DON'T ASK ABOUT MY PAST

CHAPTER 26 - 2ND ROUND III (SAKURA - KAZUMA)

– “But—”

With an angry, sulky tone – ‘Stop, dummy girl. I said I’ll stay. First, we need to search for the Crystal.’

– “Oh! Crap! I forgot about that!”

“Hey, first find the Crystal. Her doubts are cleared now. She wants to play. At least do that, idiot.”

With a bitter smile and sulky tone “Idiot? You’ve been thinking that from the beginning? What did I do? Well, my physical age is 25 but—”

“Oi! That’s not the issue! First search for the Crystal! If your mind is 40 years old, so what? Why did you even participate? From others' perspective, you’re a 25-year-old guy with a screw loose. Sorry to say that—but I feel the same.”

‘Huh! Well... if I say I found the crystal, how will she react?’

“I already found the Crystal.”

“Huh?! When?!”

“From the moment we fell. My hand brushed against something. I checked—it was the Crystal.”

The moment Yui heard that, her entire expression changed. Her eyebrows twitched—just once—but that was enough. Her smile disappeared. Replaced by a deadpan stare sharper than any blade. One eye narrowed. Lips pressed. Jaw clenched.

Ren, casually brushing sand off his hands, froze mid-motion. Her gaze locked on him—intense as a thousand grudges. That wasn’t just anger. That was ‘I’m-going-to-bury-you-in-this-sand’ kind of rage.

She stepped forward, standing in front of him.

‘Miko-senpai! She looks just like that!’

She crossed her arms. One eyebrow raised so high it nearly reached her hairline. Her other eye twitched again.

“You… found it… and said nothing?” she asked, voice calm—but dangerous, like a teacher catching you with cheat notes on your hand.

Ren smiled nervously. “W-Well, I was going to—”

“Dig. Dig deep,” she said. “Because your grave’s gonna need space.”

“Huh?! Grave?! Hey—”

She grabbed Ren’s neck with both hands, fingers tightening with precision.

“Y-Yui—! W-Wait!!” Ren gasped, fingers wrapping around her wrists, trying to pry them off.

Yui leaned in closer. “You think this is a joke? I will kill you.”

Ren, gasping between chokes, gave a shaky laugh. “It was… a prank... surprise...! I want to stay here. Even if we go out, we’ll have to walk. It’s a safe place.”

But his hands kept slipping, struggling against her death grip.

Finally, she let go.

“Unbelievable… Hey, we need six to qualify. We’re not like you. She wants to play too. If you don’t want to come, just send me. I have a restriction—I can’t leave. I’ll go and search.”

Ren coughed, muttering to himself, ‘Whoa… She’s just like her mother.’

A few seconds later, in a calmer tone  “I don’t know about the third day, but I promise—we’ll find the crystals for the first two. First, store your Kairo Energy. I already stored mine.”

Yui touched the crystal with her finger, storing her Kairo Energy 

“I’m keeping it in my coat. I don’t trust you.”