Comet Dragon, breaking into the gravity field

that's the truth.

After hearing her decision, Toyokawa Shoko saw her father's relieved expression for the first time since leaving the family.

Was it because she felt relieved to be away from her father, or was it because she felt reassured that her daughter had found a reliable place to live again? Shoko Toyokawa didn't know the answer.

Her phone suddenly vibrated. When she opened the screen, she saw a message from Ritsu Naruse.

——"Rukaba and I are here."

Putting away her phone, Toyokawa Shoko took one last look at her still-sleeping father and the home she had grown accustomed to. She silently said "goodbye" in her heart and quietly left the place.

Outside, a car with its trunk open was parked on the curb. Ritsu Naruse was waiting there. Without much talk, he helped her put her luggage in the trunk, and Toyokawa Shoko got in.

Therefore, she didn't notice the figure appearing at the window, nor did she notice Ritsu Narushe waving in that direction...

……

When they arrived at the door of Ritsu Narose's house, Shoko Toyokawa, who had experienced many ups and downs, did not express any opinion about the two statues in the yard, and the same was true for the other taciturn green-haired girl.

After getting off the bus with Toyokawa Shoko, Naruse Ritsu looked at the girl sitting upright in her seat and asked, "Miss Wakaba, would you like to come in and sit down?"

"I……"

Hearing this, Ruo Yemu looked inside the car as usual.

However, neither the father nor the mother was in the car at that moment. The sole driver sat in the driver's seat, looking down at his phone, completing his daily tasks on the 2D mobile game.

At this moment, no one could make the decision for her.

If she leaves here, she will enter a realm full of unknowns; if she stays where she is, she will return to a dark and claustrophobic space.

Seeing Toyokawa Shoko calmly preparing to walk into the courtyard with her suitcase, Ruoye Mu felt envious. However, thinking of her own status, she had to suppress this inappropriate thought.

If he did this, would his parents be unhappy? Would Xiangzi mind if he followed them? Would Naruse Ritsu also incur Xiangzi's displeasure?

While she was thinking hard with her head down, Ritsu Narose turned around and gave a signal to the jungler who was about to return to the fountain, indicating that he should come and help the top laner to clear the minion line that had been controlled by the opponent for a long time.

——Where did your previous abilities go?

I'm not familiar with her...

Communicating across the air, Mingse Ritsu's eyes couldn't help but look a little helpless.

As we all know, when you actively move to the jungle during the laning phase, it often means that you have been defeated by the opponent. However, this is not a solo match, so Naruse Ritsu has no hesitation in choosing to use the power of Toyokawa Shoko to end the stalemate.

Looking at the girl who frowned slightly and seemed to be in distress, Toyokawa Shoko sighed and said, "Xiao Mu, come with me, too?"

Hearing this, Wakaba Mu, who had been sitting motionless in her seat, seemed to regain her composure. She nodded hurriedly, then left her seat and quickly walked a few steps behind Toyokawa Shoko.

As soon as he opened the gate, Ritsu Narose heard a voice in his ear.

"In your opinion, is Xiao Mu very cute?"

The question that seemed like a trap was lightly thrown out by Toyokawa Shoko, and Ritsu Naruse remained silent with a serious attitude, while expressing his resistance to the sting operation.

Seeing his wary expression, Toyokawa Shoko curled her lips and then recounted a past experience: "Ever since the beginning, when we were together, she always did whatever I said. She was obviously a month older than me, but she acted like a younger sister, always going along with my ideas."

"Are you trying to say that she has no opinion of her own?" Realizing that the topic was not what he thought, Ritsu Narose became serious again.

"Yeah, I think that's bad. Everyone should have their own opinions. If you just blindly follow others, you'll only end up being looked down upon."

"But Xiangzi is too opinionated—" He spoke hastily. Before he could finish his words, he saw the girl's round, pink cheeks begin to swell. "This is very cute."

Seeing Naruse Ritsu suddenly change his words, Toyokawa Shoko curled her lips and said, "You're right, because that's who I am."

