Something's wrong with how I'm watching anime.

Therefore, we need to find a 'fulcrum'.

As for the fulcrum, thanks to Kazama's efforts over the past few days, several have been identified.

However, for various reasons, Kazama was not entirely satisfied with these support points.

However, due to the time constraints, since finding a fulcrum is a probabilistic issue, there is certainly no problem given sufficient time.

However, given the limited time, Kazama had no choice but to settle for second best.

"According to the plan... today is the deadline. If we don't find a suitable target today, we'll have to use that little guy as our initial target."

As Kazama thought this, his gaze shifted once more. He still had ample time to observe since he had just entered the observation phase.

Kazama turned from the street into a residential area.

Compared to the slums Kazama had seen before, the residential areas here were clearly several levels higher.

Many of the mansions, while luxurious, also exude a sense of antiquity and solemnity.

"The former residential area of ​​the middle and lower nobility..."

Kazama made a judgment based on the information he obtained.

However, due to industrialization and the rise of capitalism, most of the small and medium-sized nobles who relied on land have gone bankrupt and disappeared.

Although there are still many nobles in this residential area today, most of them are now bought directly from impoverished nobles by wealthy merchants.

"A reshuffling caused by the changing times..."

With a sigh, Kazama shifted his observation focus directly to this residential area.

Kazama wandered aimlessly, observing and releasing his inspiration.

Inspiration is indeed an ethereal thing compared to spiritual power and magic; it can be roughly considered as a person's sixth sense or premonition.

According to Cerberus, those highly inspired diviners could foresee the course of future events without even needing to perform divination.

Kazama's inspiration isn't particularly strong, but he has at least entered the world of divination through Clow Cards, and releasing inspiration when it comes to relying on luck can still be somewhat effective.

Kazama arrived in front of a mansion, which should belong to a fallen nobleman.

This is easy to tell; you can tell from the small fountain in the courtyard that has cracked and is covered with moss.

The wealthy businessmen who bought the mansions generally repaired the old and damaged parts of the mansions.

Looking through the window at the little lady crying on the table in the attic, Kazama was suddenly struck by inspiration.

Kazama stopped shifting his gaze and instead focused his attention on this house.

A moment later, Kazama, who had been observing the place, returned to his starting point, his eyes lighting up.

"This fulcrum is excellent..."

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Spirit of Nothingness

A blonde girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old was crying, her head resting on her desk.

Tears soaked the letter on the table, and even the cuffs of her white dress were damp with tears.

A moment later, the girl raised her head and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief. However, her clenched teeth and bewildered eyes still conveyed her despair.

The girl's name is Seele Dietrich.

Although her family had fallen on hard times and held a noble title, she could still be considered a noble lady.

She lived a carefree life. During the day, she would go to the art studio to study. Although the teacher at the studio wasn't a world-renowned painter, he was quite well-known within the capital city. After finishing her studies, she would either go straight home or enjoy afternoon tea with her fellow ladies.

But this carefree state was shattered three days ago.

The reason is simple: her family is sending her to become a nun.

The location was a monastery deep in the mountains, far from the capital.

The decision came suddenly, and his parents, and even his brother who usually doted on him, insisted on it.

This left the girl feeling incredibly confused.

Shel Dietrich was not unaware of what it was like to enter a convent and become a nun; on the contrary, she knew it very well.

She had previously participated in a spring outing with a group of ladies, and during a casual conversation, she overheard one of them mention it.

The lady's sister was also a nun. When I visited her before, I stayed at the convent for a few days and experienced a bit of the real life of a nun.

'The whole day was nothing but boring.'

'This boredom doesn't mean there's nothing to do; on the contrary, there's a lot to do. For example, cleaning the entire monastery and mending various clothes.'

"Besides that, the daily routine involves reading. Believe me, it's definitely not something you'll be interested in; it's a lot of theological books, mostly old rules and regulations. You have to copy and memorize them over and over again until you can recite them backwards."

"Can you understand that kind of life, repeating the same thing every day? It's numb, desperate, with no future in sight, like a machine running day after day in a factory, only stopping when it breaks down."

