Volume 4
(Kengo perspective)
Chapter 35: Love and Testimony
I found Hina sitting in the courtyard.
She was alone on the bench, her cane resting beside her.
For a moment, I considered walking past.
Half a year ago, I probably would have done anything for the opportunity to sit beside her.
Now I wasn't sure why I was even there.
Still, I walked over and sat down.
Hina glanced at me.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"This is the first time in half a year you've come this close to me."
I looked forward.
"Did it mean anything to you?"
She said nothing.
I continued.
"When I trusted you with my secret. When I told you that I'd falsified part of my student application. Did that mean anything?"
Hina didn't look at me.
Instead, she asked a question.
"Tell me something, Kengo. Would you rather be loved by everyone but respected by no one, or respected by everyone but loved by no one?"
I stared at her.
"What kind of game are you playing?"
She remained silent.
I thought about it.
Then I answered.
"Respected by everyone. Loved by no one."
Hina smiled faintly.
"I figured you'd give that answer."
I clasped my hands together and lowered my gaze.
There was still something I needed to know.
"More importantly…"
I paused.
"Did you make me fall in love with you on purpose?"
For the first time, Hina looked directly at me.
"Was it part of your plan?"
She gave a quiet laugh.
"Maybe."
A pause.
"Maybe not."
I scoffed.
"Typical."
Of course.
Even now, she couldn't give me a straight answer.
But strangely, I didn't feel the same anger I used to.
Maybe because I finally understood something.
I had spent months blaming Hina for everything.
My demotion.
My humiliation.
The way I'd changed.
The person I'd become.
It was easier to blame someone else than to admit that I had willingly handed them the power to hurt me.
I stood.
"Just know something."
Hina looked up.
"My class will beat yours."
She smiled.
"Oh really?"
She adjusted her grip on her cane.
"You do realize your evolution may have been engineered by the Phantom Bishop, don't you?"
I smiled.
"Then I suppose I should thank them."
I took a step forward.
"But they aren't the reason I became better."
I stopped.
"I am."
Hina's expression changed slightly.
"For half a year, I blamed you. I told myself that you were responsible for everything that happened to me."
I looked at her.
"But eventually I realized something."
I had spent too long staring at the person who pushed me into the pit.
I never bothered asking why I stayed there.
"I chose to climb out."
Hina's smile faded.
"You really are foolish, Kengo."
She tilted her head.
"You actually believed I cared about you."
I walked past her.
Perhaps that sentence would have destroyed me once.
Now?
It barely registered.
I stopped for a moment without turning around.
"Maybe I was foolish."
Then I continued walking.
"But the person you broke is gone."
I glanced back at her.
"I'll ascend to Class A."
My voice remained calm.
"And when I get there, I'll devote myself to surpassing you."
I turned away.
"You'll see."
Then I left the courtyard.
For the first time in months, I wasn't walking away from Hina because I hated her.
I was walking away because I no longer needed her to mean anything to me.