Their voices were very low. Ruoye Mu, who was walking behind, just watched the two of them whispering, and followed them silently in the posture she was most familiar with.

On the other side of the street, in Chihaya's yard, Ms. Chihaya watched with her own eyes as her good neighbor brought two young girls into her home - one of them even carrying a suitcase.

If there was only one person, she would suspect that she was Ritsu Narose's friend; if there was only one person and she was carrying a suitcase, she would elevate her status to a "live-in girlfriend" who should not appear when she was a minor.

But what she saw now was a girl with a suitcase and another girl with nothing in her hands following behind Ritsu Naruse...

In order to avoid misunderstanding, Ms. Chihaya carefully considered and classified the two unfamiliar girls as "relatives of Ritsu Naruse", and at the same time gave up the idea of ​​warning her daughter.

The root cause of many failed relationships lies in misunderstandings. Thinking that the love comics she had read could come in handy again, Ms. Chihaya and her daughter, who was swinging a hollow wooden sword in the backyard, smiled contentedly.

After entering the house, Shoko Toyokawa and Mutsu Wakaba, who were visiting here for the first time, couldn't help but look at the furnishings here curiously.

During this process, Shoko Toyokawa first saw the pillows on the sofa, and then smelled a faint scent of matcha coming from somewhere.

"Have there been any other guests?"

"Ah, well..."

As if reading something from Naruse Ritsu's expression, Toyokawa Shoko looked at him with a playful look. It wasn't until he looked away awkwardly that the girl withdrew her gaze and looked towards the stairs leading to the second floor.

"Can I go see the room?"

"Of course," nodded Ritsu Narushe, then asked, "Do you need me to help you carry your luggage upstairs?"

"No need." Shaking her head, Toyokawa Shoko turned to look at another girl who looked a little bewildered after entering the living room: "Xiao Mu, come with me to the room and take a look."

After watching the two girls go upstairs, a few minutes later, just as she opened the refrigerator to drink some happy water, Ritsu Narose saw Wakaba Mutsu coming down the stairs alone.

"What's wrong?" Mingse Ritsu asked casually while opening a glass bottle of Coke with his bare hands, taking a bottle of room temperature drink from the storage cabinet and handing it to Wakaba Mutsu.

"Xiangzi... was tidying her room, and I was worried that I would disturb her." Holding the drinks box in both hands, Ruoye Mu calmly stated the reason.

After she finished speaking, she looked up at Naruse Ritsu, as if to confirm something. When Naruse Ritsu had finished half of his drink, she whispered, "Thank you."

"why?"

Her cherry-pink lips opened slightly. Wakaba Mu hadn't expected Naruse Ritsu to suddenly ask her a question. Pursing her lips, she whispered, "Because Xiangzi looks very happy..."

As a bystander, Wakaba Mutsu clearly felt a different atmosphere coming from Toyokawa Shoko.

If Xiangzi after the misfortune was like a painting that was set on fire and burning quietly, then she now looks like graffiti painted with a single pigment on white paper, light and powerful.

Wakaba Mutsu is afraid of the former, so she is grateful, envious and respectful to Naruse Ritsu who transformed Toyokawa Shoko into the latter state.

She was grateful to Ritsu Narose for helping Shoko Toyokawa, but at the same time she envied the way he and Shoko got along, which eventually evolved into respect for the strong.

Ritsu Narose was surprised that Wakaba Mutsu actually consulted him about Toyokawa Shoko at this time, but he did not hesitate to reveal the information he had to this girl who was not good at but had been trying hard to communicate with the outside world.

In his view, Toyokawa Shoko was a contradictory human being - although everyone was like this, this characteristic was particularly prominent in her.

Toyokawa Shoko chooses restraint for her beautiful dream, but she also suffers pain because of restraint.

She was happy because of moderation because it satisfied her self-esteem and made her believe that she had the ability to reach the end of her dreams; she was miserable because of moderation because it made her suffer, and this was precisely the path she had chosen.

