Natsuya Yoruhana didn’t pick up her phone when Seiji tried calling her .
Perhaps she was busy or resting . At any rate, this wasn’t a good time for her .
Seiji gave up on attempting to contact her . She was probably worried about the upcoming Yin Yang Master duel, so bothering her about another matter seemed inappropriate to him .
Shika Kagura’s issue wasn’t something that needed to be solved immediately . While he sympathized with her, she had already lived with her condition for a long time, so one or two more days probably wouldn’t make a difference .
The most important part was that she herself had given up on asking for help .
Seiji sighed at the situation .
If he was able to meet her again tomorrow and have a discussion again, then he would try contacting Natsuya one more time .
‘Let’s stop thinking about it for now . ’
Seiji returned to his apartment .
After turning on his computer and checking his email, he noticed that Editor Yoshizawa had sent him a message .
The message basically said that his final draft of "I’ll Die If I Don’t Become Handsome" was excellent and asked whether it was his final version which would be published by Thunderbolt Literature .
If so, he needed to fill out some forms via email .
‘Final version to be published… of course, yes . ’
Seiji filled out all the necessary applications and sent the confirmation to Editor Yoshizawa .
It was now time for his usual grinding session .
Oh, starting from today, he planned to begin grinding [art] as well…
…
The next day .
Seiji and Mika walked to school together with Kaede Juumonji for the second time .
Kaede began the conversation with normal topics . She didn’t talk about anything strange .
Mika, who had mentally prepared herself beforehand, felt this situation was even more unexpected for her .
Seiji, however, considered this to be only natural .
If Kaede acted up every single morning, then that would give him and Mika an excuse to refuse to walk together with her, so of course she wouldn’t behave that way .
Since Kaede was making normal conversation, Seiji also responded in turn and smoothly pulled Mika into the conversation .
And so, they reached school with no conflict whatsoever between the trio .
After splitting up from Kaede and meeting up with Chiaki, Seiji suddenly remembered the drama club president’s kidnapping… er,"capturing" of Shika Kagura . Did something happen to the drama club president as well then?
"Chiaki, has something unlucky happened in the drama club recently?"
The tomboy blinked in surprise . "Why do you suddenly ask?"
"Because I heard some strange rumors… so I just wanted to ask . " Seiji acted rather casual about it .
"Hmm…" Chiaki looked deeply at him before running her hand through her hair as she considered things .
"Our demonic vice president has been feeling tons of stress lately due to the upcoming school festival . Her forceful comments and book throwing ability have greatly improved as a result . Everyone in the club has been victims, especially the club president! Does this… count?"
Seiji was rendered speechless upon hearing this .
"What strange rumors were you talking about?" Chiaki asked a question of her own .
Mika also looked in his direction curiously .
Seiji rubbed his chin .
About Shika Kagura… he felt that it might have something to do with "mystical abilities," so he didn’t really want to say it out loud .
"Not much of a big deal, really… Just leave it at that for now . If it becomes something, I’ll let you guys know . "
Chiaki tilted her head slightly .
Mika reflexively copied her and also tilted her head .
"Okay, that’s that, then . " The tomboy accepted it for what it was, and didn’t pry further into the matter .
The pigtailed girl had a confused expression on her face .
…
…
In between classes .
Seiji received a call from Natsuya .
"Sorry for not picking up your call yesterday, Harano-kun . "
"Not a problem, President . I’m the one who should apologize for bothering you so impulsively when I know you have so much on your plate…"
Natsuya smiled at hearing Seiji’s apologetic tone .
"Since you knew all that and still contacted me, it must have been something important . "
"Important…? To tell the truth, I don’t really know . " Seiji paused for a moment . "President, do you know the middle school second-year student named Shika Kagura?"
There was nothing but silence on the other end of the phone .
"President?" Seiji had an ominous premonition .
"Shika Kagura… I know her name," Natsuya answered in a calm tone .
Seiji raised his eyebrows .
The president actually knew Shika’s name, and had such a tone, which meant…
"She’s… a unique existence… but as for you, how did you know about her, Harano-kun?"
"It was like this…"
Seiji gave a brief explanation of what happened last night .
