Azure Files, the starting point of all miracles

Is it because you want to get something from yourself?

What do I have that he could possibly get?

He should have understood it a long time ago.

I have nothing left...

but--

-

"Nagisa, I will save you from the quagmire of suspicion and darkness!"

-

Nagisa: “…”

He still told himself so.

He still did this to himself.

"..."

My thoughts return to the present.

Xiyu's words continued to echo in the girl's ears.

Nagisa's eyes widened slightly.

After being silent for a while, she silently looked away.

-

"You tried really hard, Nagisa."

-

"..."

Before she knew it, the girl clenched her hands into fists.

Her cherry lips slightly parted, as if she wanted to say something but didn't know how to start.

At this moment, she felt as if something was handed to her.

Sniffing the aroma, the girl raised her head slightly, and her cloudy eyes depicted what was in front of her.

A grilled fish.

Nagisa: “…”

"Don't worry, this one doesn't have any chili in it."

Xiyu gave her a comforting look.

And this is indeed the case.

The perfect heat brings out the aroma of the ingredients; combined with a little bit of spices, it perfectly creates an elegant melody.

But, for some reason, looking at the grilled fish in front of him, Nagisa was hesitant to reach out his hand.

Just when Xiyu was about to comfort her again, Zhu took the spicy grilled fish that he had taken a bite of and brought it to his mouth again.

Xiyu: "Nagisa, that is——"

Nagisa: Bite——

After one bite, the familiar feeling bursts on the taste buds again.

The pain caused by the intense stimulation soon turned the girl's cheeks red.

Seeing Zhu's painful expression, Xiyu quickly handed her a cup of tea.

But Nagisa didn't take it. Instead, he picked up the bottle of soda from the beginning and took a sip of it.

Nagisa: “Hmm…”

The impact of bubbles.

The stimulation of spicy taste.

The two were like two armies fighting on a battlefield, rampaging in the girl's mouth.

Finally, Nagisa couldn't bear it any longer and started coughing loudly.

But even so, she still desperately covered her mouth with her hands, and a liquid mixed with saliva and chili continued to seep out from between her fingers.

It can be said that at this moment, Nagisa has completely lost the elegance that a young lady should have in the past.

In a sense, they are even more miserable than those refugees fleeing famine.

After swallowing all the food in his mouth with great effort, Nagisa let out a long sigh, with an expression as if he had survived a calamity, and an inexplicable sense of collapse.

"Nagisa..."

"teacher……"

The girl murmured, her eyes constantly looking at the boy beside her.

"Is this strange taste really something that humans can eat? I can't understand this behavior of actively seeking pain."

"And the liquid that's a mixture of industrial saccharin and carbon dioxide. The moment I touch it, my sense of taste is ruined."

"What the hell is that weird thing!!!"

After saying this in a hoarse voice as if giving up on himself, Nagisa turned his head to the side.

Looking at the girl's angry look, Xiyu hesitated for a moment and then scratched his head in embarrassment.

"How should I put it? The spicy taste is indeed a little hard to accept for people who try it for the first time."

"I didn't really like this flavor at first, until some idle guy dragged me into this pit, and I never recovered from the way I used to be."

"As for this drink, it's something called soda."

"Although it may sound strange for me to say this, for some people, this thing is equivalent to the existence of the 'source of life'."

Listening to Xiyu's words, Zhu, who was silent, fluttered his wings slightly.

"teacher……"

"Disappointed?"

"?"

These sudden words interrupted Xiyu.

I didn't look at the boy next to me, for fear of seeing something strange in his eyes.

Nagisa squatted on the ground, protected her body with her white wings, and repeated her previous words.

"Are you disappointed in me?"

“This is who I really am.”

"It's not as it seems—"

"Why be disappointed?"

Nagisa: “——!”

Hearing the words coming from the side, Nagisa's slightly trembling wings suddenly paused.

“I’m not disappointed.”

Looking at the girl who was curled up in a ball, Xiyu took out a tissue and wiped off the dirt on her face.

"Rather, I can finally see the true side of Nagisa."

"I feel like I can die without regrets~"

"Teacher?!"

After Xiyu said this, Zhu felt a little flustered and turned around quickly.

Just then, she saw a pair of extremely gentle eyes.

There is no disgust, nor rejection.

Some of them are just as gentle to students as they were in the past.

"Nagisa."

"You are finally willing to take off the mask in front of me."

Nagisa: “…”

Under the teacher's smile, Nagisa turned her head away shyly.

"Take off the mask or something... Isn't this method too cunning?"

"Haha, sorry sorry~"

"After all, when I see a cute child like Nagisa, I can't help but want to play a little trick on him~"

"Goo-"

Although the teacher was praising her, for some reason, Nagisa felt inexplicably unhappy.

"Teacher, if you continue like this I will be angry!"

"Wow~ Nagisa, your face looks a little scary right now—"

"It's not impossible to become more terrifying~"

"!"

Chapter 180: I won't leave you alone again, Nagisa

After giving the annoying adult in front of him a good beating, Nagisa once again looked at the stream in front of him.

The sound of gurgling water brings a sense of peace that makes people relax their nerves unconsciously.

"teacher."

"?"

"Can you please pass me that fish?"

As Nagisa spoke, he pointed to the fish that Xiyu had taken aside earlier.

"Uh...are you sure?"

Looking at the grilled fish that had been bitten twice, Xiyu couldn't help but reveal a worried look.

"Xiaozhu, you are not used to this kind of-"

"..."

"Well, if you want."

As Xiyu spoke, she handed back the grilled fish that she had taken aside.

After taking the grilled fish from the boy, Nagisa stared at the bright red peppers on it, and a strange look gradually appeared in his eyes.

"Teacher, you said that before, right?"

“Hopefully I can take the mask off.”

"May I understand that you hope to understand me more deeply?"

"In that case, I also hope to get to know you better, teacher."

After saying this, Nagisa put the grilled fish to his mouth.

Compared to the first two bites, this time, Nagisa chose to be cautious and took a small bite of the grilled fish.

Nagisa thought that this would be able to slightly reduce the impact of the spicy taste, but when the food was actually put into his mouth, he found that he was still too naive.