Limited-edition red-tier treasure: Eternal Heart

(The main-world storyline is really exciting too! The full Itadori template will show its power in the main world. Thanks for all the little gifts, hehe.)

Lu You froze slightly.

He had seen this girl before...

Pfft, no, wrong style. He really had seen this girl in his memories.

She simply stood there quietly, like a peerless painting that made people hold their breath.

Her beautiful, jet-black hair fell like the finest ink-dark silk, gleaming with a deep luster that complemented her clear, obsidian eyes.

Her snow-white skin outshone frost and snow, fine as jade, glowing softly in the light like white mutton-fat jade, so delicate it seemed a breath or touch could break it.

Her exquisite features were perfectly proportioned, without a single flaw.

She wore a standard plain white shirt, its collar slightly open to reveal her slender, graceful neck and delicate collarbones, adding a touch of immaculate coolness and intellectual elegance.

Below it were neat black work trousers, their straight creases outlining her long, shapely legs.

Hers was a cool, restrained beauty, as though all the world's grace had gathered in her.

Lu You briefly looked her over. Even after being bombarded by countless Photoshopped online goddesses and the sorcery of makeup in his previous life, he had never seen a girl this beautiful.

Was this the upper limit a supernatural world could reach?

It far exceeded anything the mundane world could achieve.

Of course, none of the descriptions above mattered.

What mattered most was the necklace resting against her delicate collarbones, with a sparkling diamond hanging from it.

"So this is the Eternal Heart..."

It was also his hope of opening up a new world.

"Finished looking?"

The girl spoke calmly, her voice as cool as meltwater from a snowy mountain, pleasant but distant.

"Not bad. Pretty nice."

Lu You meant the Eternal Heart.

But she thought he was talking about her, and her expression remained indifferent.

Lu You realized it too and gave an awkward smile.

It was not his fault. After his trip to Demon Slayer, Giyu Tomioka must have infected him with his art of conversation, so...

This was entirely Giyu's fault!

Giyu Tomioka: ? Is that any way to treat someone?

He recognized the girl before him: Kaguya Ruri.

She was also a teacher at Fuyuki High School. With her formidable strength, stunning looks, and powerful background, she had always been well liked by the students and was very popular.

As for her background, all anyone needed to know was that the old principal's surname was also Kaguya. Nothing more needed to be said.

So, to Lu You, she was his benefactor's granddaughter.

Although she had hated him before this, they rarely met and had never even exchanged contact details.

They were so unfamiliar that even if Lu You had essentially become a different person, she would not notice, especially since he looked no different from the original owner.

Incidentally, when Lu You transmigrated and replaced the original owner, it had been a complete replacement. He had arrived in his own body.

In other words, he had inherited only some of the original owner's memories and his spiritual power level, nothing else.

No, perhaps whether the original owner had ever existed was itself a question. Could the original owner have been a fictitious existence forcibly inserted into this world by the system?

"You're going to die. Is there anything else you want?"

Kaguya Ruri spoke very directly. Her lovely voice sounded like a bubbling mountain spring, yet her words cut so deeply.

Lu You nodded, thinking that she was not much better at talking than he and Giyu were.

He raised a finger and pointed at her necklace.

"I want that."

An icy chill entered Kaguya Ruri's clear eyes. This man really was pushing his luck!

But when she remembered her grandfather's attitude toward him, she forced her irritation down.

Her delicate brows furrowed.

"I know you're still a virgin... I can arrange an escort to visit you, so you won't have any regrets."

Although Kaguya Ruri utterly despised this sort of transaction, there would still be women willing to do it if the money was right. Anything money could solve was not a problem.

Lu You paused, then smiled in understanding and pointed at her neck again.

"I mean, I want your necklace."

Kaguya Ruri instinctively reached toward her collarbones, then froze with her hand halfway there, somewhat embarrassed.

Finally, she stiffly turned her head away, refusing to look at Lu You.

"Pick something else."

"I only want that necklace."

Divine treasures concealed their own splendor. The Eternal Heart looked utterly unremarkable now, like an ordinary accessory.

Probably only Lu You knew its origins.

A delicate fragrance drifted around Lu You's nose as she lifted her clear eyes and shook her head slightly.

"Absolutely not... Since you don't want anything else, I'll protect you while you leave Fuyuki City. Will that do?"

"You can't protect me."

Lu You was blunt too. With his current discernment and the help of his spiritual perception, he could naturally tell that she was only at the first-tier peak.

No matter how strong or heaven-defying she was.

Being worth half a second-tier expert would already be impressive.

Those Fuyuki conglomerates were not something a single person at the first-tier peak could handle.

Besides, Lu You did not need it.

Kaguya Ruri frowned deeply and said stubbornly, "I will protect you! Even if I die!"

"Why are you so insistent...?"

Lu You was genuinely a little curious. She had come here saying she was willing to grant his dying wish, and when she could not, she had said she would protect him with her life.

In his memories, the two of them had practically never interacted.

Even the times they had spoken could be counted on one hand. As for any romantic memories like those of a male and female lead, those had never happened even in his dreams.

"May I come in?"

Hearing Lu You's question, Kaguya Ruri abruptly changed the subject, her eyes seeming to look through him and into the room.

"Sure, but there's no tea."

Lu You stepped aside, and she brushed past him and went straight in.

A fragrant breeze lingered.

The room was as old and shabby as ever. Fortunately, Lu You had lived there all this time, so at least it had not reached the point of gathering cobwebs.

Despite the dilapidated conditions, Lu You had lived here for over twenty years, barely leaving the school during that time.

He had known to stay put, because he knew leaving meant death.

At that thought, even Kaguya Ruri felt a faint stirring of pity. She crossed her long legs and sat primly at the table.

Lu You sat opposite her.

"Because Grandpa has always been protecting you. Right now, he can't spare the attention, so as his granddaughter, I have to take on that responsibility."

"How is the old principal doing now?"

This was what Lu You most wanted to know. With his immediate safety concerns temporarily eased, he was more concerned about the old principal's situation.

His concern was sincere.

"Grandpa hasn't contacted me in a long time. We lost contact after last month. He may have fallen asleep and not woken up."

Fallen asleep?

Lu You looked at her stunning face in confusion.

"Grandpa falls into a deep sleep every so often. Once he wakes up, he comes to see me, but this time, the interval has been longer than ever before."

A deep sleep...

So the school hadn't actually been under the old principal's watch all the time before, either...

There were gaps. If those people had sent someone to kill me during one of those gaps, wouldn't the old me have been certain to die?

Lu You felt a faint chill of horror.

He had brushed shoulders with death!

"So that's why you came to find me?"

"Yes... I don't know whether Grandpa has been transferred away, but it's more likely that he still won't be awake in half a month. During that time, I'm sure he wouldn't want you to die."

Kaguya Ruri pressed her soft, cherry-pink lips together.

"Then what did you mean earlier when you said you'd grant my wish before I died?"

Lu You raised an eyebrow. Since she had intended to protect him from the start, what had she meant by saying that earlier?

Kaguya Ruri averted her jewel-like eyes, winding the ends of her ink-black hair around her slender, fair fingers.

Lu You was amused. She was rather cute, actually coming here to give him a scare.

"Then... why can't you give me that necklace?"

Kaguya Ruri turned back and, after a long silence, said, "My parents left this to me. I promised them I would only give it to my future husband."

Lu You understood. So that was it.

He promptly stood up and dropped to one knee.

"Hello. Want to get married?"