.
They had come by suddenly but had not informed him, which likely meant it had been a spur-of-the-moment visit. And since he had been busy all day buying the villa and preparing to transform it into a research institute—and everyone knew that—they had chosen not to disturb him.
Thinking as much, Hanadasaki Ame calmly changed shoes and walked into the living room.
The television in the living room was on, currently broadcasting baseball, with the noise of commentary and cheering spectators filling the air nonstop. From the kitchen came the sounds of cooking, along with the voices of a man and woman talking, occasionally mixed with warm, knowing laughter. Nagasaki Soyo sat on the soft sofa, scrolling through her phone, dressed in a white long-sleeved top and a dark blue skirt, neat and understated.
Hanadasaki Ame tilted his head slightly and said softly,
"I'm home."
The long, slender fingers Soyo had been using to swipe across her phone screen suddenly stopped. For a moment, she was visibly stunned, and a strange thrill ran through her whole body like an electric current. Then, as if waking from a dream, she lifted her head and looked over.
When she saw that it was Hanadasaki Ame, she stood up and pressed her lips together slightly, as though gathering herself and adjusting her expression.
Two or three seconds later, a bright smile finally spread gradually from the corners of her mouth, and in a sweet, lively voice she replied,
"Welcome home."
…
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 172)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 116)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter119)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 66
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 52
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 55
The Way the Umamusume Look at 42
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 40
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 36
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 30
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 26
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 26
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