"Haah…"

  Maria woke up ter than usual that m, something quite rare for her.

  Her mi foggy, her body sluggish.

  The horrific ses from the night before still haunted her. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the cruel, inhumane experiments the drug dealers had ducted. The images lingered, vivid and inescapable.

  She hadn't mao fall asleep until she was pletely exhausted, and even then, her sleep had beeless and fragmented.

  Maria turned her head slightly and g the futon beside her.

  Nagi y there, still asleep. Although her brows were knitted with uhe presence of Isumi beside her seemed to provide some measure of fort.

  Mr. Amamiya was right…

  Yesterday was too overwhelming for everyone.

  "Grrr~~~"

  A low, involuntary growl came from her stomach.

  Maria pced a hand on her abdomen, her cheeks c slightly.

  She had vomited everything she'd eaten the previous afternoon. And when dinner came around, the nausea had been so intehat she hadn't managed a sie.

  Now, with the m light streaming through the windows, hunger g her insides.

  Carefully, she got up from beh the covers and slipped into a windproof yukata. She adjusted the hem, tiptoed toward the door, and quietly left the room.

  The hallway felt cold against her skin as she made her way toward the kit.

  As she passed through the main hall, she stopped in surprise.

  Mr. Amamiya…?

  There he was, sitting at the dining table, eating breakfast. And in front of him, spread across the table, were the untouched dishes from the previous night.

  Before she could greet him, her stomach betrayed her once more.

  "Grrr~~~"

  The sound echoed faintly through the room.

  Ren turoward her, just in time to see Maria's face flush with embarrassment as she covered her stomach with both hands.

  "You did dinner, and you threw up everything from earlier," he said matter-of-factly. "It's perfectly normal to feel this hungry."

  He gestured to the food.

  "e on, sit down a. It's all leftovers from yesterday, but it's better than nothing right now."

  Maria hesitated.

  The dizziness and faint blurriness in her vision told her that her blood sugar was dangerously low. She could feel the weakness in her limbs, the slight tremor in her hands.

  He's right…

  There was no time for pride or pretense.

  Nodding, she shuffled toward the table, nearly tripping over herself in her hurry. She slid into the chair across from Ren.

  A steaming bowl of rice appeared in front of her.

  "Thank you," she mumbled, barely registering the words before digging in.

  Hunger erased all thought of table manners.

  Maria shoveled rito her mouth and then reached for the vegetables, pig up crisp lettuce, tender bamboo shoots, and leafy greens with her chopsticks and bining them with mouthfuls rant rice.

  The fvors were simple, but in her current state, every bite tasted like heaven.

  An old grandmother would probably say this is what it means to appreciate your blessings…

  Ren watched her eat without ent.

  Given that Maria had gone nearly a full day without food, her appetite was uandable.

  In mihe rice bowl was empty.

  The pallor that had drained her face earlier was gone, repced by a faint rosy hue.

  "Burp~"

  The ued sound caught Maria off guard.

  Her eyes went wide, and she cmped a hand over her mouth.

  Before the blush could fully rise to her cheeks, a cup of warm water appeared in front of her.

  Maria accepted it with both hands and drank deeply.

  The warmth eased the tightness in her chest, suppressing the urge tain.

  "…Thank you," she said softly, setting the empty cup down.

  "No problem."

  An awkward silence followed.

  It took Maria a few moments tain her posure.

  When she finally spoke again, her voice was steadier.

  "Mr. Amamiya, you're up early today."

  "I woke up to check the situation around the hotel," he replied, leaning back slightly. "And I was hungry, so I figured I'd have breakfast."

  His tone was light, as though he were discussing the weather.

  Maria smiled faintly.

  "And Sanzenin? Still asleep?"

  "Yeah. Yesterday was a lot for her to handle."

  Maria sighed. "I suppose it was iable."

  Nagi had been through a kidnapping because of her family's iahough her sheltered life had spared her from much of the world's darkness, the trauma of that experieill lingered.

  "This experience might have been terrifying," Ren said, "but it's not necessarily a bad thing."

  Maria immediately uood what he meant.

  The world wasn't as safe as Nagi sometimes imagined. Being exposed to its harsh realities might serve as a wake-up call.

  The people who went after her iance won't aly nice.

  The world is full of desperate people.

  And Nagi o uand that reality. She o grasp the dahat lurked beyond her sheltered world and develop a sense of caution to protect herself.

  "That child's been f herself from the very beginning," Maria said softly.

  "I've noticed," Ren replied.

  He was well aware of Nagi's personality.

  Tsuubborn. Strong-willed.

  Eveerrified, she pushed herself to stay posed. She might be scared out of her mind, but she'd never let it show easily.

  "She forced herself to get the method to revive her mother from the diary."

  He paused. "What do you think, Ms. Maria?"

  Maria fell silent for a moment, then chuckled lightly.

  "With the right motivation, she'll figure it out."

  She sighed and shook her head.

  "I've probably coddled her too much all these years. She's grown pletely depe on me."

  "That, and her identity stantly makes her a target for kidnappers."

  She ran a hand through her hair. "That's why she hates going outside."

  Ren didn't respht away.

  Avoiding the world out of fear…

  It was uandable. Anyone who had been kidnapped multiple times as a child would naturally feel apprehensive about stepping beyond their fort zone.

  But prolonged isotion was dangerous in its ht.

  If Nagi stays like that for too long, she'll bee an i shut-in.

  Maria had shared the same in the past. But now, seeing Nagi's involvement with the diary and her new determination t her mother back… she wondered if it might actually be a blessing in disguise.

  The mysteries might be frightening, but they've given her a purpose.

  Now Nagi had a reason to push herself beyond her fortable bubble.

  The only person who could save Shiko Sanzenin was Nagi herself.

  No one else could do it for her.

  Maria took a deep breath and bowed slightly toward Ren.

  "Mr. Amamiya, I o thank you for the ges you've brought to Nagi."

  Ren shook his head.

  "This is her own doing," he said firmly.

  "I only told her that her mother wasn't truly gone, but that saving her would depeirely on her own efforts."

  He leaned back slightly in his chair.

  "The diary reacts to people's desires. It offers a path toward their goals but it doesn't grant miracles."

  "If Nagi truly wants t her mother back, she has to work for it."

  Maria's eyes softened.

  He's right.

  Ren looked at her.

  "And you're part of that goal, too."

  Maria blinked in surprise. "Me?"

  He gave a faint nod.

  "Nagi doesn't want to lose you. She's pushing herself to grow so that she stay by your side."

  Maria's lips parted slightly, but no words came out at first.

  Then she smiled.

  A genuine, relieved smile.

  "For the loime, I thought she could only grow if I left her."

  She let out a soft ugh.

  "But maybe… if she knows what lies ahead, she'll grow without me needing to disappear."

  Her gaze shifted toward the room where Nagi was still sleeping.

  "And if that's the case…"

  Maria smiled again, this time with quiet determination.

  "…then I guess I won't be going anywhere."

  She had said the words casually, almost offhandedly.

  But the warmth in her voice made it clear:

  She ruly wao leave Nagi in the first pce.

  ***

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