Restricted Fantasy I Chapter 195: Born in Sorrow, Dies in Comfort

"Rustle... rustle..."

As the strand of hair blown by the wind fluttered down from his cheek, a faint tickling sensation belatedly brushed across Yan Huan's heart, prompting him to reflexively raise his fingers and touch his skin.

Afterward, he raised his gaze once more, looking at Ye Shiyu standing before him.

His lips parted as he subconsciously prepared to speak.

What he intended to say were just so polite pleasantries.

For example: "Actually, Sister Shiyu, you just need to ntion it to Aunt Ye. I'd love to go to Sakura Country with you."

But in the end, Yan Huan swallowed those words.

In the past, if Ye Shiyu, this terrifying Hypnosis Master, had declared her intention to hunt him down all the way to Sakura Country, Yan Huan's heart would have definitely trembled in fear.

But now, for the first ti ever, he didn't feel that suffocating sense of oppression.

He only felt a profound quiet, much like the faint, almost imperceptible breeze swirling around them.

'How strange...'

Thinking this, Yan Huan finally offered a helpless smile and spoke to Ye Shiyu.

"Then let's go to Sakura Country together, Sister Shiyu."

"..."

Upon hearing his response, Ye Shiyu's expression remained almost entirely unchanged, save for a slight flutter of her long eyelashes.

A second later, she averted her gaze slightly and whispered.

"Mm, Xiao Huan..."

As she spoke, she glanced at Yan Huan's classroom beside them and added thoughtfully.

"Then I will head back to class for now. Later, I'll talk to my mother and the school about going to Sakura Country for the School Trip."

"Alright."

Standing in place, Yan Huan watched Ye Shiyu's tall figure slowly disappear at the end of his field of vision before letting out a deep breath.

"ow~"

On his shoulder, Myau-chan materialized like a phantom, its gaze also fixed on Ye Shiyu's retreating back as it spoke.

"Yan Huan, Spencer's Modifier has already affected Sakuramiya, so it's impossible that it hasn't worked on Ye Shiyu, ow."

Yan Huan blinked, turning to look at Myau-chan.

"That's exactly why I was so surprised. Given her personality, I can't believe she actually managed to hold back."

"It's all so she can go to Sakura Country with you, ow."

"..."

Yan Huan did not respond to that. Instead, he rubbed his temples in distress and complained.

"Life has been far too comfortable since the Club War finals. I haven't really been focusing on the Modifiers, and today I nearly paid the ultimate price for it..."

"ow~"

Hearing his complaint, Myau-chan offered a simple ow, pretending it couldn't speak human language.

In truth, Yan Huan knew the cat was just doing its best to avoid badgering him about making progress on resolving the Modifiers.

After all, Myau-chan was just a Useless Hachimi, leaving the entire heavy burden squarely on Yan Huan's shoulders.

If it kept nagging him for results without offering any real help, anyone short of a divine person would have snapped by now.

Because of this, Myau-chan never rushed him, only showing a hint of joy when it was ti to absorb a Fragnt.

And now that Yan Huan had actually run into trouble, he was coming to this realization entirely on his own.

"Even though Spencer is a little idiot, her Modifier has a passive effect, and it even upgraded after the Club War.

"Even if she doesn't intend to make things difficult for the other Hosts, they will lose their minds and actively antagonize her..."

Yan Huan rubbed the space between his eyebrows, drawing bitter conclusions from his recent brush with death.

Actually, Yan Huan knew the thod to counter the side effects of Spencer's Modifier. All he had to do was make Spencer stop seeing them as 'birds'...

No, rather, it was to make them appear as actual 'people' in Spencer's eyes.

Just like with him—ever since Spencer ntioned that he had beco a human in her eyes, he hadn't been affected by her Modifier's side effects at all.

'So, is it possible to pull that off?'

"..."

After thinking it over, Yan Huan ultimately decided that the fundantal approach of simply resolving the Modifiers was far more reliable.

Myau-chan was right. Until the Modifiers were dealt with, he wouldn't get a single day of peace.

