Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

"Unless the gods reward us with another 'Eye of God'." Zhe Li said with a smile.

Even if Inazuma's most renowned fireworks artist, Yomiya, were personally in charge, fireworks had their limits: at least, she couldn't achieve the same level of fire as before, igniting flames close to people without injuring them. Even modern live houses, to achieve similar stage effects, rely on a darkened room and stage lighting. The open stage here in Hanamizaka didn't meet those requirements.

"Can I do the same thing again if I go on stage again...?"

Or maybe even giving another God's Eye wouldn't help. For example, Qiannai had no expectations for this.

Zheli suggested, "Then, how about adding the practice of 'God's Eye' to future classes?"

Although the "Eye of God" in Zheli's hand was fake, elemental power was ultimately just a form of energy. The elemental power might not obey Zheli, but if he simply wanted to teach Chinana how to control energy, his experience within Abbott's body would be more than enough to handle it.

Even for the current Zheli, it is not a problem to release a Flame Killing Black Dragon Wave... although he can only replicate the appearance.

"If you can learn to protect yourself, I'll be more comfortable letting you go out and play alone."

"Well, in that case..." Chinae showed a distressed expression, "I'm not good at arguing with others."

"Even if you don't start disputes, others will still come to cause trouble for you." Zheli patted Qiannai's shoulder, crouched down, looked the girl in the eye, and said, "Be it the Eye of God, power, or wealth, they are all just a form of power. Power itself has no meaning; it is how the person who holds the power uses it that is the meaning itself."

"Yes. That's a very brilliant insight indeed." Linghua nodded in agreement.

Kamisato Ayaka, who has a similar stance to Hiiragi Chinana, can be said to be "another Chinana who is ahead of Chinana" in a sense.

He took on family affairs earlier than Chinae, understood the responsibilities that came with his identity, and obtained the "Eye of God" when he was a child. Combined with the swordsmanship he had honed since childhood, his gentle and humble, even seemingly weak appearance, hides the strength that is enough to rule an entire version.

However, learning not to abuse "power" is the subject she is still studying.

"I also support Mr. Origin's proposal. Now that Miss Chinana has obtained the Eye of God, it would be better to familiarize herself with it rather than ignore it. Even if she doesn't specifically delve into techniques to defeat the enemy, simply mastering the elemental forces can bring many benefits to her life."

China blinked curiously. "Hey, what will Miss Linghua do with the Eye of God?"

She knew that Princess Bai Lu possessed the Divine Eye of Ice Element, but she had never seen her fight an enemy with her own eyes.

"This. It's embarrassing to say——"

Seeing that the girls' ears seemed to prick up and their attention turned to her when they heard Chinana's question, Linghua quickly opened her folding fan again to cover half of her face. After hesitating for a moment, she whispered:

"A few days ago, the weather was scorching hot, and the hot tea was too hot to drink, so I made some ice cubes to cool it down... but the melting ice actually dulled the tea's aroma, and it tasted like cold water with a hint of tea."

"Huh?" Cold water with a tea flavor. It sounds like it's just bitter!

Chinana patted her chest and said thankfully, "Luckily, my element is fire. I can use it to heat up snacks when winter comes!"

Or when you feel cold, you can use a small flame to warm your hands. If the tea accidentally gets cold, you don’t have to brew it again, you can warm it up on the spot... Wow, after hearing what Miss Linghua said, it seems that the Eye of God is indeed very useful!

Zhe Li spread his hands and said, "Don't burn the pancakes into scones."

"That won't do!" Qiannai quickly shrank her face and shook her head.

"Teacher, today, no, tomorrow I need you to teach me how to use the 'Eye of God'!"

She doesn't want to have to eat burnt cookies from now on!

Chapter 83: Fire

The night is long.

Lights illuminated a corner of the city, dyeing the starry night with endless flames.

A never-ending feast, lights that never go out, and of course, people who never seem to get tired... Only at this time, the name of the "Eternal" country is in perfect harmony with this country.

The performance came to an end, and the discussion about Chinana's "Eye of God" was put on hold for the time being. So this unfinished celebration became a good place for the girls to relax: led by Chinana Hiiragi, followed by Touma Takamatsu and her pendants, the girls in the band chatted and laughed as they walked away from the noisy crowd.

