Su Youzi: We've Got This! Kujo Ryuko: We've Won!

My name is Su Youzi.

17 years old.

A second-year student at Shiritsu Megumi Garden Academy.

Unmarried.

Kujo Ryuko and I made a bet.

The bet was whether the maiden involved in the Anomaly incident before—

Sakai Miho—could successfully be promoted to First Sequence.

And the stakes... were that the loser would have to get on all fours in front of the winner and act like a puppy.

Indeed—

While it's true that Anomalies of the First Sequence have the possibility of dispelling their Anomalous state and returning to being ordinary Humanity girls.

But... it's like protein denaturation. The distortion of an Ability User's Ability due to "Anomalous state" is irreversible.

To put it simply, after "Anomalous state," an Ability User's Ability will forever be stuck at the strength it was before the "Anomalous state."

Her growth has been locked.

Her future is set.

Dark and lightless.

This is a consensus written in the textbooks of all Ability User Academies.

But... does a consensus mean it can never be broken?

Not necessarily.

Legend has it... that the Seventh Sequence Ability User "Seat of Evil" from the Thousand-Year Battlefield once went through an "Anomalous state."

It was his lover who erased his "Anomalous state," allowing him to start anew.

Since a previous Rule-based Ability User could help someone who had gone through an "Anomalous state" break through the shackles.

Then, as the seventh Rule-based Ability User, Su Youzi certainly—

Could not.

"Reverse Logic Hand" doesn't seem to have that kind of function.

But—

Su Youzi looked at her Material Slot.

That "First Sequence Promotion Emblem" was shining brightly.

[First Sequence Promotion Emblem: A material for promotion to First Sequence. Using this emblem for promotion guarantees success.]

Since "Combat Record" allowed Su Youzi, whose Ability was once locked at Level 0, to break through to Level 1.

Su Youzi had every reason to believe.

That the "First Sequence Promotion Emblem" could help Sakai Miho break through to First Sequence.

As for... whether such a powerful emblem would be wasted or not.

Recalling the information she had gathered about Sakai Miho.

A sympathetic smile spread across Su Youzi's lips. Absolutely... absolutely not.

She looked confidently at Kujo Ryuko.

"I've already won!"

Su Youzi understood Kujo Ryuko's personality.

Although Kujo Ryuko's personality was Twisted, her... Maiden's heart was proud.

She would definitely honor the bet she made.

Kujo Ryuko, who disliked people and liked dogs... and even treated everyone around her like dogs to be ordered around. The humiliation she must feel when she gets on all fours in front of me to honor the bet!

Su Youzi was confident.

With this move.

Kujo Ryuko's affection points towards her would definitely freeze to absolute zero.

It was already a sign of her maidenly pride and reserve that she hadn't directly swung her Blood Saw and dismembered me.

After this operation, the relationship between Kujo Ryuko and herself would be as good as strangers, like fire and water.

Rather than being liked or cherished by the yandere, masochistic Kujo Ryuko.

Su Youzi preferred it that neither of them interacted with each other.

It was better for Kujo Ryuko to retreat in fear at the mere sight of her.

"It's foolproof!"

Her right hand clasped Kujo Ryuko's cold, unfeeling right hand. Su Youzi's eyes were filled with the certainty of victory, brimming with confidence.

As for Kujo Ryuko's thoughts, they were even simpler.

She found the sight of such a beautiful maiden acting like a puppy, whimpering "woof woof," quite amusing.

Her affection points were even about to increase by one.

As for... losing?

How could she possibly lose?

Could a cooked egg ever hatch into a chick again?

What a joke.

She took the maiden's hand, a hint of amusement sparking in her scarlet eyes. In the sunlight, the maiden's nearly translucent lips curved slightly upward.

Sakai Miho, standing nearby, watched with burning anxiety.

But it was okay... she could only be thankful.

The punishment Kujo Ryuko proposed wasn't for the maiden to chop off a hand or anything else so insane.

Soon--

Su Youzi and the others arrived at the inpatient department.

The smell of disinfectant lingering in the air immediately weighed down Su Youzi's mood.

They walked through the impeccably clean glass doors.

Su Youzi and the others saw Sakai Miho lying on the hospital bed.

The maiden's small face retained the youthful beauty Su Youzi had seen when she leaned over, but... her beautiful light green eyes looked so hollow, as if her soul had been lost.

Su Youzi felt a pang of heartache.

From Teacher Unohana Chiyo, she had learned about the heavy burden this maiden carried.

Sakai Miho was born into an ordinary family in Guangzheng District.

Her family wasn't well-off, and she had a normal younger sister.

Her parents' salaries were just enough to cover the family's expenses and for either Sakai Miho or her sister to attend school.

Training an Ability User was expensive.

Sakai Miho had even decided to give up on herself.

She would let her sister go to school.

Then--

Hope arrived.

She was admitted to Shiritsu Megumi Garden Academy as an outstanding student.

The academy's subsidy was enough for her to live frugally and even send a little money home.

But... as quickly as hope arrived, it collapsed.

Clenching her fists.

Sakai Miho didn't even know how she could go on living.

Hearing the sound of the glass door opening, the maiden's hollow gaze turned towards the hospital room entrance.

The moment she saw Su Youzi, Sakai Miho flinched and instinctively pulled her neck back.

She remembered Su Youzi.

However... it wasn't the resentment often seen in melodramas--

Resenting Su Youzi for taking everything away from her.

Sakai Miho knew that she had almost killed that maiden with the beautiful red eyes back then.

It was that maiden who had saved her from her Anomalous state.

The emotion brewing in Sakai Miho's heart was guilt.

She had no right to blame anyone.

The maiden was kind.

And she always habitually saw herself as lowly.

Raising an eyebrow, Kujo Ryuko stood at the hospital room entrance.

Since it was a bet, there was naturally a time limit.

Kujo Ryuko and Su Youzi had agreed on a time limit: whether Sakai Miho could break through to the First Sequence before Su Youzi left Shiritsu Megumi Garden Academy, within one month.

Kujo Ryuko was not in a hurry.

She was a hunter.

A hunter should have patience.

Besides... let alone giving Su Youzi a month.

What if she was given a year?

Could a cooked egg possibly run away?

What's interesting about simply learning to act like a puppy?

With just one word from her.

Countless people would come crawling with their tongues out, acting like dogs for her.

What Kujo Ryuko liked... was the process of proud, noble maidens slowly, humiliatingly lowering their heads before her.

That was what was truly interesting.

Kujo Ryuko and Su Youzi exchanged a glance, their expressions teasing, as if to say, "Please, begin your performance."

Su Youzi's lips curved upwards.

The maiden's smile was like a spring breeze, causing Sakai Miho, lying on the hospital bed, to clench the blanket with her small hands.

Why... could she still smile?

Didn't she hate her?

She... had almost killed her.

Su Youzi stepped forward and sat down beside Sakai Miho's bed, gently taking her small hand.

Unlike the excessively soft hands of a Little Rabbit.

Despite looking quite young and beautiful, Sakai Miho's palms were dry and rough, bearing the marks of a hard life.

Su Youzi's fingertips traced the calluses in the maiden's palm.

A ticklish sensation spread from her palm...

Looking at those eyes, as gentle as flowing water, and feeling the maiden's soft... hands, so different from her own.

Sakai Miho panicked and tried to pull her hand away.

[Ding--]

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