Starting With The Sefirah Castle In The Anime World
Chapter 317: Lonely Little Girl

Chapter 317: Chapter 317: Lonely Little Girl

On Saturday morning, the Amamiya household welcomed a somewhat rare guest.

"Sanzenin?"

A girl in casual clothes with twin golden ponytails stood at the door, looking as adorable as ever.

Beside her was a small suitcase, and with her posture and expression, she resembled a stray puppy abandoned at the doorstep.

"Did you run away from home today? Had a fight with Miss Maria?"

Sanzenin Nagi glared at him, her expression like an angry cat ready to pounce.

"Why would I have a fight with Maria? And why would I run away from home?!"

After venting her irritation, her fiery expression gradually softened, though a trace of helplessness still lingered on her face.

"It’s all Maria’s fault. I told her I wasn’t lonely, but she insisted I was. This morning she made me pack clothes for two days and just dumped me here."

Well, that means you were lonely... Ren nodded slightly, pretty much understanding why Maria had done it.

Considering he had stayed home only once this week and attended a class reunion organized by Ayako on another day, he had indeed been absent for two days.

"Oh~ So Sanzenin got lonely just because I wasn’t around."

As he said that, Ren smiled and patted Sanzenin’s head, treating her like a golden tabby cat—adorably petting her.

"Wah... I said I’m not!"

Blushing and resisting, Nagi’s reaction made it clear—this child was the very definition of a tsundere. But really, that fit her personality perfectly.

She tried to resist the head-pats, but no matter how much she squirmed, she couldn’t escape.

Not only did she fail to avoid them, but the more she resisted, the more persistent the hand on her head became until eventually, she gave up.

Nagi finally raised her head, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"You used extraordinary powers, didn’t you?"

"..."

"You definitely used them!"

She puffed out her cheeks. This person actually used mystical powers just to keep patting her head!

"Alright, alright, let’s talk first."

Ren didn’t bother to explain. He casually took her suitcase in one hand and held her hand with the other as they walked inside.

Sanzenin Nagi looked annoyed, clearly upset about what just happened.

But still, she obediently followed him into the house.

The interior wasn’t very large. Compared to Sanzenin Nagi’s home, this place was roughly the size of a single room in her villa.

Even so, Sanzenin Nagi didn’t seem to mind the smaller space. After all, she knew a poor guy who liked Saginomiya Isumi, so she had seen worse.

Sitting on the sofa, she noticed a glass of juice already prepared on the low table in front of her.

Sanzenin Nagi pouted slightly but still picked it up and took a sip. The sweetness of the juice softened her expression a little.

But then Ren came over and sat beside her.

"Got no plans for the weekend?"

At that, Sanzenin Nagi sighed.

"After school, I usually go to Hakuou and ask Hinagiku to help me with kendo. But it’s the weekend, and I can’t bother her again. She has her own stuff to do. What if I end up annoying her?"

Ren couldn’t help but laugh.

"Don’t you know what kind of person Hinagiku is? If she could get you out of the house, she’d pull out all the stops. Do you really think she’d care about giving up a weekend?"

That was true... Sanzenin Nagi thought about her time at Hakuo. Hinagiku had often come over to visit her even on weekends.

Every time, it was for one reason—to drag her out of the house.

"So, you’re still not used to staying home alone?"

"...No. With Maria at home, how could I be lonely?"

The tsundere tone made Ren unable to hold back a chuckle.

Hearing his laugh, Sanzenin Nagi’s face flushed.

"I said I’m not lonely! What’s so funny?!"

After a short laugh, Ren gently placed a hand on her head.

"When you get used to having people around you and hearing their voices, it becomes hard to adjust to solitude. That’s loneliness, Sanzenin."

"Maybe you’re not lonely because of one person missing, but when everyone is gone, you feel it."

Loneliness... Sanzenin Nagi found herself repeating the word silently.

She thought about how much her life had changed in the past two months. She no longer spent all her time at home playing games. Instead, she began strength training regularly.

It was boring on the surface, but somehow, she could spend the whole afternoon doing it without anyone reminding her.

School still felt dull. She had already mastered everything the teachers were covering. But even so, she no longer fell asleep mid-lesson like before.

If she didn’t feel like going to class, she could just visit the club. She wasn’t alone there either. Shinomiya wasn’t great at games, but Hayasaka was pretty good.

Gaming wasn’t lonely anymore. The once-empty time slots in her life had gradually been filled.

And now, she realized... maybe she couldn’t go back.

Sanzenin Nagi bit her lip lightly.

"Lonely... I’m not lonely..."

She still wouldn’t admit it. Just the stubborn pride of a little girl... Ren shook his head slightly and chose not to push her any further.

"Sanzenin, you and I are actually very similar."

She looked up at him.

"I’m not good at socializing. My environment growing up taught me to be wary of everyone. I’ve always been just trying to survive. When fate suddenly changed, I was overwhelmed and scared to even face it."

"I know you’re different from me in some ways, but not entirely. You lost your mother at a young age and had to face assassination attempts over the Sanzenin inheritance. Your life has been even more chaotic than mine."

"And even if your mouth says otherwise, you’re not as cold as you act. If you didn’t care about others getting hurt because of you, why wouldn’t you go to school more often? I don’t believe you were born hating the outdoors."

Ren’s words cut straight through Sanzenin Nagi’s defenses, peeling away her stubbornness and leaving her unable to deny the vulnerability underneath.

(To be continued.)

***

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