The comments section all think I'm a really good person.

But we did make some progress.

She didn't tell anyone else, only Yagawa Mari, who also went to the theater.

Regarding the fact that both of them have experienced varying degrees of enhancement in their physical functions.

Asagami Shinku noticed during the practical training that her body had become more flexible, and even her breathing rate was changing without her realizing it.

She couldn't help but think of the breathing technique she possessed as a Demon Slayer in the theater.

That kind of exercise method that sounds ridiculous is actually feasible.

"Isn't this great?" Yagawa Mari muttered, a little envious, "Being able to learn so much more."

"...Isn't your vigilance a little too weak?" Asagami Shinku looked at her with surprise, her eyes serious. "This could also be the character influencing us."

Her mind even contained the memories of the entire life of Demon Slayer Corps swordsman Asagami Shinku, though only eighteen years long, which was already two years longer than her current life.

If Asagami Makoto hadn't known that these were all biographical sketches, she might have really confused the real with the fabricated memories.

Perhaps because she was not fully conscious while in the theater, Mari Yagawa had no memory of the character.

However, when it came to the issue of roles and breaking character, both Yagawa Mari and Asagami Shinku couldn't help but shudder.

That feeling of not being able to control my own body... it's something I really don't want to think about.

Mari Yagawa's face paled even more: "Will I be affected even after leaving that theater...? This is really terrible, I don't want to end up looking like that..."

She found the perspective of four eyes quite subtle and rather disgusting.

"You have the nerve to say that? Weren't you the one who got completely into character last time? I saw you were totally unprepared and just let the theater take over... How lame." Asagami Shinku still felt a lingering fear when she recalled it. "You'd better watch out this time."

"That's different... You're still a human being, but after I became a demon, it felt incredibly strange," Yagawa Mari mumbled weakly.

The fact that a demon's body structure is different from that of an ordinary human makes it very difficult for her to adapt.

The ghost's body is strange.

She was only slightly stunned for a moment before her instincts took over her control of her body.

Asagami Shinku only glanced at her with a hint of disbelief.

Knowing she was in the wrong, Yagawa Mari said guiltily, "Okay... I'll definitely control myself this time."

Neither of them intended to run away.

Although there was still some fear in her heart, she was mostly driven by a desire for revenge, wanting to teach that "director" Nana Ohba a lesson.

The other party looked to be around their age; wasn't he just taking advantage of the theater's rules?

Fifteen or sixteen-year-olds are at a time when their self-esteem is quite strong.

Although they don't have the same eagerness and urgency as toddlers who want to do everything themselves and prove their abilities, when faced with such situations, they tend to prefer solving the problem on their own rather than seeking help from teachers or elders.

Moreover, neither of these two are exactly easy to deal with.

Not only that, Mari Yagawa, who usually consults Teru Inoue on everything, didn't reveal a single word to him this time.

Asagami Shinku doesn't have any close friends, but Yagawa Mari is different. When she first enrolled, she was practically inseparable from Inoue Teru.

Therefore, she couldn't help but be somewhat surprised when she noticed that Yagawa Mari was trying to keep it from the parents of that Class B student.

However, Asagami Shinku's relationship with the other party wasn't particularly good; at most, the events of the past two days had fostered a bit of camaraderie between them, so she didn't feel comfortable asking directly.

But she was so curious that she kept glancing at Yagawa Mari with a hesitant look, making it impossible for the latter to pretend she didn't see it.

At this moment, the two were walking towards the theater entrance indicated in the email.

On the way, Yagawa Mari noticed Asagami Shinku's curiosity again.

"What have you been trying to say since just now?" Yagawa Mari asked bluntly, seeing Asagami Shinku stammering after being caught red-handed. "Want to know why I didn't tell Teru?"

Asagami Shinku was very interested in this, and although she tried to appear nonchalant, as if "it's okay to listen a little," her slightly rounded cat-like eyes betrayed her true feelings.

Their ears perked up and turned this way.

Yagawa Mari thought this guy was really naive and easy to understand.

However, when Inoue Teru was mentioned, Yagawa Mari's face showed a hint of annoyance. She puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction and complained in a tone very similar to Inoue Teru's: "My Teru-chan is just too nosy! I can handle a lot of things myself! I don't want to talk to her."

Teru Inoue has been like this since he was a child.

Inoue Teru is a smart and quick-witted child who can learn anything very quickly, and he also has a carefree and cheerful personality.

