Seiji was shaken by this knowledge and possible theory.
However, this only lasted for a short moment.
That was because he didn't completely reject the concept of being "Seiji Haruta"… If that had been the case, he would have simply decided to leave this city and change his name to start a new life right after he transmigrated to this world instead.
He recognized himself as a transmigrator, but at the same time, he also recognized himself as Seiji Haruta, and was willing to accept the burden and responsibility of everything this body had done before he took it over.
That was why even though he was somewhat shaken by his own theory, it wasn't a big deal to him.
He decided to think about it some more later. The important part right now was dealing with the person in front of him.
"I'm a Neo Human, someone who's fundamentally the same as an Awakened… that's what you mean, right? Sister Yui."
"That's right."
"I suppose that it's reasonable to describe everything that's happened to me as me having 'Awakened.' I can accept that," Seiji stated calmly. "However… just where did this term come from in the first place?"
Yui remained silent and didn't answer him.
"Neo Humans… you called them the 'ones most suited to this current new generation.' In that case, what does 'current new generation' refer to?" Seiji continued asking. "If this refers to the current era right after New Year's, then in that case, what happened on that night… do you know something about the 'Midnight Incident?'"
Yui continued to remain silent as she silently sipped on her tea.
Seiji took a good look at her.
"Sister Yui… are you a member of the 'Soul World' faction?"
Yui quietly sipped on her tea.
Her expression and movements appeared quite calm, and Seiji was unable to tell if she had been ruffled or not by his questions.
Seiji observed her for a while longer before he finally retracted his gaze as he picked up his own teacup and sipped on his tea.
The silence continued for a while.
"Various things will be happening in the future, including plenty of dangerous events," Yui said as she put down her empty teacup and began refilling it. "If you wish to protect your friends, continue working hard at becoming stronger. That's the only way you will succeed," she said as she began refilling Seiji's tea as well.
"I will… apart from protecting my friends, I still have the goal of defeating a certain Qilin Girl, after all." Seiji smiled.
That's when he saw Yui's expression freezing slightly.
"That nickname… did you hear about it from Hana?" Yui asked him.
"Yeah. I think that's a pretty cool nickname." Seiji nodded.
Yui revealed a subtle expression upon hearing this.
"You don't like this nickname?" Seiji raised his eyebrows at seeing such an expression.
"You think that I'd like such a nickname?" Yui stared at him.
Seiji was rendered speechless.
"At any rate, don't call me by that nickname." Yui made it obvious that she objected.
"I really think that it's a pretty nice nickname. At the very least, it's far better than mine." Seiji revealed a serious expression. "They call me the 'Magic-devouring Dragon' at Genhana High School."
Yui was the one who was rendered speechless this time.
"Not only that, before I was the 'Magic-devouring Dragon,' my previous nickname was the 'Destroyer of Clubs.'"
"…Are you joking with me?"
"Yep, I'm joking with you."
Seiji acted all serious in admitting such a thing before he chuckled.
"I never expected that Sister Yui would object to her own nickname. That's rather cute of you."
"…How is that cute? I don't understand." Yui averted her gaze.
'That's exactly what's cute.' Seiji maintained his smile while thinking that in his mind.
"If you want to defeat me, only you becoming strong by yourself isn't enough." After a few seconds of silence, Yui changed the topic. "It's excellent that you were able to cultivate and become a Yin-Yang Master in such a short period of time. In the future, perhaps you'll even develop enough to be a match for me. However, I won't be dueling with you by myself. As a Yin-Yang Master, we rely on our Spirit-branded Retainers in addition to our personal strength."
As she said so, Yui adjusted the now empty confectionery plates on the table. She arranged the plates into a neat row to block a cup that represented herself.
"My Spirit-branded Retainers are my weapons and shield that I'm extremely proud of. If you wish to duel with me, you must first be able to surpass them."
Seiji looked at her plate arrangement for a while before he glanced at his own cup which was left all by its lonesome. He remained silent without saying anything.
