My lifestyle is healthier and safer

Thinking of the mission on his shoulders, Panda clenched his fists, the flames of determination burning in his heart. He was going to see it through.

Now that he thought carefully about it, most of the conversations Aikawa Kaze initiated had a purpose. When he chatted without any particular aim, he tended to listen rather than talk.

As a result, none of them actually knew much about their classmate.

Panda decided he would take the initiative this time and get Aikawa Kaze to say more!

"I thought most students had already tried these!"

"You could definitely call this my first time."

Unaware of Panda's "secret mission," Aikawa Kaze nodded, with no intention of elaborating.

It wasn't that he deliberately concealed things about himself. It was simply a matter of what he had been through.

As someone whose mental age was already that of an adult, he found it hard to return to that innocent, carefree state of mind where he kept no distance from others and shared everything with his friends.

Put nicely, his current approach to relationships embodied the saying that friendship between gentlemen was as clear and mild as water. Put less nicely, he had the low desire to socialize so common among modern people.

Besides, just to be safe, he didn't intend to say much.

Who knew what lay in that past? The more he said, the more mistakes he could make.

The system had told him that even the World Consciousness couldn't directly alter cause and effect or create something out of nothing. It could only interfere, replace, obscure, borrow, and merge to a certain extent.

In other words, to keep the people of this world from noticing anything wrong, the World Consciousness, unable to fabricate evidence of an existence out of thin air, had actually used other people's identities.

When Aikawa Kaze first learned this "fact," he felt uncomfortable all over-as though he were a shameful thief who had stolen someone else's place.

Fortunately, the system later explained that all of this had been done through "transactions."

For example, the background of the identity Aikawa Kaze now used had been pieced together from two people's lives.

His mother from China-more than a decade ago, a young lady of the Aikawa family really had traveled to Japan, met her "true love," and wanted to marry him and stay. Her family opposed it, eventually disowning her and cutting off contact.

Unfortunately, the man she met was a scumbag who lived off her money.

Once she had spent all her savings, that man vanished. Even when she died in an accident, she hadn't had the chance to tell him she was pregnant.

Since she was dead and could no longer contradict the story, and could provide a plausible source for Aikawa Kaze's "mysterious qualities," the World Consciousness found her soul and made a "deal" with her.

As for the older boy next door in Sakura's memories, he had been a precocious young genius whose parents died early, leaving him a considerable inheritance.

Gifted but withdrawn, he had been enrolled in school in name only. In reality, he never attended classes, instead studying at home and successfully skipping grades. He had specifically chosen a school that allowed him to "study" at home as long as he earned good marks they could use to promote themselves.

Apart from the family next door, he had barely any contact with other people. Replacing their memories was very simple, allowing Aikawa Kaze to have genuine "traces of existence" without worrying about being exposed.

Just as Sakura had automatically been replaced with Ayumi in Aikawa Kaze's mind, the face of the kind older boy next door in Sakura's memories would automatically become "Aikawa Kaze's."

It was indeed a form of replacement. But for a boy with no family or friends, faced with sudden death, Sakura was the only important person he couldn't let go of-a "treasure" he would give up everything to protect.

He offered his own "existence" in exchange for a request that Sakura be spared the otherwise fatal calamity awaiting her in the future.

Because the people chosen had truly existed and were dead, unable to contradict the story, Aikawa Kaze's background had become what it was now.

His mother was a Chinese woman who came to Japan, fell out with her family, and was abandoned by a scumbag, leaving her no choice but to give birth to her mixed-race child alone in Japan and live quietly.

However, the young lady died early under the weight of those blows. Her child became especially withdrawn as a result, growing up on his mother's inheritance and his own talents.

The system hadn't explained the finer details, only saying that Aikawa Kaze would learn them later.

The World Consciousness had already fulfilled part of its deals with those two people, but other parts required his help.

Aikawa Kaze had no particular objection. After all, he felt that since he had borrowed their identities, he was happy to help as long as their wishes weren't too outrageous. Both of them had suffered quite a lot.

Besides, Sakura, whom the boy wanted to protect, was someone he already wanted to protect himself.

That was a matter for later, though. Right now, Aikawa Kaze felt he wasn't strong enough, and most of his energy went into improving his strength.

That poor, naive young lady had been deceived in both body and heart, her whole life ruined. Besides wanting her parents and child to be happy in their next lives, it was only natural that she also wanted to teach that scumbag a lesson and take revenge.

He simply didn't have the energy to track the scumbag down right now. Besides, as a young lady from a Jujutsu family, the man she fell for might also be a Jujutsu Sorcerer. What if he couldn't beat him?

Aikawa Kaze decided to wait until he was stronger before delivering some punishment, such as a kick that would end the man's family line.

Returning to the matter at hand, precisely because Aikawa Kaze only knew the broad outlines of those two lives, he didn't like talking much about the past, lest he leave holes in his story.

"But you seem pretty good at things like bumper cars, Kaze. You don't look like someone who's never been to an amusement park."