If he spent a few more days indulging in a carefree daily life of making out with Spencer, he'd probably be staring at Battle Defeat CGs every single day.

"Born in sorrow, dies in comfort."

In that mont, Yan Huan painfully ca to terms with this reality.

"Knock, knock."

With that sobering thought in mind, he finally knocked on the door to his classroom.

"Co in."

Pushing the door open, he found his horoom teacher standing at the podium, giving a lecture.

"My apologies, Mr. Yamazaki. I was held up by so business and arrived late."

The horoom teacher at the front of the room adjusted his glasses, nodded, and said.

"Please take a seat."

"Thank you..."

But just as Yan Huan breathed a sigh of relief and moved to sit at his desk, the horoom teacher suddenly spoke up with a look of concern.

"Yan Huan, although your midterm grades were still outstanding this ti around, you cannot afford to slack off.

"I've heard from the other teachers that you've been cutting class occasionally, and there was even a day when you didn't show up to school at all. Is that right?"

Hearing this, the helpless expression on Yan Huan's face only deepened. He had no choice but to nod and admit it.

'What a coincidence,' he thought bitterly. 'Skipping class and missing a whole day of school were entirely because of Spencer...'

"Well, as the Student Council President, you need to set an example for your peers. You can't let your discipline slip. Have a seat, Yan Huan."

"Understood."

Yan Huan took his seat, barely maintaining his composure. He rested his chin on his hand and cast a glance at his classmates, who were currently stealing peeks at him.

Noticing his gaze, they all imdiately averted their eyes in embarrassnt.

Seeing this, Yan Huan simply turned his head and stared out the window.

The spring weather outside was perfect. The dazzling sun radiated a brilliant golden glow that, for so inexplicable reason, reminded him of Spencer's hair.

"..."

The mont that thought crossed his mind, Yan Huan's expression beca even harder to hold together.

Grabbing his pen, he solemnly wrote down a stark reminder in large letters across his notebook.

"Born in sorrow, dies in comfort!"

'Yan Huan, oh, Yan Huan. You can't keep indulging in this fleeting, carefree daily life with Spencer anymore!'

'You have to perk up and resolve all the Modifiers once and for all!'

"Plop."

A handful of fish food scattered across the calm surface of the water, sending out a series of gentle ripples.

Before the ripples could even fade, the plump goldfish beneath the surface opened their basket-like mouths, eagerly swallowing the pellets one by one.

The happily feeding goldfish were completely unaware that every single one of their movents was being watched by the smiling eyes of Sakuramiya Lily from beyond the glass.

At that mont, she and Sakuramiya Hitomi were currently paying a visit to the School Board's office.

There was no one else in the office—just the mother and daughter duo.

Behind her, Sakuramiya Hitomi sat on the sofa, a helpless expression crossing her face as she watched her mother casually make herself at ho by feeding the School Board mber's prized goldfish.

But just then, the fish-feeding Sakuramiya Lily suddenly spoke up.

"Hitomi, if Sakura Jing were to get married in the future, what kind of person do you think he'd marry?"

Sakura Jing was Sakuramiya Hitomi's youngest older brother, currently just a university student.

Sakuramiya Hitomi had three older brothers. From oldest to youngest, their nas were Lan, Fei, and Jing.

Sakuramiya Hitomi was the only daughter and the youngest sibling overall. Hearing this question, she paused slightly before replying.

"Hmm, Grandfather values Lan the most, and is absolutely dead-set on him marrying a daughter from another prominent family. But as for Jing, it should be fine if he marries soone from outside those circles, right?"

"Exactly. Because the Sakuramiya family has plenty of heirs—our branch alone has four—we can afford to pave different paths for them based on their individual abilities and ambitions..."

Sakuramiya Lily slowly tied the bag of fish food completely shut, then spoke at an unhurried pace.

"But Hitomi, think about it. If the entire Sakuramiya family only had you as a single heir for this generation, what would that an?"

"...It would an that I am the entire future of our family?"

Sakuramiya Lily turned her head, offering her daughter a slight smile.

