Shion made a sound like a frightened animal, subconsciously took two steps back, and hid behind the boy in panic.

…It’s clearly your own strength, but you’re so scared that you seek protection from an “outsider” like me. Is that appropriate?

Looking at Yoshino who was trembling with fear hiding behind him, Xia Zhi complained in his heart.

However, he also knew that this was due to the fact that the previous “Angel”‘s loss of control had left a deep shadow in her heart… Otherwise, she would not have subconsciously abandoned this power, right?

He thought to himself, and touched the little girl’s head behind him to comfort her:

“Don’t be afraid… I’m here.”

“…”

After hearing Xia Zhi’s words, Shion gradually felt relieved. She carefully poked her head out from behind the boy and looked at the huge doll that was motionless not far in front of her. A trace of doubt appeared in her eyes.

“Ice Puppet… Why…”

“Because Yoshino gave it to me.” Xia Zhi replied.

I… handed the “Ice Puppet” to Mr. Xia Zhi?

Shiono’s doubts deepened.

“So now, I will give it back to you.”

Without paying attention to the girl’s confusion, Xia Zhi continued.

Give it back to…yourself?

Shion came back to her senses, her body trembled subconsciously, and she shook her head vigorously.

“No…no…”

I can’t do it myself

Thinking back to the time when this power got out of control, her body couldn’t help but tremble slightly… Even Shiona couldn’t do it, so it was impossible for her to regain control. She couldn’t do it.

and so……

“Yoshino.”

The boy’s call brought her back to her senses. She raised her head in confusion and met a pair of black eyes that were so close to her.

“You need it, don’t you?” Looking at the elf girl who subconsciously showed resistance, Xia Zhi lowered his voice and asked softly.

“…”

Do you…need it?

Shion pursed her lips.

Yes, if I have this power, it will be easy for me to help those people.

But…my own words…

“So, don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

Xia Zhi took the girl’s hand and, just like he had taught her to ride a bicycle before, he comforted and guided her with words.

“No matter what happens, no matter what danger you encounter, I will help solve it and protect you, right? So, just do it with confidence, Yoshino.”

“…”

Listening to the boy’s words, Yoshino clenched her hands slightly on her chest.

If… Mr. Xia Zhi was by my side…

Thinking back to the figure that had stood in front of her, the fear in her heart miraculously dissipated a lot.

“…Yeah.” She nodded slightly.

Although she was still a little scared, the girl mustered up her courage, took a deep breath, and with Xia Zhi’s help and instructions, she tried to control the “Ice Puppet” again…

“¨々咔”

As before, the giant doll obeyed her command very obediently and raised one forearm.

Shion was frightened so much that she trembled and subconsciously wanted to step back, but she stopped herself.

…There’s nothing to be afraid of

She comforted herself in her heart.

As long as he’s by my side…

Shion pursed her lips, slightly tightened her hand holding the boy’s, suppressed her inner anxiety and nervousness, and tried to control the “Ice Puppet” again.

Following her instructions, the “Ice Puppet” began to move again… Because it originally belonged to the girl’s “Angel”, it was fundamentally a part of her. After breaking through the inner barriers, its movements quickly changed from stiff to smooth.

“Mr. Summer Solstice!”

After letting out a sigh of relief, Yoshino turned around and looked at the boy happily, with a smile on her face that looked forward to his praise.

“You did a great job.”

Xia Zhi touched her little head

　(Promised) “Then I’ll leave it to Yoshino from now on.”

“Ok!”

Receiving the boy’s praise and encouragement, Yoshino nodded vigorously with great interest, closed her eyes, took a deep breath again, and tried to call upon her ability to control water and cold air.

“Crack-!”

Suddenly, the lake water in the park in the distance seemed to rise up as if ignoring gravity, and turned into a turbulent “waterfall” out of thin air and poured down towards this side.

Summer Solstice: …Shop…

I take back what I said before. It seems that I still need to practice for a while after I have just recovered my strength.

And…I don’t think I brought an umbrella.

……

“This is……”

The workers who returned to the construction site and prepared to work overnight blinked blankly at the street that had been cleaned up at some point and could be called brand new.