"Her restraint sharpens her like a whetstone, while also changing her original self. This mindset keeps her in check, so the power to break free doesn't lie with her, or isn't solely hers."

"Sorry, I don't understand..." Sitting on the sofa, Ruo Ye Mu's pretty face, which had always been expressionless, showed clear frustration.

Tilting his head, Ritsu Narose decided to use a simpler way of putting it.

"For example, if you wanted to get closer to a classmate you had a decent relationship with, what would you do?"

"I..." She opened her cherry lips slightly and remained silent again.

After patiently waiting for a moment, Naruse Ritsu finally heard the words of uncertainty echoing in his ears. After just a few words, his expression became like that of a novice adventurer hearing the green goblin's battle cry of "WAAAGH!"

Involution, marriage, the future, self-consumption... What is all this?!

His pupils trembled, but he remained calm on the surface. With a light cough, he signaled that the time for answering was over, and Naruse Ritsu told Wakaba Mutsu in the most tactful way that she had answered incorrectly.

"But, I saw it written like this in the book." Ruo Yemu clenched his hands slightly in front of him, and his heart tightened, as if he realized that his answer was ridiculously wrong.

"That's not wrong, but..." With a slight smile, Naruse Ritsu said softly, "Sharing one's own bitterness can indeed quickly bring two people closer, but it doesn't make people happy."

Looking at the confused girl, he paused for a moment, then offered a suggestion: "How about smiling more? I think someone as lovely as Miss Ruoye looks her best when she smiles."

"..."

She looked up in surprise, and only after seeing the gaze from Naruse Ritsu did Wakaba Mutsu realize that the words were directed at her. She wanted to raise the corners of her mouth as he said, but she couldn't do it now.

Just as she was about to panic, another voice came from somewhere else.

——"You two are having a very strange conversation. Are you happy?"

The voice of Toyokawa Shoko came from behind. Following the sound, Ritsu Narose saw the blue-haired girl standing on the stairs looking down at them.

This scene, which looked like the male host having an affair with his mistress, did not make Ritsu Narose feel guilty at all. He pointed to the third box of drinks on the coffee table, indicating that there was another seat waiting for her.

Walking to the sofa, Shoko Toyokawa did not immediately pick up the box of drinks that belonged to her.

She looked at Wakaba Mutsu without saying a word. It was only after the green-haired girl said goodbye and left that she thanked Naruse Ritsu in the absence of the person concerned.

Just like what Ye Mu had done for her before.

13. Dual Existence (Two in One)

The blindingly bright incandescent lights, the lingering smell of disinfectant, the unfamiliar instruments with numbers dancing on their screens… none of these stereotypical elements were present. In this underground space resembling a medieval herbalist's workshop, the modern venous lancets stood out.

"Xiangzi shouldn't be afraid of injections, right?"

Faced with this childish rhetoric, Toyokawa Shoko silently rolled her eyes at Naruse Ritsu. As if to protest, she proactively extended her uncovered arm.

The moment Ritsu Naruse made contact with her, he felt a tremor run down his arm. Looking up, he saw the girl, her face turned away from him. But a faint blush crept across her fair cheeks.

A slight pressure would leave a red mark on her slender white wrist. Looking at the petite girl in front of him, who was only a little over 1.5 meters tall, an urge to hold her in his arms and cherish her suddenly came over him.

Just as the lustful demon within him was about to rear its head, it was instantly slapped away by a powerful blow from his rational mind. Even until the test tube was filled with dark red blood, Ritsu Narushe didn't let the rich inner drama of the past few minutes reveal itself...

"I say, have you touched enough?" Looking at Ritsu Narose who was still holding her hand, Shoko Toyokawa, who was sitting on the chair, tried hard to suppress the shame in her heart and said to him coldly.

It is normal to be negligent when you are busy fighting the lust demon in your heart.

Someone who claimed to be a gentleman slowly released the girl's left hand, as if he had never thought of imitating the idea of ​​a certain good citizen of Morioh Town.