Baodō Zheli also wanted to follow, but Nagasaki Suyo grabbed his sleeve.

"Then I'll take my leave here." Kamisato Ayaka watched everyone leave and nodded to the few people who remained.

Linghua had originally come here just to deal with an unexpected incident. Now that nothing happened, she was ready to return to her post.

Seeing Linghua leave, Qianzhi said, "I'm going home too. Take good care of Qiliangliang."

The little cat demon perched on Zheli's shoulder wiggled its front paws at the girl. Just now, when they were shopping together, Zheli and Chinanai, even though she could only stay on Zheli's lap like a pet cat, the man hadn't forgotten the little one's existence and would feed her a portion of everything he bought.

At the cost of not being able to move freely... No. Thinking about it carefully, this kind of life where food comes to you seems pretty good, right?

While Qiliangliang was lost in thought, Fengyuan Manye put on his bamboo hat again. The sparse lights didn't reach here, but the shadow of the hat brim couldn't hide his smile. The store manager might not have noticed, but the girl beside him was looking at them one by one with a look of contempt.

I don’t know if Miss Kamisato noticed it, but Miss Chiori definitely understood the look in Su Shi’s eyes.

"I plan to go shopping. Manager, see you tomorrow." Wan Ye said.

Without waiting for Zhe Li's response, he turned around and left.

"Oh. See you tomorrow..." It's strange, why are they all walking so fast.

Zheli stayed where he was and watched Wanye walk into the crowd in the distance before he looked away, while Su Shi stayed with him quietly the whole time.

Previously, due to the tight schedule, I didn't have much chance to take a good look. Now, I can only see the girl's thin yukata quietly outlining her body curves in the night with stars hanging in the sky and the firelight shining in the distance.

Her beautiful eyes reflected Zhe Li's figure clearly, as quiet as the surface of a lake under the moon.

Seeing that Su Shi seemed to be hesitant to speak, Zhe Li asked, "What's wrong? Are you thinking about something?"

"I still care about what I said before." Su Shi said.

"What did you say earlier?" Zhe Li thought for a moment. Speaking of topics worth pondering, perhaps only his discussion of "the meaning of power" could be considered a good one in their previous conversation.

After Zhe Li asked tentatively, Su Shi nodded, confirming his guess.

"I'm wondering if Origin's 'power' also came from the sky like Xiao Qianna's?"

"Why do you suddenly care about this?" Zhe Li was quite surprised.

Initially, Baodeng Zheli hid his identity, or rather his race, because he was worried that Su Shi and the others, who had lived in the world of "ordinary people" since childhood, would resist or panic about supernatural phenomena.

At this point, everyone in CRYCHIC has accepted the concept of traveling to another world and the superpowers that exist in that world. Unexpectedly, Su Shi has begun to think about the source of Zhe Li's power.

"Because, if that's the case, Zheli must have been as bewildered as Xiao Qianna."

Su Shi, hands clasped behind her back, looked up into Zhe Li's eyes. Those eyes, so clear and azure in the daylight, rippled under the starry night, like autumn frost condensed into the late summer breeze, making the chirping of cicadas and the white waves easily carve clear traces on the noisy memory.

"Before you met us, did you ever feel helpless like that?—I thought to myself."

“…….” Zhe Li blinked.

"Why? I didn't say anything profound, did I?"

The man in front of him seemed speechless for a moment, and Su Shi couldn't help but chuckle and laugh.

"No. It's just... well, that's right. I don't think I've really talked about these things." Zhe Li shook his head and smiled at Su Shi. He extended his hand to the girl in front of him and said, "Let's take a walk while the celebration is still going on. By the way, let me tell you about my past."

Su Shi giggled and took Zhe Li's hand. "Is this a date invitation?"

"Aren't we already on a date?" Zhe Li asked back.

●

As the night deepened, the once crowded streets gradually became deserted.

Today's sacrificial offerings had already concluded during CRYCHIC's performance, and the vendors on the outskirts of the venue had already sold out, packing up and heading home. Fortunately, Zheli and Sushi didn't like overly crowded occasions, so this slightly quiet atmosphere was just right.

Su Shi bought a bunch of roasted bird eggs, and Zhe Li ordered a bunch of roasted sausages. Qi Liangliang seemed to like the sausages very much, and he finished them in a few bites. Zhe Li had no choice but to buy another bunch of roasted fish and eat them slowly.

