Chapter 146 What is Truth?
The wind howled in her ears, unable to drown out the sound of her wildly beating heart.
She blinked involuntarily as she fell, yet immediately opened her eyes wide, unwilling to miss any detail.
As the ground drew closer and her heartbeat grew louder, just when she thought she would continue falling, there was suddenly a solid sensation underfoot and a rapid ascent, far more exhilarating than a roller coaster ride.
Still, up until now, all Yukinoshita Yono had felt was something soft beneath her feet.
She must have been standing on the back of some invisible creature.
Lin Qi suddenly let go of the short-haired girl. She immediately felt unbalanced and grabbed his arm, pressing the softness of her chest against it.
Yukinoshita Yuno blinked, then curiously looked down at the skyscrapers, and then magically, clusters of orange fur appeared in her vision.
This was a massive bird.
And she and Lin Qi were standing on its back.
“Wow! Lin Qi, I can see it! I can see it!” She exclaimed like a little girl with a new toy, shaking the black-haired young man’s arm, “What a huge bird!”
“This is a hawk familiar called Nue,” explained Lin Qi as he pulled her down to sit cross-legged.
“So that’s what you’ve been doing, Nue. Thanks for all your hard work.” She bent her legs and sat sideways on the familiar’s back, stroking the soft feathers on the hawk’s back.
“Call!” The hawk familiar cried out sharply in response.
“How cute! Given I can’t see its face, it must truly be adorable.”
“Oh, wait… Is it really okay for Nue to show itself like this? Isn’t there a risk of being seen and photographed?” She wondered while stroking the owl’s soft fur.
“Don’t worry, most people can’t see such things. You only see them temporarily,” explained Lin Qi.
“I see… It’s a shame.”
To accommodate Yukinoshita Yuno, Lin Qi didn’t fly Nue too fast. The cool night wind gently swept past her face, dispelling the summer heat. Her shoulder-length hair swayed gently in the breeze, carrying a floral scent.
“Hey, Lin Qi, can we go higher?” Yuno suddenly asked.
While looking down at the city from above was beautiful, the view from high-rise buildings wasn’t much different.
But she wanted to see the night sky rather than just the cityscape.
Not the kind seen through airplane windows, but a boundless one, unconfined by metal shells.
“You won’t get cold, right?”
Lin Qi patted the familiar’s back, signaling it to rise higher.
In obedience to its master’s command, Nue flapped its wings ferociously, soaring into the sky.
The city below became smaller, the multicolored neon lights densely clustered together, appearing like a star sea. Traffic moving through intersections on highways transformed into rivers of light and shadow, like the arteries of the city, flickering with a breath-like rhythm.
She clearly sensed that the city was alive.
Until they passed through thick clouds and reached the sea of clouds above.
It was almost impossible to see stars in the night sky of the city; even in the countryside free from light pollution, the scattered clouds allowed glimpses of only an iceberg tip of the starry sea. Even a telescope could not reveal more than a tiny part of the Milky Way.
As the haziness faded, the clear eyes of Yukinoshita Yuno reflected a complete, magnificent and boundless Milky Way.
Each star was bright and extraordinary, even if they were thousands of light-years away. When they formed a coherent constellation, even the full moon struggled with its brilliance.
Only at this moment was it possible to clearly and profoundly feel how vast the world was and how insignificant humans were in comparison. Under such a vast星空，individuals seemed to lose their meaning.
“So beautiful…”
Yukinoshita Yuno gazed at the suspended Milky Way, speaking softly.
A sense of fulfillment and a tinge of illusion filled her heart, two contrasting sentiments intertwining before blossoming into a yearning feeling.
Freedom.
Without the arrangements made at home, or the need to maintain social relationships, and without donning false masks, there was only her true self and the real starry sky.
Truth…
What exactly is the real self?
—
Chiba Village, Forest Summer Camp.
Inside a wooden house where high school students rested, Hachiman Hikigaya lay on prepared futons, nervously watching the adorable sleeping face of Ayaka Hozuki, who was just inches away.
“Hachiman…” The silver-haired boy’s dreamy whisper entered his ear.
How could he possibly sleep?
The dim light concealed the flush on Hachiman’s face. To cool himself down, he decided to step outside.
He carefully got up, leaving the wooden house.
Boredom led him aimlessly wandering around when he suddenly spotted a slender figure hiding in the woods.
Yukinoshita Yukino was looking up at the night sky. Her serene profile gave no hint of her thoughts. Moonlight poured down, enveloping her like a silver glow.
This scene was too beautiful; he decided it was best he didn’t interrupt.
Just as he prepared to quietly leave before being noticed by Yukinoshita, a voice echoed calmly, “Staying up late, what exactly did you have in mind, Hachiman?”
Tsk, nearly forgot, Yukinoshita’s strength was significantly greater than his. Being discovered was natural.
“You’re here too,” Hachiman commented.
“Mitsura came looking for trouble. I spent thirty minutes convincing her and then she cried.”
“Decided to come out because of the awkward atmosphere?”
“More or less.”
Yukinoshita went out alone mainly because she received a message from Lin Qi on her phone.
Want to have some midnight snacks?
Though she didn’t usually eat midnight snacks, she still decided to accompany him.
“But I didn’t expect her to cry. Now, Yuibah should be comforting her.”
“Even the stern Yukinoshita couldn’t handle tears smoothly.”
I wonder if Lin Qi will soften toward me because of my sobbing… No, that’s impossible.
While they chitchatted, the moonlight was abruptly blocked by a giant catlike familiar.
Just as Yukinoshita Yukino looked up to greet, her expression froze.
“Hello there! Little Snow!”
Yukinoshita Yuno waved to her stunned sister with a radiant smile.
—
After School, then Become a Jujutsu Sorcerer