…No need to work overtime tonight?

…….

Chapter 1,239: Can this be considered a first kiss?

“Sorry……”

Following the boy on the way home, Yoshino lowered her head and spoke weakly.

Xia Zhi lowered his head, touched her little head and asked, “Why do you have to apologize? Haven’t you done well?”

“But I… couldn’t control my own strength…” the girl said in a depressed tone.

In her panic, she froze the lake water into ice. If the strong winds during the summer solstice had not blown the ice back into the lake, not to mention cleaning it up, I’m afraid even the ground would have been smashed into a big hole again, right?

“Isn’t this a good match for me, Yoshino?”

Xia Zhi didn’t think so, and continued: “Being able to achieve that level has far exceeded my expectations… or is it that Yoshino’s requirements for herself are already so high?”

Upon hearing this, Shiono’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she quickly denied it, “I… I didn’t…”

Xia Zhi chuckled and stopped teasing her. He changed the subject and asked:

“How does it feel compared to this?”

Although he didn’t say it explicitly, the girl quickly realized what he was asking.

“I have no idea……”

She lowered her head slightly, looked at the palm of her hand, and answered in a low voice

“It’s just… a little nervous… but also a little happy…”

“Is this the first time that Yoshino has used her power to help others?” Xia Zhi asked.

“Hmm…” The girl nodded.

Because before this, she was even afraid to come into contact with others, worrying that her power would hurt others, let alone use this power to help others.

Xia Zhi thought about it, and after thinking for a moment, he changed the question and asked, “What do you think power is, Shiono?”

What is power?

When Shion heard this, a look of doubt appeared in his eyes.

She hadn’t thought about this question carefully before, but now that Mr. Xia Zhi asked this question…

The girl showed a distressed expression and frowned cutely, as if she was lost in deep thought.

Sure enough, this question is still too difficult for her, right?

Just as Xia Zhi was thinking this, he heard the girl’s uncertain and hesitant answer.

“I feel like… the power… is a bit like a bicycle…”

Xia Zhi was slightly stunned

“Why do you think so?” he asked curiously.

“Because… bicycles are difficult to control… and a little dangerous…”

The girl thought and recalled while trying to explain.

“It can be used very well in the hands of Mr. Xia Zhi…but I can’t do it…”

After a pause, Yoshino glanced at him secretly, and continued to answer with a slightly red face:

“But as long as Mr. Xia Zhi is by my side… I can learn slowly… without having to worry about hurting others, or hurting myself…”

It’s a little different from what I thought, but…

Xia Zhi couldn’t help but chuckle.

“What, what’s wrong?” Shion asked stutteringly with her cheeks flushed.

“Nothing. I just thought that this was a very Yoshino-like answer.”

Xia Zhi shook his head, thought for a moment and then said, “But I thought you would say it was like ice cream.”

I wouldn’t be so naive.

Yoshino blushed, remembering that she seemed to have eaten a lot of ice cream in front of the boy today, and couldn’t help feeling shy.

“To some extent, what you said is not wrong.”

Xia Zhi brought the topic back to the topic.

The so-called power is the ability to influence and change other things.

Based on this definition, money can be power, power can be power, including language, desire, and even simple existence. Everything that can interact with the objective world can be power.

“So, power is essentially just a tool, Yoshino,” he continued.

A tool to change the world in the direction you want.

The convenience and strength of a tool are certainly important, but what is more important is the user’s expectation of how the world will change.

　(cdbh) “What you want to achieve with your power is what matters most.”

Xia Zhi lowered his head, looked into the girl’s clear blue eyes and said softly

“So, don’t be afraid of your own power… use it to help achieve what you desire. You’ve already done that, haven’t you?”

Listening to the boy’s words, Yoshino recalled the scene where the “Ice Puppet” under her control cleaned up and repaired the damaged streets.

The power that hurt everyone before can also become a power to help and protect everyone.

As long as you can control yourself…

As long as I can be by his side…

“…”

Yoshino raised her head and looked at the sky in the distance.

“So…beautiful…”