Chapter 954: line with translation of chapter title

NO. 77: Casual chat

Mei: "About how long will it take?"

Aomo: "If nothing unexpected happens,"

Mei: "I'm saying, when exactly does he plan to confess?"

Peng (Electric): "Maybe he's waiting for a special moment?"

Peng (Monster): "Does a confession need timing? Timing is just a supplement to courage, right?"

Aomo: "It can't be said it's completely unnecessary; it also greatly boosts mood and increases the weight of memory, like adding icing on the cake on a special day, but that's usually an advanced player's choice."

Mei: "Oh! You really get it! A sophomore, do you have much experience?"

Aomo: "No, just borrowed experience, Nan junior."

As for feelings, one always speaks in principles about others, but when it comes to oneself, one is completely clueless.

Mei: "That sounds more like someone with experience, huh? How so? Who are you dating? Could it be like Utsumi-san?"

Peng (Monster): "You're not going to handle it?"

Peng (Electric): "Uh... Mei, don't be like that."

Aomo: "No problem, I don't mind, because there really isn't any."

Mei: "Really? You seem quite popular; don't you have someone you like?"

Aomo: "Naturally I do, but I don't like them enough to definitely need to be together."

Peng (Electric): "Huh? You like them but aren't together?"

"Feelings require maintenance, require time to nurture, don't you think so, Peng?"

If you put too much energy into other things, you can't attend to everything.

And love itself is a process that occupies much energy and time, right?

It also, to some extent, affects personal condition.

Love-induced dullness isn't just talk; at least when dealing with a lover, a person's judgment and thinking are affected—of course, as long as you're not like that certain Detective who's more of a love calamity than love fortune, it's fine for a close opposite-sex relation to be related to work.

Aomo isn't a machine that needs to be rational and detached all the time; just as he also enjoys shooting the breeze with his buddies and cracking some dumb jokes.

That time without proper daily conduct is actually an important component for maintaining inner balance.

Especially for someone like him who needs to stabilize the mind to curb inner distractions, it's even more special.

But compared to friendship, romance is truly an overly fickle variable.

Aomo, who has had multiple observation and 'interview' experiences, cannot help but conclude its 'cannot guarantee its outline before facing it' randomness.

Peng (Electric): "Although that's how it is, there are also good takeaways, right?"

Peng (Monster): "Actually the problem isn't here; mainly, Aomo-san didn't go to college but directly opened a mercenary agency, and also has a trainer job."

Free time isn't as abundant as a college student's.

Peng, Mei: "Mercenary?!"

Otherwise, why do you think I have such power?

When dealing with companions, Aomo always speaks with a frankness from his hometown: "Although in our world there are also many who aren't required to fight yet still pursue greater strength, I'm not among them."

Aside from work needs, I also have to admit I've always felt somewhat unsettled.

After all, I've had some unpleasant past events.

Ah, that... sorry." Appearing to be Nan Mei who can't gauge distance, she actually still retains the consistent sensitivity of Jidong... or rather, Japanese people.

No need to apologize; although it's an unpleasant past, it's not entirely bad, but the topic has drifted further and further.

Aomo said, as the black mist at his fingertips lightly unfurled while holding the empty soda bottle, he took out a clear glass bead without breaking the bottle.

He pinched the glass bead with two fingers, gently rolling it, gazing at the distorted scenery before him, then continued: "Strictly speaking, these are my post-work worries; in a sense they count as adult worries, not yet something you need to face."

I suddenly don't want to grow up." Nan Mei sighed.

Aomo: "It's not that bad; actually, ordinary work isn't as busy as mine."

As the topic turned again, already undeniably heading into the adult stage, Peng beside Mei suddenly spoke up:

However, Aomo-san, are you really giving up the person you like just for work?

Rather than saying I'm giving up, it's more that I haven't prepared myself yet—preparing my heart for one more person, two, several people, and preparing for a shift in my way of thinking.

Love doesn't need preparation!" Nan Mei waved her hand, saying this with a resounding thud.

But she overlooked the first half.

And Peng couldn't hold back.

What the hell does 'several people' mean?

This question actually reminded Peng of one of the shocks when he first came to that world; he immediately said: "Ah, it seems Aomo-san's world's laws don't restrict monogamy."

However, there are quite a few laws concerning family relations.

Um... what kind of world would that be?" Peng was somewhat speechless.

In a world where technology and ideology have developed to a certain extent, the law strives to advocate marriage and family to uphold the federation's development, but the social climate is not like that.

Aomo said lightly.

