novelraw Chapter 748: Common Sense
Chapter 748: Common Sense
In front of the desk, the eyelashes of the dozing Fisher trembled slightly, his consciousness awakened by the bell of the teaching building. He massaged his brow and sat up from the backrest he was leaning against, rubbing his brow again somewhat uncomfortably.
For some reason, he felt exceptionally exhausted after the lunch break. It was as if all the energy recovered from last night's sleep had been completely depleted in half a day. With a moment of inattention, his eyelids felt heavy and closed, masking the light of the world like closing a coffin, returning it to chaos.
Looking at the completely empty lunch box on the desk before him, Fisher couldn't help but suspect whether that fellow Helaire had spiked the food with sleeping pills.
But upon careful reflection, it wasn't the case. Fragmented memories were currently piecing themselves into his mind, causing him to recall more content regarding the identity of "Teacher Fisher."
He could even vaguely remember how he arrived in this country using an otherworldly vehicle called an "airplane," and how he became a teacher by passing an interview at this school...
The problem was, these memories originally didn't belong to Fisher, and he had never experienced such things.
It felt just like copying and pasting a memory file into a target folder, but the memory's filename hadn't been modified yet, thus appearing exceptionally abrupt.
He realized this was a further erosion by this world, or rather, the contamination, upon him.
Could it be because of the things he said to Jasmine at noon?
Because Helaire wanted to shatter Jasmine's sweet dream to release her other incarnation hidden within the dreamscape to separate Fisher's inner property, Fisher decided to play it safe first, acting without defying his identity in the dreamscape.The words Fisher spoke to Jasmine on the rooftop were clearly in accordance with her wishes. Consequently, this led to a further increase in the strength of the dreamscape, causing more memories fitting the identity of "Teacher Fisher" to surface in his mind.
Then, what would happen if Fisher played the role of this teacher more rigorously?
He feared it wouldn't be as simple as him being trapped here forever... This dreamscape was no ordinary dreamscape, but a contamination that could erode reality...
Thinking of this, Fisher silently placed the lid back on the bento box in front of him. Opposite him, Helaire's desk was once again empty; he didn't know where she went.
Fisher then placed the bento box on her desk.
"Ring, ring, ring~"
The class dismissal bell rang as usual, like the bell that opened the gates for fine horses, returning freedom to those vibrant high schoolers who had attended classes all day.
Fisher glanced at the clear sky outside, tinged with a tangerine-red hue. He wondered if this scenery meant Jasmine was in a good mood at the moment. However, looking at that sky, Fisher couldn't shake the feeling that as he took a nap, something in this dreamscape had changed again.
"Knock, knock, knock..."
A gentle knocking sound resonated. After a few rhythmic taps, the person outside the door asked softly and very politely,
"Hello, I'm looking for Teacher Fisher..."
It was Jasmine's voice.
"...Please come in."
The next moment, the door opened, revealing Jasmine standing outside, holding her schoolbag with a somewhat shy expression.
In the corridor behind her, many students seemed to have extracurricular activities. They had changed into tracksuits, carrying instruments, paints, and other items, chatting and laughing in groups as they headed toward other directions of the teaching building. Only Jasmine picked up her schoolbag like when she arrived in the morning.
She smiled at Fisher, who wore a normal expression inside the office. From the corner of her eye, she inevitably glanced at Helaire's seat opposite Fisher's desk.
Upon seeing the seat empty, she breathed out an imperceptible sigh of relief. Then the corners of her mouth curled up, outlining a sweet smile, and she said to Fisher,
"Teacher Fisher, let's go home."
"..."
"Clack, clack, clack!"
The train tracks curved slightly, and the train car Fisher and Jasmine rode in curved slightly along with the tracks...
This was the conclusion Fisher reached after standing in the middle of the car and observing the car ahead.
"Teacher Fisher, are you really not going to sit for a while?"
The train car right now could be called completely empty. Only on the way to the station did Fisher learn from Jasmine that although the school theoretically ended classes before four in the afternoon, most students joined clubs, so they stayed at school until around five-thirty.
Jasmine didn't join any clubs, so she took Fisher and left at this hour. Since it wasn't rush hour yet, there weren't many passengers on the train either. Aside from the sound of the train rubbing against the tracks, there was only Jasmine's voice, making her voice sound clear and pleasant.
