The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

"What do you mean by 'ordering me around'? Every transaction between us is reasonable. The so-called frivolity is just a wonderful misunderstanding. My respect for you comes from the bottom of my heart."

"The first part of the statement does indeed involve payment, but what's the basis for the misunderstanding in the second part?"

"Ever since last Christmas, when you cornered me in a women's restroom stall in the cafeteria and warned me, 'Hearne, you've been tricked. It's not too late to run away. The red-haired woman who invited you here is an old witch who preys on innocent young men like you,' my respect for you has grown spontaneously. At that moment, I personally experienced your protection of me, which moved me to tears."

"That wrong decision is a disgrace I will remember for the rest of my life. Besides, it has nothing to do with respect, not misunderstanding. Don't expect to get away with this from me."

"Even the fact that you couldn't get away with it is exactly the same, you two... As for the misunderstanding, shortly after you left the restroom, I had just found a quiet spot to sneak out when Aoko came up to me and pushed me back into the same stall, warning me, 'My dear, I can tell you the whole story when I get home. Right now, the most important thing is that you must distance yourself from that red-haired woman. You've been fooled, but it's not too late to leave. That seemingly glamorous woman is just an old witch who preys on young punks like you.' Senior, don't get agitated, put down your cup. Yes, that's it... Ever since then, I've easily confused the two of you emotionally. You really are sisters, aren't you? You're both so kind-hearted when it comes to taking care of people. Anyway, that's the source of the misunderstanding."

“That brat… Hern, my reason tells me that you seem to be plotting something very dangerous.”

"Senior, you're overthinking it. As I said before, I'm just here to pay the final installment and take home the little trinket you made."

Having said that, the believer smiled and crossed out an account, her words conveying her sincere sincerity.

"Other than that?"

Senior Aozaki placed a small gift box tied with a bright blue ribbon on the coffee table, her words carrying a hidden meaning.

"Besides, senior, I'm trying to mend your sisterly relationship to some extent."

“Hearn, if you’re still sleepy, you can go to the guest room and sleep some more. Being kicked out of the house by my unfortunate sister on such a cold winter morning, your brain must be frozen out.”

"Senior, your thoughtfulness is as heartwarming as ever. May I ask if the master bedroom is alright?"

"roll."

……

Chapter 9 Christmas Eve (Part 2)

"You really don't want to consider it?"

The believer stepped one foot onto the windowsill.

"Don't even think about it."

Orange, with the air of seeing guests off, slowly lit a cigarette.

"Senior, you may have misunderstood. What I meant was to repair things to a certain extent, not to force you and Qingzi to put aside your grudges and make up as before."

Turning back to sit on the windowsill, the woman offered one last constructive suggestion before leaving.

“Hearn, this only proves that you are naive but also limited… What do you mean by ‘limited’?”

Perhaps it was due to past friendships, but Orange's patience was consistently high when dealing with this junior.

"To the point where we can sit down and have a meal together peacefully during holidays, like tomorrow."

"Aren't you afraid that if we disagree, we'll tear the table and the roof off together?"

"I am indeed a little worried about the table, after all, there is someone in the family who cherishes food and cooking results, but I have never cared about the roof. Rather, I am very confident in my barrier skills." Seeing that there was still room for negotiation, Xin Nu joked.

"That sounds like a worthwhile challenge, so what's the motivation?"

"mine?"

"yours."

"Is a motivation like a brother-in-law who worries endlessly about family harmony acceptable?"

"that's it?"

"that's it."

"..."

"No, senior, what's with that slightly deflated look on your face? Are you secretly hoping for a forbidden development like the ones in my older sister's private collection of erotic novels? Although I've heard Qingzi complain about your habit of fighting with her over toys for a long time, I didn't expect your definition of 'toy' to be so mature and broad. Don't be like that, senior, I'm a very pure and devoted person, you know me."

"roll!"

This time, the lingering smoke from the lady's cigarette drifted out the window, scattering the uninvited morning visitor into the swirling snow.

"Thanks, senior. I can't get my hands on this at home. Also, remember to come over before lunch tomorrow."

Amidst the falling snowflakes, only infuriatingly sarcastic remarks remained.

……

The setting sun dyed the slope red... no, it should be the slope shrouded in snowflakes under the thin morning light.

This slope, built at the beginning of the century and maintained to this day, is the only distance separating the Aozaki family at the foot of the mountain from the Hern family at the top.

