The Change in Shinomiya Kaguya / Fujiwara Chika Wants Her to Confess

"Don't even think about being resurrected!"

"I don't want to waste any more time."

Hasegawa Izumi made a clenched fist in mid-air towards the headless corpse that was lunging at her again, and with a 'bang,' its chest exploded open.

The Stone of Killing shattered, and the headless corpse fell to the ground, ceasing all movement.

By piecing the heads back together, they at least left the once-glorious Busujima Family Head with a complete corpse.

Half an hour later.

In a desolate place, a new grave without a tombstone was erected.

Busujima Saeko stood silently in front of the grave for a long time.

There was no joy in upholding justice or achieving revenge; only a feeling of emptiness remained in my heart.

"Senior, it's time to go back."

"Hasegawa Izumi's behind me, reminding me."

He was thinking about how awesome it would be to play games all night long.

Suddenly, a sweet fragrance wafted into my arms, and two spheres pressed against my chest.

"Izumi-kun..."

"Um?"

"Can I stay here like this for a little while?"

He slightly turned his gaze and saw only a head of beautiful purple hair. He felt a slight tremor from the body he was in close contact with, and heard her express her true emotions.

The first time she killed someone with her own hands, and it was her own father, the senior student was actually very hurt at that moment, as helpless as a little girl, wanting to seek some comfort.

So he tacitly agreed.

"Thank you, Izumi-kun... I'm all better now."

Three minutes later, Busujima Saeko released her hands, her eyes visibly reddening.

The mature senior student in her vulnerable state is truly pitiful to behold.

Afterwards, Busujima Saeko planned to pack up her things before moving back in.

The two returned to the Hasegawa family.

Just as she stepped outside, Busujima Saeko suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.

"Izumi-kun, the moonlight is so beautiful tonight..."

16

Chapter 16: Shinomiya Kaguya's Transformation.

Go to school on Monday.

Hasegawa Izumi rested her chin on her hand, gazing out the window. A scene flashed through her mind, causing a slight ripple in her heart, which quickly dissipated.

Just yesterday, Busujima Senpai moved back to the Busujima Family's old house from the Hasegawa family.

After killing the person, Busujima Senpai originally planned to report the crime to the police and expose her father's crimes to the public.

Doing this requires considerable courage, as it could not only bring the stigma of 'parricide' but also potentially lead to imprisonment.

However, after his persuasion, the senior student gave up the idea.

In today's rapidly changing world, it would be too rigid to judge things by the old rules.

Of course, this was no small matter, and it might be investigated sooner or later, so to put his mind at ease, he finally notified Isayama Yomichi to handle the matter.

I believe that after the investigation, Busujima Senpai will be able to return to her peaceful daily life.

Wednesday afternoon, Kyudo Club.

The wind was a bit strong today, and several members tried to conduct their daily training, but due to the cold wind, they could hardly even reach the target.

At this moment, only one person remained steadfastly holding the longbow, drawing and releasing it, the arrow, sharp as ever, easily pierced the wind and waves, finally landing firmly on the bullseye.

"That's amazing! Kaguya-chan!"

Just how steady are her hands?

"Sigh, even though Kaguya -Kaguya-chan let us secretly learn from her, we still couldn't do it. It really is a difference in aptitude!"

The members all looked at him with admiration.

Hearing everyone's praise, Shinomiya Kaguya didn't look away and continued her individual practice. The number of arrows on her longbow kept increasing until it matched the number of arrows on the target. However, no matter how many arrows she added, she still managed to hit the bullseye every time.

She seemed unconcerned about the result, since she had already accomplished it during the summer vacation.

Shinomiya Kaguya put down her longbow to rest; even she would soon become mentally exhausted from such practice.

"Why..."

She looked back at the entrance to the shooting range, feeling somewhat tormented.

Because she and Hasegawa revised their agreement, Hasegawa's working hours became very flexible; he only needed to come once a week, but the specific day depended entirely on his mood.

But she realized that this was actually torturing herself.

"Hasegawa, will he come today?"

Without realizing it, this was the only question on her mind.

"Young Lady, are you perhaps Hasegawa-kun?"

Hayasaka Ai, dressed like a Hayasaka Ai, appeared out of nowhere and asked in a low voice.

"No, it's not that I miss him... I, I just feel his guidance was so important! My archery skills improved so quickly thanks to him, but then I hit a bottleneck again, so I..."

