I Can See Health Bars in Real Life

Chapter 816 - 12: I Came First_2

That’s just the kind of person she is—carefree and straightforward, without all those polite formalities."I didn’t buy these, the villagers gave them to me... On my way here just now, no matter how I tried to refuse, I couldn’t, and by the time I got to the Temple School they’d stuffed me with this much food." Gu Mo said calmly, briefly explaining what had just happened.

"..."

"..."

Fujiwara no Meihong’s expression froze, and she suddenly felt that the bun in her hand didn’t taste good anymore, like she was chewing wax.

——Damn it, he’s only been here a few days, and he’s already this popular in the entire Human World...

——Is this the special something about him that attracted Keine?

Gu Mo’s original intention was just to say it casually; he never thought of showing off in a Versailles way over this kind of trivial matter. He simply wanted to find a topic to break the ice so that the conversation that followed would feel more natural, so he had no idea that this little detail he’d unintentionally revealed had once again stabbed at the heart of this white‑haired girl, who was already full of worries and suspicions.

He shifted the topic with interest: "Speaking of which, it seems like your relationship with Princess Kaguya isn’t actually that bad? Is there any room for things to ease up?"

Since they could still sit down and eat together after fighting, their relationship should be relatively okay, right?

Even if there are some conflicts and disputes, it hasn’t gotten to the point of utterly irreconcilable fire and water. Maybe time really can wear everything down; after all, it’s not some absolutely irredeemable hatred... So he wanted to mediate a bit. Treating "let’s die together in our spare time" as a pastime felt a bit too bloody.

"Hmph, there’s no room for things to ease up between me and Kaguya at all..." Fujiwara no Meihong said irritably, then suspiciously furrowed her brows and stared at him. "Wait a second, did Keine ask you to talk to me?"

So Keine had noticed she’d gone to fight Kaguya again, and was very worried about her?

This realization first made the white‑haired girl feel a warmth like that of family, but right after that it made her wary and angry again. She glared at the pretty boy in front of her in annoyance—why even this kind of worry had to be told to this guy, letting him come over and persuade her?

"You might really be overthinking this, Miss Fujiwara..."

Gu Mo raised an eyebrow. Why did she seem to connect everything to that? It looked like she really was anxious! She was just like a daughter from a single‑parent family, terrified that her mother would go find someone new and abandon her to start a new home... Hmm, put like that, it was actually understandable?

"..."

"..."

However, the white‑haired girl narrowed her eyes without saying anything. She just kept chewing the bun in her mouth while staring fixedly at him. Whether it was because of the food in her mouth or because she was actually a little puffed up with anger, her cheeks were slightly puffed out.

Fujiwara no Meihong absolutely didn’t think she was overthinking it; on the contrary, she felt she really needed to take this more seriously.

The Keine Defense War must begin at once!

......

...

The morning was, as always, leisurely and peaceful.

The only thing somewhat unexpected was that Zi still hadn’t come over to ask anything, which surprised Gu Mo a little. He felt that by now, she should at least have noticed some of his movements, but the fact that she hadn’t taken any action at all was strange.

Had she lost interest in dealing with him?

He thought it over and over, and felt that might be the reason... but his instincts faintly told him something was off; he couldn’t shake the feeling that wasn’t it.

It felt more like she was tsundere‑ishly waiting for his next move...

What was she waiting for? Gu Mo was a bit puzzled. Did he also have to "do as the natives do," and declare through a grand incident that he wanted to rejoin this circle?

That... didn’t actually seem impossible. Take Ibuki Suika, who had reappeared not too long ago, for example. The Ghost Race, driven by excessive disappointment, had abandoned Demon Mountain and all left the Earth World.

Many years before Fantasy Land was established, legends of Demons had already completely disappeared...

But no matter how furious they had once been, or how right their reasons were, to the Tengu who had once sworn loyalty to the Ghost Race, that departure was still a betrayal and abandonment.

Even if they had once been inseparable friends, there was inevitably some estrangement because of it.

Yet through a rowdy incident and the banquet afterward, everything seemed to be forgiven and forgotten... It really had that "after surviving the catastrophe, brothers still remain; meeting with a smile erases old grudges" feeling. In such a situation, those who started or took part in the incident were like people actively sending a signal of goodwill to their old friends.

I’m back...

I want to keep being friends with you all...

—Something along those lines, probably?

Gu Mo felt a faint sense of understanding, and just as he was mulling over how to properly pull something like that off, during the lunch break, Kamishirasawa Keine arrived right on time.

"Mr. Gu Mo..."

Having finished the morning’s classes, Miss Kamishirasawa walked into the Temple School staff office, greeted Gu Mo, and smiled at him with a firm yet happy expression. "I wanted to ask you about something today..."

"W‑wait—!!"

A hurried shout rang out, and the white‑haired girl who rushed in from outside quickly glanced around, then grabbed the young man and dragged him out, looking rather flustered.

"K‑Keine, I...I have something to talk to this guy about, s‑so you get back to work first!"

Throwing out that line with obvious guilt, Fujiwara no Meihong dragged the young man off at top speed, leaving the somewhat surprised Miss Kamishirasawa standing in the room, dazed.