Survive in Azure Files

"Hehehe, right? This season is when it blooms most beautifully! It is the pride of our One Hundred Demons Night Parade!"

It suddenly occurred to me that the original Sakura Festival was probably a festival held for the sacred tree.

"Izuna, I love this place the most because I can see the sacred tree and the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons at the same time!"

The little fox stared into the distance and said absentmindedly: "Every time I come here, Izunai can be motivated to continue working hard for her dream."

"Dream, huh?"

"That's right! Izuna has a dream!"

The girl smiled and said, "Izuna's dream is to become the number one ninja in Kivotos! I'm working hard today, and every day from now on will be for this purpose..."

"I see, what a..."

I sneered and gave a cold but cruel comment: "What a ridiculous dream."

"……Eh?"

Izuna looked at me in bewilderment, then, as if she finally came to her senses, she forced a smile that was uglier than crying, and said to me with a forced smile:

“Ah… um… yeah, that’s right… I’m sorry, I know that now… no one has such a dream anymore… but… but…”

"Since you know this, why don't you just give up?"

Tears welled up in Izuna's eyes. The girl lowered her head, clenched her fists, and her petite body trembled slightly.

But I didn't show any mercy to her, instead I continued to mock her:

"It seems that you are still immersed in a dream. Well, let me be frank. Your dream... or, to use a more appropriate word, your fantasy, is impossible to achieve."

I reached out my hand and gently stroked Izuna's hair, my tone was the same, but my words sounded extremely cold: "I advise you to give up this unrealistic delusion as soon as possible and return to reality."

I guess I didn't say too much?

I was playing the villain and was wondering in my heart.

Put yourself in his shoes. If it were me, and I was said such words by a stranger I just met, I would not become depressed or anything. I would just feel angry, or even aroused to resist, while maintaining basic calm and rationality in my heart.

But will Izuna be as strong as I imagined?

I couldn't help but regret that I had said such harsh words, although I did have alternative plans.

No matter what, after everything is over, I have to apologize to Izuna.

Just as I was thinking this, Izuna finally responded.

There was a crisp sound, and Izunai slapped my hand off her head, which did not trigger the defense of the Shiting Box, but it hurt my forearm.

"Don't think you know Izuna so well! What do you know?"

Izuna shed tears and stared at me angrily: "Izuna's feeling is indeed right! You vicious bad man! No matter what you say, Izuna, I will never, ever give up my dream--"

By the end of his words, it was almost like a roar.

I crossed my arms, looked at Izuna, and said calmly, "Oh? Is that so?"

"Ah, that's it!" Izunai panted and pointed her finger at my nose. "Just watch me! One day, Izunai will become an outstanding ninja and make you look at me with new eyes!"

The action was very rude, but the words were still very polite, although no honorifics were used.

What a kind-hearted child.

I looked at Izuna and chuckled.

The fox-eared girl mistakenly thought that I was laughing at her and was so angry that she was shaking all over and tears were streaming down her face. She sniffed and glared at me fiercely without saying anything. She turned around while wiping her tears and was about to leave.

However, my voice sounded behind her again:

"What? Are you going to run away?"

Izunai stopped and said coldly: "What else do you want to do? Do you want to continue to laugh at Izunai's dream?"

She took a deep breath, turned around, and walked quickly to me. Her eyes, slightly red from crying, contained an extremely determined look:

"Then please listen carefully! No matter what kind of setbacks I encounter, no matter how many times I am laughed at, no matter what... I will never give up my dream!"

“…Is this your realization?”

"That's right. So, please stop pestering me." Izuna took a half step back, "Otherwise, I will really beat you up. Let's just say goodbye."

"Ha ha……"

I shook my head and clapped my hands softly at Izuna, who was holding her gun cautiously.

"You have passed the test."

"Eh...?" Izumi was slightly startled and said hesitantly, "What does... passing mean?"

I didn't respond to Izuna's question immediately, but looked in the direction of the sacred tree and sighed in a low voice:

"Where the cherry blossoms dance, the fire will never die. Even if the ninja has become a legend, can new buds still sprout from the ashes?"

"Um...what are you talking about? Please answer Izuna's question directly!"

"Oh my, what should I say? First of all, please accept my apology for the offense I just caused."

I bowed slightly to the dazed Izuna and said apologetically, "But in order to test whether you really have the dream of becoming a ninja, whether you really have the determination to practice the ninja way, rather than just talking about it because you think it's cool, I have to resort to this desperate measure."

“Eh, ah, uh… it’s alright…?”

She is really well behaved.

"My energy is limited and I can't help everyone equally, so I have to use this method to select those who are really in need."

I stroked my chest with my hand, looked at Izumi sincerely, and said sincerely: "I already understand your dream, I have felt your determination, it is obvious that you are the one who really needs help."

Izuna looked at me, confused, "Uh... who are you...?"

"Come to think of it, I haven't formally introduced myself yet."

I turned my back to the spring sunshine, smiled warmly, and held out my hand to Izuna:

"I am Xia Lai's teacher. I came here to support her dream because I received a request from Kuda Izuna."

Izuna was stunned for a moment, and suddenly exclaimed loudly:

“…Eh?! Teacher?!”

Such an adorable reaction.

