"Amamiya, what do you plan to do in the future?"
As they enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere, Sonoko shifted the conversation toward the future.
"What are your goals?"
"I haven't really thought about it."
Ren had never been one to plan too far ahead.
Maybe it was because of his indifferent personality, but he had always lived in the moment, taking things one step at a time.
He had no concrete vision for the future.
"What about you, Suzuki?"
"What do you want to do in the future?"
"If you'd asked me before, I would have said I'd find a boyfriend and eventually take over the Suzuki family business."
Even though she didn't seem like the type to say something so serious, Sonoko still repeated what her parents had always expected of her.
"Inheriting the family business, huh? That makes sense."
Ren wasn't surprised.
Sonoko might seem carefree on the surface, but she had her reliable side too.
She understood her responsibilities.
That wasn't something he had gathered from the story, it was something he had come to realize from spending just two days with her.
This girl isn't as frivolous as she seems.
That was the impression he had formed over the past couple of days.
Hearing her talk about inheriting the family business only confirmed what he had already suspected.
It was a natural result of her upbringing in the Suzuki family.
"The Suzuki family's business is massive. Managing it alone would be a huge challenge."
"Finding the right partner would definitely help share the burden."
"I think you're more responsible than you let on, Suzuki."
Sonoko's eyes curved into a smile.
"I thought you'd just brush it off as a joke."
Ren shook his head, dismissing the idea.
"My understanding of you before was based on the story."
"Because you're so obsessed with appearances, I assumed you were just a fangirl."
"But after getting to know you, I realized you actually keep a certain distance from people."
"You're not a fangirl, you just have a preference for good-looking faces."
"If you were a fangirl, you'd be chasing after celebrities or elites from high society."
A true fangirl or a socialite would naturally gravitate toward the wealthy and powerful.
But Sonoko was different. She had a clear distinction between what she liked and what she chased after.
Otherwise, with her status and playful personality, she would have already been involved in all sorts of extravagant social circles.
Ren had learned this lesson in his previous life, never underestimate how wild the upper class could be.
They really knew how to indulge themselves.
"Hehe~ No one's ever told me that before. You're the first."
Sonoko stared at him with amusement.
"Then tell me, do I seem like the type to flirt with every guy I meet?"
"Well... not really. In the story, you're just someone who really likes good-looking people."
"In that case, the me from the story must be way worse than I am in real life."
Sonoko laughed, not particularly concerned about how she was portrayed in the story.
"She's probably different from the way I actually am."
"More reckless. More idealistic."
She could make an educated guess about what her character in the story was like.
Overall, they weren't too different, but the story version of her seemed far more impulsive, while she herself was more rational.
Just look at what was written about her future.
The idea of a hero rescuing her? That alone showed how unrealistic the story could be.
"Yeah, she's definitely more willful."
Thinking back to Sonoko in the story, Ren agreed that there was a noticeable difference.
The real Sonoko was also willful, but she always stayed within certain boundaries.
"You said that was before, so what about now?"
"Now? I want to step into the world of the extraordinary."
Sonoko didn't avoid the question.
"A world of mysteries?"
"Yeah, something like that."
It wasn't surprising.
Ren himself was already deeply involved in that world.
And as an ordinary person, he understood that curiosity better than anyone.
There's a saying, If I hear the truth in the morning, I could die content by evening.
"It's not completely impossible."
"But I can't say when it'll happen."
"After all, the diary doesn't choose its owners based on my opinion."
"Yeah, I figured as much."
"But still, I'll be looking forward to the day luck finally falls on me."
She took a deep breath, feeling a rush of excitement.
But she managed to keep her emotions in check.
"Since we're talking about it, what about you, Amamiya? What do you want to do in the future?"
"Whether it's something long-term or just a short-term goal."
"If it's just a short-term goal, I do have a few things in mind."
Ren had never thought much about his long-term future.
But if he were to talk about immediate objectives, then yes—there were a few.
"I want to reach Sequence 0 in three paths, climb to the peak of the Sequence Road, and search for a way forward."
"Then, I want to visit another world and meet a certain interesting man."
"I want to say hello, see his reaction, and watch his face twist in shock."
"But that's a distant goal."
"In the near future, I just want to keep advancing on the Sequence Road."
"And I want to observe the paths taken by various characters in the story."
"This is something I never imagined being able to do before, but now it's right in front of me. I want to experience more interesting things firsthand."
Sonoko immediately caught onto what Ren was thinking.
"That fits your current situation perfectly."
"Accumulating strength, laying the foundation, seeing more of the world through your own eyes—"
"And little by little, working your way to the top."
"Sounds pretty interesting, doesn't it?"
At that moment, she realized the real reason behind Ren's seemingly laid-back attitude.
It wasn't that he was lazy, he simply didn't have a grand life goal.
He didn't like rigid planning.
He preferred taking things one step at a time, acting only after he had a strategy in place.
A completely free-spirited approach.
"But, Amamiya, there's no one else in your life goal."
"You're used to being alone, aren't you?"
Sonoko caught onto that detail immediately.
"Amamiya, take a guess—"
"Do you think the diary responds to people with strong desires?"
"If I were one of the characters in the story, would it react to my wishes?"
Ren fell silent for a moment.
"Amamiya, that's the wrong answer."
"You should've said no—"
"Otherwise, how can I place a bet with you?"
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