This startled Qiji and his group.
"Teacher, what are you doing here?" Huomu asked in surprise.
Qiji noticed something immediately, looked around, and suddenly asked, "Teacher Kijika, where's your girlfriend?"
Kijika's lips twitched at this brat's insistence on bringing up the very thing he shouldn't have, feeling a sharp, stabbing pain in his knee.
He chuckled twice, then waved his hand dismissively, "Haha, got dumped."
Then, taking the opportunity, he continued:
"So I'm planning to find a fun place to relax. Going alone is pretty boring. Do you guys want to come? It's on me!"
Upon hearing that someone was treating, Huomu was the first to respond, "Yes, yes! Long live the teacher!"
Qiji nodded indifferently, "I have no objection."
The two of them turned their gaze to the other three girls.
Liuli's expression was off from the moment she started eating breakfast; she seemed to be preoccupied with something.
At this moment, the girl's face once again wore that impeccable, top-student-like smile:
"Sorry, I have something to do today and can't join you. Have fun."
After saying that, Liuli turned and left alone.
Immediately afterwards, a look of embarrassment appeared on her Setsuna:
"Um... because I have a part-time job, I only took yesterday off, so..."
In the end, only Qiji, Huomu, and Bai Lili were abducted by Kijika.
The place Kijika took them to was a high-lying hillside on the edge of the city, offering a scenic view.
Here, the view is expansive, far from the hustle and bustle, and the vast expanse of clouds hangs so low it seems you could reach out and touch them.
"This is a fantastic spot for stargazing; I don't easily bring other people here."
Kijika lowered his voice, as if sharing some secret.
"I'll let you in on a little secret: there will be a rare meteor shower tonight! Whatever you wish for then, it will come true."
"Really?" Bai Lili's eyes lit up.
Girls are naturally drawn to romantic gestures.
Huomu scratched his head and looked around at the empty space. "Teacher, are we going to stay here until nightfall?"
"Yes." Kijika nodded, then smiled.
"But don't worry, you won't be bored during the day—"
We can play cards, have a barbecue (I brought a portable grill), and we can also play the game console that Qiji just bought!
Why!
These were things he was supposed to do with his girlfriend.
Next, the group actually sat down together and started playing the game console that Qiji had just bought.
Qiji pressed the controller with some unease, losing seven games in a row.
"Qiji- kun, you lost again."
Huomu simply couldn't believe that he had managed to win seven games in a row against a genius like Qiji...
"So even Qiji- san has things she's not good at."
The controller isn't working properly.
Qiji replied absentmindedly, and the next round began immediately.
Qiji is very competitive; he wants to do his best in everything he does, and he hates losing, he absolutely hates it.
However, even though he hates losing and doesn't want to lose, he just can't concentrate on the game in front of him.
It was all because of Teacher Kijika's unusually enthusiastic invitation, and Liuli's unnatural and hurried departure that morning—
He belatedly realized something.
Over at White Harbor Beach...
Something might happen.
In the synopsis of the first season of Echo, there was a major event that was only briefly mentioned and left unsaid.
Because the forces involved and the level of conflict far exceeded the capabilities of the main characters at the time, the plot did not delve into it, simply labeling it the "Red Sea Incident."
That was a brutal operation orchestrated by the World Purification Society, Deep Blue City, and certain factions within the City of Kindling Echo Association, all for their own purposes.
In the original storyline, this event should have occurred after the "Academy Grand Tournament," so Qiji had not previously connected the two events.
But at this moment, as his unease grew stronger, he could no longer sit still.
"Excuse me, Huomu, I need to use the restroom." Qiji suddenly put down the game controller and stood up.
"Qiji- san, I'll go with you!"
Huomu heard people say that male friendships are cultivated and built up through countless trips to the bathroom together.
Just as Huomu was about to get up, Qiji grabbed his shoulder and pressed him back down. "You sit down."
"Oh oh."
Qiji's words work unconditionally with Huomu.
Alone, Qiji walked to a secluded corner and opened the system interface.
Seeing that Liuli was live streaming, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But when she saw the person standing opposite her in the Liuli image, Qiji's face under the mask suddenly changed.