Putting aside the street scenes on both sides and disregarding their respective barriers, judging solely from their geographical locations, the Orange family's mansion is indeed closer to the lake than the Hern family's mansion on the hillside.

If it were before Christmas last year, Mr. Hearn would have welcomed a female senior he knew well, both professionally and personally, who lived near his home.

As fellow travelers adrift in the world, these two wanderers sensed a similar connection in each other, realizing that the other was also a homeless wanderer, and that it was only by chance that they were able to settle down.

now……

Now, the believer felt everything go black.

Many years ago, the solitary believer Hearn encountered the blue sun on the coast of eastern Izu. From that girl who called herself a magician, she gained light, warmth, enlightenment, and the courage to step into the thicket of thorns.

Years later, the still-alone believer had just escaped a brief but unforgettable period of confusion and planned to find a quiet place to sort out her feelings and start anew. However, by a twist of fate, she unexpectedly reunited with the blue sun. This time, he decided not to let her leave again.

If his first encounter with Aozaki Aoko gave him the courage to step into the thicket of thorns, then what has he gained from Aoko now that he has long since left the thicket and reunited with her?

The answer is [family], a treasure he had longed for in his childhood, but could not obtain, and regretfully let go of.

A year ago, the believer would never have thought about how to repair family relationships, something so far removed from her concerns. But now, she has no choice but to put it into practice.

Fortunately, there was only one person who needed repairs, and to make matters worse, his former close friend and senior classmate suddenly became his wife's older sister.

Fate is truly a wonderful thing.

Since the riots last Christmas, even when going out for a drink late at night, Xin Nu hesitated about whether to invite her senior again... Fortunately, both of them are pragmatic and socially adept people, and soon after contacting each other, the two friends met up at their usual spot as agreed.

Thanks to her experience of watching movies alone in the countryside, having seen several family dramas, she knows that such family matters should not be rushed. Letting time take its course and subtly guiding things along is the right approach.

Now, the devout woman once again stood on the slope at the foot of the mountain, having already made some purchases.

After leaving Orange's house, Xin Nu changed her route and went to the mall. The mall, which was unmanned, was open 24 hours a day. She always valued efficiency when shopping, and her shopping speed was like a whirlwind. When she stood at the foot of the mountain slope with two large bags of ingredients that were more symbolic than practical, she had a sense of the vicissitudes of life as she was about to go to the battlefield.

The Hern family home is not exactly bustling with activity these days; if you count on your fingers, there are only four or five permanent residents.

The reason for saying "four or five people" instead of "four or five" is that Kaguya lives in Tokyo every day. When she feels like it, she will "open the door" to show her face, have a short get-together, and then "open the door" back to her little world. She can be described as "hiding away in her little building and becoming a world unto herself, regardless of winter, summer or autumn." She is a pure Schrödinger's cat-like older sister.

Although Shinjo had invited Makishima to stay at her house several times before, saying, "My house is actually quite big, you can sleep there when you're tired from playing," he would always run away as if he had seen a ghost, or tremble like a quail in a storm. After several attempts, Shinjo realized that forcing him to stay was not going to work, so she had to give up.

There's clearly nothing wrong with the feng shui of Hern's house, so why is Makishima so reluctant to leave?

Completely baffled, the believer shook her head, put the question aside, and began her journey home.

tread……

"?"

He could vaguely feel resistance at his ankle. The believer looked down suspiciously and saw a small, white hand quietly reaching out from the shadows and grabbing his trouser leg.

Good morning, Xiao Ji.

Upon seeing who it was, the believer's suspicions dissipated, and she smiled sweetly.

To be fair, he was actually quite capable of hiding people around him, but he was the only one living in the shadows.

As the believer greeted him softly, a small, seemingly unhappy creature peeked out from his shadow and soon stood beside him.

"Hmm—how about trying out a seasonal outfit?"

The believer scrutinized the rainbow-haired girl from head to toe, glanced at the snowflakes falling from the sky, and then looked at her outfit—a baseball cap, shirt, denim shorts, and high-heeled riding boots—which resembled a summer hike. Suddenly, she felt an illusion of winter's chill.

"No, it's too much trouble to wear that."

Xiao Ji showed strong resistance to the believer's suggestion.

"Then let's go with our feelings and go home."

The believer didn't mind the little bit of rebellion. In the late 20th century when cybernetic modifications were widespread, clothing and temperature were not really related to climate, except for pure natural people, of course.

