I really don't want to be reborn.

Chapter Thirty-Six: If permitted, we can do without asking for anything in return.

This is a restless society.

A constant stream of vehicles, and anxious hearts.

Utilitarianism and pragmatism, refined egoism—and I am utterly useless in them.

In the metropolis, cars come and go, people come and go, and everyone is as unfamiliar as a gust of wind.

"Kiso, you're so kind."

Before he knew it, Kyosuke Kousaka had uttered such a sentence.

He knew this girl's true nature very well, which is why he said such a thing: "You are still able to maintain a cheerful mood, be a good student at school, and a good girl in front of your parents. I have to say you are quite gentle."

Observing humans is a hobby that has absolutely nothing to do with happiness and joy.

What kind of emotions do people show towards strangers?

Having experienced many things, Kyosuke Kousaka knew very well what kind of indifference and malice it was, and what was hidden beneath the smile.

That feeling, like digging through silt in a river, was absolutely awful.

Even without directly confronting the situation, observing, recording, and analyzing as an outsider will inevitably result in a subtle and negative influence.

That's a general psychological profile.

Why does Setsuna Ogiso have this hobby?

What's wrong with a beautiful young girl in the prime of her life liking something!

Furthermore, Kyosuke Kosaka discovered that this person not only had such a terrible hobby, but was also quite serious about it.

When a lion pounces on its prey, whether it's a rabbit or an antelope, it will go all out.

Setsuna Ogiso is the same; she does everything seriously, without getting impatient, giving up, or being perfunctory. She makes no typos and never misuses punctuation.

Besides claw machines...

"I think you're too kind to the world to be a good girl instead of preparing for business and politics at such a young age."

After a long pause, Setsuna finally realized what was happening, her expression a mixture of amusement and exasperation: "You...you're praising me, right? Not being sarcastic, are you?"

"Yes."

"Kousaka-kun, um... what about me!"

The girl with pigtails suddenly stopped and looked at the overpass that spanned the street: "I'm actually very smart. When I was little, I was thinking about what people live for."

It was unusual for the girl, who usually spoke clearly and logically, to be speaking as if she were in a state of sleeplessness, uttering simple sentences in fits and starts several times.

"Children shouldn't think about those kinds of things."

"But I still couldn't help but think about it. What is my value? What is the career I want to pursue for the rest of my life?"

This kind of confusion is not only felt by Kirino and Kuroneko, but also by precocious girls like Ogiso Setsuna who have changeable thoughts.

Those were the life questions they were pondering, while boys their age were still thinking about what games to play tomorrow or where to find cheap adult books.

She exhaled and smiled with a touch of shyness: "Well, what I wanted to say is actually quite simple: I just want to find a goal worth striving for my whole life."

A goal that one can dedicate one's entire life to?

Kasumigaoka Utaha's goal should be writing.

Ruri Gokou's character is a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur).

However, Kousaka Kyosuke, including his younger sister, couldn't understand it. He felt that considering this issue at their age was like farting before eating beans.

Let it go first, no need for pointless whining.

However, considering Setsuna's mental age, he felt that this should be considered an informal life discussion: "With Setsuna's intelligence, you must have already looked for your own life goals, right?"

"Yes, but in the end I gained nothing... Actually, I initially believed in love. I think love should be a person's spiritual sustenance throughout their life."

This girl with a devil in her heart, this girl who has always been gentle, this girl who values ​​relationships very much—she is different from other girls; she has long since stopped believing that love is something one can fight for for a lifetime.

Love is an act of genius, and she hasn't met another genius yet, or rather, the genius she's met belongs to someone else.

She didn't believe it either.

Because the idea of ​​"fighting for love" ultimately means that one is making efforts, whether actively or passively.

She is a selfish person.

I can never achieve the level described in the book.

But my heart is also filled with longing and anticipation...

It doesn't believe in love or being loved, yet it desperately longs for love and to be loved—it's like a squirrel peeking out of the winter snow, hesitating whether to leave the forest.

