(2/5)

  Seeing Nagi fall silent, Ren didn't press her further. Instead, he stepped aside, giving her space to think.

  "Nagi, this is something you o decide for yourself."

  Maria didn't urge her either. Instead, she turo Ren.

  "Mr. Amamiya, may I have a word with you?"

  "Of course."

  The two didn't move far, simply standing a short distance away from Nagi.

  "How much do you know about Miss Yukariko ?" Maria asked.

  "Not much," Ren replied casually.

  Maria gave him a sharp look.

  "I know she made a wish for her daughter at the Royal Garden, with the aid of the imperial family," Ren tinued.

  "When she needs help, she calls out the name of the person she's most ected to, and he will e to her, whether from the past or the future."

  "She made this wish at the cost of everything she had left."

  "But Sanzenin Yukariko was someone favored by fate."

  "As far as I know, while her body perished, her soul never ehe cycle of reination."

  "In fact, I recall that she appeared in Nagi's future though not in her inal form."

  Maria stiffened.

  This… didn't sound like someone who "didn't know much" at all.

  If anything, Ren seemed to have too muformation.

  More importantly, Yukariko had sacrificed everything fi.

  The price of her wish had been enormous.

  But what truly shocked Maria was Ren's cim that Yukariko wasn't pletely gone.

  "Are you saying… Miss Yukariko isn't really dead?"

  "In a way, yes."

  "This likely has to do with Yukariko's unique circumstances."

  Sanzenin Yukariko was araordinary person.

  Her life had been shaped by an unusual mix of lud fate.

  Every bit of fortune she had accumuted in the past had verged into this single moment, allowio escape total erasure.

  But iurn, fate had abandoned her entirely.

  The fact that she still appeared in future events meant ohing:

  Sanzenin Yukariko's soul still existed.

  Whether as a lingering presence or something else entirely, she had not pletely vanished.

  "That being said, meeting Yukarikh normal means should be impossible."

  Maria exhaled softly, processing the information.

  So that was it.

  Miss Yukariko wasn't truly gone, but her physical body had been lost.

  If Nagi wanted her back, the price would undoubtedly be steep.

  Maria shifted topics.

  "About that diary…"

  "Do you think there's a way to resist its temptation?"

  Ren nodded without hesitation.

  "Yes."

  "How?"

  "Give up unnecessary desires."

  "Simply accumute the diary's rewards, starting small and w up."

  "As long as you don't let the diary influence you, you won't be tempted."

  Maria rubbed her temples.

  That sounded easy in theory.

  But the real question was could Nagi actually do it?

  From what Maria knew… probably not.

  She sighed.

  "Even if the diary's temptation be resisted… Nagi won't be able to."

  "If Miss Yukariko really es baagi won't be able to bear losing her again."

  "And to prevent that, she'll keep relying on the diary."

  Ren already uood this.

  "That's why the diary funs as bait."

  "It dangles rewards in front of its holders."

  "If they want something badly enough, they will willingly entwiheir fate with mine."

  "That is the price of possessing a diary."

  "Besides… this isn't just theory. It's something I've tested myself."

  Maria's expression turned serious.

  "You've tested it?"

  "Yes. The diary's rewards are influenced by the holder's own desires."

  "A stronger desire will shape the type of reward granted."

  "If someone wants to maximize their bes, they o study my diary carefully."

  "As for other meics… I haven't fully explored them yet."

  Maria absorbed his expnation.

  So the diary wasn't just handing out random rewards, it was tailored to the user's subscious needs.

  That meant that as long as Nagi tinued using it, she would get what she wanted.

  And that…

  That was something Nagi would never be able to resist.

  Maria hesitated before speaking again.

  "And about this whole 'iwining of fate'…"

  She cleared her throat awkwardly.

  "Nagi is only thirteen… isn't that too soon?"

  "…"

  Ren stared at her, clearly caught off guard.

  "Miss Maria," he said ftly, "I wasn't talking about that kind of retionship."

  Maria coughed, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

  "Oh… I see."

  "What I meant," Ren tinued, "was that as Nagi and I i more, our fates will naturally beore ected."

  "As time goes on, that eay deepen."

  "But that doesn't mean we're destio have that kind of retionship."

  Maria let out an awkward chuckle.

  "Right. That makes sense."

  Holy, she had jumped to clusions.

  For a moment, she had imagined something far more… inappropriate.

  But now she uood what Re.

  It was about proximity and influence.

  Not romance.

  "But," Maria pointed out, "it could turn into that kind of retionship."

  "It's not guarao, though," Ren replied.

  "Also, there's another yer to this 'iwining of fate' I mentioned."

  "As diary holders tinue using the diary, they will iably grow more depe on me."

  "My choices, my as… will start to affect them directly."

  Maria finally uood.

  This was about more than just influence.

  It was about enta.

  The moment Nagi accepted the diary's power, leaving Ren's orbit would bee nearly impossible.

  In the end, that was the true cost.

  And the worst part?

  It was entirely voluntary.

  The diary never forced its holders to stay.

  But ohey were drawn in, esg became nearly impossible.

  Maria sighed.

  This roblem she had been sidering from the start.

  And now that Nagi had made her decision, she would have to live with the sequences.

  If, someday, this e evolved into something deeper.

  She could only accept it.