"I've been sitting all day, I'll just stand for a bit."
"Then I'll accompany Teacher Fisher, hehe..."
Jasmine smiled slightly. She wanted to imitate Fisher and grab the handrail above, but due to her height, it was somewhat difficult, and the vertical handrails were too far away. Therefore, she tentatively reached out and tugged Fisher's sleeve to maintain her balance on the swaying train.
"Clack, clack, clack..."
The train car swayed gently, causing the setting sun to flow across her smiling face as if dyed with waterlight. Fisher's eyes flickered slightly, and he couldn't help but ask,
"Why doesn't Jasmine join a club with the other classmates? It seems I haven't seen you have any particularly close friends in class..."
"..."
Jasmine opened her mouth, seemingly not expecting Fisher to suddenly ask this question. Since she didn't have a prepared answer, she had to inquire inwardly, but receiving no reply for a long time, she remained silent.
Only after a good while did she look up at Fisher with a smile again, saying somewhat embarrassedly,
"How should I say this... Getting along with classmates isn't bad or anything... but, I always feel that a person's merit in this lifetime is limited, so..."
"Merit?"
"Yes... It's roughly like this: merit is the portion of blessings one can enjoy in this life, exchanged from cultivation and suffering in the past life, and it's probably limited. Look, Teacher Fisher, Mom and Dad love me so much, and Teacher Fisher also... I'm not very smart or capable of enduring hardship in this life, so I must have been this way in my past life too. Therefore, I'm a bit worried that if I enjoy other better things, it will deplete my merit, thus causing me to lose what I already have..."
When she said this, Jasmine's tone was cautious, and the setting sun on the horizon also fluctuated shyly, looking exceptionally gentle.
Merit, huh...
Fisher glanced at the Jasmine before him, unable to distinguish whether this was her thought constructed by the dreamscape, or a thought she had along with Asuka.
Perhaps Asuka Karasawa's subconscious believed that precisely because she endured so much suffering, she accumulated merit for this life as Jasmine, granting her loving parents and the opportunity to hold onto Fisher.
That's why even in the dreamscape, she retained the appearance of Jasmine rather than Asuka Karasawa, because she didn't want to taste that bitterness again.
Yet, even within this nearly omnipotent dreamscape, she merely asked for things cautiously, far from fully indulging in a "daydream."
Just a normal family, just a normal school life, just a robust body, just a healthy mind...
"So that's how it is..."
At this moment, gazing at the bright setting sun over the hill outside the train, a sliver of inspiration based on the dreamscape being entirely ruled by Jasmine suddenly rushed into his mind.
Helaire disrupting the dreamscape was to escape its suppression on her incarnation. Then, conversely, could Fisher also use Jasmine, the master of this dreamscape, to reverse-engineer and perhaps even destroy her incarnation?
This line of thought wasn't hard to conceive; the difficulty lay in grasping the subtle balance—how to catch Helaire's incarnation precisely before Jasmine's sweet dream shattered due to complete incongruity.
Fisher stroked his chin, looking at the seemingly conscious setting sun outside the window, momentarily unable to make up his mind.
Starting with Jasmine was definitely correct, and it could only rely on verbal guidance, which put Fisher in a bit of a predicament.
"Clack, clack, clack..."
"Time to get off, Teacher Fisher~"
The train doors opened, revealing the scenery outside. Jasmine looked at the daydreaming Fisher, couldn't help but reach out and wave in front of him, then puffed her cheeks and said,
"Dad must have definitely prepared the food already, let's hurry back..."
As she spoke, her face suddenly flushed red, and then she whispered again,
"Also, tonight Mom said she wanted Teacher Fisher to tutor me in my studies..."
Fisher had already roughly grasped English. Although he couldn't say he understood it entirely, after looking at Jasmine's exam paper, Fisher felt that tutoring her wouldn't be a problem...
Even if in the dream her academic setting was utterly clueless, she really was...
"No problem."
Fisher agreed, completely putting the matter of the task out of his mind and instead wholeheartedly thinking about how to verbally guide Jasmine into manipulating the dreamscape to catch Helaire's incarnation.
