Money Can Buy Everything

064: Understanding

"While you have time to chat nonsense with me, wouldn't it be better to think about how to solve your current problems? After all, what are you going to do about Argo in the end? You still haven't come up with a solution, right?"

Reimu looked at him and continued, "What do you really think about Argo? Are you really planning to give up on her? Well, it seems like that's what you're thinking and doing. You haven't had any intimate contact with Argo in these past few months."

"But it seems like while you're giving up on Argo, Argo is getting deeper and deeper. Are you playing hard to get?"

Momo responded, "There's no such thing. I've said it before, right? When I pursue a girl, it's because I've already decided to treat them well and I'm willing to make promises and ensure them with trading rights."

"For Asuna, I'm willing to give everything, but for Argo... I'm still lacking a bit. To be honest, my interaction with Argo was just a coincidence. Perhaps if I were an ordinary person, I might gradually develop feelings for Argo."

"Just ordinary feelings, ordinary pursuit, ordinary relationship."

"But now, I still don't have the confidence to give everything for Argo. If my love doesn't get the approval of trading rights, then it's not guaranteed. Rather than giving Argo a love without guarantees, I think it's better to end it."

Reimu nodded and said, "Hmm, hmm, unfortunately, that's not right!"

"Not right?"

Hearing Momo's puzzled tone, Reimu said, "Momo, in my opinion, you're one of the few men with high intelligence, high rationality, and decent emotional intelligence."

"Oh, have you finally fallen for me?"

"Be silent."

Reimu pondered for a few seconds before saying, "So, Momo, because of this, and because you've spent almost a lifetime using your intelligence to outwit others, you value your intelligence and thinking more, even using your intelligence and thinking to embellish your emotional intelligence, right?"

Momo fell silent. What Reimu said was something almost every intelligent person would do: use reason and thinking to deduce the emotional outcome that should be chosen, and then strive to achieve that emotional outcome.

"But emotions are not rational in themselves. If the other person is a rational girl, like Asuna, who is already quite intellectual, perhaps your actions can still be accepted and approved by Asuna."

"But if it's a sensitive girl, and you try to reason with her, she won't listen to you. Love itself is irrational, and with a sensitive girl, what do you think will happen?"

Momo looked at Argo, who was silently holding Yui, and asked, "What do you think will happen?"

"She'll either silently swallow her tears or explode in silence."

"If you and Argo were just passing acquaintances, it would be fine, but in these four months, although you haven't spent every day together, you've seen each other almost every two or three days because of various things, right?"

"And, due to your own habits, you still get along well with Argo, and Argo enjoys it. Both of you have never mentioned the past, but that doesn't mean the past has disappeared."

Reimu made the final summary, saying, "So, this is not just a passing acquaintance anymore. It's about a sensitive girl holding onto her feelings, suppressing them for four months, and how to continue from here."

"Well, it seems like Argo has chosen to explode. That's good too. Argo is not a fragile girl. If you provoke her, she might bite back."

"Mischievous Momo, are you ready to board the good ship?"

Momo blinked and said, "So, has our Witch Lady really transformed into a love guru? Could it be that after spending so many days together, you've finally succumbed to the love in your heart and let it sprout and grow into a towering tree?"

"Go away. This time, I won't tolerate your jokes. Face the truth. Argo might still be able to endure a bit, so you better reject her completely now. Otherwise, be prepared for Argo's explosion."

Momo fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "If I'm not mistaken, Yui is definitely related to Maboroshi Akihiko. If I let Argo go now, it seems like Yui will definitely follow Argo. What if something happens?"

"Anyway, this game is just a death scam. If Argo exits, won't she be liberated? At that time, they won't see each other anymore, which would be truly beneficial for Argo. By then, Argo will truly forget you."

Seeing Momo's silence, Reimu smiled and said, "What's wrong? Is the possessiveness of a man surfacing again? Don't want Argo to leave?"

"Well, I understand your meaning and your wish. You probably don't want to constrain yourself with reason in emotions, but rather want to be guided by the feelings accumulated in your heart and act accordingly."