"Correct."

Looking at her mother's smile, Sakuramiya Hitomi instantly realized what she was getting at and murmured.

"No way... Isn't the Black Gold family supposed to be incredibly powerful? How could soone like Spencer be the only heir in her generation?"

"Who knows... Rumor has it that the mbers of their bloodline are highly susceptible to various strange diseases. Most of the children born into that family die prematurely. Very, very few manage to be born normally and grow up healthy."

Sakuramiya Lily walked over and sat down next to Sakuramiya Hitomi, smiling as she continued.

"Little Spencer's mother, Elvira, is one of those incredibly rare lucky ones. She is both healthy and extraordinarily brilliant.

"As for her daughter, well, her luck was just a bit lacking.

"Although she's healthy enough, she was born with a congenital neurological disorder. It's been cured by now, but it still left her just a little bit different from ordinary people."

Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi let out a cold snort, never one to pass up an opportunity to mock Spencer.

"No wonder. She's always doing such sickening, idiotic things..."

But the mont those words left her mouth, she couldn't help but recall how she had completely lost her mind earlier and rushed out to confront the President, nearly putting him in mortal danger as a result.

That miniature version of herself, the one acting as her conscience, had been absolutely right...

'I was definitely under the influence of sothing back there.'

'It was the sa with Spencer before. She was actually able to shatter my Reality Barrier...'

"..."

Rembering the fact that Spencer also possessed a Superpower, Sakuramiya Hitomi couldn't help but connect the dots regarding the situations where her powers had been triggered in the past, leading her to a troubling realization.

Sakuramiya Hitomi realized that almost every ti Spencer's ability activated, it had sothing to do with Hitomi's closest interpersonal relationships.

Whether it was her mother or the President, both were incredibly important to her.

And it was precisely during matters involving these important people that Spencer's power would trigger.

As she analyzed this pattern, a single word suddenly sprang to Sakuramiya Hitomi's mind.

"Betrayal..."

"What betrayal?"

Sakuramiya Hitomi had murmured the word aloud, inadvertently drawing her mother's attention.

Hearing her mother's inquisitive tone, Sakuramiya Hitomi hastily shook her head.

"No, it's nothing..."

"Uh-huh."

Sakuramiya Lily scrutinized her daughter's face, but soon returned to her previous point.

"So, considering that little Spencer represents the entire future of the Black Gold family, matters concerning her are naturally treated with the highest priority.

"For example, selecting a spouse."

Hearing the word 'spouse,' Sakuramiya Hitomi—who had previously harbored zero interest in Spencer's background—instantly perked up, fixing her full, undivided attention onto her mother.

"Mother, are you talking about the President?!"

"Oh my, what a lack of ambition from my daughter. Have you already resigned yourself to accepting Yan Huan and Spencer as a couple?"

"What?! No! I'm just worried that the President might actually be chosen by Elvira to beco the Black Gold family's son-in-law..."

As she spoke, a deeply disturbing ntal image seed to manifest before Sakuramiya Hitomi's eyes. She grabbed her hair and trembled slightly as she ranted.

"If that happens, the President will spend every single day taking care of that idiot who probably can't even manage her own daily life! He'd be coaxing her to sleep, lounging in bed with her, eating als together, and waiting for her while she takes a shower!"

"Well, well. I couldn't tell you had such a vivid imagination, Hitomi... Those are clearly all the things that you want to do with Yan Huan, aren't they?"

"..."

The mont her mother pointed that out, Sakuramiya Hitomi's face burned crimson.

She cast an embarrassed, flustered glare at her mother and snapped in exasperation.

"Alright, enough! Mother, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Sakuramiya Lily rely covered her mouth with a graceful giggle, deciding to stop keeping her daughter in suspense.

"Did you know, Hitomi?

"When the wealthy and powerful select a partner for their child, they worry about two things. They worry that the partner might be too smart, bringing treacherous ambition and covetous greed into the family. At the sa ti, they worry that the partner might be too stupid, inevitably bringing ruin and disaster down upon the family."

Others might not fully grasp this concept, but Sakuramiya Lily, who had married into the prestigious Sakuramiya family, understood this principle intimately.

"And for Elvira, selecting a husband for little Spencer is even more difficult.

"If he's too foolish, he won't be able to properly care for or protect her. If he's too clever, she has to worry about his moral character and the risk of him playing little Spencer like a fiddle...

"Therefore, the person Elvira chooses must be a capable, virtuous individual—a fundantally good man who possesses true competence and won't harbor any ill will toward little Spencer."

Listening to her mother's explanation, Sakuramiya Hitomi nearly leaped off the sofa.

"Isn't that an exact description of the President?!"

The President had phenonal grades, exceptional social standing, and a limitlessly bright future ahead of him.

Furthermore, the President was exactly the kind of gentle, kind-hearted exemplary youth who would help others without a second thought.

'This... this... this...!'

"I am well aware that Yan Huan is exactly the kind of person Elvira is looking for. But the catch is, she doesn't know that yet.

"Or rather, even if she has a hunch, she'll still need to subject him to a lengthy period of probing and testing before making a decision."

Sakuramiya Lily leaned slightly closer to her daughter, the smile on her face fading just a fraction.

"That is precisely why I took the initiative to join Elvira's little project...

"Sotis, launching an external assault is nowhere near as effective as inciting a collapse from the inside. Therefore, the more people invited into her little group, the better.

"And above all, don't forget—your upcoming School Trip is heading straight for our ho turf.

"Once you arrive at the main estate in Sakura Country, you'll be on your ho court. Whatever opportunity you might desire, we can arrange it for you~"

Hearing this, Sakuramiya Hitomi hastily snapped her head to stare at her mother.

"Besides, you've been away from ho for so long that your personality has started to go soft...

"While living like that might make you happier, it will also lead others to view you as a pushover. If you let them walk all over you, you'll ultimately end up losing everything."

As she spoke, Sakuramiya Lily reached out and affectionately pinched Sakuramiya Hitomi's cheek, offering a smiling reminder.

"Born in sorrow, dies in comfort~ That saying is absolutely true, you know."

"Ring~"

Lunch break, Far Moon Academy.

After class, Yan Huan refrained from seeking out Spencer to chat and make out. Instead, he made his way to a massive lecture hall, where he t up with Yabashi Ki to prepare for their upcoming task.

Yes, this lecture hall was highly likely to serve as the venue for the upcoming sexual health education seminars.

Yan Huan had already finalized the schedule. After classes ended on Friday, they would be departing for Sakura Country on Saturday to begin the School Trip.

Therefore, they would use Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to cover one grade level per day and quickly finish up the required seminars before they left.

He just didn't know if a single day per grade would be enough ti, especially since Ms. Miyake would be handling it by herself...

"President, Ms. Miyake said she's almost here. Should I go out and et her?"

"Alright, I'll wait for you both right here!"

By the lecture hall's entrance, Yabashi Ki received a Plane notification, gave Yan Huan a quick heads-up, and ran out the door.

With the venue's usability confird, Yan Huan leaned against the windowsill, waiting for Yabashi Ki to return with the teacher.

Coincidentally, from this vantage point, he could clearly see a corner of the Flower Room situated at the edge of the school grounds.

The sight of the Flower Room instantly reminded Yan Huan that there was still an uncollected Fragnt dropped by Bai Yi sowhere in the school.

He hadn't picked it up at the ti because the Fragnt was still saturated with a severe curse.

But thinking about it carefully, Spencer also possessed absolute immunity to curses. Could he simply bring Spencer along, have her absorb the lingering curses, and then let Myau-chan safely absorb the Fragnt?

'Hmm...'

Just as Yan Huan was staring out the window, calculating when he should seek out Spencer to put this plan into motion...

Sars of a sinister, unclean pink hue had quietly begun creeping up the exterior walls.

"Gurgle..."

A faint, foul stench drifted through the air. Yan Huan sniffed the air, a bewildered expression crossing his face.

"Why does it sll like... seafood?"