The door to the medical room was gently closed, and the sound of Yamada's footsteps gradually faded away in the corridor.
In the large room, only Shinobu remained, standing blankly in place.
She subconsciously raised her hand and touched the hair that Yamada had just ruffled. The warmth from his body seemed to still linger there.
"He said... I can be my true self to my heart's content..." Shinobu murmured to herself, her heart beating faster than ever before.
Over the past few years, she had held herself to extremely harsh standards, forcing herself to always maintain a smile and forcing herself to treat every swordsman gently, just like her sister Kanae did.
As time went on, even she almost forgot that the original Shinobu was a girl with a bit of a short temper, a sharp tongue, and a competitive nature.
But this man named Yamada had only known her for a few days!
How could he know about her sister? How could he know she was imitating her sister?
He was even clearly aware of the suppressed irritability deep in her heart and her bone-deep hatred for demons.
Shinobu leaned against the workstation, a suspicious faint blush suddenly appearing on her fair cheeks as her mind began to race uncontrollably.
"He only just got his Kasugai Crow, so he has no information network at all."
"And he's so powerful that he could even insta-kill the demons on Mount Fujikasane. How could such a proud powerhouse waste his energy on boring gossip?"
"The only explanation is that before he came to the Butterfly Mansion, and even before he met me on Mount Fujikasane, he was already desperately investigating me in secret."
Shinobu suddenly covered her burning cheeks, a flash of panic and embarrassment crossing her purple eyes.
It must be so!
He must have used some means to thoroughly investigate her past, her sister's cause of death, and even her usual personality facade.
Otherwise, how could he have precisely torn through her defenses?
Otherwise, why would he suddenly blurt out something as arrogant yet extremely protective as 'I'll kill that Upper Moon for you'?
"To spend so much effort learning about a girl's bloody past, and even risking angering me just to forcibly pull me out of my sister's shadow..."
Shinobu bit her lower lip, a hint of bashful annoyance appearing in her originally cold eyes. "That idiot... if he likes me, why can't he just say it? He just has to use such a crude and overbearing method. What an arrogant and self-centered guy."
Although she was scolding him, a strange warm current uncontrollably surged into Shinobu's heart, which had been wrapped in hatred and coldness for many years.
Just then, the door to the medical room was pushed open.
Kanao poked half her body in. She had originally intended to get some gauze, but she saw Shinobu standing there with her flushed cheeks covered.
"Shinobu-nee... do you have a fever? I came for gauze." Kanao spoke up of her own accord for once, and without flipping a coin.
"Ah? N-no!"
Shinobu was startled and quickly stood up straight.
She subconsciously wanted to put on her trademark gentle smile, but Yamada's crimson eyes, which seemed to see through everything, and his words "stop pretending" suddenly flashed through her mind.
The muscles on her face twitched slightly, and Shinobu finally gave up on that forced fake smile.
She sighed, her eyes regaining their clarity and sharpness. She walked up to Kanao, reached out to straighten her collar, and said in her original crisp and efficient voice, "I'm fine. I was just... annoyed by a self-righteous guy. The gauze is in the second row of cabinets, take it yourself."
Hearing this authentic voice, which was completely different from the previous airy and ethereal one and instead full of vitality, Kanao was stunned.
She looked at Shinobu's vivid expression, which no longer looked like a mannequin's, and subconsciously gripped the coin in her pocket.
That man named Yamada had not only interfered with her coin, but had he even taken off Shinobu-nee's 'mask'?
...
Over the next few days, some extremely subtle changes occurred in the daily life of the Butterfly Mansion.
First was the training ground in the backyard.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Accompanied by three extremely short sounds of breaking air, three ordinary pebbles picked up from the ground traced three eerie arcs in mid-air. They not only bypassed the obstruction of tree trunks but also hit the bullseyes of three hanging wooden targets ten meters away with unerring precision.
"Wow! So amazing!"
"The stones actually curved!"
"Yamada-sama is so cool!"
The three little girls, Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho, were squatting on the porch, their eyes sparkling as they clapped their hands frantically.
Even Aoi, who was passing by with a washbasin, couldn't help but stop and stare blankly.
"Just some unique throwing techniques, basic stuff, don't make a fuss."
Yamada patted the dust off his hands and lazily stretched.
Just then, a faint sound of footsteps came from behind him.
"You certainly have a lot of leisure time, tricking little girls into admiring you here in my Butterfly Mansion."
The voice was cold and carried a few hints of undisguised sarcasm and teasing.
Yamada turned around and saw Shinobu walking over carrying a tray with a pot of hot tea and several plates of exquisite tea snacks.
Today's Shinobu wasn't wearing that hair-raising fake smile. Her eyes were bright and sharp, her eyebrows slightly raised, and she exuded an aura of tsundere and liveliness.
Yamada looked at her like this and nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad, this style is much more pleasing to the eye. Compared to pretending to be a big sister with 'ara ara' all day, you have more of a future as a short-tempered, sharp-tongued loli."
"Who are you calling a short-tempered, sharp-tongued loli?!"
A cross-shaped vein instantly popped on Shinobu's forehead, and she crossly placed the tray heavily on the wooden floor of the corridor, splashing a few drops of tea.
"If it weren't for the fact that you're a guest, I'd definitely add a lethal dose of poison to your tea."
She snorted and sat down next to Yamada. "Drink up. I see you've been bored out of your mind these past few days, so I don't want you saying we at the Butterfly Mansion are poor hosts."
Yamada picked up the teacup and drained it in one gulp, then picked up a snack and stuffed it into his mouth.
Seeing Yamada's defenseless appearance, Shinobu's gaze softened slightly, but her words remained sharp. "You really aren't afraid of me poisoning you. Speaking of which, you went to so much trouble to secretly investigate my past. Are you feeling very proud of yourself now that you see me drop the facade?"
"Secretly investigate you?" Yamada paused his chewing, his head full of question marks.
"When did I investigate you? I can just tell what you're thinking with one look."
Hearing these words, Shinobu not only didn't believe him but became even more certain of her guess.
"Hmph, still won't admit it. Stubborn as a mule."
Shinobu turned her head away, but a blush quietly crept onto her fair earlobes. "But... don't let this happen again. My past isn't some interesting story."
Yamada looked at Shinobu's inexplicably bashful side profile. Although he didn't know how this sharp-tongued butterfly's logic had twisted, from the looks of it, she had clearly taken his spoilers as proof of a secret crush on her.
Yamada didn't point it out and just gave a light chuckle. "Alright, as long as you don't fake smile in front of me anymore, I'll see your business through to the end."
"Who... who wants you to care! Arrogant guy!"
Shinobu jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She even forgot to take the tray and walked away quickly with a red face.
Looking at her slightly panicked back, Yamada shook his head helplessly.
Self-conquering is the most lethal.
[Ding! Detected that the key character Kochō Shinobu has developed an extremely deep self-conquering towards the host. Favorability has increased significantly!]
[Dimension points +800!]
'I can get points for this too? System, your determination mechanism is quite humane.'
Yamada was in a great mood and picked up the teapot to drink directly from the spout.