Within seconds, the tiny wound healed as it had before—reassurance that Toyokawa Shoko was changing her body. She knew it was no use dwelling on it, so she looked at Naruse Ritsu and asked a question she had been wanting to ask since entering this basement.

"You actually know all this?" Looking around the room, she couldn't help but sigh, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have been able to imagine it..."

"I learned all this in the past. Back in the day, experience was more practical than theory, so I tend to be more of an activist than an academic," Naruse Ritsu said as he put the labels on. "But with the current division of majors, just mastering the theory is not easy."

Noticing a slight change in his expression, Toyokawa Shoko asked curiously, "Are you interested in medicine?"

To her, Naruse Ritsu was practically the same thing as "mysterious." Now that she had the chance to get to know him better, she naturally wouldn't miss it.

"I wouldn't say I'm interested, but it's very useful to me." As he prepared to put the test tubes into the storage box, Ritsu Narushe said casually, "An ally I used to know is currently exploring the field of biological sciences. It's no surprise that I'm planning to take another path that will benefit me."

"While competence is certainly important in this world, people often judge a person's ability by the labels they wear. An authoritative official endorsement would be of great benefit to me. Not only would it save me a lot of trouble, but it would also allow me to prove myself as an authority without even having to ask."

"But I remember..." Searching her memory bank for a past conversation, Toyokawa Shoko quickly recalled the information that Naruse Ritsu had accidentally revealed during a casual chat. "You've never been to school, have you?"

"So-called learning is nothing more than panning for gold in the sand, picking up wheat from the husks. A third of my life has been spent learning from the elders. And what's even more coincidental is that the knowledge required by that high school is also included in that."

Seeing Ritsu Naruse say something in a rather calm tone that sounded quite provocative to a student, especially a hard-working top student like her, Toyokawa Shoko couldn't wait to transform into Robespierre and send Naruse Juju to his favorite Palace of Versailles and give him his favorite guillotine (brand new).

Sensing the sudden menacing gaze from the other person, Naruse Ritsu nonchalantly changed the subject, "Besides, that school is on an artificial island near the port area. While I could fly there directly, the daily commute would still be quite troublesome."

"You really do whatever you want."

"Because life is always full of bitterness, and I can't stand bitterness."

Somewhat envious of his optimism, Toyokawa Shoko sighed and continued the conversation she had just left: "What then? Are you planning on applying to medical school?"

As soon as she said this, Toyokawa Shoko felt that discussing academic matters with a visitor from another world was somewhat black humor, but the even more absurd thing was that her level of knowledge might be far behind the other person's.

——"I have thought about this question."

Hearing this, Toyokawa Shoko looked at him in surprise, as if to say, "Are you serious?"

"But that's a few years away. It's a bit too early to talk about it now." Shrugging, Naruse Ritsu extended his right hand. "Do you need me to help you up? The blood I just drew is within the normal range, but it might be a bit too much for you."

"I don't need—wooooo!"

Standing up with the help of his hands, Toyokawa Shoko was about to say something harsh when he felt his legs go weak.

Falling forward into the arms that had been waiting there for a long time, the blue-haired girl buried her head in her chest without saying a word, only holding onto Naruse Ritsu's fingers and exerting force continuously, silently telling her that her heart was not at peace at the moment.

Back in the living room, with her feet back on the ground, Shoko Toyokawa seemed to have completely forgotten the darkest moment just now.

She calmly straightened her slightly wrinkled clothes while asking about her obligations as a tenant.

"You provide me with a place to stay, but you refuse to let me use money to pay for what I should have paid. So I should do something as compensation."

With her right hand on her chest, Shoko Toyokawa looked serious.

But to Ritsu Narose, he always felt that these words sounded a little familiar?

Although he himself does not care how the tenants pay their "rent", it is very important to him that "the tenants he cares about care about this matter".

Obviously, this was a trouble that was caused by taking care of Toyokawa Shoko's self-esteem. But he never cared about this kind of trouble, or rather, he enjoyed the fun that this kind of trouble brought.