Panda had always been rather nosy, so his expression now didn't make Aikawa Kaze suspicious, especially when he immediately broke into a mischievous, teasing grin.

"Kaze, don't tell me you're actually scared of these rides?"

"Do I look frightened to you?"

"I can't tell, but... don't tell me you're just putting on that calm face?"

Panda deliberately winked and patted Aikawa Kaze with his plump paw, his voice reassuring.

"It's okay. You don't have to force yourself if you're scared. I can go on my own."

"I'm not scared... at least, not now."

Aikawa Kaze thought about it and decided there was no reason he couldn't explain this. It wouldn't touch on anything sensitive.

"I've been to amusement parks before, but I never went on rides like roller coasters, because I wasn't confident I could save my own life if the equipment broke."

"Huh?"

"But now, I think I could protect myself and my companions even if the roller coaster fell or exploded halfway through, so it's fine."

"...Are you serious?"

Taken aback, Panda looked the perfectly serious Aikawa Kaze up and down with a strange expression.

He realized that Aikawa Kaze was absolutely serious! He really thought that way!

"You wouldn't understand."

Aikawa Kaze gave Panda a profound look.

Leaving aside how frequently accidents happened at amusement parks in the Detective World, even back in the safest country across the sea, he had always politely declined these thrilling rides.

Although he actually quite liked excitement, all he had to do was think of the various news reports about accidents to say no to attractions whose rewards were completely out of proportion to their risks.

Not riding wouldn't kill him. Riding might land him in an accident, one he would struggle to survive under his own power. So why bother?

A believer in Murphy's Law, Aikawa Kaze never took part in those "dangerous" activities, even if people laughed at him for being a coward.

He couldn't understand people who paid to seek excitement and danger. He would rather sit on a carousel and leisurely enjoy the scenery.

Of course, that was all in the past.

Just as he had said, if he had encountered a roller coaster derailment, a broken track, or a planted bomb before, he would have had no options besides waiting to die or hoping for a miracle.

But now, he was completely confident that he could handle all sorts of emergencies. Even if he fell from a roller coaster, he could reinforce his body with cursed energy and keep his life out of danger.

Even if he really did suffer serious injuries, he could ask Shoko Ieiri to treat him. What was there to fear?

"Come on. Now we can have all the fun we want. We can try things like bungee jumping later, too."

Aikawa Kaze smiled happily and led Panda, whose expression was complicated, onto the roller coaster.

"I never expected... that you'd be a pessimist, Kaze. After hearing about your dreams before, I thought you'd be a bit more positive and optimistic."

"I just live a healthier and safer life."

"For example?"

"I don't step on manhole covers, I steer clear of roadwork, I stop when the yellow light flashes, and I don't crowd into the last subway door..."

"..."

Actually, that did sound pretty sensible and healthy.

Panda tilted his head, inexplicably feeling convinced.

In the end, Aikawa Kaze took Panda on a whole string of thrilling attractions he had never tried before.

They were so exciting that, by the end, Panda had even forgotten Gojo Sensei's secret mission.

Still...

Watching Aikawa Kaze smile with complete satisfaction, as though he had fulfilled some childhood wish, Panda felt that his smile now was much more genuine than his usual faint, polite one.

Well, come to think of it, with Aikawa Kaze standing at just 160 centimeters tall, that baby face and cute smile could easily make people believe he was a middle schooler.

This should count as completing the mission... right?

Probably.

Looking at the amusement park in the setting sun, Aikawa Kaze somehow found himself recalling a spring outing his school had once organized to an amusement park.

Girls could openly say they were scared and refuse to go on the thrilling rides, but it was different for boys.

In their youth, even when boys were frightened, most would grit their teeth and step forward, faces pale, under everyone's stares and goading, so they wouldn't be seen as weak or antisocial.

The reason it was only most was that Aikawa Kaze had been an exception.

When he felt the risks and rewards were out of proportion, he had no desire to "take a chance." So he had refused those activities as a matter of course, citing the excuse that he had "been in poor health since childhood and couldn't handle thrilling rides."

His grades in PE were only average, so nobody really doubted him, and they let him off. After that, however, whenever everyone went rafting, played live-action CS, or did things like that, they rarely invited the "quiet, delicate" Aikawa Kaze.

Perhaps missing out on those youthful days of fooling around and trying to act tough was somewhat regrettable.

Although Aikawa Kaze didn't regret his choices, it did seem that he had never really "gone wild" with his friends.

Aikawa Kaze felt that, having gotten the rare chance to be young again and gained the ability to fool around a little, he ought to make up for those small regrets from his past.

"Panda, next time we come... how about inviting everyone?"

"Of course! Maki, Toge, and Yuta will definitely be happy!"

Hearing that unexpected suggestion, Panda nodded happily, a cute blush appearing on his face.

Sure enough, the feeling that they had grown closer hadn't been his imagination.

Panda threw himself onto Aikawa Kaze, burying him completely in fluff.

-Gojo Sensei! Look! Kaze's inviting everyone to hang out on his own now! My mission was a success!