They walked all the way from the station back to the temple where they woke up in the morning. Just as Jasmine said, Gou Wen had already prepared the food when they returned, waiting for them to enjoy it.
"You're back? Hurry, go wash your hands and eat... Oh right, Jasmine, go summon your mother to eat!"
"Mom!"
The entrance door opened, revealing Xuan Can holding a broom outside. She glanced at Fisher and Jasmine sitting at the table, putting the broom away while rolling up her sleeves and taking a seat.
Jasmine had already taken off her shoes at the entrance. Sitting at the table now, her long legs wrapped in black stockings swayed slightly under the table. She distributed the chopsticks and then saw Xuan Can place a thick book on the table, asking Fisher,
"Teacher Fisher, take a look, is this book yours? While I was cleaning the Buddhist hall today, I don't know when it was placed in the ancestral shrine. It's fully written in foreign characters, so it shouldn't be Jasmine's..."
Saying this, Xuan Can also looked at Jasmine and added the latter sentence,
"Because Jasmine's English is terrible, and she's privately definitely not the type to diligently read English books..."
"Mom!"
Fisher looked at the book on the table, opened his mouth, then hastily grabbed the book and said,
"Yes, this book is mine..."
He was visibly somewhat excited, and even his tone quickened a bit. No other reason than this book was overwhelmingly familiar even just looking at the cover.
This was that brat Eimhart!
But when Fisher took the book and flipped it over, the cover that originally had eyes and a mouth suddenly turned ordinary, as if this wasn't an extremely precious, conscious Teardrop Relic in his original world, but just a hopelessly ordinary book...
"..."
Fisher opened his mouth, unavoidably feeling somewhat melancholy. He blinked and flipped the book open, only to see dense Nari Language written inside that read,
"Damnable Baimon... Damnable Baimon... Damnable Baimon... Damnable Baimon... Damnable Baimon..."
"..."
Reasonable.
Fisher, his face covered in black lines, closed the book, then familiarly tucked this moderately-sized book into his coat. Opening his mouth, he thanked Xuan Can,
"Thank you, Aunt... Auntie Xuan Can."
"Not at all... but speaking of this, after eating, please do help tutor Jasmine's English well... Honestly, she isn't diligent at all. She comes back and never opens her books..."
"Alright, alright, the shrimp is here, eat up."
Fisher smiled helplessly, looking at Gou Wen's impeccably timed "serving the dish," and couldn't help but give a thumbs-up to this reliable man whose status was identical inside and outside the dream.
Jasmine merely pouted, but outwardly she just blushed and smiled embarrassedly, only feeling happy.
Because a long time ago, she had never even heard such words of scolding that were actually words of care.
Dinner was finished quickly. Gou Wen went to chant Buddhist scriptures, while Xuan Can was responsible for washing dishes and other aftermath tasks.
While Jasmine went to change into loungewear, Fisher grabbed her schoolbag and returned to his small resting room. The pajamas he wore when he woke up in the morning were still inside.
Fisher put down Eimhart, who had temporarily completely turned into a book, placing him by the bed. Then he brought out the English textbook he might need later, sat on the tatami, and thought about the issue he had considered earlier.
Unfortunately, Jasmine didn't give Fisher much time. Before long, a soft knock came from the door.
"Knock, knock..."
"Teacher Fisher, I'm here."
"Come in, Jasmine."
The sliding door opened. Fisher looked up and saw Jasmine standing at the door, having already changed into a modest kimono. Her face was slightly red, and she held a plate of sliced fruits and vegetables.
"This is the fruit Mom prepared for us, saying we can eat it while tutoring later."
Jasmine kicked off her slippers at the door, stepping into the room with bare feet, and placed the plate of fruit on the table.
His thoughts momentarily interrupted, Fisher couldn't think of a good method for a while to make her consciously search for Helaire's incarnation. In this dreamscape constructed by Jasmine, such a thing was somewhat beyond common sense and would easily make her feel incongruity.
Mishandling it might instead aid Helaire, causing the entire dreamscape to completely collapse.
In that case, he decided to just focus on the tutoring task at hand first, and carefully consider it during rest at night.