Shinomiya Kaguya quickly clarified, her face flushed.

"It's alright, Young Lady, no need to explain so much, I understand..."

Hayasaka Ai smiled slightly, making the latter blush even more.

She quickly retreated into the shadows, her smile vanishing, replaced by a somber expression.

Unlike the naive Kaguya, Hayasaka Ai has always been paying attention to the affairs of the Shinomiya Family.

Due to global changes, various factions within the Shinomiya Group are accelerating their power struggles in order to obtain more resources to aid their own evolution.

After all, extraordinary power is something that even those superior people greatly envy.

The conflict sparked by this dispute will inevitably reach the nominal Young Lady of the Shinomiya Family sooner or later.

"If my intuition is correct, Young Lady, if you want to take control of your own life, the only way to do so is to look to Hasegawa..."

Ten minutes later.

After resting, Shinomiya Kaguya prepared to continue practicing.

Even without that man's help, she wouldn't wallow in self-pity and waste her life.

Just then, Hasegawa Izumi arrived.

"Too slow. You should have come earlier."

The girl feigned aloofness and spoke calmly.

But her inner monologue was quite unrestrained; she wanted to arrogantly express her desire for him to make up for the time she had missed.

Unexpectedly, the man's next words struck her like a thunderbolt.

"Shinomiya, let's end our promise here."

Why?

She tried to hide her trembling voice and asked reluctantly.

"Because I have nothing more to teach you."

"If you want to embark on the path of archery, the rest of the journey is up to you to understand."

The man replied.

"Yes, that's how it is. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm just such an outstanding woman. It seems you're not all that great after Hasegawa. It won't be long before I surpass you..."

Shinomiya Kaguya smiled, forcing herself to remain calm, but what she really thought was—

Am I an idiot?

Don't say things like that!

[We should have tried to keep them!]

"That's still a long way off; it'll never be possible in a lifetime."

Hasegawa Izumi chuckled.

"Well, you still have plenty to teach me!"

Shinomiya Kaguya panicked and, disregarding her pride, roared.

"Eh~"

Hasegawa Izumi waved her finger in front of her and gently shook her head.

As the saying goes, the Way cannot be easily passed on.

"What transcends this is a different concept from ordinary skills; only through self-realization can one have more possibilities on the path of cultivation."

The goal of those Seeker of Truth is to have more like-minded companions to the end, so they won't interfere in this aspect.

"Can't understand!"

Shinomiya Kaguya's face darkened.

"Anyway, our agreement is over, right? I'll have someone settle this month's payments."

"Hmm... there's one last lesson today."

What class?

How to achieve extraordinary archery skills.

Kaguya-sama, whose mood was already so bad she was about to explode, was instantly drawn to this term.

"Extraordinary? Does that mean superpowers? Can you learn those things?!"

You can think of it that way.

"I want to learn! I want to learn!"

Although she didn't feel an urgent need for power, she was still very interested in superpowers.

'Snort!'

'This guy isn't so heartless after all!'

Afterwards, the two talked a lot about extraordinary things in archery, not specific techniques, but rather the thought process and direction. This deeply moved Shinomiya Kaguya, who wished she could immediately train to become a true master archer.

They chatted until the club activity ended, by which time the other club members had already left.

Shinomiya Kaguya didn't want to miss this last lesson, so she asked a few more questions.

Finally, she looked at the sky and stood up with great reluctance.

"Hasegawa... teacher, this is the last time I will address you as such. Thank you for your guidance during this time. I, Shinomiya Kaguya, will forever remember you! From now on, I will continue to strive and improve in archery, and I will not tarnish your name."

The girl bowed very respectfully, her pure smile astonishing even the maid who had been secretly watching.

From that day on, the cold-faced [Ice Kaguya] with barely any sparkle in her eyes disappeared, replaced by a more adorable image with a ponytail adorned with a ribbon.

17

Chapter 17: Fujiwara Chika wants her to confess her feelings.

"That's cohabitation! Aren't you interested? Let's go and observe!"

"The Sage is only temporarily sharing the same base with that woman; nothing will happen."

"Who knows, maybe something scandalous will happen! Like an unintentional eye contact that makes your heart race, accidentally bumping into each other while going up or down the stairs, or washing underwear. If Kōko wasn't there, maybe things would just get out of hand..."