I'm in Teresin, dedicated to playing badly

Her hands, resting on her chest, clenched unconsciously. Emotions welled up inside her. Even though light and safety were within reach, Mi Yu felt worse than when she was locked up.

Because they were almost at the meeting point and he was paying attention to his surroundings, Shinji Kitahara did not notice anything unusual about Mi Yu.

Only after she let go of his hand did he turn around and look at Mi Yu.

"What's wrong, rice bath?"

After a moment of silence, she seemed to want to say something to him, but after her lips moved a few times, no sound came out.

"Mi Yu, you..."

Shinji Kitahara wanted to ask her to wait a moment, to say whatever it was when they were safe, but before he could finish speaking, Mi Yu suddenly turned around and ran back the way she came.

Shinji Kitahara was stunned for a moment, but after he came to his senses, he immediately chased after them.

Unfortunately, although the rice bath was not yet fully developed at that time, the speed of the rider was not something that Shinji Kitahara could keep up with, so he was unable to catch up immediately.

Fortunately, although he couldn't catch up, Shinji Kitahara was able to easily track her down by following the footprints she left behind, even though it took him a while. He eventually found the runaway Miyu.

"Mi Yu, what happened...?"

Shinji Kitahara was stunned when he saw the scene before him as he parted the bushes.

Little Mi Yu stood in the shadows, head down, hair hanging down, her expression unreadable.

Before her lay a corpse with its neck severed, its head nearly severed, and a clear penetrating wound in its chest, from which warm blood was gushing.

Shinji Kitahara remembered this person; he was one of the lookouts among the horse hunters. However, since he wasn't on Shinji Kitahara's retreat route, he didn't intend to cause any trouble and didn't deal with the person.

But the biggest problem isn't the body.

Shinji Kitahara slowly lowered his head, his gaze gradually settling on the blood-dripping dagger in Mi Yu's hand.

Where did she get the dagger?

Shinji Kitahara's first thought was this, and only then did he speak to her, asking if she was the one who had dealt with the person in front of her.

Mi Yu stood there, and after hearing his question, her ears twitched, and then she slowly turned around.

Then, Shinji Kitahara witnessed a scene that shocked him to his core.

She is laughing.

It wasn't a forced, humble smile, nor was it a squeezed-out, obviously fake smile.

Instead, it was a smile that had never appeared on her before, radiating sunshine and confidence from the inside out.

If she could show such a smile elsewhere, Shinji Kitahara would definitely be very pleased.

But now, in this pitch-black jungle, with a corpse lying beside her, she's smiling so happily, so radiantly...

Shinji Kitahara didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment.

Despite feeling mentally shaken, Shinji Kitahara's first reaction wasn't fear. Instead, he quickly went over to her, intending to take her away from there to the meeting point.

This time, however, Mi Yu did not leave with him. Instead, she took his hand with her own hand, which was still stained with blood. She looked into his eyes, smiled brightly, and spoke confidently, as if she were discussing with him where to go on a picnic.

"Brother."

"Shall we go and kill all those people?"

Chapter 250: Truth Serum MK2

Time returns to the present.

Shinji Kitahara led Mi Yu to a corner of the training ground, where the two sat facing each other.

Shinji Kitahara remained calm, pondering how to approach Mi Yu, while Mi Yu sat quietly opposite him, her head slightly lowered, her face showing obvious unease.

Several years have passed since that night's incident, and the URA's files also note that it is suspected that Shinji Kitahara took care of those people, but no suspicion has been placed on the young horse girl beside him.

But only the two people involved know the truth about what happened that night, and what really happened on that bloody night.

And from that day on, the child named Mi Yu became two.

One of them has a personality similar to that of Miyu before she met Kitahara Shinji: weak, timid, humble, and prone to self-blame. It's as if all of Kitahara Shinji's previous teachings and improvements in her personality have vanished overnight.

But the other 'rice bath' is basically the complete opposite of hers.

She is confident and cheerful. No matter when, where, or what happens, she always has that bright and sunny smile on her face, which is exactly the same as the expectation that Shinji Kitahara once expressed for her.

However, in some aspects, she seems to have done a little more than Shinji Kitahara had hoped.

But that's not the problem now.

Looking at Mi Yu, who was standing in front of him with her head down and seemed a little helpless, Kitahara Shinji's eyes gradually showed a few traces of doubt.

Strange, he remembered that Mi Yu hadn't seemed this afraid of him before...

Although Mi Yu was introverted and shy when they were together, after spending more time together, she would still appear somewhat timid when she was with him, but she was not so uneasy or even panicked.

On the contrary, in the past, if Mi Yu encountered something that made her uneasy or panicked, she would take the initiative to approach him, and her tense mood would obviously improve when she was by his side.

Moreover, it wasn't just in the past; during the year he came to Tressen, although he didn't deliberately look for her, he would occasionally run into Mi Yu.

For some unknown reason, Mi Yu always watched him from afar and never came over to say hello. Even when he approached her, she would leave beforehand.

Even then, Shinji Kitahara had noticed her expression, but he had never seen any unease or panic in her eyes, let alone the way she was today.

Perhaps it was because this time he and she finally had a face-to-face conversation?

Shinji Kitahara thought this way, but he still felt a vague sense of unease.

Regardless of the reason for her behavior, one thing is certain: in her current state, she is unlikely to be able to communicate effectively.

So, to ease her tension, Shinji Kitahara didn't ask her any questions directly, but instead started chatting.

"When was the last time we sat together like this, talking face to face? It must have been several years, right? It seems like just yesterday you were here, and now you've grown so much..."

"I remember you said back then that you wanted to become an excellent racehorse girl. I asked you if you wanted to aim for the Treson headquarters, and your answer was 'impossible,' 'someone like me could never do it'..."