"Well, Izuna." I held the hand of the shocked girl and wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief. "From now on, please give me your guidance."

Chapter 64: I Can Only Deceive Izuna

"So... Sensei came to the One Hundred Demons Night Parade just to support Izuna's dream? Ahem."

Izuna repeated the request and stuffed a crystal clear ball with a cherry blossom inside into her mouth.

Sakura Mizu Genshin Cake is also one of the signature features of the Sakura Festival.

After explaining our "real purpose", Izunai and I found a Japanese confectionery shop and sat down to talk in detail.

"Yes, that's exactly it."

My eyes were clear and I nodded yes without any psychological burden.

From the moment I saw Izunai, I knew I came here just for Izunai!

The logic is as follows: I came to the One Hundred Demons Night Parade because I received an invitation from the festival operation committee. The festival operation committee invited me most likely because the Sakura Festival encountered trouble, and this trouble is most likely related to Izuna. I want to have a deeper interaction with the lovely Izuna, so I came to the One Hundred Demons Night Parade today specifically for Izuna.

Rigorous and meticulous, without any omissions.

"Hmm...it still feels a little weird!"

Izuna took a sip of juice from the straw, and without taking her eyes off my face, she asked in disbelief, "Could it be that even my initial encounter with Izuna was part of the teacher's plan?"

I smiled inscrutable and said meaningfully, "Izunai, why do you think I dodged in the same direction just when you were about to bypass me?"

Haha, of course it’s because I didn’t react.

"Oh! This is really amazing!"

Izuna's big brown eyes sparkled. "As expected of a teacher! It's just as Izuna heard, no, it's even more powerful than the rumors!"

"Although I can roughly guess, I'll still ask," I drummed my knuckles on the table and asked curiously, "In the rumors you heard, Izuna, what kind of image do I have?"

"Well, I heard that there is a very powerful man in Xialai who can solve all kinds of incidents in Kivotos at once!"

Izuna looked at me with a look of admiration on her cute face. "You appear in various places and solve problems quickly... You're just like a ninja! That's why I took the liberty of submitting a letter of request to you earlier."

At this point, Izuna became a little uneasy again: "But, but Izuna has clearly canceled the commission... Why did the teacher come here for me?"

"I'm sorry, Izuna, because you suddenly canceled the commission, I was very worried, so I did some research behind the scenes and came to you like this."

After investigating behind the scenes, he found out that when Izuna was carrying him on her back and running away, he asked Mimori on MomoTalk.

Izuna waved her hands in panic: "Teacher, that's not what I meant. Teacher is willing to support Izuna's dream, and Izuna is very happy! Um... I want to ask, why are you willing to support me who canceled the commission without my permission?"

In response to Izuna's cautious question, I just smiled.

“Because I’m a teacher.”

I looked at Izuna gently and said, "Because I am a teacher, how can I stand by and watch when an important student is in trouble? At least I have to confirm whether you are really troubled."

"teacher……"

Izuna called me with emotion.

I felt particularly guilty for the fact that Izumi was so simple in deceiving me and even believed what I said after the conflict.

Although I had to do this in order to gain trust as quickly as possible and find out the secret behind the conflict between Izuna and the training club, I increasingly feel that I must apologize to Izuna after the matter is over.

I picked up the cup, took a sip of the cherry blossom scented drink, and suppressed my temporarily irrelevant thoughts:

"Well, before we officially start planning our training, Izuna, I want to ask you an important question first."

Izunai quickly sat up straight and said, "Yes! Please feel free to ask! Izunai will answer them seriously!"

...Why do I feel that if I ask the little fox about her height, weight and measurements under the pretext of understanding her physical condition, she will answer truthfully?

Oops, I'm actually a little tempted.

I stared into the girl's clear eyes, and without making any unnecessary changes, I asked seriously as I had originally planned:

"Izuna, what is your [Ninja Way]?"

"Izuna's... Ninja Way...?"

The girl's fox ears twitched and her brows knitted as she fell into deep thought. I waited quietly for her answer.

After a long while, Izuna spoke slowly, "Izuna's ninja way is... never give up on your dreams and work hard, right?"

So simple. And why did you use a questioning tone and look at me for help?

I shook my head: "This is just the basic quality that a ninja should have."

Izuna quickly added: "Well, someone told me that as long as Izuna works hard to follow orders, one day he will become a handsome ninja and meet a master who is worth serving for his whole life!"

Try to follow orders...

I narrowed my eyes slightly and asked casually:

"Oh? There is such a thing. Who said that?"

"It's Izuna's employer!" At this point, Izuna suddenly opened his eyes wide, "Ah! I remembered that I haven't completed the employer's task yet!"

As expected, I was deceived by someone.

Although I had guessed it long ago, when I understood this fact, there was still an unknown fire burning in my heart.

How dare you use other people's dreams as a cover to deceive my important students? No matter who Izumi's employer is, he is doomed to die!

Unless the employer is also a young and beautiful student, then we can give her a lighter sentence...

In short, my important students can only be deceived by me, even if they are deceived.

Just like it is now.

"Sorry, teacher, Izuna has to leave first!"

"No hurry, sit with me for a while."

I raised my hand and pressed it downwards to stop Izumi from standing up. I looked at the snacks and drinks I had ordered on the table and said something that would not allow for rejection: