There is nothing wrong with the training method of the Justice Messenger

"well enough."

"...Until now, it's been a bit difficult for me to connect this student-looking boy in front of me with a professional exorcist." Mr. Hiratsuka hesitated, and continued: "Let me say a few more words. Since you have such excellent grades, there is really no need for you to focus on the path of an exorcist. You should go to university, continue your studies, and learn another skill... After all, an exorcist is a very dangerous job, isn't it? If you get injured or disabled... I'm sorry, I'm not advising you to give up. I just think that you should at least leave yourself a way out, so that when one day you feel that you can't bear the pressure, there is room for you to turn back."

Li Nian was stunned for a moment, then felt some warmth.

Unlike Kanda and the others, when they learned about Li Nian's identity as an exorcist, they only saw his glamorous side. When Mr. Hiratsuka looked at him, he saw not only Li Nian as an exorcist, but more importantly, Li Nian as a student and an ordinary person.

Being an exorcist is a dangerous profession. It is not surprising if one dies when fighting against terrifying creatures like demons and monsters, not to mention being injured or disabled. At that time, the career of an exorcist is often over. Mr. Hiratsuka thought of this and was reminding Li Nian to see this possibility and think about a way out for himself. This may sound selfish, irresponsible and indecisive, but it is indeed the way of thinking that people in society should have, that is, one should put one's own interests first and consider all aspects.

Li Nian actually understood this principle very well, so he nodded and replied: "I understand."

Teacher Hiratsuka smiled, thinking that Li Nian had listened to the advice.

"I'm glad you understand. Then, I have nothing else to say. Go ahead and get busy."

Li Nian was sent out of the office. He smiled at Mr. Hiratsuka who was watching him with concern, closed the door, and muttered to himself to add a sentence that he had not said to Mr. Hiratsuka.

"…But for me, it seems that there is no need to think about retreat."

The talent of Li Nian’s soul is to keep fighting and to keep living.

It seems that no matter how serious the injury is, he can recover, so if he is hit once, he will stand up again. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be no hidden dangers. Perhaps as this sentence says, he will keep fighting and live - conversely, perhaps he will only stop fighting when the fire of life is completely extinguished.

But this is nothing great. No matter whose life, it is like a battlefield. One has to try his best to stay alive until death. He is just like millions of other people. He has to stick to his original intention and direction, and enjoy all the joys and sorrows along the way.

Chapter 148 Kasumigaoka Utaha's Curiosity

"…Are you leaving?"

After leaving school, Li Nian went to Takasago Bookstore, but this time he did not go to do his daily part-time job. Instead, he went directly to Takasago Chie and asked to resign.

"Yes, sorry for bringing it up so suddenly, but I'm really starting to get busy and can no longer continue working here."

The income of an exorcist is extremely high, and Li Nian doesn't care about the little money from working. For him, this part-time job is more of a leisurely job, a reason to free up leisure time for reading, so he has persisted until now and has not given up... But he also knows that he can't go on forever, and he just works one day at a time. He understands that this job may be interrupted at any time due to various circumstances. He said before that he would leave sooner or later.

This attack finally became an opportunity to urge Li Nian to make this decision.

But what he brought up was still a bit abrupt. Chie Takasago was obviously caught off guard. She was stunned for a long while and finally showed an expression of regret.

"Really? This day has finally come."

"The boss seems reluctant to let me go?" Li Nian joked, "Is he fascinated by my handsomeness?"

Takasago Chie patted Li Nian's shoulder and laughed: "You figured it out. Of course I can't bear to let such a handsome clerk like you go, but everyone has their own circumstances, I can still understand that... By the way, you stay here and don't move. I'll go get something."

After saying that, she turned around and ran upstairs, took down a bag of fruit and stuffed it into Li Nian's hand.

"this is for you."

“…It’s an orange.”

"Because dad bought too much and couldn't finish it, I'm giving it to you."

"Oh..." This little thought was heartwarming. Li Nian smiled and accepted it. He then bowed his head to thank Takasago Chie and said, "Thank you for your care all along."

"No way, I should be the one saying this. With you working here, I feel much more relaxed. Oh, it's really troubling to think about this. I wonder if I can find an employee as good as you if I recruit more people?"

