Because a Smile is the Most Beautiful Sight in the World

"Everyone is here."

"Ruka can feel everyone is here, waiting for Renta."

The light from the red string gradually grew stronger. The warm light spread like a rainbow, the darkness faded, the sky returned to blue with white clouds, and the earth began to glow with life. Grass sprouted from the ground, followed by flowers.

This scene was too magical. It made people feel like they were falling into a dream.

By the clear riverbank, behind several trees, young people appeared one by one, and there were two girls among them. They turned with smiles on their faces, gently waving at Ruka, and then slightly bowed to Haruto.

Ruka wiped her tears, stood up, and walked towards them. Suddenly, she turned to look at the bewildered Haruto, with a bright smile on her face, "Onii-chan, we can be together again, so please don't be sad, and you should be happy in the days to come."

"Because a smile is the most beautiful sight in the world."

"Ruka is leaving, Onii-chan. If there's a life after death, Ruka hopes to be your sister again. Even though Onii-chan always pretends to be cold and cruel, Ruka knows that deep down, you're actually a kind person."

"If I were to become your sister, I would be very happy."

Ruka wiped her tears with a smile as bright as a flower: "Even though our time was short, Ruka was really happy, really joyful. The games were fun, the snacks were delicious, and Onii-chan's cooking was super good. Ruka was very happy."

She bowed and smiled, "Onii-chan, remember Ruka's smile. You should be just as happy as me."

"Onii-chan, goodbye..."

"Thank you."

Ruka waved her hand, then ran towards her friends. In the end, everyone looked at Haruto, bowed slightly, and then laughed and joked as they walked away into the distance.

Gradually, they disappeared.

Darkness once again covered the earth, and the blood moon hung high in the sky. The scene earlier felt like a dream.

Haruto stood still for a moment, looking up at the sky.

The scene that had just unfolded wasn't an illusion. However, he hadn't expected the red string he gave to be capable of something like this. Even if it was a miracle, it shouldn't have been able to do this.

Or perhaps he had underestimated the power of what they call a miracle?

But Haruto was more inclined to think that this oddity area might contain some secrets he wasn't yet aware of.

"Sigh..."

Haruto withdrew his gaze and took a deep breath.

The air was cold.

He took one last look and whispered, "Just go, talking so much nonsense."

Haruto turned and walked, but unconsciously stopped and looked back.

There was nothing there.

The silly ghost girl with the foolish smile had completely disappeared.

Haruto stood blankly for a few moments, then turned again, and his figure quickly merged into the darkness and disappeared.

A doll-like girl with an expressionless face appeared there. She squatted down and extended her right hand. A single crystal droplet floated up from the ground and landed in her hand.

The doll girl tilted her head, staring unblinkingly at the droplet. Then, she opened her left palm, and suddenly many more droplets appeared in her hand. Each droplet became clearer under the blood moon.

After a moment, the doll girl closed her palm and released the droplets.

Her figure flickered and disappeared.

When she reappeared, more droplets were floating in front of the doll girl.

She reached out with her slender finger, gently touched the droplets, and closed her eyes as if feeling something.

One by one, the doll girl suddenly sensed something, and for the first time, an expression appeared on her face.

It was one of confusion.

❀❀❀

Haruto appeared under the sunlight. Bathed in warm sunshine, he looked towards the corner of an alley. His eyes fell on a flower growing from a crack in the corner.

An unknown flower.

He paused for a moment before walking towards Sobu High School.

"The afterlife..."

"Sorry, I already have enough sisters, one more would just be a headache."

Haruto suddenly covered his head and stopped.

People were coming and going, the flow never stopping. He stood alone, covering his head, with a confused expression on his face.

Just now, he seemed to remember something.

What was it?

As he carefully searched for it, the image vanished in an instant like a white horse passing through a crack.

However, Haruto wasn't an ordinary person.

He caught glimpses of those images.

A picture flashed through his mind, and the confusion in his eyes gradually disappeared.

He remembered.

He remembered some things he had forgotten.

It was something that had happened before he was seven years old.

People passing by looked at Haruto standing still. Just as someone was about to approach and ask, he lowered his hand and took another step forward.

"Turns out he's fine. I thought he was sick."

"Yeah, he was so still that I almost called an ambulance."

"These young people today don't exercise enough, they're weak and prone to sickness."

"Who says otherwise? Remember when we..."

"..."

Listening to the whispers of people passing by, Haruto muttered, "Indeed, there are more good people in the world."

He looked up at the sky.

He saw that the cracks in the sky had shrunk a bit, and his abilities had just slightly improved.

Becoming stronger.

But his body limited his ability.

To be precise, his abilities should have already recovered.

Because before he was seven years old, he was far stronger than he is now, which also helped him understand why his superpowers had grown so quickly.

Because his superpowers weren't increasing—they were recovering.

Moreover, today's encounter allowed him to discover a big secret, and at the same time, confirmed a few things for him.

It turns out that not all oddity creatures perished.

But some of them had come into the world where he lived.

It's a pity that there's no memory of these things in his mind before he was seven.

Where did these creatures come from?

Who were they?

What kind of bond did those people have with the oddity?

Will the expansion of oddity speed up because of these people?

Why did the cracks in the sky suddenly shrink?

Are his superpowers innate or acquired from somewhere else?

These were all questions.

After thinking all the way, Haruto entered Sobu High School as if no one else was around after the bell rang.

Disciplinary committee members: "😐"

Both of us standing here are invisible, huh!

So angry!

If the chairman hadn't reminded me, I would've stopped you today!

Entering the classroom, Haruto sat down. Itsuki immediately came over, asking curiously, "Kuromori-kun, are you alright? You're very late today."

Haruto put away his schoolbag, looked at her, and said, "I was sending off my sister."

"Huh?"

Itsuki shuddered a bit, asking in surprise, "Isn't Kuromori-kun's sister in the same class as us?"

"That's another sister."

Haruto thought for a moment and said, "I can introduce you next time."

Introducing Nanako to Itsuki.

That shameless girl could quickly become thick-skinned!

After a pause, Haruto said seriously, "Nanako is really sweet and likes to act spoiled. Do you really want to meet her?"

Itsuki nodded quickly, "I'd love to."

"Alright."

Haruto extended his hand, "Let me touch your ahoge, and I'll introduce you to her this afternoon."

Itsuki grabbed her head, pouted, and stared, "Kuromori-kun, don't touch my ahoge!"

"...Bullying me."

'That's right, I'm bullying you. Because bullying people makes me happy! Otherwise, why do you think Ichika likes to cause trouble?'

The school bell rang, and the first class began.

Teacher Sato came in holding a thermos cup. Haruto looked out the window and immediately couldn't help but lie down on the desk.

Itsuki quietly glanced at him, speechless seeing the sight.

"Kuromori-kun sleeps every day."

"He must be really tired..."

Itsuki seemed to be guessing something, and her mood grew a bit complicated.

The notes and test papers Haruto handed out were always self-written. There was no doubt that this took a lot of time and energy.

So, Haruto slept every day, but in reality, he was busy late into the night every day, wasn't he?

"Idiot."

Itsuki could only murmur, unconsciously clenching her fist, "Kuromori-kun works so hard, I must work hard too, and I can't let his efforts go to waste!"

"If he really wants to touch my ahoge and buns... it's not impossible."