"You stopped believing it later?"

She paused for a moment, then sighed and said, "Last Christmas Eve I saw a couple arguing about whether or not to buy a ring. The girl got furious because she couldn't buy one and threatened to break up with him."

"..."

"I've encountered similar situations many times, Kousaka-kun. Do you think love is really as important as the books say? I don't understand, I really don't understand."

"Hmm, this topic... is more complicated and heavy than any erotic game."

"Erotic games?"

"No, it's nothing."

Kyosuke finished reminiscing about his life discussion with his sister last year and smiled: "You have discovered nothing and gained nothing because you are only focused on what you are pursuing and obsessed with the process of pursuing it itself. In fact, life goals and the meaning of life are the same."

"What is that?"

"It has no inherent meaning."

"Is it meaningless...?"

Ok.

It had no meaning in the beginning. What meaning does life have in the beginning besides survival?

We need to think, to like, to hate, and only then will things come into being.

In short, you have to give it meaning yourself.

"Think about it, if God decided that the meaning of my life was to have a harem! To be a scumbag who juggles multiple relationships! But later I realized that I should wholeheartedly love only one person."

He spread his hands, one hand empty, the other holding a bag of fruit, looking somewhat like a machine gun aimed at the chrysanthemum of fate.

"I only like her, but God ordained me to have a harem when I was born—it's like declaring a clean government in the country, only to find out a whole bunch of corrupt officials later. How embarrassing would that be?"

Ogiso Setsuna pondered: "So, are you monogamous or do you have a harem? It seems like a difficult question for you."

"..."

After all that explanation, this is all you've figured out?

Do you still dare to seem thoughtful?

Kyosuke Kosaka concluded, "Anyway, I think Setsuna, you should be a happy person."

"what?"

"Go and organize, cultivate a particularly happy way of life, and strive to develop that kind of character—but whatever you do, please don't feel that your life is destined to be tragic."

Life, amidst immeasurable randomness, must never lose its mastery—this was his last thought.

Although Kyosuke Kousaka himself is no longer able to do this.

But Ogiso Setsuna should be okay, right?

Her straight back slowly slumped down, and she leaned against the overpass, staring blankly at him.

"What's wrong? Do you think what I just said makes a lot of sense? Do you think I look especially handsome today?"

Setsuna brushed her bangs aside: "I just think that having a brother like you must be really tough for Kirino, right? You're so clear-headed, so rational, and you seem to understand everything. It must be especially difficult to get along with you."

Kyosuke raised an eyebrow: "You're wrong, she should be very happy."

Ah, hardship and happiness are not contradictory.

"Yes."

"A harem and monogamy are not contradictory to some extent."

The topic was starting to veer towards things like "a man's nipples are an erection device," so he waved his hand seriously: "...I won't take that bait."

After a brief, informal life consultation, comparing Ogiso Setsuna before and after, apart from a slightly more thoughtful expression on her face, she remained largely unchanged.

That change was meaningful and interesting; it was like people coming and going like sand, like sand being scattered again by the sea on two piles of beach.

What's significant is that Kyosuke Kousaka and Setsuna Ogiso, like two piles of mud and sand, were washed together and eventually came into being.

After crossing the overpass, Kyosuke Kosaka suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, I think I still owe you a birthday present this year. What would you like?"

"The doll that day was really good. Don't laugh at me, but I need to hug a doll to sleep well."

"Are you a little kid?"

"Yes, Kyosuke-chan, I'm a child!"

When a woman is attracted to a man, she has the ability to look young again.

------

On the last day, I asked for razor blades.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: I am the Long Street, You are a Thousand Piles of Snow

"Kyosuke-chan!"

"Pickled mustard green sauce!"

"...How disgusting."

"Each each other."

As they walked off the overpass, Kyosuke Kosaka suddenly asked, "Your previous unhappiness probably had little to do with me. Is something bothering you?"