Li Nian's performance during his part-time job was excellent. He was quick and efficient in everything he did, and was mature, steady, gentle and amiable in his dealings with people while sitting at the counter. Customers had a very good impression of him and spoke highly of him. Chie Takasago saw all of this, and felt sincerely that the presence of this employee had indeed relieved her of a considerable part of the work pressure. Now that Li Nian is really leaving, she feels very sorry about it, and wonders if she will be able to find such an excellent worker in the future.

"I believe you can find it... Well, although I won't work here anymore, I will still come here often to buy books. Then I will be a customer. It's your turn to recommend good books to me, boss."

Li Nian's words were not all polite. He was interested in reading. Even if he didn't work here anymore, he would come here often to buy books. During this time, he got to know Takasago Chie and already regarded her as a friend.

"You are not my employee anymore, so there is no need to call me boss."

"...So, Takasago-san?"

"Just call me Chihui." Takasago said with a smile, "You said it yourself, so you must come often. I'll give you a discount when you buy books!"

"Thank you very much in advance... Bye."

After waving goodbye to Takasago, Li Nian turned and left, pushed the door open, and was about to return to Sakurasou. After taking a few steps, he suddenly heard a call from behind.

"Student Li Nian."

The person whose name was called turned around and was stunned.

"…Kasumigaoka-senpai?"

Yes, the person who called him was Kasumigaoka Utaha.

She gently pushed aside the hair on her forehead and showed a charming smile.

"Ah, what a coincidence, we meet again."

"Senior is here...?"

"Buy books." Kasumigaoka gave an immediate answer with a smile.

Li Nian turned his head and glanced at the door of the bookstore he had just walked out of, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Really? I'm sorry. Although I would like to chat with you, I have something to do and need to go back first. So I won't accompany you any more."

After saying that, he pretended to turn around and leave. Kasumigaoka's face froze and the word "wait" came out of her mouth.

Li Nian turned around and looked at Xia Zhiqiu with a smile.

"What's wrong?"

"...Aren't you working here? Leaving at this time is considered leaving early."

"I have just resigned and will no longer be a clerk here."

When Kasumigaoka heard the news, she was stunned for a moment, then she thought of something and guessed the reason why Li Nian resigned, and nodded thoughtfully.

"That's right..."

"So if you want to buy some books, I'm sorry I can't help you anymore... If it's okay, I can leave first, okay?"

Xia Zhiqiu knew that Li Nian had seen through her purpose of coming here, so she stopped making excuses and just spoke frankly.

"Well, I actually came here to see you."

Sure enough.

Li Nian sighed.

"Remember what I said yesterday, Senior? To be honest, I don't want to attract attention for this reason. This has nothing to do with you, so there is no need for you to follow me."

"Please don't make others sound like a stalker, okay?"

"I didn't say that so much. You, who think so, must have some self-awareness in your heart."

"...Okay, I have to admit that I am a little curious about you."

"It's just that curiosity. I think I should restrain it." Li Nian said seriously: "And even if you want to know something, I will never tell you anything."

Kasumigaoka curled her lips.

"Don't worry, I'm not a tactless person. I certainly won't touch upon anything you don't want others to know... so I didn't come here to ask you about these things."

"So you want to...?"

"I don't remember the way to Sakurasou."

"..."

"So, can you lead the way?"

Li Niancai didn't believe such nonsense.

But Kasumigaoka insisted to this extent and also promised not to touch her secrets. Li Nian changed his mind and decided to take a step back, so he nodded and agreed.

"Okay."

Just like that, the two of them walked together on the road to Sakurasou.

Along the way, they always had to say something, but there was some silence at first. Kasumigaoka had her own little thoughts and was brewing what to say. Li Nian saw this and simply spoke first.

"By the way, do you remember the first time we met?"

"...Of course I remember." When Li Nian mentioned it, Kasumigaoka also remembered what happened at that time. He smiled from the bottom of his heart and whispered, "I still remember it very clearly..."

Kasumigaoka and Li Nian first met at Takasago Bookstore. At that time, Li Nian was at the counter and received Kasumigaoka, who came to buy books as a customer. Without knowing that Kasumigaoka was the author of "Love Metronome", Li Nian discussed the situation of the book with her and expressed her firm trust and support for "Kasumigao Shiko", which comforted Kasumigaoka, who was feeling a little depressed at the time. She still remembers it vividly.

