"I took a screenshot!!! Hahahahaha!"
"Put a mosaic over this scene and post it, and if you ask me what they're doing, I wouldn't even dare imagine it!"
"Bad woman, on your knees!"
"I'm dying, everyone! This composition is just too perfect!"
Qiji spotted the scene and froze for a moment.
Once he realized what was happening, he immediately opened his own livestream.
Go live!
Screenshot!
Save as livestream cover!
"Guys, Qiji's live!"
"I'm dying, go check out Qiji's livestream cover!"
"Bad woman: My fucking... reputation is ruined!"
Only after doing all that did Qiji look at Liuli and speak unhurriedly:
"Liuli, even if you wanted to thank me... there was no need for such a grand gesture, was there?"
Liuli coughed softly twice and stood up. She casually smoothed her slightly disheveled hair and forced a change of subject:
"Qiji, ahem... why weren't you on the rooftop just now?"
"To avoid you."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said."
Qiji couldn't very well say he had just gone to the library to study in secret, could he?
He couldn't say anything that went against his persona.
That was the inconvenience of being a genius.
Liuli bit her lip. The more Qiji acted this way, the more curious she became about what he really looked like beneath his mask.
"There's... something on your mask."
Her eyes shifted, and she suddenly spoke up. At the same time, she reached out.
But while her hand was still in the air, Qiji reached out and planted a finger against her forehead.
The difference in their heights meant that even standing on tiptoe, Liuli couldn't bridge the distance of that one arm.
Useless hand, stretch a little farther!
Damn it!
Seeing that she really couldn't succeed, Liuli had no choice but to give up, unwilling as she was.
"You...! I just want to know what kind of face is underneath that handsome mask of yours!"
"Heh."
Qiji smiled and pushed lightly with his fingertip, tilting Liuli backward. Then he said matter-of-factly:
"Under a handsome mask, of course there's an even more handsome face."
With that, he curled a finger and flicked Liuli on the forehead, neither too hard nor too lightly.
"Ow!"
Liuli winced and covered her forehead.
Qiji put his hands in his pockets and ignored her as he walked toward the classroom.
Liuli paused. "Qiji, aren't you going to sleep on the rooftop anymore?"
"I've slept enough." Qiji waved without looking back. "Besides, during the practical combat assessment coming up, the Kamishiro Family will come looking for you, won't they?"
At the mention of "Kamishiro," Liuli's previously rather cheerful expression instantly darkened.
But at that moment, Qiji, who had reached the turn in the stairs, turned around.
"Don't worry. I'll definitely keep my word-
I'll help you kill everyone in the Kamishiro Family."
The boy's words, like a promise, rooted Liuli to the spot.
"All right, don't just stand there. If you run into any danger, you only need to remember that the safest place is by my side."
"...?!"
Liuli lowered her head, her shoulders trembling almost imperceptibly.
"Tch! What big talk..."
When she raised her head again, her face once more wore that standard, model-student smile.
Meanwhile, in Liuli's livestream, the girl's childhood memories flashed back at that very moment-
It was her fifth birthday.
Liuli was chained to a stone pillar.
Her father's hand rested on her forehead:
"Liuli, you are the Kamishiro Family's 'heart.'
But a heart can hurt, break, and want to run away.
Those are the heart's flaws.
So remember this-
First: you must not destroy yourself.
Second: you must not betray us.
Third: you must not forget your mission."
A powerful binding curse poured into her along with excruciating pain!
Liuli's consciousness reeled as though struck a heavy blow.
The little girl cried and screamed, kicking her feet wildly in pain:
"Father! Mother! It hurts-it hurts so much!!!"
Her mother turned her face away.
Her father, meanwhile, scolded her even more harshly:
"Pain is a flaw too! Only by overcoming your flaws can you become perfect!"
The sound of chains dragging across the floor echoed endlessly in her heart.
The last sound was the click of a lock closing.
The final image was little Liuli's tear-streaked, vacant face, and those misty purple eyes, utterly devoid of light, with nothing left but numbness.
From that day on, Kamishiro Ruri's heart was sealed inside an iron box.
With her outstanding mental talent, she became a tool meticulously crafted by the Kamishiro Family.
The flashback ended.
The comments in Liuli's livestream reached their highest volume since the broadcast began:
"Fuck, so that's how the bad woman came to be..."
"Bad woman... no, Liuli, she..."
"Seriously, do all these main characters have to have such miserable childhoods?!"
"Exactly! Huomu did, Liuli did. Don't tell me Qiji did too..."
"When are we getting a flashback of Qiji's memories?!"
"Could Qiji be from the Kamishiro Family too? Or does he have some other connection to them?"
"Fuck, after seeing Liuli's childhood, hearing Qiji say 'I'll help you kill everyone in the Kamishiro Family' and 'the safest place is by my side'..."
"You damn yasashii!"
"Brother Ji, I'm on my knees! Save the bad woman!"
On the stairs, Liuli took a deep breath, as though she had made some decision.
She suddenly jogged past Qiji.
Then, a few steps ahead of him, she turned around and walked backward, facing him with her hands behind her back.
Her long, misty purple hair traced a graceful arc as she turned. A sly smile played on the girl's face, making her look like an entirely different person from the despairing little girl in the flashback.
"Qiji."
Liuli tilted her head slightly and once again showed him her impeccable smile,
"You'd better watch out. Before long, I'll definitely take off your mask... with my own hands."
At the same time, the girl's thoughts rang out with perfect clarity in her own livestream, carrying a gentle, steadfast resolve:
Kamishiro Ruri, remember this-
If you run into danger...
She looked at the masked boy before her, whom she couldn't see through yet inexplicably wanted to draw close to, and warned herself word by word:
You absolutely, absolutely must stay away from him!
You must never...
Drag him into your misfortune.
Qiji, who wasn't in Liuli's livestream, knew nothing of this.
He merely nodded indifferently and said, "All right, I'll be careful."
Anyway, before long, he would take the mask off himself.
When the "peerless beauty" he had spent nine years polishing was finally unveiled, who knew how much popularity he could reap!
Just thinking about it was a little exciting!
"No."
But Liuli suddenly stopped walking backward and stood in the bright afternoon sunlight,
"Qiji!
Please-
Make sure you let your guard down."
Chapter 11: Practical Combat Assessment
The freshmen's entrance practical combat assessment was to clear a small D-rank rift on the outskirts of the city-state.
The assessment was conducted by class, with two classes working together as a group.
Class Eight, which Qiji belonged to, was assigned to partner with Class One, the special-grade class.
Kijika, Class One's homeroom teacher, was a serious, meticulous middle-aged man, a sharp contrast to Class Eight's Yuejian.
Before they entered the rift, he not only explained the precautions and equipment usage guidelines in detail, but even patiently gave the students an extra lesson on "rift theory."
"Humanity's intense negative emotions form stains in the Sea of Consciousness."
Teacher Kijika's voice was loud and clear, ensuring every student could hear him,