Two people and a cat strolled along the cobblestone path lit by lanterns.

"Where should I begin?"

Summer. Come to think of it, the story also begins in summer.

"As you know, I'm not from 'your world'. Haha, not even a 'human'."

Zhe Li couldn't help but laugh out loud when he recalled the first time he revealed his identity as the Blood Star Slime to Su Shi. Even now, when he recalled Su Shi's surprised expression, it still felt very funny.

"At the very beginning, I was just an ordinary person."

Su Shi paused. "At the very beginning?"

"Ahh. I was born in a very ordinary family. An older sister, a younger sister, three siblings, and a pair of parents. An ordinary, but also very happy family."

Baodeng Zheli slowly raised the skewers in his hand. The radiating heat transformed into mist under the light, blurring his memories and helping him transcend distant time, returning to a simpler era.

"Or perhaps I can't say I'm ordinary, because I'm much luckier than many, many other people. It may sound a bit self-boasting, but even now, I still feel that our family is the most beautiful family in the world."

“…….” Su Shi looked at Zhe Li’s profile.

To be honest, at this moment, she felt a little envious - every moment she spent with Zhe Li, every expression of Zhe Li, was compiled into an album in Su Shi's mind, but in this "album of memories", even the moment when he smiled the happiest, was not as "happy" as he was now.

"then."

The man turned his head slightly and grinned at Nagasaki Suyo.

"One day I began to wonder, 'Do I really deserve something this wonderful?'"

"————."

Born with more than others. Born with the beauty and freedom that others may have to spend most of their lives pursuing.

But I am a big bastard who is jealous of my sister who is only two years older than me and vents my anger on my innocent sister.

God's favoritism seemed like a mockery of him, and his family's infinite tolerance seemed like a punishment for him.

"I really want to be a kind and gentle person like my family. But no matter how hard I try, I can never be as innocent as them."

"So, I made a decision."

"'If you can't be someone who brings happiness to others, then at least try to help those who are unfortunate to escape from suffering.'"

The lights flickered. His words murmured softly in the summer night, echoing in the fragrant breeze.

The flames connected the present and the past, and even today they seemed to burn every inch of his skin.

“I became a firefighter.”

……

……

……

……

……

P.S. Help! My hands and feet are freezing cold at night. I just huddle in my coat and don't feel like doing anything.

Chapter 84: I have suffered three times

Happiness comes in many forms.

Unless all human beings in the world are beaten into orange juice and the barriers in their minds are completely eliminated, "making everyone happy" will only be nonsense.

“At the very beginning, I didn’t think I was doing anything special.”

They were all paid jobs, and there was no saying one was more sacred or noble. For him, who had left his hometown without permission and come to Tokyo alone to survive, choosing a riskier job for a higher paycheck was just that: an "exchange."

“But soon, my mind changed.”

Fire is the source of human civilization, but flames originally only symbolized destruction.

The moment a disaster strikes, misfortune has already arrived. Even if lives are saved, lost memories can never be recovered. For example, furniture that has been with you for a long time, favorite paintings and dolls, and a cabinet full of collectibles -

Just saving lives doesn't seem to be enough.

"'Is there anything I can do?'"

Save one more person. Save one more thing. Save a little more... and a little more...

"Before I knew it, my colleagues in the bureau were calling me the hardest-working kid."

The man smiled, examined the skewer in his hand, and bit off a piece of meat. Under Nagasaki Suyo's focused gaze, he passed the skewer to the girl's mouth, earning a puzzled look from her, but she still took a bite of the meat.

Su Shi blinked, "Delicious."

"Right." Zhe Li hummed a few times, looking very proud for some reason.

The mountain breeze stirred the hanging lanterns. The two strolling along were outpaced by the flow of people, and the surroundings gradually grew quieter. The vendors, who had been hawking their wares all night, showed little interest in soliciting customers. Some, worse still, had already begun packing up their stalls and hurried onward.

Su Shi followed Zhe Li's gaze. "In front of us is..."

"It's almost time for the fireworks display." Zhe Li said.

Summer in Japan is all about the sea, watermelon, and fireworks. The night sky at summer festivals remains pitch black, just in anticipation of the fireworks.

"Fireworks. Hmm, I really have a connection with fire."