Damn it!
His uneasy premonition came true.
The "Red Sea Incident" actually happened ahead of schedule!
Moreover, Liuli...
I got caught up in it!
"... aunt."
Liuli looked at the woman in front of her, her expression momentarily unnatural.
But she quickly revealed her well-honed, top-student smile again.
"Don't call me aunt, I can't accept that title."
Kamishiro Chiho looked at Liuli and curled her lip in disdain.
Liuli belongs to the "Qing" generation, but she was not given the name "Qing".
Only because—
Her mother was born into the lowest of slavery.
A bastard of lowly blood, yet he awakens a talent that astounds everyone...
In Kamishiro Chiho's view, this was an extreme irony, a complete insult!
In this way—
Isn't Qingxian, who possesses pure blood but has failed to awaken her talent, quite pitiful?
"Is Qingxian's death related to you?"
"My brother... he's dead?!"
Upon hearing this news, Liuli's face instantly drained of color, and she staggered back a step.
The girl's eyes were filled with shock and disbelief, and her sadness was incredibly real.
At least it appears so.
Witnessing Liuli's affected manner, Kamishiro Chiho clenched her fists, feeling nauseous.
"You took my classes when you were a child, right? So you know better than anyone what my genealogical abilities are."
You don't need to put on this act in front of me; it just makes us both look...
It was both embarrassing and ridiculous.
"Auntie, I... I don't know what you're talking about..."
"I told you not to call me aunt!" Kamishiro Chiho's voice suddenly rose, filled with undisguised disgust.
"Damn it, you didn't die, but Qingxian, who shouldn't have died, died without any explanation!"
How could such a thing happen in the world!
Kamishiro Seian is a good-for-nothing!
When he came back that day, he actually swore to me that he had killed you with his own hands!
But you're living a perfectly good life in the City of Kindling... Are you kidding me?!
Upon hearing Chiho's words, Liuli's face turned even paler, and her body trembled slightly. She was confused and felt wronged.
"My family wants to kill me? Why... why do they want to kill me? I've completed all the tasks my family assigned me perfectly!"
I have shed blood for my family, and I have rendered service to my family!
Could it be... could it be that this is how the family treats someone who is loyal to...?
Kamishiro Chiho scoffed, interrupting her. "You dare say you're loyal to your family?"
"Of course! And with the Curse Binding me, I don't think my family has any reason to doubt me!"
Liuli argued for herself with all her might, her voice trembling with emotion, her eyes reddening.
However, deep within her heart, another "self," so calm as to be almost cold, was observing this performance with indifference, even finding it amusing.
When did it start...?
Why have you become so afraid of death?
This desperate attempt to survive is so unfamiliar to me.
"So what if he's Curse Binding? Three hundred years ago, that guy with the Curse Binding almost destroyed the entire Kamishiro Family. Isn't that the bloodiest example?"
Seeing that Liuli was still being stubborn, Kamishiro Chiho wasn't in a hurry.
Instead, it aroused a cat-and-mouse-like interest, wanting to see just how far this lowly bastard could struggle and perform.
She casually untied a short dagger from her waist and tossed it with a clatter in front of Liuli's feet.
"Alright then, prove it to me—your loyalty."
Kamishiro Chiho raised her chin and pointed to the bustling street outside the alley.
"Go, kill all the civilians of the City of Kindling outside, starting with... the closest ones."
Seeing that Liuli had not made a move, Kamishiro Chiho's eyes gradually lost patience:
"What, you can't do it? Or do you need me to start even something as small as this?"
As she spoke, she casually snapped her fingers.
Outside the alley, a little girl carrying a vegetable basket was skipping and hopping by when she suddenly froze, her eyes losing their luster.
Like a puppet controlled by invisible threads, she turned around stiffly and walked step by step into the depths of the dimly lit alley.
"Kill her, quickly, my patience is running out."
As Liuli watched the little girl approach, her pupils contracted slightly.
She recognized the girl.
One month ago, during the monthly mission, Qiji saved one of the brother and sister...