Crossover 196 (Patreon)

Returning to the vicinity of Shizuka's house, Minoru stopped at the entrance of the alley.

Takopi slid down from his shoulder, landed on the ground, and looked up at him. "Are you leaving?"

Minoru nodded. "Just about."

"That... thank you."

"You've already said that once."

Takopi muttered, "Then let me say it again. Thank you for helping Shizuka, and thank you for teaching me all that."

Minoru picked up Takopi, and held him in front of him. "I didn't teach you those things so that you would thank me."

Takopi blinked. "Then why?"

Minoru said, "Because you're a good octopus."

Takopi was stunned.

A... good octopus?

"Even though you're clumsy, don't know anything, and often mess things up."

Takopi: "..."

"But at least you're sincere. Sincere about wanting to help Shizuka, sincere about wanting to make her happy."

Minoru's tone shifted. "However, sincerity isn't enough."

"What?" Takopi looked up, gazing at Minoru in confusion.

"Sincerity is the starting point, not the end. If you really want to help her, you need something else."

Minoru thought for a moment and decided to give him a lesson.

For some reason, he felt like a lot of knowledge in this area had suddenly appeared in his mind.

Was it because of a newly acquired trait that he hadn't checked yet?

Ever since Minoru had Ichigo Production start its recruitment business, the frequency with which he checked the system had decreased. After all, there were too many system prompts.

So, during this time, aside from plundering important plot points, Minoru generally rarely looked at the system interface, or he would check it all at once at a specific time.

"Does your Happy Planet have any psychological counselors?"

Takopi shook his head. "We only have happiness there."

Minoru put him down and crouched down himself. "That's perfect, let me tell you about it. Shizuka's problem stems from a lack of secure attachment."

Takopi tilted his head. "What attachment?"

Minoru explained, "Attachment is the emotional bond between a person and a significant other."

"Children need to gain a sense of security from their parents from a young age—to be seen, responded to, and accepted."

"Only then will they have the capacity to love others and believe they are worthy of being loved when they grow up."

Takopi seemed to understand, yet not quite. "Shizuka doesn't have this?"

"Correct. Her mother can't look after her, her father doesn't want her, and her classmates bully her. Her only attachment figure was Chappy, a dog."

"Let me test you: what was the purpose of the problem I just modified?"

Takopi said, "Uh... is it to rebuild attachment?"

Minoru nodded. "Bingo."

"It's to ensure there are reliable people around her, so she can slowly learn to believe that she hasn't been abandoned."

Takopi nodded. "I get it."

"And there's more. Do you know why Shizuka's condition is getting worse and worse?"

Takopi said, "Because... she's too sad?"

"Because no one listens to her. All her pain is bottled up inside. There's no outlet, no response. Over time, it turns into despair."

Takopi blinked. "Then... I can listen to her?"

"Yes."

Minoru reached out and tapped Takopi's forehead.

"That's the first thing you can do: be a listener."

"You don't need to give advice or use gadgets to make her laugh. Just listen to her, nod, and give an occasional 'mm-hmm.' Let her know that someone is listening."

"It's... that simple?"

"Simple?" Minoru smiled. "You can try it. If someone is crying in front of you, can you resist using a gadget to make them stop and just stay with them while they cry? Can you do that?"

Takopi thought about it, his tentacles twisting together. "Hmm... that's a bit hard."

"Then learn slowly. Second, do you know about psychological resilience?"

Takopi shook his head.

"It's a person's ability to pull through when facing difficulties. It's not innate, it can be trained."

"How do you train it?"

"By letting her make her own decisions."

Takopi was stunned. "Making decisions?"

"Yes." Minoru nodded. "Shizuka has always been pushed around. She has never actively chosen anything. You need to give her the chance to choose for herself."

"For example?"

"For example, what she wants to eat today, where she wants to go, what she wants to do. Small things are fine. Let her feel that her wishes have meaning."

Takopi looked thoughtful.

"Third."

"There's more?!"

"The last one. Unconditional positive regard."

"This is a very important concept in psychology. It means that no matter what she does, what she says, or what she becomes, you will never withdraw your care for her."

Takopi was dazed.