"I see, so she wanted to ask for help . " There was a hint of sympathy in the president’s voice . "But… I’m so sorry, Harano-kun . Nobody will be able to help her . "
The commotion from Seiji’s fellow classmates having fun, walking around, or chatting with each other during break suddenly seemed to fade into the distance for him .
Seiji frowned .
"Why’s that, President?"
Natsuya could tell that Seiji wasn’t as calm as he appeared on the surface .
"She’s a unique existence, because her problem… isn’t one that’s solvable, even by mystical abilities .
"It’s difficult to explain over the phone, so come on over to the student council office if you would like to know more .
"It’s difficult to explain over the phone, so come on over to the student council office if you would like to know more .
"Although I think that it would be better for you to give up on knowing or doing anything about this…"
"I’ll come right away during lunch break; is that fine?" Seiji interrupted her without giving her a chance to finish .
Natsuya remained silent for several seconds .
"Okay . "
And so, their conversation ended .
Seiji put away his cell phone and looked out the classroom window up towards the sky .
Dense dark clouds loomed overhead . It seemed like it was about to rain .
…
Lunch break .
Seiji arrived at the student council office .
Natsuya was waiting inside by herself .
"It seems like there’ll be bad weather today, Haruta-kun . "
"It seems likely it’ll rain, President . "
The two of them casually conversed about the weather before they both lapsed into silence .
Natsuya sighed .
"Are you angry, Haruta-kun?"
Seiji blinked .
"Not at all; why do you ask?"
"Because I feel like you’re angry . " Natsuya walked over to the table and began to pour some tea .
Seiji stood where he was as something flashed in his eyes .
"Fine, perhaps I am, just a little . " He sighed . "But not at you, Prez . I’m angry at… I don’t know how to describe it . "
"Sit down first and have some tea . " Natsuya remained calm .
"Mmm… Thank you . "
"Sit down first and have some tea . " Natsuya remained calm .
"Mmm… Thank you . "
Both of them sat down and began sipping tea at the round table .
"Shika Kagura…" Natsuya slowly began to talk after she set down her teacup . "She was someone that I noticed during my investigation .
"After I confirmed that I was about to be challenged to a Yin Yang Master duel, I investigated every single student that came to this school either this or even last semester… Of course, that didn’t include you .
"In order to prevent the enemy from sending a Spirit-branded Retainer as a spy?" Seiji rubbed his chin in contemplation .
Natsuya nodded .
"Yes, this type of example is rather common . Sending a Spirit-branded Retainer into the enemy’s defense to obstruct their plans or attack from within are all popular tactics . Only one person stood out from the other students—Shika Kagura .
"Her identity was filled with abnormalities, and as a student she was abnormal as well, to the extreme… This made it obvious she wasn’t a spy . "
Seiji nodded in understanding .
An enemy’s agent who had secretly infiltrated the school would want to avoid standing out more than anything else . Any spy who was ridiculously handsome or beautiful and attracted attention everywhere he or she went like in some television dramas was no better than suicidal .
"Nobody else seemed abnormal, while she was the complete opposite . Although I didn’t feel that she would be a Spirit-branded Retainer, I still carried out a deeper investigation on her . Then I discovered… her uniqueness . " Natsuya sighed .
"What uniqueness?" Seiji asked in a calm manner .
Natsuya looked directly at his face .
"The ‘Reaper’s Curse,’" she said in a soft but clear voice . "In the realm of Yin Yang Masters, we call it by that name . "
Seiji paid attention quietly .
"In this world, every person’s actions will have some effect on him or herself, on others, and on the world—some people call this ‘karma . ’
"According to this explanation, all of these effects and people that produce them are like a huge unstoppable wave, as huge as the ocean—the so-called ‘Sea of Karma . ’
"Everyone is caught within it, and they create karma and are affected by it… Fortune or misfortune are produced by it as well .
"But within the ‘Sea of Karma,’ sometimes unique existences similar to whirlpools will appear . They themselves won’t be affected, but will affect everyone around them instead…
"‘Karma…’ Those that come into contact with these special existences will become strongly influenced by ‘karma;’ they will either meet with great misfortune or fortune, or even sink into chaos .
"The ‘Reaper’s Curse’ is the term for the unique abnormality which affects everyone around the carrier… and brings them misfortune . "
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