Chapter 1912: The Choices of Ogiso Setsuna and Touma Kazusa, Yukinoshita and Hachiman Hikigaya

Chapter 1912: The Choices of Ogiso Setsuna and Touma Kazusa, Yukinoshita and Hikigaya Hachiman
Daigo recalled many things from his own world, the struggle between light and darkness, and the choices made by many people in civilization under different positions and ideologies.

Sometimes, simple terms like "good" and "evil" simply cannot encompass the entirety of a complex life form.

Especially when the life of this individual is twisted into an indescribable shape by the times, fate, the choices of others, and their own obsessions.

Is Lufa a bad person? Yes, judging from his actions and the consequences, he is.

But is he merely a "bad guy"?

I'm afraid not.

Beneath that veneer of “evil” lies betrayed loyalty, trampled glory, a sense of duty to the Netherworld Legion, and a soul whose life trajectory has been rewritten by fate and hatred.

Judging his good or evil may not be so important.

Importantly, after experiencing all of this and after achieving his revenge, he still chose to fulfill that final "responsibility".

Lufa: "There's no need to care so much about my life."

Lufa: "All that I have done, all that I should do, is this one thing left."

Lu Fa: "Past obsessions have been dispelled."

Yes, it has been removed.

For Lufa, his life, his choices, his sins and tragedies are all things of the past.

It is a history that has already been "completed".

He doesn't need anyone's understanding, sympathy, or anyone to analyze or judge him from any standpoint.

So he said: There's no need to worry about it.

Hearing Lu Fa's words and sensing the unvarnished sense of "settling things" in them, the others in the group were momentarily speechless.

Comfort? He doesn't need it.

Regret? He didn't care.

Judgment? He has already given his answer.

Since Lu Fa has made his position so clear, it would be pointless, or even offensive, to continue to dwell on this issue.

As a result, the focus of the conversation naturally shifted to other directions.

An ordinary group admin: "Speaking of which, @Touma Kazusa, @Ogiso Setsuna, how have you been lately?"

An ordinary group admin: "Are you getting used to the chat group?"

Su Yunqing asked Ogiso Setsuna and Touma Kazusa.

They joined the chat group not long ago, and apart from the very beginning, although they were online, they rarely spoke in the chat group.

This is also normal.

After all, the difference in strength is too great. Their world is just an ordinary world without any extraordinary beings, while they, even the weakest of them, are now truly extraordinary.

The inequality in their positions caused by this disparity in strength makes them hesitant to speak in chat groups.

The reason why Umaru, Kasumigaoka Utaha, and the others didn't act this way at the beginning was because Su Yunqing, who was the group leader at the time, wasn't a particularly strong person herself, and there weren't many people in the chat group.

You'll get used to it after a while.

After a brief pause, Setsuna Ogiso spoke in the chat group.

Ogiso Setsuna: "Thank you so much for your concern, group admin."

Setsuna Ogiso: "Chat groups are truly amazing places."

Ogiso Setsuna: "At first, I was indeed a little at a loss; but I gradually got used to it."

Aside from the initial "memory copy" which made her somewhat uncomfortable,

The story of "White Album".

This allows her to re-examine everything she has experienced and might experience in the future from an outsider's perspective.

That love affair that spanned their entire youth, involving three people, and filled with both sweetness and pain.

She saw her own struggle, Kazusa's pain, Haruki's wavering, and everyone's different and imperfect futures after that snowy night.

It was a feeling that I couldn't quite describe.

It's like dissecting your own life and calmly analyzing it under a microscope.

After the initial shock, shame, pain, and bewilderment, what followed was a strange sense of relief, as if one had escaped from a deep quagmire.

Many emotions and questions that had once troubled me and that I couldn't let go of found some answers and relief from that "omniscient" perspective.

and.

Ogiso Setsuna: "Kazusa is my friend now."

A happy smile appeared on Ogiso Setsuna's lips.

This is probably the happiest thing for her since joining the chat group.