"If she's happy, you're happy with her. If she's sad, you're sad with her. If she makes a mistake, you help her face it together instead of turning and walking away. That is what 'unconditional' means."

Takopi asked, "This... is very hard, isn't it?"

Minoru nodded. "It's very hard. Because people always have expectations, they hope the other person becomes what they want them to be. But once you have expectations, it's no longer unconditional."

"I... I want to try."

Minoru smiled. "Then give it a try. Alright, I should be going."

Takopi was startled for a moment. "N-now?"

"Yes. Someone is waiting for me at home."

Takopi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back.

Finally, he said softly, "Um... will you come back in the future?"

Minoru looked down at him. This little octopus had only known him for less than half a day, yet he already treated him as a sort of reliance.

"Maybe."

Takopi's eyes lit up.

"Maybe not."

They dimmed again.

"But even if I don't come, I believe you can do well. Because you know what to do now."

Minoru reached out and rubbed the top of his head. "You're a good octopus and a smart one, too. Take it slow, there's no rush."

"Th-thank you..."

Minoru smiled and walked toward the alley entrance. After a few steps, he stopped.

"By the way, those gadgets you mentioned—the happy camera, the reconciliation ribbon, and the flappy wings."

"They're great but they're not for solving problems."

"Then they're for..."

"They're for adding the icing on the cake."

Minoru said.

"When someone is happy, use them to double that happiness. When someone is sad, stay with them in their sadness first, and then use them to give them a little light."

"Got it?"

Takopi nodded vigorously. "Got it!"

—

In the distance.

Minoru checked the time.

11:00 AM.

Perfect.

Time to go back and have lunch with Erii and the others. And then, he still had to play SAO in the afternoon.

His figure disappeared from the streets of Hakodate.

Infinity Castle, Courtyard.

Minoru appeared out of thin air, carrying the bulging bag of Hokkaido specialties.

As soon as Minoru appeared here, he opened the system interface.

[Ding! Detected that the Host has successfully intervened and corrected the core fate node of "Metamorphosis" — The reversal of the falling trajectory!]

[Plunder program initiated!]

[Ding! Detected that the Host has used "Compendium of Shared Affliction" to deeply correct Yoshida Saki's book of life, reversing her destiny trajectory from an ordinary girl sliding into the abyss.]

[Yoshida Saki has completed the transformation from a "confused and vain high school girl" to a "proactive worker," and her future will lead to a completely different life.]

[Plunder Progress: 100%! Luck Points + 5000!]

[Successfully obtained special trait — Light of Enlightenment (Mastery)!]

[Effect: Your words and actions carry an enlightenment attribute, capable of guiding the lost to see the direction and awakening the inner drive of the dormant.]

[When you communicate with others as a guide, the other party's acceptance and understanding of correct things will be significantly improved.]

[At the same time, it integrates systematic psychological knowledge, allowing for precise insight into the psychological motives of others.]

[Note: This ability is not a forced change, but an awakening of possibilities that already exist within the other party, allowing them to choose to become a better person themselves.]

'Light of Enlightenment... Not a forced change, but an awakening of possibilities. This is quite good.'

'No wonder when I was lecturing Takopi just now, I felt those psychological knowledge points coming to me easily.'

[Ding! Detected that the Host has successfully intervened and corrected the core fate node of Takopi's Original Sin — The chain of ignorant kindness and despair!]

[Plunder program initiated!]

[Ding! Detected that the Host has conducted a large-scale deep correction on fated individuals related to Hakodate City, completely changing the tragic trajectory of Kirarazaka Marina, Kuze Shizuka, Azuma Naoki, and their families.]

[Plunder Progress: 95%! Luck Points + 4750!]

["Takopi's Original Sin" series item permissions unlocked! Parsing its core principles...]

[Parsing complete!]

[Successfully obtained trait — Causality Controller (God-tier)!]

[Effect: You gain deep perception of causality and limited repair capabilities.]

[You can see the threads of "fate" between people: good karma, bad karma, unfinished causes, and unresolved results.]

[You can see and trace the causal entanglement between people and things.]

[For causal ruptures or distortions caused by external interference or fate misalignment, you can carry out limited combing and repair to make causality return to the right track.]