Sin, Aesthetics, and Dogs

Ichinose felt that the one kneeling and apologizing to the victim at the scene today wasn't Sudo, but herself.

The one who had committed a grave error yet sought to evade it, offering only a perfunctory apology to the victim from Class C, wasn't Sudo, but herself.

If Shiranami and Kanzaki hadn't been sitting beside her at that moment, she might have been unable to suppress the guilt sprouting in her heart and would have walked over to the Class C victim to kneel and apologize.

This contradictory and complex psychology had been tormenting her, leaving her no choice but to follow her inner impulse and send a message to Sima Zhenglong, seeking confirmation in an attempt to gain some solace from him that might lighten the burden of guilt she carried.

"Zhenglong-kun, this humble one has already responded on your behalf."

If the story had followed its original path, Ichinose would now be playing the role of the geisha being summoned, completely unaware of the situation.

It was a pity, however, that this performance had veered off course from the very beginning.

Hiyori did not want Ichinose to disturb the stage she shared with me, so after my phone chimed with a text notification, she snatched it up before I could—or rather, I had no intention of picking it up at all.

Hiyori replied to Ichinose in my stead; I didn't know how she had responded, I only knew that after Hiyori sent that message, my phone never rang again.

"Zhenglong-kun, if Komako was seen as a geisha in Shimamura's eyes from the very beginning, would he still view her as 'beauty'?"

After today's performance concluded, Hiyori spread her notes out on the desk, her pen grazing the collar of my shirt.

"I think Shimamura would still view Komako as 'beauty,' though he would redefine what that beauty means.

If we discuss human 'beauty' in its essence, the first thing humans realize is the beauty of love at first sight, which usually stems from being captivated by appearance.

In that scene in the book, Komako is the most outstanding geisha; it is only through comparison that beauty emerges.

Perhaps if Komako were placed in a Tokyo setting, she wouldn't be considered beautiful at all; it is only within the scene depicted in the book that Shimamura perceives Komako as a form of beauty."

I shared my personal interpretation of this part with Hiyori.

"I think?"

Hiyori felt slightly puzzled by the answer I gave.

"That's right, I think—and it can only be what I think. Once a work is completed, the world's interpretation of it breaks free from the shackles of the author's intent.

Even the author is no exception; even in a story one has written oneself, one can discover content written unconsciously after reading it multiple times.

In my country, even if the original author were to answer the reading comprehension questions on a literature exam, they wouldn't get a perfect score; there have even been bizarre instances where the original author scored a zero.

This is the special relationship between a creator and their work; once a work is published, it no longer belongs entirely to the author."

This was a very realistic situation, much like the oranges in the movie The Godfather—originally just a casual detail, yet it ended up being interpreted as having a deeper, underlying meaning.

I didn't even know I had written this part so well—that was roughly the gist of it.

Deliberate design is never as good as the natural result of a stroke of genius.

"Then can I take this explanation of yours, Zhenglong-kun, as your view on beauty? For instance, the part about being captivated by appearance?"

Before I knew it, Hiyori had sat down beside me, placing her hand on my chest.

"From my personal perspective, I don't deny it. After all, a soulmate is too hard to find, and Miss Hiyori is the first one I have found in these ten-plus years of my life.

Beyond that, the only criteria I have left to judge whether someone possesses the trait of 'beauty' are appearance and temperament; only when those are met do I have the interest to continue exploring their soul."

"Actually, you don't need to tell me so much, Zhenglong-kun. Your heartbeat gave me the answer before you even opened your mouth. I believe that neither Classmate Sakayanagi nor Classmate Ichinose could be like me."

Hiyori didn't pull her hand away from my chest; instead, she gave a slight, firm squeeze before continuing to stroke it.

"Cough, cough, cough. Classmate Hiyori, don't get too deep into character. At the very least, the Classmate Sakayanagi you mentioned is still sitting right here, and the guest you invited is about to arrive."

Seeing Hiyori becoming increasingly shameless, Sakayanagi spoke up to interrupt her next move.

She had seen Hiyori sending the message to Ichinose, and calculating the time, the other party should be arriving soon; she didn't want the guest to see the Traditional Literature Club as a den of debauchery.

"No problem at all~ It would probably be even better if Classmate Ichinose saw it, wouldn't it? After all, that would bring her even more guilt~"

A strange aura had inexplicably emerged around Hiyori; her confidence and composure overwhelmed everything, and even Sakayanagi could not contend with Hiyori in this state.

Just as Hiyori was about to go further, a knock sounded at the door.

"How unfortunate. Zhenglong-kun, just stay sitting here; I'll go open the door. Don't you dare move around~"

As Hiyori stood up and walked toward the clubroom door, I took my phone back from Sakayanagi.

As expected, the reason the phone hadn't made a sound for so long was that Hiyori had turned it off directly.

"Come to the Traditional Literature Club in an hour, and you will get your answer."

After turning it on, I opened the message box; Hiyori had only sent this simple message to Ichinose.

She had calculated everything to reserve some time for a "world for two" with me.

"Alright~ Now, Zhenglong-kun, please take Classmate Sakayanagi to the supermarket to buy some ingredients. The stock in the fridge has been completely exhausted. As for Classmate Ichinose's problem, leave it to this humble one~"

Without giving me or Sakayanagi any room to refuse, the highly efficient Hiyori sat Ichinose down on the other side of the desk and then pushed me and Sakayanagi out of the clubroom.

"Until I send a message to Zhenglong-kun, you are not allowed to return to the clubroom~"

"Then I'll leave Classmate Ichinose to you, Miss Hiyori."

Under Hiyori's kind smile, I could only follow my heart and take Sakayanagi to the supermarket.

"So you were caught by Sakayanagi after all. You really are persistent."

At the entrance of the supermarket, I saw Kamuro, who had already become Sakayanagi's dog, waiting there.

"It was you! Could it be that you were the one who told Sakayanagi about my business?"

Upon seeing me standing beside Sakayanagi, Kamuro's emotions became agitated.

"You really are foolish, truly. You only knew that you would be caught by me at the supermarket on this side, so you went to another one, but you never imagined that you would still be caught by Sakayanagi. And to think you are in Class A; do you not even know who owns this school?"

"Guh, just kill me!"

Having low attack and even lower defense, Kamuro crouched on the ground after being mocked, exuding a rather strong aura of wanting to go on strike.

"There, there~ get up and get to work."

"Understood."

However, in front of Sakayanagi, her attempt at a strike was futile.