Thinking of this, he temporarily put down the mental burden, opened the book on the desk, and spoke softly,
"If you have any questions, you can just ask me. If you're unsure, we'll start with the vocabulary."
"Starting now?"
"Yes..."
"Alright."
Fisher nodded. Just as he was preparing to ask her regarding her English doubts, he felt her arm suddenly wrap around him.
Fisher froze slightly, turning his face away, only to see her face leaning closer and closer, until she hugged him tightly...
"Squeeze..."
A sudden tight hug made Fisher's mind go slightly blank. He didn't resist, just filled with confusion. After a pause, Fisher gently pushed her back a bit, looking as Jasmine widened her watery large eyes, looking back at Fisher with more confusion than he had.
As if asking: "What's wrong, Teacher Fisher?"
This reaction made Fisher freeze lightly, so he had to ask directly,
"Wait a minute, Jasmine... aren't we supposed to tutor English? If Auntie Xuan Can hears this..."
But upon hearing Fisher's words, the confusion on Jasmine's face deepened,
"But, aren't we studying English?"
"Wh-what?"
Fisher was baffled, while Jasmine blinked, then actually reached out to touch his forehead, adopting an even more utterly confused appearance,
"You don't have a fever... Why is Teacher Fisher saying so many strange things today?"
"Strange things?"
"Yes... because this helps me study English! Close physical interaction with the person you like makes the study twice as effective... Isn't this... [Common Sense]?"
"Common sense?"
No, what ghost world's common sense is this?!
Fisher's brain went completely blank, momentarily bordering on overload. But upon further thought, he suddenly discovered another huge blind spot...
He suddenly noticed that since this morning, whether it was other teachers or students, no one had any doubts about him living at Jasmine's house and having an overly ambiguous relationship with her, as if this was completely justified and natural...
A student and a teacher being like this without anyone objecting was abnormal in itself. Only now did Fisher finally realize the greater anomaly...
This world—or rather, the dreamscape—wasn't completely replicating normal logic!
At least in some aspects, such as the relationship between Fisher and Jasmine.
Furthermore, Fisher felt that the [Common Sense] of close physical interaction making English study twice as effective probably didn't exist this morning. Because in the morning, the contact between Jasmine and himself merely stopped after brief attempts, and she was still so shy, appearing unaccustomed to close physical interaction.
And in the afternoon, this suddenly became common sense?
Fisher quickly realized that maybe what he said while having lunch with Jasmine had ruined things...
Could it be that what he said touched Jasmine's heart, thus deepening her perception in the dreamscape...
In short, if Helaire's action of disrupting the dreamscape was to make her feel unhappy and incongruous, then what Fisher did at noon was making things go too well for her.
Consequently, this would also cause the dreamscape to change, even causing this kind of common sense to alter, just in a way she herself was unaware of the change?
"..."
Fisher, seemingly grasping the blind spot, stood rooted to the spot with his mouth agape. Watching him unresponsive, Jasmine's cheeks puffed out increasingly. Immediately, she furrowed her brow and placed a hand firmly against Fisher's chest...
In that instant, Fisher felt as if a mountain was pressing down on him, leaving him nowhere to hide.
"Thud!"
Of course, this was just an analogy. The truth was he felt the entire dreamscape enforcing Jasmine's will, ensuring he couldn't dodge or escape.
Jasmine said she wanted to hug, so she must hug, cannot refuse, and he couldn't even utter a refusal that would make her feel incongruous...
"Today... why is Teacher Fisher always saying weird things? Isn't this common sense?"
These words felt like an absolute truth that could not be rebutted.
Sensing the tyranny of the entire dreamscape implementing Jasmine's will, Fisher immediately remained motionless. He hesitated for a moment and said softly,
"It is indeed so, Jasmine..."
In an instant, that mountain-like weight vanished, replaced by her soft, cotton candy-like body.
She gently leaned against Fisher, finally displaying a smile after hearing Fisher say this sentence. Then she once again climbed onto Fisher's neck and said very seriously to Fisher,
"It's all Mom's fault... always making me take extra English lessons so... so, I have to trouble Teacher Fisher... After all, this is common sense, right?"
"..."
Fisher blinked innocently, truly not knowing what to say.