In that future arranged by fate, they should have been the closest "love rivals," sharing the same pain and sweetness, hurting each other yet understanding each other, with an extremely complex relationship.

However, after knowing everything in advance and stepping out of that specific, closed three-person relationship, the tangled emotions and pain that had not yet occurred suddenly felt much less intense.

Especially when other members in the chat group are chasing after things like greater power or a longer lifespan.

This makes it seem like the scope of their future romantic pursuits is very small.

Since you've already joined the chat group, why would you still chase after such a boring romance?
But I definitely need to build a friendship with Touma Kazusa.

Touma Kazusa: "Mm."

Touma Kazusa: "It's just that sometimes it's too noisy."

Touma Kazusa also spoke in the chat group after Ogiso Setsuna.

Ogiso Setsuna: "Huh? I'm not noisy at all. It's just that you're always alone, Kazusa, that makes me have to talk more."

Ogiso Setsuna's response carried a hint of reproach, but more so a sense of familiar closeness.

She seemed to have gotten quite used to Touma's awkward way of expressing himself.

Touma Kazusa: "It's nice to be alone, it's quiet."

Touma Kazusa: "Unlike someone, who keeps giving their opinions even when looking at a memory copy."

Ogiso Setsuna: "Because those stories are inherently very touching! Like that one we saw before, Mr. Lufa's past, wasn't it very sad? And there are many others."

Touma Kazusa: "That's why you're so easily influenced."

Touma Kazusa: "And it's noisy."

Ogiso Setsuna: "That's just emotion! Besides, Kazusa, haven't you been watching too? Last time, during a certain scene, I clearly saw you."

Touma Kazusa: "Stop! That's not true!"

Ogiso Setsuna: "Okay, okay, no, no."

Ogiso Setsuna: "How's your piano practice going lately?"

Ogiso Setsuna: "You mentioned earlier that you encountered a difficulty."

Touma Kazusa: "It's alright. I practiced for a few days and managed to get through it."

Ogiso Setsuna: "That's good. I really want to hear you play the piano again if I have the chance."

Touma Kazusa: "You can listen anytime."

Seeing the two interacting so naturally and familiarly, Su Yunqing couldn't help but smile.

An ordinary group admin: "It seems you guys get along really well."

An ordinary group admin: "What about Kitahara Haruki?"

An ordinary group admin: "Should we choose to maintain contact, or simply cut ties?"

Su Yunqing was quite curious about what they planned to do with Kitahara Haruki after they had seen the memory copy.

The choice is to make contact, but not as in the memory copy, just as friends, or simply not to have any contact with him at all.

Touma Kazusa: "I have Setsuna, that's enough."

Touma Kazusa didn't argue about this point, and spoke calmly.

In her world, before the story even began, she didn't know Kitahara Haruki, so there was no mention of the vague feelings of affection and attention that followed, and there was no pain, wavering, hurt, or separation.

She never even considered letting those feelings, which were destined to hurt her, arise.

Ogiso Setsuna: "Kitahara-kun, even without me and Kazusa, you have your own friends."

Ogiso Setsuna: "Since the future has changed, he should go and find his own happiness instead of having any more contact with us."

Ogiso Setsuna's tone was gentle, but the meaning she conveyed was the same as Touma Kazusa's.

Since both sides have chosen not to let the future scenario repeat itself, then why bother with contact at all?

She has already realized how exhausting and wounding the emotional turmoil she might fall into in the future could be.

Su Yunqing understood the meaning behind their words and nodded.

An ordinary group admin: "That's fine too."

An ordinary group admin said: "Now that we have seen different scenery, it is only natural to choose a path that makes things easier for ourselves."

Yes, of course.

Knowing the painful prospect of the "future," choosing to avoid the known pitfalls and seek new and better possibilities is itself the right to "change" that the "chat group" brings to them.

