After finishing the training session, Rice Shower did not go to the crowded shower room or the lively cafeteria.
She was alone, sitting on a bench in the most discreet corner of the rest area, hugging her knees.
She lowered her head deeply, burying her face between her knees, shrinking until she became a small ball.
It was as if only in this way could she completely isolate herself from this world full of malice and accusations.
Kaito walked slowly toward her.
His figure blocked the last rays of the setting sun, and a shadow completely enveloped her small body.
The girl, wrapped in shadows, trembled violently, like a herbivore brushed by the shadow of a predator.
Startled, she raised her head.
When she clearly saw that the person approaching was Kaito, the "Chief Rehabilitation Therapist" who had recently gained fame in the academy, the man always surrounded by a group of dazzling individuals, her already dull eyes were instantly filled with extreme terror and panic.
"Eh, eh... It was a hard workout, have some water"
Kaito struggled to appear harmless.
He handed her the sports drink bottle, which was at the perfect temperature, and forced his smile, which he believed to be more kind and accessible.
However, this kindness, which to him seemed perfectly normal, appeared in Rice Shower's eyes like a fatal poison offered by a poisonous snake or a fierce beast.
"No... no! I don't need it! Thank you... No, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
She shook her hands repeatedly, like a cat that had its tail stepped on, and her small body continuously hunched backward, wishing she could embed herself into the bench behind her.
She was incoherent and desperate to refuse, as if accepting kindness itself were an unpardonable sin.
She stood up in a panic, wanting to escape immediately from that suffocating scene.
But, because she was too nervous and her nerves were on edge, she suddenly slipped, lost her balance, and, with a gasp, began to fall backward.
"Careful!"
Kaito reacted quickly, instinctively extending his hand to steady her.
This very action completely detonated the fear in her heart.
The instant Kaito's fingers brushed her slender arm...
"Ah —!"
Rice Shower let out a short, piercing scream, as if she had been hit by a high-voltage current.
She used all her strength to violently shake off Kaito's hand, as if it were contaminated with the most terrifying virus in the world.
Crystal tears rolled uncontrollably from her terrified eyes.
While crying, she faced Kaito and apologized repeatedly, mechanically and with ninety-degree bows, her voice choking with sobs, sounding as if she were about to burst into tears.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so very sorry! Please... please, don't touch me! I'm sorry! I caused you trouble! I'm sorry!"
Saying this, she didn't even dare to look at Kaito again.
She turned around and fled staggeringly without looking back, as if countless demons were chasing her.
Kaito, with his hand still extended, remained frozen, awkwardly and dumbfounded in his place.
In his palm, the slightly cool and delicate sensation of her arm seemed to linger, along with that violent, fear-filled trembling.
For the first time, he felt such a complete and unyielding rejection springing from the depths of the soul.
Not far away, Agnes Tachyon, who had witnessed everything, adjusted her glasses and approached, speaking in her usual calm tone, as if analyzing a laboratory report.
"What an interesting specimen"
"Conventional social behavior based on kindness is not only completely ineffective on her, but it even triggers a strong negative stress response"
She looked at Kaito, with a flash of amusement reflected in her glasses.
"While her mental barrier is not as aggressive and performative as TM Opera O's, the degree of self-imposed isolation is probably... even stronger"
"Congratulations, my dear Assistant-kun"
"It seems that this time you have truly encountered a great challenge"
...
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