But when Li Nian mentioned this matter, he remembered some suspicious aspects of the situation at that time and asked directly.

"I remember that when you started talking to senior, you kept mentioning the word [Exorcist]... Did you already know that I was an Exorcist at that time?"

Thinking back on it, Li Nian felt more and more that Kasumigaoka's behavior when the attack happened was a little strange, as if she had known about his identity as an exorcist for a long time. Now meeting Kasumigaoka in front of Takasago Bookstore reminded him of everything that happened that day, and he realized that he seemed to have been exposed on that day.

Kasumigaoka nodded.

"Yes."

"……at what time?"

"When you had a dispute with a group of thugs at the school gate, I happened to be very close and witnessed everything. I heard that person reveal your identity."

"……I see."

At that time, Li Nian had a dispute with the people from the Old Rat Group and kicked a monster away. As a result, he was discovered to be a practicing demon master and his identity as an exorcist was blurted out... This sentence seemed to be heard by Kasumigaoka.

"Although I wasn't an exorcist at that time... Never mind, it's all the same. In this way, everything makes sense."

No wonder Kasumigaoka came to Takasago Bookstore at that time not as if she was going to buy books, but actually came to find him.

"I'm very glad that I have this good luck. It allowed me to meet a loyal book friend of my work, which gave me the opportunity to cooperate with Mr. Shiina. He turned out to be a genuine exorcist behind the scenes..."

"…I should say that my presence has caused trouble to you, Senior. I was the one who got you involved and made you see a scary scene. I'm really sorry."

“No.” Kasumigaoka shook her head. “To experience a genuine spiritual disaster up close and see the tip of the iceberg of your world… this is an exciting experience that most people rarely have. It will become a valuable writing experience for me.”

Thinking back to the various bizarre scenes she saw at that time, Kasumigaoka's eyes were filled with wonder.

Li Nian smiled bitterly.

"...I just want to sincerely remind you that for safety reasons, it is better to stay away from things you shouldn't know."

"But there's no need to stay away from you, right?" Kasumigaoka said with a smile, "The exorcist who protects us from the threats of evil spirits and demons shouldn't be a ghost or a god that we need to fear and stay away from, right?"

"..."

Actually, what Li Nian wanted to say was that Kasumigaoka should control her curiosity about herself and even keep a distance from her. This was what he had been emphasizing until now. After she said that, the next words were stuck in his throat.

Kasumigaoka blinked.

She was indeed becoming more and more curious about Li Nian... not only because of his identity as an exorcist, but also because she saw his talent as an author. Perhaps Li Nian was not aware of it, but he was focused and devoted in writing, incorporating every aspect of his thoughts into the text and the story. After returning, Kasumigaoka read Li Nian's manuscripts repeatedly. The more she read, the more she felt that this work was, in a sense, this person's autobiography.

But what is shown in the book is still a little shallow after all.

It's not that she didn't hear Li Nian's reminder, but she chose to decisively refuse, because she had seen more and understood more about this boy...

But now, Kasumigaoka knew it was time to quit while the going was good, so she suddenly changed the subject and asked.

"By the way, after you finish writing this book, is there anything else you want to write?"

Li Nian didn't follow the change of topic for a moment, was stunned for a moment, and then shook his head.

"Not yet. I only write when I'm interested. Even for this book, I just wrote it for fun."

"Is it fun to write...?" Kasumigaoka repeated what Li Nian said and gave her a complicated look: "To me, this sentence sounds like a mockery."

"……Why do you say that?"

"Because you seem to be saying - see, these are my words, and I can write such a good article easily."

"…Current writers think too highly of me. Compared to works that can be published, what I write can only be considered as amateurish work."

"You should stop being so modest. It's really unpleasant to hear. When people say you write well, just accept it."

“…Let’s wait until I’ve really made it out of the pile of works.”

"It will break through." Kasumigaoka said firmly and resolutely: "This is a highly completed work, it will definitely win a prize..."

She hesitated for a moment, then changed her words: "Even if it doesn't work this time, you can still submit your work next time. If this library doesn't accept it, you can submit it to another one... Sooner or later, someone will see the value of your work."

"Does it mean that gold will shine? I am really highly regarded..."

“So, I look forward to the day when you become a full-time writer and I can compete with you on the same platform.”

"...Please show mercy then."