Furthermore, how should I put it, Kitahara Haruki...
Even though she knew he had many admirable qualities—he was serious, hardworking, responsible, and would do his best for things he cared about—and was even a "good person" in some ways, Su Yunqing found it difficult to develop a strong liking for him.

Ultimately, his personality and way of handling things are very problematic.

The "nice guy" traits of being overly concerned about others' opinions, always trying to please everyone, and being unwilling or unable to decisively refuse or let go may be an advantage in peaceful daily life, but once caught in complex emotional entanglements, they can easily turn into torment for everyone, including himself.

His indecisiveness, his tendency to "want to protect everything" but often leading to "losing everything," and his lack of responsibility and decisiveness at critical moments, as well as his habitual avoidance of confronting core issues, are, in Su Yunqing's view, a kind of hidden weakness and irresponsibility.

Moreover, he also possesses a typical "self-indulgent" kind of heroism.

Always taking all the responsibility upon oneself may seem noble, but it actually complicates the problem and unintentionally places unnecessary expectations or pressure on others.

His "goodness" is sometimes not based on truly understanding the other person's real needs, but rather on satisfying his own sense of "being needed".

Of course, Su Yunqing also knew that Kitahara Haruki did not do this on purpose, and his pain was real.

But knowing it is one thing, appreciating it is another.

However, it was also due to the times; the Assassins were more popular at that time, but things improved a lot later on.

Moreover, among the male protagonists in slice-of-life anime, there aren't many that Su Yunqing truly admires.

However, Teacher Da definitely qualifies as one.

Unlike Kitahara Haruki's "fake" gentleness, which attempts to please everyone but often ends up hurting everyone, Hikigaya Hachiman recognized himself early on.

Adhering to the life motto of "the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment," he would rather deliberately place himself in a position of isolation and misunderstanding than hypocritically integrate into a circle he could not identify with.

More importantly, Hachiman Hikigaya is constantly growing and changing.

From initial absolute self-sacrifice, I later learned to accept the kindness of others and to solve problems and build connections in a more "normal" way.

He doesn't shy away from his problems, and he's willing to work hard for the people and things he cares about, even if that effort might expose his clumsiness and vulnerability.

This pursuit of "authenticity," along with the resilience and self-reflection he demonstrates in the process, is the fundamental reason why Su Yunqing admires him.

In contrast, Kitahara Haruki's growth was more about being pushed along by fate, swaying in pain, but he rarely had the strength to actively analyze himself and break free from his predicament.

Speaking of which, how is Yukino Yukinoshita doing?

She was quite angry when she joined the chat group last time and learned that Hachiman Hikigaya from another world had chosen the "perfect future," which meant that he had chosen Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama from his world.

Although she and Hachiman Hikigaya had only just met in her world, her attitude towards him had changed after seeing the memory copy, and even became somewhat special. However, she then saw that Hachiman Hikigaya from another world had "conquered" both her and Yui Yuigahama in that world.

No wonder they're angry.

An ordinary group owner: "@Yukino Yukinoshita, you and your world's Hachiman Hikigaya already know each other, right?"

An ordinary group admin: "How is it now? You didn't even allow him to join the Service Department, did you?"

Su Yunqing asked curiously.

Yukino Yukinoshita: "Regarding this issue, first of all, I am not so naive as to completely deny or blame a specific individual because of events that occur in other parallel worlds that have a weak causal relationship with my world."

Yukino Yukinoshita: "That's an act that lacks logic and rationality."

Yukino Yukinoshita: "Secondly, Hachiman has already joined the Service Club; this is a fact that happened before I saw the memory copy, and I will not change the decision I have already made because of personal feelings."

Yukino Yukinoshita: "As for now."

Yukino Yukinoshita: "He is still that guy who spouts all sorts of nonsense, acts in ways that are completely incomprehensible, and sometimes even annoys people."

It sounds like criticism, but those familiar with Yukinoshita can probably tell that it's actually a rather special kind of recognition.

Or rather, it's a way of expressing that one has begun to get used to or even accept the other's existence.