"Honjo Nijika..."
Fujino looked at the name on the file and showed a faint smile.
A thin sheet of paper recorded the entire life of this girl named Honjo Nijika; almost her entire existence up to this point was documented on this single page.
Looking at the file in her hand, Fujino suddenly had the illusion that YoRHa was occasionally developing in the wrong direction.
The file before her was too detailed; even minor actions like how many times she stretched or blinked in a day were recorded with extreme precision.
"Like a pervert."
Fujino complained, then handed the file back to 2B.
"Cancel the investigation on Honjo Nijika, and the others too, except for that pair of sisters."
"Yes." 2B replied, then recalled something and added, "Miss Nanami said she wanted to go out for a walk and is not at home."
"Pfft! What did you say!"
Hearing this, Fujino, who was drinking milk, immediately spat it out, her expression becoming very strange.
"What's wrong, Fujino?" 2B quickly asked.
Fujino sighed, turned around, placed a hand on 2B's shoulder, and said earnestly, "Ah, Nanami is Directionally Challenged!" "Huh?"
Nanami is Directionally Challenged; her ability to get lost is absolutely unique. In Fujino's view, she might even be on the same level as Zoro, or perhaps even stronger.
At least when Zoro gets lost, he still uses his sword to clear a path, but Nanami doesn't. She just keeps walking in circles forever.
Even though she could obtain a map of the vicinity just by releasing her Spiritual Power, Nanami simply wouldn't do it, and thus she would continue walking in circles.
Even Nanami's ability, Intuition, was useless; her directional incompetence was simply unsolvable.
Fujino had known before that Nanami had the trait of being Directionally Challenged. When she turned Nanami into her Blood Relative, she thought this trait would disappear, but unexpectedly, it still persisted.
One day previously, she took Nanami and Nia shopping together. In a supermarket, Nanami accidentally got separated from her and Nia. Then the directional incompetence trait activated, and she managed to get lost in a small clothing section. Later, Fujino had to rely on her Spiritual Power to find Nanami, who was still walking in circles in the clothing section.
"2B, notify the ones stationed at... forget it, I'll go myself."
Fujino said helplessly, and then vanished from the spot.
On the other side, on a street, since it was already summer and the sun was at its fiercest during this time, there wasn't much pedestrian traffic.
And Nanami was lost on this very street.
Nanami's expression was extremely awkward at the moment. She had been bored at home and suddenly felt enthusiastic about going out for a walk. She then forgot Fujino's warning not to leave home alone, casually informed 2B, the only person at home with tasks, and left the villa by herself. She wandered aimlessly, and her directional incompetence trait caused her to become completely lost.
"Why is it this road again!"
Looking at the road sign that was identical to the one Nanami had seen ten minutes ago, Nanami immediately felt the world's deep malice toward her.
"I don't believe it!"
Nanami angrily clenched her fists, and intense fighting spirit surged in her eyes. Then she started her journey home.
Just around a corner not far in front of Nanami, a pretty girl with a satisfied smile on her face was walking towards Nanami, hugging a stuffed bag.
"Hehe~ What a haul! I can't believe Teacher Shinzhu released so many works and games all at once. But I didn't expect Teacher Shinzhu's team to be all beautiful girls. I wonder if Teacher Shinzhu is really a guy, as rumored online? Or a girl?"
While the girl was pondering the gender of her idol, she completely failed to notice Nanami appearing in front of her.
Nanami was currently focused straight ahead and did not notice someone coming around the corner.
Following the cliché plot device, the two of them collided. However, Nanami was not knocked down; instead, it was the girl who fell.
The bag she was holding immediately dropped to the ground, and the books and game boxes inside spilled out.
"Are you alright!"
Seeing the girl lying on the ground, Nanami quickly stepped forward to help her up.
"I'm fine," the fallen girl said immediately. Then she looked up at Nanami and froze.
"Are you okay?" Seeing the girl stunned, Nanami became slightly anxious.
"I... I'm fine." The girl quickly regained her composure, lowering her head, her cheeks flushed. She had been momentarily mesmerized by Nanami's appearance.
Because, in the girl's eyes, Nanami looked like she had stepped out of the Two-Dimensional World, her beauty incompatible with this reality.
"Wait, my things!"
The girl suddenly noticed the books and games scattered on the ground, gasped, and quickly got up to pick up the games.
These items were purchased with the salary she earned from a month's work; losing even one would break her heart.
"Let me help you."
Saying this, Nanami bent down to help the girl gather the scattered books on the ground.
"Huh! Aren't these Fujino's works? Are you a fan of Fujino?" Nanami asked curiously, looking at the books she picked up.
"What did you say?" The girl didn't react immediately, and her movement to pick up things froze.
"This one." Nanami waved the book in her hand and smiled, "I saw Fujino writing this before. It's called White Album. Fujino is the protagonist in it. I remember there are two other girls named Touma Kazusa and Xue Lai, right?"
"Pata nu."
The book in the girl's hand dropped to the ground, and she looked at Nanami with eyes full of disbelief.
"Are you alright?" Seeing the girl stunned again, Nanami was confused. What was wrong with this child? Did she have some serious illness?
Thinking this, Nanami looked at the girl with a hint of pity.
The girl completely failed to notice the pity in Nanami's eyes. Regaining her senses, she excitedly grabbed Nanami's hand, her breathing becoming heavy.
"Is the Fujino you mentioned Teacher Shinzhu?!"
"Huh?" The girl's intense reaction caught Nanami off guard. Nanami recovered and nodded, saying, "Fujino's Pen Name is Shinzhu."
The girl, having received the answer, had her eyes strangely radiate a dazzling light. Then, under Nanami's surprised gaze, she immediately knelt down, hugged Nanami's leg, and shouted loudly, "Please let me meet Teacher Shinzhu! I beg you!"
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