Ch.77 Broaden Your Horizons, Expand Your Vision

Ah... I said it.

I let out everything inside.

How pathetic, how weak—I'm embarrassed by myself.

This is why I didn't want to be honest with my sister.

I'm afraid.

Afraid she'll look down on me.

Afraid she'll hate me.

I want to catch up to her.

But no matter how hard I try, I can't.

No, it's not even that—I can't even match her in effort.

A capable sister and a useless little sister... People will surely laugh.

Well, whatever. I said it all anyway.

It's too late for regrets.

That man, Akira, who's so close with my sister.

It won't be long before everyone in both Tokyo and Kyoto schools finds out.

How will the others see me?

My sister...

Momo...

Kasumi...

Gakuganji-sensei...

Maybe things will never go back to how they were.

Maybe this is what they call a social death.

Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt that much—in fact, I feel a bit lighter.

It's been so long, so long since I last spoke my true feelings.

It doesn't matter anymore.

I... have nothing left to fear.

As the tear marks on her cheeks dried and her emotions settled, the girl lifted her head, emerging from her shell.

The first thing she saw was a tissue.

She glanced sideways and found Akira sitting on the ground just like her, holding a tissue in one hand while scrolling through his phone with the other.

"Is this how you comfort a girl?" Mai Zen'in's expression was complicated. Anyone would feel like you're not taking this seriously, with your multitasking.

"Well, I didn't know how long you'd stay shut down."

Akira was blunt. Waiting around was boring, and you're not my girlfriend—I don't need to spoil you.

"I thought you would've left by now." Having shown her true self to Akira, Mai no longer bothered to put on a façade.

"Well, I am the one who made you cry, and you are Maki's sister, after all."

"Maki again. You know I don't like that answer."

"Don't be so sensitive, okay? How long have we known each other? And how long have I known your sister? Relationships take time to develop. Besides, do you really dislike your sister?"

Akira's half-smiling gaze caught Mai off guard, rendering her speechless once more.

This guy... He always seems to see right through me, exposing what I try hardest to hide.

And he doesn't care if I want to hear it or not.

"—What you dislike, more likely, is not being able to keep up with your sister, even when you try."

"Can't you just let a girl keep a little dignity? Now I get why you and Maki get along so well."

"Seriously, what do you even think about all this?"

"Why do you care? Why should I tell you? Who do you think you are to me? My boyfriend? Or my brother-in-law?" At that moment, Mai Zen'in finally sounded a bit like a twin.

"You can think of it as me being nosy, or consider it a trade. About that question you asked me earlier—I did think of an answer. Want to hear it?"

"You've got a mouth; I'm not stopping you, and I couldn't if I tried. Do whatever pleases you, Master Akira. I'm just a girl who goes with the flow."

"If only you could have that attitude with your sister."

Akira didn't get angry. Playing with Mai was too easy.

"You asked me if being submissive, going with the flow, is wrong. Of course, the answer is no. So many people in this world live like that. Araki once said, 'Fate is a sleeping slave.' Those who dare to fight against fate are the minority. Everyone has their own way of living, and it's hard to say who's right and who's wrong."

"Your real mistake is that you haven't figured out your place or defined your direction. If you want to catch up to your sister, then give it everything you've got—don't get distracted by irrelevant things. If you really want to go with the flow, then do that. As a sorcerer, as a member of the Zen'in family, you could live pretty well."

"As long as you can accept and acknowledge who you are now and take responsibility for your choices, then there's no problem. But don't say one thing, do another, and think something else. That's just fooling yourself. The biggest reason your sister left home was that she couldn't accept the idea of bowing to reality."

"Easy for you to say." Mai scoffed. "When your goals seem out of reach, you want a safety net. I'm not like you, who seems to succeed at everything you do."

"Everything I do succeeds? You've got it backward." Akira chuckled self-deprecatingly. "You know what? My original dream was to become a lazy rich kid, doing nothing all day long. Big ambitions had nothing to do with me. Being the head of the family? Whoever wants it can have it."

"And then?" Mai perked up, interested—this was a classic example of going with the flow.

"And then reality said no. So, I had to start thinking—what should I do? Hey, Mai, what do you think I did?"

"Judging by how you look now, you didn't turn out like me, so like Maki?"

"No, I couldn't do what she does—pouring everything into one goal without leaving a way out, willing to die for it if needed."

"Eh? Then what?"

"The answer is in what you ruled out. I'm like you. I wanted to give it a shot but also wanted a safety net—at least a stable life, with food and comfort."

"But I'm more pragmatic than you. My goals weren't like Maki's, where you'd need to push yourself to the brink to even have a chance. I aimed for what I could realistically achieve."

"I divided my goals into stages—what I'd do in the first stage, then in the second. I only moved on to the next stage once I'd reached the first. And when I set my goals, I didn't compare myself to others; I just made sure I could accept them."

"I even negotiated with my family. If I were to put it in your terms, it would be—'Let me do my own thing until I'm twenty. If I fail, I'll follow your plans, marry whoever you want, or do whatever odd jobs you assign.'"

"If I succeed, I won't demand to be the head of the family or anything. Just let me decide my own life."

"You see, I had a fallback and a goal."

"Did you achieve your goal?" Mai admitted that her interest was piqued.

"My initial goal is done. The second phase is almost there, and the third phase is in the works. At this rate, I might even achieve my ultimate goal and get some extra benefits along the way."

"By goals, do you mean entering Tokyo Jujutsu High, winning the exchange event, and becoming a top-tier sorcerer?" With the team battle in the bag, their promotion would be much easier with these achievements.

"No, I mean making steady money. Like I said, I want to live easy, and you can't do that without cash."

His initial goal was to move out.

The second phase involved writing and earning money, which he had already achieved. The first volume of The Wall of Classics sold well, the initial run sold out, and they had to print more.

The third phase was about discussing investment opportunities with Nanami Kento.

Mai was speechless. "That's... a very practical goal."

"Being practical is the point. I knew this was the easiest path to take. That's the biggest difference between us—I make choices that benefit me the most. You say you don't have talent, but that's just as a sorcerer. What about other fields? I don't believe you don't have any talents."

"If you want to beat your sister, why are you so fixated on fighting? Why not take a different approach? Out-earn her, out-think her—isn't that a kind of victory too?

"Broaden your perspective, expand your vision. If you want to excel in everything, that's not being human; that's being a superhero."

At that moment, Akira channeled his inner Nanami Kento.