I Should Dye My Hair Blond

Higashino Makoto tried three times.

Each time, he tried to perceive the concept of "time" within the Akari, trying to connect his magic with her soul.

But each time it's like trying to grab water with your hands; you can see it, you can touch it, but you just can't hold onto it.

She sat on the bed with the Akari, her long black hair falling over her shoulders, her pale purple eyes looking at him with curiosity and confusion.

She didn't know what the man was doing, but she didn't hide.

Agate stood to the side, her hand on the hilt of her sword, her crimson eyes fixed on Higashino Makoto, ready to draw her sword at any moment.

Higashino Makoto didn't care; after all, they were just ants.

If she hadn't forcibly reduced the effects of her Authority, she would probably be lying on the ground by now.

He withdrew his hand and sighed.

They were of one mind; that's how it was written in the original work.

The Agate and the Akari can establish Conduit Link because of the deep trust and affection between them.

But there was nothing between him and Akari; they had only met for the first time today, and he didn't even know what she liked to eat.

"It seems that forcing it won't work."

He took a silver-white short staff out of his backpack.

Magical items that Memory Manipulation, while not as precise as direct magic, are more stable.

He took the prop in his hand and then looked into the Akari.

Since her memories will keep fading anyway, I might as well help her out.

"Relax, it won't hurt."

The Akari blinked, but offered no resistance.

Magic threads drifted from the prop, seeping into her temples in the Akari, making her eyes appear hollow.

Higashino Makoto's consciousness sank into her sea of memories and began to search.

The Akari very few memories, as its ability has been used so many times that only a few fragments remain.

Higashino Makoto found Byakuya, the girl with long pink hair, the person Akari trusted most.

Higashino Makoto painstakingly extracted these memories and then embedded his own image into them.

It's like pasting a new photo on top of an old one; the old photo is still there, but you can't see it anymore.

Byakuya's face blurred and disappeared, replaced by his own face.

Silver-white hair, golden eyes, and a half-smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

The conversations that Akari remembered were originally meant for Byakuya, but now they were meant for him.

All those smiles, those tears, those hugs, were transferred to him.

He deepened, thickened, and highlighted these newly generated memories, making them float on the surface so that they would be the first thing the Akari saw in every recollection.

After doing all this, he withdrew the magic threads.

Her eyes regained their sparkle under the Akari. She looked at Higashino Makoto with a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth, a look different from how she had looked at him before.

What started as curiosity and fear has now turned into a sense of closeness.

Higashino Makoto didn't stop.

Diminish her memories with Agate, and let the Akari's obsession with her begin to dissipate.

Higashino Makoto retrieved the prop and took a step back.

He closed his eyes and tried to Conduit Link again.

This time, his magic successfully entered the soul within the Akari.

There was no resistance, no repulsion, just like water flowing into a riverbed.

The concept of "time" within the Akari unfolds within him, like a precise clock, with every gear in motion.

He opened his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips.

The connection was successful, although it wasn't very smooth.

The other side of the Akari was completely open to him, but he felt nothing towards Akari.

After all, he had no feelings for her.

However, this imbalance did not sever the connection; it merely narrowed the channel.

He tried to manipulate the concept of "time," and the clock inside his body began to spin faster.

He raised his hand, and a pale golden light appeared in his palm. Something was flowing within the light—time itself.

He took a deep breath and then turned back time.

The world's colors faded, like a painting soaked in water.

The scene was like a videotape playing in reverse: Akari sat up in bed, Agate's hand loosened its grip on the sword hilt, and the door went from open to closed.

He left the room, went down the stairs, walked out of the hotel, and crossed the street.

He opened his eyes.

He crossed the street, went up the stairs, walked to the door, and knocked three times.

Thump, thump, thump.

The door opened.

Akari stood in the doorway, her long black hair cascading over her shoulders, her pale purple eyes looking at him.

Then she pounced on her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in his chest, and pressed her whole body against him, like a cat that had been lost and found again.

"Higashino- kun, why did it take you so long to find me?"

Her voice, muffled and choked with sobs, came from his chest.

Higashino Makoto looked down at the black head.

He knew that the "separation" in her memory was fake, something he had fabricated and implanted himself.

But her tears were real, her trembling was real, and the strength with which she held him was real.

If you're going to put on an act, you have to go all the way. He reached out and patted her on the back.

"A black cat blocked my way, but it's okay now."

Akari didn't seem to understand, but didn't ask any further questions.

She just hugged him tighter, as if afraid he would disappear at any moment.

Higashino Makoto could feel a gaze on his back, like needles pricking him.

Agate stood in the room, her hand still in the gesture of drawing her sword, but the sword remained unsheathed.

Her eyes were fixed on Higashino Makoto, then on the Akari, her lips slightly parted and closed.

She had no prior memories, didn't remember who the man was, why he was there, or why she knew him under the Akari.

But the moment she saw him throw himself into his arms in the Akari, something inside her shattered.

She couldn't describe what it was, only that she felt a tightness in her chest, as if something was pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe.

" In the Akari."

Her voice was a little hoarse.

"Who is he?"

Akari lifted her head from Higashino Makoto's arms, her pale purple eyes still glistening with tears.

She turned her head, looked at the Agate, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

"He's Higashino- kun! The one I told you about, the one who's been waiting for me all along."

Agate's fingers gripped the sword hilt tightly.

She had never heard of this name before; Akari had never mentioned this person to her.

But the expression in the Akari didn't seem to be lying; the joy in those eyes wasn't feigned.

She looked at Higashino Makoto with scrutiny, hostility, and a hint of grievance that she herself was unaware of.

Higashino Makoto looked at her, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Hello, Agate.

The Agate remained silent.

She just stood there, watching Akari lean on her shoulder, watching his hand rest on Akari waist.

The inexplicable emotion in her heart grew stronger and stronger, like a blocked fire, burning her with discomfort.

To this, Higashino Makoto simply found it amusing.

He even felt he should dye his hair blonde.