"Well……"

If this little act of rebellion is seen as a small punch, then the believer's response is undoubtedly a soft ball of cotton.

The result of punching cotton is obvious, and the little angel who emerged from the shadows still looked unhappy, and after a few words, he seemed even more aggrieved.

"So, is something bothering you, Ji?"

The believer, like a caring older brother, squatted down and asked softly, just as she always had.

"..." Xiao Ji looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Hmm?" The believer's patience remained as abundant as ever.

"...I'm going to tell my sister that you're having affairs outside."

After hesitating for a long time, Xiao Ji finally expressed her opinion frankly.

“Xiao Ji, what happened just now was nothing, Iota won’t care.” The believer’s voice was sincere.

"I don't believe it..." Xiao Ji wavered slightly.

Is it possible that your sister has actually seen even bigger [battles] before?

What do you mean by "a bigger show of force"?

"The kind of place where the house is littered with corpses. She used to rummage through the pile of corpses, throw on some clothes haphazardly, and then drag me out like a dead dog to have some fun with her."

"babble……"

"Haha, just kidding, Xiao Ji—anyway, it's best for children not to get involved in these unpleasant things too early. Childhood is a precious treasure, and you shouldn't give it up prematurely."

"Woo..."

Seeing that the little boy was once again looking like he was about to burst into tears, the believer threw a bag of ingredients back into the subspace, then took out a familiar black umbrella from it, patted his shoulder, and gestured.

"There's still a way to go home, and it seems like the snow has gotten heavier again. Xiao Ji, could you hold the umbrella for me for a while?"

Upon hearing this, the little angel, who had been on the verge of a storm, suddenly felt a sense of relief and joy returned to her face. She took the large and reassuring black umbrella from the believer's hand, just as she had done years ago when she first met the believer at the cemetery.

A tiny angel opened a large black umbrella, then gracefully climbed onto the believer's shoulder. The black umbrella separated the snowflakes, perfectly.

The believer then stood up, picked up the remaining bag of symbolic ingredients with one hand, and looked back at the snow-covered slope. She felt calm and composed, her heart as still as water.

"Heave-ho, all done, Xiao Ji, let's go home."

"Ok!"

……

Chapter 10 However, the runaway girl won't give up so easily.

Click?

Clack!

Dear Sirs and Madams,

My classmate from middle school, the girl I admired during my youthful years, Ms. Yukinoshita.

If you can see this letter, it means that the mailing address you wrote down in that dusty yearbook is still valid.

Ten years have passed since the last school festival we spent together. I wonder how you are doing? I sincerely wish you well.

I thought that time would eventually erase everything left over from my youth, whether it was the passion of youthful arrogance or the regret of what I ultimately missed.

Ten years have passed. In that graduation photo I remember, the faces of my former classmates have long faded, but your figure remains ever clearer. Every midnight, I wake from a deep sleep, tears welling in my eyes, regretting my past cowardice and helplessness. I know that those memories I hold dear, all those silhouettes of you in them, are like a blissful future, receding further and further from my sight year by year. I can't catch up with them, but that's okay. After every midnight, I spur myself on, to run faster tomorrow, to stretch my arms further, to greet a more beautiful morning. For ten years, I've always strived forward, until I thought everything I had was enough to bridge the huge chasm between us, but I wonder if the small boat sailing upstream can keep going backward, back to the past?

Please forgive me for intruding on your peaceful life in such a traditional and rude way. I don't know where you are now, or whether you have fallen in love with someone else, but I still sincerely hope that I will have the opportunity to talk to you.

We eagerly await your arrival day and night.

Your long-time and loyal admirer, Tsukiyama Seiichi

yours truly

(The mailing address has been recorded in detail on the back of the letter)

"It is indeed quite traditional, but why is it set in this way?"

The black-haired girl sat on an old train seat, her mood slightly complicated.

Outside the window, the verdant countryside flashed by as the train sped along, under a clear, cloudless sky. It was a beautiful sight that would bring a smile to the faces of any modern person living amidst the towering buildings of a metropolis, but the young woman here had no time to appreciate it.

Although the act of sneaking away might evoke a sense of vengeful pleasure deep within her, it doesn't mean that the girl would allow her rationality to be swallowed up by the beast called "freedom."

Time is the greatest magic in the world; it can elevate an ordinary person to the pinnacle, or cause generations of wealth accumulated by the elite to vanish overnight. In short, not a single moment of time should be wasted, especially the time of a group of people.