"But now, look, you're right here. You got here through your own hard work. There's no better proof than that..."

"Oh, right, I ran into Nutao before, and she mentioned you to me, saying your grades at the academy are very good. I went to check them out later, and they are indeed very good..."

"Speaking of which, when did you and Nutao meet? Judging from her tone, you two seem to have a pretty good relationship..."

Shinji Kitahara kept rambling on about the trivial things they had talked about or experienced in the past, and occasionally mentioned some current trivial matters, trying to make Mi Yu relax in this way.

Strangely, as he spoke, Mi Yu's head drooped lower and lower.

Although her facial expression was unclear, her body language suggested that she was not in a good state, as if she was enduring something.

"...What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Shinji Kitahara noticed her unusual behavior.

Upon hearing Shinji Kitahara's question, Mi Yu's body stiffened for a moment, then she lowered her head, seemingly muttering something to herself.

Then, after whispering, for reasons unknown, the feeling of endurance began to gradually diminish, and Mi Yu slowly raised her head, her face still flushed.

"I'm... fine."

Despite what Mi Yu said, Kitahara Shinji still checked her body to make sure she was okay. He repeatedly told her to tell him if anything seemed wrong before continuing their previous conversation.

This time, it's unclear whether it was because of what he said that had an effect, or because of what Mi Yu did when he lowered his head.

In any case, after the conversation started this time, Mi Yu's performance was much better than before. Not only did the unease and panic in her eyes subside, but she would also occasionally chime in with Kitahara Shinji's words, and the atmosphere of the conversation became more and more harmonious.

Seeing that Mi Yu's spirits had relaxed, Kitahara Shinji was finally ready to get down to business.

"Rice bath, are you getting used to life here?"

"At first, I wasn't used to it quite a bit, but now I'm almost there..."

"And... what about 'her'? Is 'she' getting used to life here?"

Shinji Kitahara didn't say who 'she' was, but the moment he asked, Mi Yu immediately realized what the term referred to.

A hint of unease and panic resurfaced in her eyes, but thinking of what they had discussed when she looked down, Mi Yu managed to calm herself down after a brief moment of panic. She clutched the hem of her clothes and spoke in as normal a tone as possible.

"She... doesn't really like life here, saying it's a bit boring."

"That's it..."

Shinji Kitahara nodded, paused, and then continued to ask.

"How is she now? Does she still come out to 'get some fresh air' like before?"

"...She rarely comes out anymore."

After a moment of silence, Mi Yu continued to speak.

"Ever since you left, brother, she's rarely come out. Especially after entering the academy, she's basically never come out for 'fresh air' again. Nobody else, including Miss Karai, knows she exists..."

Don't you know...?

Shinji Kitahara nodded, not particularly surprised by the result.

Because several years ago, he had discovered a situation through observation.

Although the principle is unclear, when he is not around Mi Yu, the probability and frequency of another 'Mi Yu' appearing will drop significantly, and even if it does appear, the absurdity of its behavior will be relatively mild.

Originally, Shinji Kitahara asked Miyu to chat mainly to ask her if her other personality was behaving properly, whether it had caused her any trouble, or what kind of trouble it had gotten into.

Now, after a brief conversation and confirming that she was in good condition and that her other personality was relatively well-behaved, Shinji Kitahara felt relieved.

After seeing him breathe a sigh of relief, Mi Yu hesitated for a moment before speaking in a somewhat weak voice.

"Um, big brother, I'm sorry..."

"what happened?"

Shinji Kitahara looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Why are you suddenly apologizing?"

"Um, I didn't mean to avoid you, and it's not like I didn't consider asking you to be my trainer, but... but..."

Before Mi Yu could finish speaking, a hand landed on her hair.

"Yes, no need to explain, I know."

Shinji Kitahara looked at her and smiled.

"I know you still feel you'll bring misfortune and don't want to cause me trouble..."

"But as you know, I have never looked down on you, and to this day, I still firmly believe that you are my little lucky star."

He paused, looked at Mi Yu, and continued speaking.

“However, since you chose Ms. Jia Lai as your trainer, I trust your judgment. You don’t need to blame yourself for it. If you encounter any problems in the future, especially those that Ms. Jia Lai can’t handle, you can come to me.”

"I will always be here."

Feeling the familiar sensations coming from above and hearing the words in her ear, Mi Yu felt as if she had returned to a few years ago when the two of them were still together, and her eyes began to become somewhat hazy.

"Brother..."

Emotions were swelling, consciousness was blurring, and something lurking deep within, something that had been trying to restrain itself, began to rise uncontrollably under Shinji Kitahara's guidance.

No, it's not the right time yet. Just a little longer, just a little longer...

Something whispered in Mi Yu's heart.

Unfortunately, despite her best efforts to suppress it, no matter how hard she tried, as her inner emotions swelled, certain impulses intensified, and the corners of her mouth began to unconsciously turn up.

Because Mi Yu lowered her head shyly during the conversation, and the situation seemed to be going well during the conversation.

Shinji Kitahara failed to notice Miyu's condition, continuing to rub her head while whispering words of comfort.

However, just as something was about to reach a critical point, 'Mi Yu' was about to lose control of herself.

"I love horses——"

"Sorry, I'll take a call first."

The sudden ringing interrupted Kitahara Shinji's words and gave Mi Yu a chance to catch her breath.

After hanging up the phone, recalling the contents of the call, Shinji Kitahara raised an eyebrow, then looked at Mi Yu and spoke with a slight apology.

"Excuse me, Mi Yu, I have some things to attend to and need to leave for a bit."

"......Um."

Mi Yu kept her head down, her expression hidden beneath her hair.