"Abandon all your own thoughts and dedicate yourself wholeheartedly to God. Please don't misunderstand, I don't mean to blaspheme God. On the contrary, I deeply respect God. I can go to church every week, but I really can't live the kind of life where I kneel in front of the idol and pray all day long. And then, in that situation, feel the ravages of time until I become like those old ladies with wrinkled faces in the monastery."

"If you don't truly want to dedicate yourself to God, if you still have hopes for the future, if you still want to live in the secular world, ladies, please don't think about becoming nuns."

Seeing the lady's lingering fear, Seele Dietrich immediately imprinted those words deep in her mind.

However, she never expected that such a day would come, and that such misfortune would befall her.

Is the future one's life about leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the world and going to a monastery where there is nothing, to live out one's days in old age and die?

"Why...why is it like this?"

Seele still doesn't understand why her family would suddenly make such a decision for her.

Seele looked up and reached for a book on the shelf.

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë's novel was also her favorite book.

The protagonist of the book, the orphaned girl who has experienced many hardships, is the person she admires.

Jane Eyre's spirit of discontent with the status quo, her unwillingness to be humiliated, and her courage to fight, along with her yearning and pursuit of freedom and happiness in the world, are truly admirable.

No, I have to resist...

It is unacceptable to be forced to endure a life filled with numbness and hopelessness when it is not something you pursue yourself.

But how can I resist?

This is precisely where the girl's despair lies, not only because her family suddenly changed, forcibly sending her to a convent without explanation or clarification, but also because she was utterly powerless to resist this fate.

Do you have the means to be independent and make a living?

Can you draw? Can you write some poetry...?

"How is that possible..."

Seele Dietrich lowered her head in despair, then raised it again a moment later, this time with her hands clasped together in front of her chest in a prayer-like gesture.

'God.....'

'If God can truly hear you and truly saves those in distress, please don't let this happen to me...'

After praying, Seele Dietrich opened her eyes, but a sense of absurdity rose within her.

Regardless of whether gods truly exist or can hear her inner cries, her misfortune this time is being sent to serve the gods. Even if the gods knew, they would probably applaud it.

Just as Seele Dietrich was thinking this, an unexpected event suddenly occurred.

As she opened the ink bottle, a blob of pitch-black ink suddenly floated up in front of her.

To Seele Dietrich's astonishment, the ink reached the top of the letter, then splashed down, leaving a line of text on the paper.

It's square and neat, just like it was printed out by a printer.

"Perhaps I can help you solve your problem."

Seele Dietrich froze, staring intently at the ink stains on the letter in front of her.

She felt her mind was a little foggy at that moment.

But it wasn't an illusion; the words on the letter were real.

"god..."

Seele Dietrich suddenly remembered something, stood up from her chair, and said:

"Does God really exist? Did He hear my cries?"

The letter was flipped open and fell to the side, the ink once again adhering to the paper beneath it.

"I am not a god..."

For Seele Dietrich, the miracle occurred once again; the unseen forces heard her call and left a reply.

"You're not a god... then what are you?"

"Subconsciously," Seele Dietrich blurted out. But she immediately regretted it. It was incredibly impolite, and utterly blasphemous, especially towards the being who performed this miracle.

This time the paper wasn't blown away; a moment later, the ink fell back onto the letter.

"I am... the Spirit of nothingness."

“The Spirit of Nothingness?” Seele Dietrich murmured the title.

“Shel Dietrich, I can help you get out of this predicament.”

In reality, Kazama slowly opened his eyes, breaking free from his observation state.

At this moment, he mentally manipulated the ink to leave a final sentence on the letter:

"For this, you only need to pay a small price..."

Chapter Seventy-Three: The Fault Lies in Human Greed

In reality, Kazama opened his eyes, picked up the warm milk on the table, and took a sip.

The dizziness experienced after being forcibly kicked out of observation mode due to depleted mental energy is extremely unpleasant. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, Kazama will carefully manage his remaining mental energy and voluntarily exit the observation mode.

"The right fulcrum has been found..."

“Yes, I saw it…” Cerberus said.