"Miss Shizu, may I be so bold as to ask a question?"
Zhong Chen, with a slightly serious expression, spoke to Shizu, who was sitting opposite him.
"Mr. Zhong Chen, please speak?"
"I can tell that Miss Shizu has always been suppressing the spirit within her. Why not consider a complete fusion?"
Hearing that Zhong Chen was asking this question, Shizu calmly replied:
"There are mainly two reasons! One is that my current body no longer allows me to fuse with a spirit."
"The other reason is that when I leave this world, I wish to do so as a human, not as a demon!"
Rimuru, hearing the hint of farewell in Shizu's words, couldn't help but anxiously blurt out:
"Miss Shizu, is your body already in such a bad state? Haven't you sought medical attention?"
Zhong Chen reached out and gently stroked Rimuru's head, saying softly:
"Rimuru! You don't need to worry about Miss Shizu's body; I can heal her!"
"Really, A Chen!"
"Yes! Don't worry, when have I ever lied to you!"
Shizu, looking at Zhong Chen comforting Rimuru, said gently:
"You two have such a good relationship!"
"Rimuru-san, you don't need to worry about me! I've lived long enough, and I'm already tired of this world. To be able to leave like this, I feel, is already a great blessing!"
"What?"
Hearing Shizu's words, which sounded like a last will, Ellen excitedly hugged Shizu beside her.
"Miss Shizu, how could you… There was nothing wrong just a moment ago!"
"How could it suddenly… sniffle, sniffle, sniffle…"
Looking at Ellen, who had suddenly started crying, Shizu gently stroked Ellen's small head with her right hand, saying with a tender expression:
"I'm sorry! I've hidden it from you all for so long! To meet you all on my final journey, I feel incredibly blessed! So, Ellen… you don't need to be sad for me!"
"Sniffle, sniffle, sniffle… Miss Shizu."
Listening to Shizu's gentle words and recalling the times Shizu had looked after them in the forest, Ellen cried even more sadly.
Kabal and Gido, standing nearby, also had red eyes as they gratefully said to Shizu:
"Miss Shizu, thank you for taking care of us during this time! We are truly grateful! (T ^ T)"
"Hehe! Kabal, Gido, you must protect Ellen well in the future. Boys should protect girls!"
"Yes! Please rest assured, Miss Shizu! *2"
Zhong Chen, watching the group enacting a scene of parting, his mouth twitched slightly, and a clear vein popped on his forehead. Unable to bear it any longer, Zhong Chen spoke:
"Everyone! Did you not hear what I said? I said I can solve Miss Shizu's physical problems!"
Hearing that Zhong Chen could solve Shizu's physical problems, Ellen, who was in Shizu's arms, immediately looked up and asked Zhong Chen in surprise:
"Eh!!! Really, Mr. Zhong Chen!"
"Of course!"
Ellen, upon hearing the affirmative reply, said to Shizu with a face full of pleasant surprise:
"Miss Shizu! Did you hear that? Mr. Zhong Chen said he can solve your physical problems! That's wonderful! Sniffle, sniffle, sniffle…"
"However, there's a problem now, and that's your thoughts, Miss Shizu! Do you need me to help you solve your physical problems?"
Zhong Chen knew that Shizu didn't want to live just because of physical problems; her heart had actually died when she personally killed her best friend. Everything after that was merely to find the Demon Lord Leon who summoned her.
"This…"
Hearing Zhong Chen's question, Shizu couldn't help but fall silent. And seeing Shizu fall silent, Rimuru couldn't help but speak out:
"Miss Shizu, is there anything to hesitate about? Let A Chen heal you!"
"Rimuru! Let Miss Shizu choose for herself. This is her own life; others have no right to choose for her!"
Looking at the serious-faced Zhong Chen, Rimuru seemed to understand something and stopped speaking. Ellen and the other two also remained silent, just looking at Shizu with hopeful expressions.
Shizu looked at Rimuru and the others, who were gazing at her with hopeful eyes, and then thought of her students.
Suddenly, she felt that she wasn't so alone after all. She still had friends who wished for her to live, adorable students waiting for her to return to class, and Hinata Sakaguchi, whom she was still a little worried about.
Composing herself, Shizu stood up and, with a determined expression, bowed to Zhong Chen, saying:
"I have decided, Mr. Zhong Chen! Please heal me! There are still friends in this world who wish for me to live! I beg you!"
Looking at Shizu, who was bowing before him, Zhong Chen finally couldn't help but smile and said to Shizu:
"Yes! Don't worry! I will solve your physical problems!"
"Yay!"
"That's wonderful, A Chen!"
"This is great, I almost thought I'd never see Miss Shizu again!"
Watching the overjoyed crowd, Shizu's formerly closed heart cracked open significantly, as if a ray of sunshine pierced into her heart, making her feel warm inside.
Izayoi Sakuya, sitting beside Zhong Chen, rarely showed a slight smile and whispered:
"As expected of Master! He has his own unique gentleness!"
Zhong Chen, looking at the slowly calming crowd, spoke:
"Then let's all eat first. After dinner, we'll go solve Miss Shizu's physical problems, and then how about we visit Mrs. Kamado's house?"
"Alright!"
"Hmm!"
An hour later, in an open space outside the town.
Zhong Chen ignored Rimuru and the others muttering around him and said to Shizu:
"I will help you completely fuse with the spirit and enable you to fully control it. Miss Shizu, are you ready?"
Shizu, hearing Zhong Chen's words, nodded with a resolute expression and said:
"Yes, I am ready, Mr. Zhong Chen, please proceed!"
Seeing that Shizu was ready, Zhong Chen no longer questioned her. He directly extended his right hand and condensed a golden spiritual energy. As the spiritual energy was injected into Shizu's body, Shizu felt her whole body fill with power, and even her dilapidated body began to recover rapidly.
Zhong Chen's first step was to heal Shizu's collapsing body. Then, he activated his divine sense and entered Shizu's mental space… Ifrit looked at the man standing before him and, for some reason, felt his soul tremble, as if he were facing the Spirit Queen Ramiris in her prime.
"You are Ifrit, correct!"
Ifrit, hearing Zhong Chen's question, cautiously replied:
"I am Ifrit, may I ask who you are, sir?"
"You don't need to know who I am. You just need to know that from now on, Shizu is under my protection. Do you… understand?"
Looking at the man before him, who seemed ready to kill if his answer wasn't satisfactory, Ifrit indicated that a good spirit should know to be a wise man who understands the times. He then replied respectfully:
"Sir, please rest assured! I know what to do. I will actively fuse with her, and I will also protect her safety well!"
Zhong Chen nodded with satisfaction and said to Ifrit:
"Young fellow, you have a lot of potential! Work hard, and in the future, I will release you and give you a complete body!"
"Yes! Thank you, sir!"
[As expected of a great person. If I curry favor with him, I might even have a chance to advance to a higher-tier spirit in the future!]
Ifrit expressed: Sir, I really want to improve!
At the same time, in the outside world, everyone watched the two motionless figures…