"Gather Spirit-branded Retainers that are willing to fight for you," Yui told him seriously. "Recruit those Awakened friends of yours and raise them to become much stronger. Or, simply recruit or hire someone who is already a powerful Spiritual Ability user to begin with… you can do whatever you like. Only after you have a team of Spirit-branded Retainers strong enough to be a match for my Spirit-branded Retainer team will you truly be worthy of challenging me to a duel."
Domineering.
At this moment, Seiji truly felt how domineering Yui, the Qilin Girl, was.
She had true strength mixed together with a pride that gave her an indomitable spirit!
Her power level wasn't contained in only her personal power level. Her true power included that of the Spirit-branded Retainers under her as well.
She said that she was "extremely proud of" her Spirit-branded Retainer team... In order for the Qilin Girl to use such a term, they definitely had to be incredibly strong.
He didn't know any of her Spirit-branded Retainers other than the Hasegawa siblings, Iroha and Naoki.
Would he currently be able to win in a serious all-out fight against those siblings? Seiji didn't know.
Yui observed the silent Seiji.
"If you need anything, just tell Hana," she stated lightly. "I'm not going to care too much about what she does."
Seiji raised his head and had an astonished expression at hearing this.
"You're… permitting me to use the family's resources?"
Yui didn't respond yet again. She simply sipped on some more tea.
"Thank you… I shall use it with restraint," Seiji expressed his gratitude.
This was a concession from her, as well as her recognition.
'Wait a moment, isn't this…' Seiji felt like he suddenly realized everything.
'Isn't this all simply a roundabout way of providing her protection!'
Seiji was quite moved by Yui's actions as he watched her sitting there quietly drinking tea.
She was strict on the outside, yet gentle on the inside… a classic example of a tsundere!
Seiji even impulsively felt like he wanted to rush up and hug her as this older sister of his was just too cute…
Seiji expressed his current feelings in his eyes. When Yui noticed this, she slightly averted her gaze.
At this moment, Seiji felt like he was seeing Hana.
'Even their tsundere actions resemble each other so much. As expected of sisters!' Seiji was even more moved by this scene.
*Ding! Congratulations on becoming both an older and younger sister sis-con!* He imagined such a system notification in his mind.
'No no, I'm not at such a level. I'm merely quite moved.'
After self-commenting, he took a sip on his tea to help calm his emotions.
"If I gather my Awakened friends, how should I help them to grow stronger?"
"Go to a Spirit World," Yui responded.
"Spirit Worlds are dangerous."
"One must take risks in order to grow stronger."
Seiji nodded. "In that case, what should I do to avoid them from becoming negatively affected by their powers and becoming monsters?"
"There's no definite method. You can only pay close attention and try what you can to stop them if you feel that something's wrong."
Seiji nodded once more. "Got it… thank you so much for teaching me."
In the end, Seiji didn't have to use the save file he'd made just in case.
Not only didn't anything bad happen as he feared, he received an unexpected harvest. He felt that it was all quite amazing.
Seiji was in a rather jubilant mood.
His only regret was that he didn't know when he would get to meet his sister Yui again.
Well, they were closer to each other than they were before. He figured that he would be able to slowly repair the relationship that the original Seiji Haruta messed up as long as he continued to make progress.
'Now then, let's think about that topic from earlier that I put aside...
'Just who am I?
'A transmigrator? Or a formerly depraved scumbag otaku? Or just a butterfly in a dream?'
Fine, the last part was just a joke.
Still, if he seriously thought about it, perhaps it wasn't entirely a joke after all… But still, it actually wasn't relevant.
'No matter who I am, I'm still me. I have no regrets about what I've done, and I have no doubts about what I want to do. There's really no point in being worried about just who I really am.
'But, let's come to a conclusion so that this matter can be closed.
'I'm both a transmigrator and a former depraved scumbag otaku.
'I am a hero from another world, just like how my younger sister views me. I'm also an Awakened Neo Human, just like how my older sister Yui views me.
'I am Seiji Haruta. I was in the past, I am right now, and I will be in the future as well.'