Transmigrants being shocked by the Holy Terra Federation's marriage law, etc., is actually a common trope for him; he's grown accustomed to this explanation:

However, please don't overimagine; even without a monogamy system, most couples still meet your current social demands, after all...

Whether it's polygyny or polyandry, both are high‑difficulty challenges, meaning doubled emotional and material demands.

Not many are keen on that challenge; most people just want to live easily, thus enjoying singlehood and fulfilling emotional needs through other means.

Ah, how awful, sounds both good and awful… actually it's pretty bad.

Nan Mei repeatedly muttering 'ya bai' obviously still thinks this society is too much.

Her tolerance is just too low… Aomo glanced at her with a hint of regret.

When he described the common emotional conflicts of the Terra Federation, there was another kind he didn't mention: the intermediate state between polygyny and polyandry: the joint family.

This is quite rare, but it does exist as a marital state.

Usually, it stems from a certain person of the lower-status side between polygyny and polyandry who opened a branch mine; after it was made public and consensus reached, based on the emotional relationship inherent to the branch mine itself, the male-female relationship becomes even more tangled.

That is the true chaos.

Just a small family can develop into a huge clan; when internal conflicts require legal recourse, even lawyers must first spend time sorting out the relationships among these people.

Before Aomo became a mercenary, such things only existed in adults' gossip; but after he became a mercenary, he would occasionally browse the case files handled by his peers to accumulate work experience, and he indeed came across many such chaotic male-female relationships.

It's not hard to see that even if there are lawyers daring enough to take on the challenge, sufficient evidence is still needed; but how would one find that evidence?

Go mess around with the mercenaries at the office.

After all, the predecessors of many old offices were actually detective agencies.

After technology advanced to the point that the era of detectives completely passed, the remnants of detective work were more often used for catching adulterers and similar tasks that couldn't employ public surveillance cameras.

"It's indeed terrible, but living in such a world allows forming a family, or even romance, not to become a necessary achievement in life." Aomo shrugged indifferently.

"But isn't your assumption heading straight for polygyny?" Ma Zhongpeng retorted.

"Yes, I consider things from the angle of assuming the worst possible outcome, which might tear my future life apart." Leaning against the wall, Aomo looked at Yuta running toward the Inner Sea and the Six Flower Class in the distance, and raised the glass marble in his hand to aim.

In the works of "4S Gulite," the glass marble in the ramune bottle holds a unique status.

It is used as a metaphor for an individual who can see the outside world without feeling restricted, yet is still bound by the glass bottle, and at the same time serves as a tool for self-examination.

At the story's end, it passed from Yuta's simulated Gulite into Inner Sea's hands.

Not long ago, Inner Sea returned it to Yuta again.

Because he discovered that only Yuta was truly suited for Gulite, the boast he once made—"Next time, try finding me to be a human vessel"—no longer needed to be spoken.

Moreover, worth mentioning is that Baoduo Liuhua's character song is called "Glass Marble".

The lyrics also reveal why she dislikes drinking soda.

Her eyes, like glass marbles, dazzlingly made me look away; those glass-ball-like eyes, so radiant, caused me to avert my gaze.

For what, for whom, where to go?

Such questions are hard to answer for a high school girl like Baoduo Liuhua, and even after obtaining an answer, they might become more repulsive.

For children, such questions are too profound.

But for Xiang Yuta, it is not a problem at all.

His posture of rushing to respond to Gulite's call is so straightforward that watching it makes one feel ashamed yet still want to reach out.

The hesitant heart that fears yet wants to draw near is also part of adolescence.

And that is exactly the distance between them—seemingly far, but actually just a sheet of paper away.

But the red-haired boy who ran past did not realize this.

Then when could he realize this? Through the view of the glass marble, seeing that vague red hue, Aomo lowered his hand and clapped.

"Alright!"

Leading the three's gazes together to look at that swiftly moving figure, Aomo casually shook the soda bottle in his hand.

"The main character has already been set free, running toward the target point, so we no longer need to pay attention to my trivial matters to kill time."

"Next, let's blend in as if nothing happened."

"How can that be called killing time? I'm still quite curious about the love life of the senior from year two, especially regarding that rumored Xintiao Qian."

"Speaking of which, is Xintiao Sang okay? It seems there's been a period with no news from her."

"A period? Wasn't that just yesterday?"

Aomo, who skipped the South Team Member's topic to respond to Apeng's words, is the boss's discernment.

"Our side is the calm before the storm, while her side is just the beginning of battle."