/
And so, the evening tea party concluded joyfully.
Seiji returned to his room first and sent his story to Shika’s email. After that, he sought out Mai.
Mai was waiting for him in front of a room on the third floor.
When she saw him arrive, she opened the door of the room for him and led him inside.
There was a large window directly across from the door in this room. The right side contained a row of bookshelves while a large desk outfitted with a comfortable-looking chair stood on the left side. There were three computer monitors arranged on the desk together with one laptop, some file-folders, books, and photographs.
Beside the desk was also a high-quality scanner/printer/copier machine in one—it was a common model which could be found at any business.
This room was obviously Natsuya’s study.
Mai turned on the printer, before starting the laptop and inputting a password.
“Go ahead and use this to download your contract and print it.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Seiji logged on to his email, downloaded the contract, and selected the “print” option.
The printer whirred and quickly began printing his contract.
During this space of a few short seconds, Seiji scanned the bookshelves in search of anything interesting.
‘Aha… I found it!’
On the farthest left corner of the bookshelf, he noticed an entire row of manga books as well as a row of CD cases containing anime episodes.
“So the president’s also an anime and manga lover.”
Seiji sighed and walked over to take a closer look at these all-too-familiar items.
Even before temporarily moving into her residence, he already suspected that she might have such interests, but he never had the chance to ask her directly about it.
When Mai brought some manga for Shika-chan to read, he believed it was further evidence of his inference being correct.
That was because the manga was clearly used before, which meant that they weren’t purchased recently at a bookstore and were already here!
Natsuya Yoruhana wasn’t an otaku at all, but she did understand anime and manga to some extent. This meant that she would sometimes watch or read them, but she wasn’t at the level of an otaku, meaning she simply enjoyed them.
‘This is rock-solid evidence of her personal interests,’ Seiji thought to himself as he browsed through Natsuya’s collection. He felt even closer to her now.
“Indeed, Milady does enjoy these, especially anime and manga about Yin Yang Masters, demons, and spirits.” Mai smiled as she walked over to Seiji’s side. “But she’s worried about the elders perceiving her as immature, so she restrains herself. She never watches or reads such things at her main home, and she’ll only do it here.”
Seiji snorted. “Tsk, there are always some rigid old fellows who believe anime and manga are only for young children.”
In his previous life, Seiji was an extreme 30-year-old otaku; he definitely didn’t care about the biased opinions of these so-called “mature people.”
Without even understanding the beauty of the 2-D world, they condescendingly looked down upon and discriminated against anime and manga. Just what was “maturity” supposed to be to them?
Seiji could comment on this topic for well over a century.
‘Forget it. Anyhow…’
“These rigid old fellows will die eventually… whoops, I mean pass away. Just let them believe what they want; the future belongs to young people anyways.”
Mai covered her mouth to conceal a smile upon seeing the boy before her express such an obvious sense of distaste.
“Haruta-san, you’re really such a… resolute otaku.”
“Yep, that’s right. I’ve been one for my entire life.” Seiji smiled as an enigmatic light flashed through his eyes. “I love anime and manga, and I love everything 2-D. All the beauty and brilliance humanity is capable of is within them. Well… of course some ugly or strange things are also in them, but that’s what makes them an enriching experience.
“Any person can find in manga and anime what they can’t find in reality. Perhaps what they are looking for doesn’t even exist in reality. Perhaps… they are seeking forbidden or taboo pleasure. Regardless of their nature, there are endless possibilities within manga and anime, because the limit is only human imagination! Everyone can find something to enjoy.
“We can find people with common interests and enjoy the experience together. We can also refuse to communicate with those whose views different ours, in order not to obstruct or harm others.
“Everyone can construct their own perfect world; that’s the type of place the land of manga and anime is.”
Dreamland, Utopia, Shangri-La, Fairy Land of Peach Blossoms… all of these were different terms for humanity’s fantasies. They were eternally peaceful and blessed places to live in. None of them had ever been actualized, and they might never appear.
But they existed in humanity’s imagination.
Fantasy and imagination were things that every human being could enjoy. The actualization of fantasy was the 2-D world.
That was because the 2-D world could display the splendor of such places!
At least that was what Seiji believed.
Mai quietly listened to Seiji’s explanation.
As a non-otaku, she wasn’t particularly struck by the nuances of Seiji’s speech, but she faintly felt that what he said sounded reasonable.
So imagination was the limit of possibilities…
‘Well, it sounds… grand.’
“You’re an excellent public speaker, Haruta-san.” Mai grinned at him. “Even I am slightly infected by your enthusiasm.”
Seiji scratched his face awkwardly. “It wasn’t a speech or anything; I just wanted to voice my feelings.”
He could have continued for even longer. There was no way to verbally express his full love as an otaku for the 2-D world.
But that would become essay-length material, so he decided to stop midway.
At this time, the printer beeped to indicate that it had finished printing.
Seiji examined all the pages and ensured that there were no problems. He then went back to the computer, logged out of his email, and deleted the downloaded contract.
“Alright, thanks for your help. Let’s leave now.”
“Haruta-san…” Mai had stopped smiling and her expression was serious.
Seiji detected that she had something important to say, so he also put on a solemn face.
“What is it, Houjou-senpai?”
“You intend to continue living in the future together with Kagura-san like this, yes?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then how do you intend to… deal with her ability?”
“I’ll just take things as they come. No matter what happens, I’ll deal with it.”
“Do you truly believe you’re capable of doing that?”
“I can.”
Thanks to his [Spiritual Power Transference] ability, he didn’t need to worry about the [Reaper’s Curse] at all. In fact, Shika-chan’s ability was even beneficial to him, since he could constantly improve his [Spiritual Power] stat using her karma power!
But he wasn’t able to say that out loud.
Mai studied Seiji’s expression thoroughly but failed to find a hint of false bravado or fear.
This could only mean one of three things: he was either supremely self-confident, extremely idiotic, or…
“You have something you can rely on… is that it?”
Seiji blinked. Unsurprisingly, Mai Houjou had seen through him.
“You can say it like that. I… have my own type of power.”
Mai also blinked in response.
“That’s good… Courage and resolution are good and all, but it’s nothing more than foolhardiness unless you have the power to back it up,” she said, sighing lightly.
“Thank you, Senpai, for worrying about me… for worrying about us.” Seiji detected her genuine concern and smiled. “I’m sorry that I can’t tell you more than that… You don’t need to worry too much for our sakes. We’ll continue living together successfully.”
Mai’s usual gentle smile reappeared.
“I just wanted to confirm your safety, since Kagura-san’s ability… is rather unique. Everyone has their secrets, so it’s fine if you don’t want to reveal yours. No need to feel apologetic, Junior.”
They exchanged glances and smiled as they reached a mutual understanding.
They then proceeded to walk out of Natsuya’s study together in silence.
“By the way, Junior, do you know about your current nickname in school?” Mai asked as they walked downstairs, unable to conceal the mirth in her tone.
Seiji had an ominous premonition. “Nickname… what?”
“Everyone at school now knows about your heroic accomplishment at the karate club, and many students have taken to calling you the ‘Magic-devouring Dragon.’”
Seiji was rendered speechless upon hearing this.
‘What the hell!!?’