Over the past three days, she had seen other people's stories through this diary and spent a few Reading Points to gain an initial sense of the life energy within her. She was unwilling to use up all her Reading Points, keeping some in reserve at all times to prevent her mental state from developing problems again.
But today, for the first time, she had seen the owner of this Diary display such intense personal emotion in it.
It seemed he really liked the animation company called Kyoto Animation. He had devoted so much writing to it that even his words seemed a little frivolous.
As for the salaryman he had mentioned earlier, Yukino Yukinoshita did not believe a single word of it.
Since the gods of this world had so conveniently placed most story protagonists within the same age group, it seemed rather unreasonable for this mysterious transmigrator from another world to be a salaryman.
The most likely possibility was that he was currently a student around her age, and the salaryman identity was merely a disguise to conceal who he really was.
But Yukino Yukinoshita was not a god, so naturally she could not guess his identity or whereabouts.
Based on her deductions, this You Know Who surely knew that someone would investigate the things he mentioned in the Diary. Therefore, to remain hidden, he probably would not voluntarily mention anything happening around him.
In other words, everyone he had mentioned in the Diary so far should be people he would not actively approach.
As Yukino pondered this, she saw her own future.
So that boy who saved the dog was the male lead from her original story?
And You Know Who had directly expressed that he "liked" someone for the first time. Could he actually be a woman, or perhaps have unusual preferences?
Yukino Yukinoshita Resolves to Change
For the time being, Yukino Yukinoshita had little interest in paying attention to You Know Who's preferences.
Looking at You Know Who's description in the diary of the "male lead" from her original story, Yukino Yukinoshita furrowed her brow slightly.
Awkward, twisted, withdrawn... In the past, Yukino Yukinoshita would never have believed those three words could have anything to do with her.
But after obtaining the Diary and becoming able to see a more distant view, Yukino Yukinoshita no longer needed to follow in her sister's footsteps or prove to others that she was superior. She could now view her past self with relative objectivity.
When she was young, she had been too outstanding and unwilling to cater to others, so her classmates had envied and isolated her. At home, she had received little attention, and though she had wanted to achieve more than her sister, she had never dared express her wishes to her family.
From several perspectives, was Yukino, the Second Daughter of the Yukinoshita Family—the "sensible and well-behaved" girl in others' eyes—not also a terrible, awkward, and withdrawn person?
After understanding that, she, who had loved reading since childhood, could already roughly guess what her original future would have been like.
Two people who did not fit in met because of a car accident, then became entangled again for some reason during their second year of high school.
Since it was a popular school anime, it probably would not be a tragedy. So the most likely future was that the two of them would keep clashing while supporting each other, ultimately untangling their emotional knots and welcoming a beautiful future?
It did sound rather reassuring. But Yukino Yukinoshita breathed softly.
The life energy within her was continuously stimulated in rhythm with her breathing.
A faint electric gleam began to appear at her fingertips, indicating that she had initially mastered the method of converting the life energy in her body into Ripple Energy.
Then she gently gripped the water glass at the edge of her desk with fingers carrying Ripple Energy.
The water in the glass immediately began to boil as though something had stimulated it.
"I only used a few Reading Points, and with just one day's training, I've reached this level. My talent for Ripple Breathing should be fairly decent, right?"
"This is only the tip of the iceberg of Ripple Chi Kung. That You Know Who so casually wrote such supernatural power into his diary... what exactly is he trying to do?"
Recalling the extraordinary aspects of this world that he had mentioned in his second day's diary entry, Yukino Yukinoshita could not help feeling a sense of crisis.
Having already glimpsed the other side of this world, she was destined to be drawn into it.
Unless she was willing to pretend she knew nothing and continue following the course of her original life story.
But she had no interest in starting a story of mutual salvation with some boy she had not even met yet.
What mattered most to her now was gaining freedom from her family. Then she would seek out the other female leads who possessed diaries, get to know them, and then... perhaps become friends with them, or perhaps be isolated once again.
That would not be easy. She had never resisted her mother in the past. Even after obtaining supernatural power like Ripple Chi Kung, the thought of her mother's imposing presence still made her hesitate.
But she would work hard to take the first step toward change.
While Yukino Yukinoshita resolved to change, Miyauchi Hiyage was worrying over the property deed in front of him.
After finishing today's diary entry, the Diary's reward had changed things up again.
Perhaps because it thought he would soon be going to Tokyo for school, it had directly given him a luxury home today.
A genuine luxury home.
A lavishly furnished two-story Western-style house with its own courtyard and an enormous basement.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that such a luxury home in Tokyo, where land was worth its weight in gold, was worth several billion yen.
Receiving a luxury home worth far more than all his current assets for nothing was indeed something worth celebrating.
Nor did he need to worry about the source of the property. The Diary had already handled every troublesome detail, so there was absolutely no need to worry about the tax office coming to find fault with him.
He only needed to bring his luggage and move straight into this dream mansion.
It was just that the mansion's location gave him a headache.
23 Beika Town 2-chome.
Incidentally, 21 was Shinichi Kudo's house, 22 was Professor Agasa's house, and his number 23 was the house right next to Professor Agasa's.
"But the manga never mentioned anything about number 23. As long as I don't voluntarily get involved, I shouldn't run into any trouble... probably?"
Miyauchi Hiyage had been quite the Conan enthusiast in his past life, so he still remembered some of Conan's plot.
Although he did not want anything to do with Conan's constipation-inducing main plotline or the Black Organization full of undercover agents, having this mansion meant it would be much more convenient to visit Professor Agasa and ask him to tinker up some high-tech gadgets.
"The rewards given by the Diary, whether this is coincidence or intentional, definitely can't be sold directly. If I flipped a newly transferred luxury house at a low price, even the tax office would call me a pro."
"Anyway, I'll go take a look first and see what this reward actually means. If it really doesn't work out, I'll just leave it there as a warehouse."
"Even if I do move in, it wouldn't be suitable for Guanghua to live with me. After all, who knows what strange rewards I might receive in the future?"
"Besides, with Guanghua's personality, if she spends too much time around Professor Agasa, she might end up fooling around with those brats from the Detective Boys one day."
"When the time comes, I'll rent Guanghua a nicer apartment near her school. Hmm... at most, I'll let her come over and play for a couple of days during holidays."
Guanghua and he were both incoming students at Toyonosaki Academy. After all, Guanghua had not been particularly interested in attending university; she simply longed for Tokyo and wanted to experience life there.
After seeing Toyonosaki Academy's free-spirited school culture and abundant clubs through Miyauchi Hiyage, she had immediately decided to attend the same high school as her little brother.
"But I was originally planning to stay home for a few more days. Now I'd better leave early and check out the house... Hmm, I can also take Renge and Ichisu-nee along for a few days of fun."
Miyauchi Hiyage had gotten into a car accident just when he had been preparing to become more proactive in his past life. Therefore, his drive to act had always been high in this life.
In any case, matters in Asahigaoka were more or less settled. There would be no issue handling the rest remotely through his phone.
So after making his decision, he went directly to find Guanghua, who was bored in her room and idly picking at her feet. He told her to pack tonight, because they would be leaving for Tokyo by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.
The moment she heard they were going to Tokyo tomorrow, Guanghua instantly came back to life.
"What? Really? You're not kidding me? We're really leaving tomorrow?"
"Luggage? I packed my luggage last week. As long as you give the order, we can leave right now!"
"Right, how are we getting there tomorrow? Are we flying?"
Faced with Guanghua's barrage of questions, Miyauchi Hiyage rubbed his forehead helplessly.
"I'll ask Ichisu-nee later whether she wants to come with us for a few days. If she does, we'll drive the family car there together. If no one else wants to go, then we'll take the train."
Guanghua looked somewhat disappointed that they could not fly to Tokyo, but that disappointment was quickly overwhelmed by her joy at getting to go there.
"But why did you suddenly change your mind and decide to go to Tokyo early?" she asked curiously.
Miyauchi Hiyage glanced at his second sister. There was no need to hide this from her. "I bought a house in Tokyo. I pulled a few strings and got the paperwork done early, so I'm going over to take a look."
"Don't tell anyone else in the village about this yet—"
Before Miyauchi Hiyage could finish speaking, Guanghua let out a delighted scream.
"What? You already bought a house in Tokyo!?"
Is This Really Somewhere Our Family Can Go?
Because of Guanghua's scream, every member of the Miyauchi Family was drawn over.
A few minutes later, the entire family had gathered in the living room. Even Renge looked curiously at what her second sister was up to this time.
That saved Miyauchi Hiyage some trouble, so he repeated the matter of buying a house in Tokyo.
"So what I mean is, our whole family can go to Tokyo together for a few days before coming back. You can also help me see whether there are any problems with the house. But don't tell anyone in the village about buying a house in Tokyo for now, so we don't end up hearing more unpleasant gossip."
Earlier, after people learned he was going to Tokyo for school, rumors had spread around the village that he was leaving Asahigaoka and never coming back. Even Kaede Kagayama, who had known him for so long, had wavered.
So to avoid rumors, he would only tell people he was close to, like Kaede and Taku. There was no need to tell anyone else in the village.
After hearing Miyauchi Hiyage's words, the entire Miyauchi Family looked at one another.
Although Miyauchi Hiyage held a high position in the family and usually did not need to worry much about what he did, buying a house in Tokyo without saying a word still left them unable to process it for a moment.
His parents were the first to react.
"Since you earned the money yourself, how you spend it is your business. You'll be spending most of your time in Tokyo over the next few years anyway, so buying a house is a good thing."
Originally, his parents wanted to decline on the grounds that they were busy with farm work, letting Ichisu drive Renge over for a few days of fun instead.
But after Miyauchi Hiyage argued his case and immediately called several people to help with his family's farm work, his parents finally compromised and agreed to go to Tokyo for two days.
Knowing two days was already the limit of what his parents were willing to accept, Miyauchi Hiyage did not press them any further.
Thus, on the following morning, the Miyauchi Family eagerly set out by car on their trip to Tokyo.
It was Renge's first time leaving home to travel somewhere so far away. Before setting off, she deliberately ran around the village once, saying goodbye to everyone and every animal she saw.
Miyauchi Hiyage also pulled his second sister along to walk around the village with Renge.
Guanghua only thought Renge was excited about going to Tokyo. Only Miyauchi Hiyage knew that Renge was actually reluctant to leave Asahigaoka, and was doing this to tell everyone she was merely going out for a while and would be back soon.
After driving for more than four hours, they finally entered the bustling Tokyo metropolitan area.
Although Guanghua had been quite excited when they first set off, she had been too excited to sleep well the night before. Not long after getting in the car, she had already begun getting sleepy.
There was now a rather obvious wet patch on Miyauchi Hiyage's shoulder, left behind by her drooling in her sleep.
At the same time, because she had fallen asleep, she missed another opportunity to learn Ripple Chi Kung.
Since his parents were confused, Miyauchi Hiyage took the opportunity to briefly explain and demonstrate the problems they had encountered during training in the car.
Renge, on the other hand, was still young, and under Miyauchi Hiyage's adjustments, she automatically practiced Ripple Breathing. She did not need to worry about her Ripple Chi Kung progress for the time being, so she was seriously watching the surrounding skyscrapers.
Only after the Miyauchi Family's discussion about Ripple Chi Kung ended did she suddenly ask Miyauchi Hiyage, "We really are country people, aren't we?"
Miyauchi Hiyage smiled and lifted his little sister onto his lap.
"It's precisely because Asahigaoka is the countryside that your big brother is working so hard to revitalize it."
Renge nodded as though she understood, then suddenly asked somewhat nervously, "Then after Asahigaoka is revitalized, will it become like this too?"
"Renge, do you want that kind of change?" Miyauchi Hiyage asked his little sister in return.
That was indeed a little too difficult a question for a child who had not even started elementary school yet.
Miyauchi Hiyage rubbed Renge's little head.
"The foundation of revitalizing Asahigaoka is that it's the countryside, so for a very long time, Asahigaoka won't change too much."
"But if Renge wants Asahigaoka to become something else, then your big brother will work hard to make your wish come true too."
Hearing that, Renge hurriedly shook her head. "No, I think Asahigaoka is already great the way it is!"
Now that was how a child should be.
Miyauchi Hiyage smiled and did not continue.
Ichisu had already driven into Beika Town according to the address information her little brother had given her.
But the farther she followed the navigation, the more something felt wrong.
Before you continue