Her excellence is admired by her peers, not envied.

In any group that Inoue Teru belongs to, there is an implicit sense that she is the center of attention.

However, these groups usually don't last very long.

In the words of young Inoue Teru, the other children were too boring and he couldn't play with them.

Compared to his peers, Inoue Teru was more mature and composed, and naturally looked down on those little brats who cried at the drop of a hat.

Until one day, Inoue Teru, who was sent to the Yagawa family because of her intelligence and was trained to be the Yagawa family's spy, found a game that suited her tastes best.

"...Knight Game?" Mari Yagawa was only five or six years old at the time, and she was no different from other children. She had fine, soft pink shoulder-length hair and spoke in a childish voice.

She really enjoys playing with this knowledgeable girl, who is only half a year older than her but knows so much.

You can get the answers to any questions you have from Huiqin.

Inoue Teru enthusiastically gripped a small wooden sword in his hand and brandished it with great seriousness: "It's a game of protecting the princess!"

"Then, I want to play too! I want to be the knight, and Huiqin the princess." Little Zhenli raised her hand, her soft face full of excitement.

However, Teruichi said, "You've got it wrong, I'm the knight, and you're the princess, Teruichi."

Why?

Inoue Teru replied quite naturally, "After all, I'm better than you! I know more than you, I run faster than you, and I eat more than you."

“…Hmm.” Little Truth thought the other person’s words made a lot of sense.

"It's settled then. From now on, I'll stay by your side every step of the way. With me around, you won't even need to use your brain."

"No. That would just make me a pig."

"But what's wrong with being a little pig?" Inoue Teru retorted. "Those adults who often say things like 'I don't want to work hard anymore' show that not working hard is actually quite comfortable, right?"

“It feels like a fallacy…” Yagawa Mari struggled with her thoughts.

"If I were a knight, I wouldn't mind sleeping until the very last minute every day."

"Eh?"

"I'll also help you eat the carrots you don't like."

"...!"

"You can have dessert after the meal too."

"...Okay! It's a deal then!"

Yagawa Mari agreed quite eagerly.

And then, Inoue Teru really did become her knight.

After his own abilities awakened, Inoue Teru also gained abilities, but compared to others, those abilities were actually rather weak and useless.

Mari Yagawa originally thought that her position would be reversed because of this, and that she would be able to use her own power to protect Teru Inoue.

but……

"I'll go to the National Academy with Truth." The knight lady said with a hint of helplessness, her eyes full of familiar doting affection. "After all, you'll have a lot of trouble without me, right?"

The knight lady looked slightly different from usual that day.

Just like Mari Yagawa feels uneasy without Teru Inoue by her side, Teru Inoue, who is used to protecting someone, is also reluctant to part ways.

The game of knights is not over yet.

Mari Yagawa realized this.

Then, in her usual willful tone, she said, "Of course, Huiqin has to go to the National University with me too."

Only after these words were spoken did Inoue Teru's expression brighten slightly.

—Who is truly indispensable to whom?

Is it a delicate and fragile princess, or a dragon knight who refuses to end the game and stays by the princess's side?

The princess said with great interest, "This time I will definitely let Huiqin see my growth."

Although it's comfortable to be a lazy pig, Mari Yagawa still thinks that knight games would be boring if the characters were fixed.

She needs to grow up quickly, at a speed that even Huiqin can't catch up with, and then she can control the other party!

Asagami Shinku's eyes twitched after hearing this: "...You guys really are..."

My tooth hurts a little, is it just my imagination?

[hhhhhhhh, Zhen Hong looks like she's had a toothache from eating too much candy]

[Zhen Hong: I don't want to hear your lovey-dovey stories, get lost!]

This is hilarious!

Therefore, the one who actually controlled the relationship between Truth and Teru was Teru.

[Truth is also desperately trying to catch up with Hui's pace (sob sob)]

[What exactly is this "motherly mentality" mentioned earlier?]

No wonder they kept it from Hui this time; it's rare for Zhenli to have something he can decide for himself.

……I see.

Kita Kirihara pointed the camera at Yagawa Mari and Asagami Shinku, who were chatting, and openly eavesdropped on what should have been a confidential conversation.

These two are quite romantic... Are they really not lovers?

She was curious.

She was already seated in the theater, a step ahead of everyone else.

Kita Kirihara projected the footage captured by the camera onto the large screen on the stage.

She was holding a bucket of popcorn, leaning against the red cushions in the audience, stretching her legs comfortably.