Yukino Yukinoshita studied Tanaka Masao for a moment before speaking.
"I assume you understand the process. If you have a request, state it. I'll decide whether or not to accept it."
Masao, who had come prepared, didn't hesitate.
"A request? Well, I do have one. I want to lose weight."
"Lose weight?"
Yukino repeated, her eyes sweeping over him in a quick, assessing glance.
"A reasonable goal, and one that aligns with my philosophy. Most failures in weight loss stem from a simple lack of willpower. But with a beautiful girl like me supervising, your male pride should be sufficiently stung to keep you on track." By the end, a confident smile had appeared on Yukino's face.
Seeing that smile, Masao found it beautiful, but he couldn't help retorting.
"Yukinoshita-san, have you ever heard of humility? Most people don't just come out and call themselves a 'beautiful girl'."
"Humility?" She pinched her chin, genuinely considering the word. After a thoughtful pause, she sighed softly and turned to gaze out the window. "You don't understand."
A air of dejection settled around her.
"I've been told I'm cute since I was a child," she continued, her voice softer now. "Nearly every boy who approached me did so with an agenda. My indoor shoes were hidden about sixty times in total. Fifty of those were by girls who were jealous, which is why I had to start carrying my shoes and recorder home every day. It's the burden of being too attractive, too popular. It's… tiresome."
It seemed she'd found a rare listener.
She turned her sharp gaze back to him. "Don't you find it strange? The more capable you are, the more you become the target for envy. It makes survival that much harder. It's truly baffling."
Masao shook his head "I can't agree with your point of view."
His rebuttal surprised Yukinoshita. She asked curiously.
"Oh? Do tell me your thoughts."
"Well, my indoor shoes were hidden—or rather, thrown away—plenty of times, too. Sometimes, they were even scribbled on with markers. But I wasn't targeted because I was outstanding, It was precisely because I wasn't. If life is so difficult for the capable, what chance do the rest of us have?"
Yukino was silent, caught off guard.
Her entire life, she had viewed the world from the perspective of the strong being persecuted by the weak.
She'd never considered that the weak might have their own hierarchies, their own victims who had it even worse.
After a moment, she spoke again, her tone more reflective.
"No one is perfect. People are flawed… prone to jealousy, to lashing out at those above them. And then they turn around and punch down on those beneath them to feel superior. It's a contradiction."
She met his eyes.
"I want to change this world. And in doing so, change people, too. So, what's your decision? Will you remain a victim, or will you strive to become someone so capable that you invite envy?"
"I want to become better," Masao said, his voice firm. "That's why I'm determined to do this."
A faint, approving smile touched Yukino's lips.
"Good. I appreciate that resolve. I accept your request. And understand this, until your goal is met, I won't allow you to quit, even if you beg. So be prepared."
"I'd expect nothing less." Masao pulled out his phone and opened his recording app.
"I, Tanaka Masao, am determined to lose weight under the supervision of Yukino Yukinoshita. If I give up midway, I will accept any punishment she deems fit."
Yukino watched him coolly.
"Let's hope your determination lasts longer than your recording."
As he put his phone away, a thought occurred to him.
"Yukinoshita-san, you said fifty times were by girls. Who hid them the other ten times?"
"Boys. Teachers." She offered a dazzling, slightly mischievous smile. "And a few times, it was a dog. See? My appeal is… quite universal."
"A dog?"
Masao's brow furrowed in thought. His eyes unconsciously dropped to her pristine shoes. A truly unfortunate idea popped into his head.
'Wait, why a dog? Unless… Her shoes have a particular scent that attracts them? And what scent really draws a dog's attention? It must be… well, you know what they say about old habits…'
He was pulled from his thoughts by a sudden, icy chill. Yukino's eyes had narrowed to slits, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
"Masao-kun. Are you currently thinking of something rude?"
A cold shiver ran down his spine. 'The rumours about Yukinoshita being a yuki-onna (snow woman) are true.'
"N-not at all!" he stammered, unable to meet her gaze.
"Hmph." She let out a disdainful sniff. "Associating with you is truly unpleasant. But a promise is a promise. I suppose I'll have to endure it."
With a graceful toss of her hair, she regained her composure.
"Now, let's begin."
"Begin? Begin what?"
She gave him a look of exasperation. "Your weight loss, obviously. Stop wasting time."
"Right now?" he blurted out. "Shouldn't we make a plan? Have a proper starting ceremony? Shouldn't we start tomorrow?"
Yukino let out a short, derisive laugh.
"This kind of thinking is precisely why so many people fail. Things like 'ceremony' are just excuses to procrastinate. If you're truly determined, you should act immediately. Do you understand?"
He did. It was the same logic that made him decide to wake up at eight, only to push it to 8:01, then 8:10, until it became a last-minute panic.
"Understood," he said. "Now, what's the first step? A run on the field?"
"Running is ideal," she mused, "but the field is occupied by sports clubs."
She glanced around the quiet, secluded room.
"We'll start here. It's remote, and the floor below is empty. We won't disturb anyone."
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[email protected]/Raven_scroll (30+ Advance Chapters)