(3/5)

  Nagi, who had been listening nearby, suddenly blushed.

  Clearly, after being led astray by the versation earlier, her thoughts had also veered in the wrong dire.

  She had genuinely believed Maria's assumption was correct.

  Who k would turn out to be somethiirely different?

  Simply put, the diary was like a fishing line, luring numerous fish to take the bait.

  Once a fish took the bait, it would no lohink about letting go.

  Over time, it would grow aced to the presence of the fisherman holding the line.

  As for whether the fish would one day transform into a mermaid and stay by the fisherman's side or bee something else entirely, that to fate.

  Nagi had fully grasped the diary's meics.

  The generous rewards were the bait.

  Everything was based on free will.

  Those willing to take the bait would e forward, while those unwilling would walk away.

  But oneoook the bait, it wasn't a temporary deal, it was for life.

  Now that she uood this, Nagi no longer hesitated.

  "I've made up my mind."

  She sloroached Ren, her cheeks still tinged with red.

  "If I didn't already know… I wouldn't have made this decision."

  "I accept the cost."

  "…"

  "So, your thoughts just now were als?"

  "A thirteen-year-old girl actually thinking about stuff like that…."

  Hearing this, Nagi's face, which had only been slightly flushed before, instantly turned bright red.

  Clearly, it was her own fault for overthinking things.

  "There are some things you just have to accept yourself. It's all about personal choice."

  With that, Ren took out his diary and proceeded to plete his entry for the day.

  "You've read today's diary, right?"

  "Yeah."

  "The's test something."

  "Will what you desire most in your heart right now ma?"

  Nagi swallowed nervously.

  She took out her diary.

  Her daily draw had been unlocked.

  She selected the lottery option.

  [Genshin Impact]

  [Obtained: Vision (Geo).]

  A pendant materialized out of thin air, bearing an e-yellow rock emblem.

  However, the emblem remained gray, indig that the Vision had yet to be activated.

  "Another Vision?"

  Nagi picked it up.

  But uhe st time, this one didn't glow, the Geo symbol remained dim.

  "Why isn't it reag?"

  "A person only have one elemental attribute."

  "You already have one."

  "Then… this must be for someone else."

  Nagi was momentarily stunned befng at Maria.

  After reading the diary, she khat Maria would eventually leave iure.

  That was something she didn't want to happen.

  She wanted Maria to stay by her side.

  So, was this what she truly desired at this moment?

  Taking a deep breath, she tossed the Vision toward Maria.

  "Maria, this is for you."

  "Eh?"

  Caught off guard, Maria instinctively caught the Vision.

  The moment she touched it, the dull gray emblem turned a brilliant gold.

  A sudden surge of weighty power filled her body.

  She stared bnkly at the glowing Vision in her hand.

  "Nagi, you…"

  This sudden ge left Maria pletely bewildered.

  She had no idea why Nagi had dohis.

  But the instant she accepted the Vision and activated it, she realized she had been tricked.

  "Maria, you 't leave me."

  "…"

  Maria's face showed a trace of helplessness.

  She shot a slightly resentful look at Ren.

  "Mr. Amamiya, you've written too many future events into your diary."

  She didn't need an expnation, Nagi must have made this choice after reading about her future.

  Looking at the glowing Vision in her hand, Maria knew she could no longer follow the path she had seen in the diary.

  She had been pulled into the game.

  Now, there was no way Nagi would grow indepely without her.

  Ren remained silent.

  As he had said from the very beginning, this was entirely Nagi's choice.

  "These are your own decisions."

  "Maria, even if I didn't say anything, would you really leave Nagi aloo grow up in an unfamiliar and uain world?"

  That was the truth.

  Maria had al.

  She couldn't bring herself to abandon Nagi in an unknown enviro.

  Especially when that world might be far more plicated and dangerous than she had imagined.

  She looked down at the Vision in her hand and sighed.

  At this point, even if she didn't want to make a choiagi had already made it for her.

  "I uand."

  "I really 't leave Nagi- to face su unknown future on her own."

  She let go of any lingering doubts in her heart.

  Ren quietly observed.

  A Geo Vision…

  e to think of it, a maid possessing the Geo element seemed fitting.

  Steadfast, reliable—it suited Maria's role perfectly.

  She was the first person close to him to be from this.

  Would the same happen with Shinomiya ?

  Or perhaps the sed wave of diary holders was about to appear?

  Even Ren himself wasirely sure how the sele process worked.

  The diary's choices seemed far too uable.

  Did the diary truly select holders based on their desires?

  If so, then Sonoko's wish should be the stro among them.

  By that logic, she should be the first in the sed wave of recipients.

  But the specifics remained uain.

  Only through further testing could he uhe true rules behind the diary's sele process.

  "Any other questions?"

  "No."

  Nagi shook her head slightly.

  She had already received all the answers she wanted.

  It was time. She had made her choice.

  She refused to carry the regret of an unresolved argument.

  One day, she would face her main and say what she o say.

  Her mother was the person she loved most.

  She was sorry.

  But she would not allow herself to live with regret.

  This time, Nagi stood up straight and expressed her most formal gratitude to Ren.

  "Thank you, Amamiya."

  Perhaps the diary's sele process had not been Ren's decision.

  But the bes she had gained from it were all thanks to him.

  And for that, she owed him a proper thank-you.

  This portunity she had unknowingly been given.

  And it was far more precious than the power she had received.

  "You're wele."