Guiding Ichinose: The "Goal" is Distant

"I want to know... who exactly is that person? Right now... I really don't know who else to turn to, or what I should do..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, the sense of loss in her tone thick and inescapable. Her hands gripped each other tighter, her knuckles turning slightly white.

"I really want to join the Student Council. I want to use that platform to help more of my classmates, and I also want to understand this academy more deeply.

That way... perhaps I could secure more opportunities and resources for our Class B, but now..."

She didn't continue, merely lowering her gaze. Her long eyelashes cast a small shadow beneath her eyes, masking the tears that threatened to well up.

Lin Mu watched her, this girl who seemed to have lost her direction and become fragile, yet he felt no particular ripple of emotion in his heart.

Through the fragments of the future he had seen using his precognition, as well as the inner thoughts he had glimpsed during that day's divination.

He roughly understood that Ichinose Honami's nature was far too soft and kind.

She was always in the habit of shouldering everyone's expectations and needs, wanting to take care of every single person to prove her own worth, terrified of being abandoned or letting others down.

In his view, this way of living was exhausting, like a string pulled taut at all times. And the shadow of the "dishonest past" he had seen during that divination might just be the most fragile point on that string.

(Different perspectives arise when looking at problems from different times; after all, everyone is just an ordinary person.)

If this obsession of hers remained unchanged, at some point in the future, it might truly become the final straw that breaks her.

He looked at Ichinose Honami, his tone flat, devoid of any ripples of comfort or sympathy: "Time will give you the answer, Ichinose-san."

He paused, as if remembering something, and added: "Besides, the divination that day was free, a token of gratitude for you helping me carry my things.

But if you want to know the subsequent answers, you will naturally need to pay the corresponding points.

One hundred thousand for Tarot Cards, one hundred fifty thousand for the Crystal Ball; those are my rules."

He pointed to the small blackboard beside him that he hadn't yet put away.

These words left Ichinose Honami slightly stunned, a flush of embarrassment immediately appearing on her face.

She had been so focused on seeking answers that she had indeed forgotten that Lin Mu's divination was a high-priced service with clearly marked tags, and that the free session that day had been an exception.

She subconsciously touched her Student Terminal. One hundred thousand points was not a small amount for her, especially now that she was feeling down, making it an expenditure that required careful consideration.

Yet, Lin Mu did not seem to truly expect her to pay right now.

He shifted the topic, speaking again in a casual, almost indifferent tone:

"However, seeing as you are so dejected today, I can kindly offer you a piece of advice."

He paused, watching as Ichinose Honami's eyes instantly widened, filled with surprise and anticipation, before he dropped his startling remark in a flat tone.

"In the 'possibilities' I saw during my divination, perhaps it would actually be better for both you and Class B if you didn't join the Student Council."

Ichinose Honami's eyes went wide, her purple irises filled with disbelief.

Lin Mu ignored her reaction, continuing in that same tone as if discussing something trivial: "Perhaps you could try... giving up on the idea of joining the Student Council."

He watched her completely stunned expression and added one more faint sentence:

"Of course, if you think I'm just spouting nonsense, or offering empty comfort to keep you from fretting, you can just treat this as a joke and let it go."

He even shrugged, a hint of playfulness in his tone.

"After all, in this world, who can really see into someone else's future?

Such supernatural things usually only exist in manga and novels, don't they?"

(The kind of future you want is something you must fight for yourself, not something obtained through so-called divination.)

(I have already seen the future...)

He stopped at the right moment, never digging deeper.

He simply felt that Ichinose Honami lived too exhaustingly. Based on that trivial feeling of "helpful kindness" and a vague impression, he had just mentioned it in passing.

Whether she listened or how she chose was ultimately her own business.

He was never one to meddle or interfere in others' lives; offering a reminder was already a courtesy extended because she was a decent person.

Ichinose Honami sat frozen on the small stool, staring blankly at Lin Mu, as if she couldn't grasp the meaning of his words, yet as if every syllable had struck heavily upon her heart.

Not joining the Student Council... would be better?

This was a possibility she had never once imagined.

Joining the Student Council had been a goal set almost from the moment she was accepted into this school; it was a key step in her plan to realize her ideal of "helping more people" and "making the class better."

All of her efforts and expectations had been poured into this.

Lin Mu's words, however, were like a cold, hard stone abruptly thrown into the lake of her heart—a heart she had worked so hard to keep calm and warm. It didn't just stir ripples; it created waves that shook her to her core.

She subconsciously lowered her head, looking at her intertwined hands, her nails nearly digging into her palms.

A silent yet intense war began within her heart.

On one side was the goal she had persisted with for so long that it had become an obsession—the burning original intention to help her classmates, understand the academy, and secure opportunities for Class B.

On the other side was Lin Mu, whose divination had already proven accurate once; in fact, she had heard from others that the results of Lin Mu's divinations were basically one hundred percent accurate.

Such a precise and terrifying ability for divination, combined with this reminder he had just given—seemingly casual, yet inexplicably carrying a sense of certainty.

Join, or give up? Persist in her obsession, or consider another possibility?

For a moment, a massive wave of confusion and inner conflict washed over her.

Her brows furrowed even tighter, her lips pressed until they turned pale, and the disappointment in her heart was replaced by a more complex struggle.

Lin Mu watched Ichinose Honami with her head bowed, her shoulders slightly slumped, and her fingers twisting together so tightly they turned white; the lollipop in his mouth pressed gently against his left cheek, creating a small bulge.

He remained silent for a few seconds, and just as Ichinose thought he wouldn't say anything more, that lazy yet clear voice sounded once again.

The tone remained indifferent, yet it seemed to carry a hint of indescribable clarity compared to before, even though it still held that detached sense of unconcern:

"You are obsessed with the Student Council only because you feel it is the only place where you can 'legitimately' help many people and prove your own worth."

His fingertips tapped casually against the tabletop, and the Crystal Ball reflected a faint, hazy halo in the fading daylight.

"But the road, it has never been just the one you see beneath your feet."

(As long as I want to walk, the road is beneath my feet, but then I realize I have no legs, haha)

He paused, his gaze seemingly piercing through the fabric of the tent and casting toward the campus, which appeared to be shrouded in a hazy mist in the distance.

"You are always thinking about taking everyone's burdens onto your own shoulders, afraid that you aren't doing well enough, afraid of failing any expectations."

"Afraid that once you stop or change direction, you will lose the meaning of your existence, or let the people around you down."

(People are always moving toward a goal, but losing it makes one feel empty, while possessing it might bring its own troubles...)

(Event duration: May 1st to May 5th)