[I thought it was just a meeting with Sonoko and asked her to choose a path, but it turned out to be an accident.]
[A conflict caused by a suicide case two years ago. But this time, the incident involved unnatural forces. The person who died back then became an evil spirit and used the murderer from this incident as a vessel to prolong its existence—all for revenge.]
[I originally thought it was just a simple act of vengeance. But I’m actually quite interested in the reason behind the suicide, especially since the target of the revenge has some unique circumstances.]
[Without anyone guiding my fate, it began to shift on its own.]
[Ah, because of this, I also performed a divination on what happened two years ago. As expected, the result was beyond what I imagined.]
[The exchange of seizure and sale added a layer of legal protection. This undermined the rationale behind the original revenge. It didn’t change anything for the avenger, since they weren’t concerned about the reasons, but it did stir my curiosity.]
[Because of this shift, what was once a dead end became a dead end with a glimmer of hope. My observation affected the size of that hope. Some of her preparations two years ago didn’t make her safer. But because she had prepared, I felt she didn’t deserve to die. So, a small chance emerged.]
[When I first observed fate, I actually became a variable myself.]
[Fate can be changed, but doing so requires many conditions. Coincidentally, the girl who should have been the main victim of this case had met some of those conditions. So, I helped a little.]
[Well, the murderer was possessed by the evil spirit. He was extremely brutal and planned to kill everyone who attended the class reunion.]
[That kind of thing is just unbearable.]
[I did show some mercy to the murderer. Reality was too painful for him. I pulled him into the dream he longed for so that, at least at the end of his life, he could live in that sweet fantasy world.]
[By the way, the evil spirit that possessed him was the person who committed suicide two years ago. Merciless.]
After writing the final entry, Ren ended today’s diary.
He set the pen down, sat back in his chair, and slightly tilted his head to relieve the stiffness in his neck, staring at the ceiling.
"In the end, I thought it was just a meeting, but it turned into something much bigger."
At that moment, Ren silently offered a prayer to the death god of this world.
"Though things changed, I still got to meet Sonoko’s sister. As expected, she was a bit reserved."
In truth, Ren felt that he might have been the more reserved one.
"A shift in identity."
He sighed, then opened the Fate Wheel.
"Chikako’s fate became tied to mine too. But the biggest change this time was probably Ayako’s."
Her destined marriage changed, her death was avoided, and she even became one of the extraordinary.
Chikako’s fate had shifted as well. Ren wasn’t sure if the magnitude of those changes was enough.
Soon, the Fate Wheel began to slow down.
[You have obtained the Sequence 7 potion: Cryptologist.]
Ren’s hopeful expression froze for a second. He stared at the flask of potion in front of him, a trace of helplessness on his face.
"So, the degree of change was higher than I thought."
Wrong path. He was still at Sequence 9 and couldn’t skip Sequence 8 to jump directly to Sequence 7.
"It takes two diary entries to get a Sequence 7 potion, but if you change someone’s fate, you might be able to skip ahead."
"Well, no advancement today. What a pity."
After sitting and resting for a while, Ren walked into the study.
Although it was quite late, he still had lessons to catch up on. Thankfully, with a little cheating, he could speed up the process.
By granting himself the power of a Reader, he began reviewing the material.
The efficiency was amazing.
Even if you aren’t naturally smart, with boosted memory and cognitive function, you can remember everything you read.
The power of Sequences is truly incredible and incredibly practical.
He carefully flipped through the textbook, imprinting knowledge he had previously forgotten deep into his memory bit by bit.
For a while, the room was filled only with the sound of pages turning.
When your mind is highly focused, time starts to lose meaning.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
The knock on the door pulled Ren back to reality.
He paused. The stack of unread books had been on the left side of the desk earlier, but now most had moved to the right—they’d been read.
Ren pushed up his glasses, rubbed his eyes, took a deep breath, and got up.
He walked to the entrance and opened the door.
Yoko Okino stood at the doorway, her beauty as vibrant as peach blossoms. Judging from her thick winter clothes, she had just returned from outside.
Her nose, exposed to the cold, was a little red, making Ren instinctively reach out and pinch it.
The sudden affection made Yoko blink in surprise, but she quickly smiled and gently slapped Ren’s hand away.
"Yeah. The company still hasn’t found a good agent for me. Right now, another artist’s agent is filling in. He’s not bad, but it’s definitely not as thorough as before, even though my popularity hasn’t dropped."
Ren gently took her hand and led her inside.
"Of course. A temporary agent handling someone else’s affairs isn’t going to be fully committed. They know you won’t stay with them long, so they won’t put their heart into it."
Yoko understood, but didn’t seem bothered.
"I already expected that. Besides, I won’t be with them long anyway. I’ve started planning my own studio. I think I can sort out the basics before the company finds me a proper agent."
She glanced down at her hand, still held by Ren, a soft smile forming on her lips.
She followed him inside and sat down on the sofa.
"I’ll get you a glass of water."
Yoko held his hand tightly. She wasn’t thirsty and didn’t want anything to drink.
"Right now, I just want to stay with you for a little while."
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