"In your previous life, you loved Asuna for a lifetime, so naturally, your love for Asuna is deep. Argo is just a passerby. With such a short time, plus your deliberate suppression, it would be weird if you could fall in love with Argo."

"But well," Reimu rested her chin on her hand, "precisely because of this, Argo is worth cherishing, isn't she? You need to understand, Argo is the first girl you've encountered in this new world, the first girl who made your heart flutter."

"She's your first love, are you really going to let her go?"

Momo smiled with a hint of helplessness and said, "Reimu, what's going on today? How come you suddenly became a spiritual mentor and a confidante? Are the girls in Gensokyo consulting you for relationship advice?"

"No, the ones who come to me for advice are the wicked women with doubts in their heads and stomachs. The reason I'm telling you all this is just to give you a reminder. You're already a hero, and you even have the ability to extend your life casually. In theory, as long as you don't do anything stupid, you won't die."

"Now, you are no longer human. What you have to face is the long passage of time and the cycle of life and death for ordinary humans. Well, you have the ability to trade, so as long as you're willing, you can extend the lives of those you wish to give hope to."

Reimu's expression turned serious as she said, "But this cannot change reality. The world is still changing, and what you can preserve is only a small part. Otherwise, do you intend to keep the whole world stagnant?"

"Therefore, the people you decide to pursue and those who follow you must inevitably depart from humanity, depart from human society, and undergo changes in the essence of life. And you, you must bear all of these responsibilities. Your responsibility is heavier than you can imagine."

"After all, an ordinary person's life is only about a hundred years, and once your followers decide to follow you, they will only have a dozen or so years to live in the ordinary world. After that, they will be rejected by the people around them as monsters."

"Afterward, they will follow you, spending the long years by your side. Therefore, the responsibility you have to bear is not just for a lifetime, but forever. As long as you live, you have a responsibility."

Momo nodded slightly and said, "I understand. You're trying to persuade me to give up on Argo, aren't you?"

"Yes, not only give up, but if you really can't bear this responsibility, I will also advise you to give up on Asuna. I have no right to stop you from having a harem, but as your guide, I must clarify the problems you will face as a hero when making this choice."

"So, stop it, playboy Momo. Of course, if you just want to play around with romantic relationships with girls, that's fine too, but don't use your trading ability to make promises. Otherwise, all of this will become a heavy burden for you."

"Didn't you enter the world of anime just for the sake of that obsession in your heart? Simply playing around, isn't that satisfying enough? Why immerse yourself so deeply in it?"

"Now, just dealing with two girls is causing you trouble. What will you do when the girls become four, eight, or eighteen?"

Reimu's tone gradually increased, "By then, will you still be able to love? Even if you accumulate feelings for a hundred or eight hundred years, what does it matter?"

"There are so many non-human creatures, and there have been love stories that lasted for hundreds or thousands of years. It's not such a rare thing. It only makes them fall into a quagmire from which they cannot extricate themselves."

"Stop it. After all, you are just an individual. Even with the ability to trade, you cannot maintain enthusiasm and passion forever. If one day, the girls you loved become your burden and drag you down, don't you think that's tragic?"

As she said these words, Reimu thought of someone she knew well, Yukari Yakumo, the founder and guardian of Gensokyo.

A woman who initially worked for her ideals, but now, she had become lazy and spent twelve hours a day sleeping, using her abilities to peep and steal.

Had Yukari really changed?

No, if you really wanted to find the reason, it was the vast Gensokyo that kidnapped Yukari Yakumo. The former wise monster was gone, and now, only a heartless monster remained, one that had to sacrifice everything to maintain Gensokyo.

Now that she had become acquainted with Momo, she sensed the same kind of determination in him, which made Reimu worry that Momo would follow the same path as Yukari Yakumo in the future.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Momo said, "I understand..."

"Well, it's good that you understand. It's not in vain that I, Reimu, have put so much effort into this."

"...In simple terms, Reimu, are you asking me to give up on the one I love, so that you can have me all to yourself?"

"...You're beyond redemption. I might as well just kill you now!"