Familiar streets, a familiar sky, familiar slightly hazy air…
As Ikenouchi Maki emerged from Fang Wuwei's house, walking down the street in a kimono, she looked at the countless nostalgic street scenes before her, her expression lost in a trance.
Wearing clothes that didn't fit the era was a bit strange, but not particularly eye-catching. Only a few idlers occasionally cast glances her way. Ikenouchi Maki was already used to these peculiar stares. She just wanted to go home quickly now…
She had just seen a missing person poster looking for her nearby…
.....................
On the other side, Fang Wuwei, who had healed Ikenouchi Maki's injuries and then sent her away, began to tally the gains from his business trip:
First, the system had upgraded again, gaining higher intelligence and permissions, and activating the [Time Slowdown] function: with the system's help, he could temporarily make the flow rates of the two worlds different. They had stayed in the Demon Slayer Corps world for about twelve days, but only less than three days had passed here. This was the most pleasant surprise and the most desired function for Fang Wuwei.
Good heavens, ever since he had spent a month in the Battle Royale last time, he had been thinking about this function. Although the roughly four-to-one flow rate felt very slow to him, it was said that as certain things evolved, the Time Slowdown function would become even more powerful.
This mission earned him nearly seven thousand points and six free draws, plus the points he accumulated from daily sign-ins and his previous savings, bringing his current points to around fifty thousand…
Fifty thousand points, what does that mean? One draw costs 500.
One hundred draws!!! How could Wuwei not be excited?! But the draws could wait; he had something else to do now…
He planned to visit Ikenouchi Maki's home first. Just now, poking his head out to look, he saw several missing person posters for Ikenouchi Maki pasted on the roadside.
Well, it's understandable; any family would be anxious if their daughter disappeared for three days without a trace.
So, Wuwei put on his sunglasses, walked out of his house, and quietly followed behind Ikenouchi Maki…
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Ikenouchi Maki felt the journey home was exceptionally long for the first time. She was currently sitting in the train, quietly waiting for it to reach its destination, but she was a little restless, her hands and feet clenched together. She missed home terribly, and at this moment, she had a belly full of grievances she wanted to tell her parents.
Meanwhile, Fang Wuwei had hailed a taxi and was leisurely following the train. He had money to burn and was willful.
It wasn't until Ikenouchi Maki got off the train and continued running towards her home that he also got out, casually handing the driver ten thousand yen, and quietly followed Ikenouchi Maki from behind… He didn't know where her home was, and he didn't plan to go with her, at least not letting Ikenouchi Maki know he was there. He had already seen Ikenouchi Maki's shining Golden Spirit, but now he wanted to see her attitude before truly deciding whether to take her as his closed-door disciple.
On the other side, in the Ikenouchi Family home, due to their daughter's inexplicable disappearance, her parents were currently anxious. They knew their daughter was a bit chuunibyou, and perhaps some of it was their fault… Although she had no friends because of it, she was very happy, so the two did not stop her.
However, since one day during the summer vacation a month and a half ago, their daughter still woke up earlier than them and went out mysteriously every day, only saying she was going to "seek a master to learn skills and pursue true power" when asked. The two, who were originally used to Maki's antics, also noticed something was amiss.
However, after several attempts to follow her, they found that she was merely engaging in her usual chuunibyou activities, and she seemed to have made new friends… It was known that Maki had no friends at all, and now that she was actively making friends, it was a good thing. So the two let her be, until three days ago, she didn't come home…
After waiting a full day and night, the old couple decided to go out and search. They reported it to the police, but the police said there were no clues and could only send more officers to search… Surveillance was not advanced at that time.
After three days of torment, they had secretly decided that if they still couldn't find her, they would have to use their trump card. But in the end, the old couple received good news, although this good news was delivered by their missing daughter herself.
"Dad! Mom!!!"
The old couple, too distraught to go to work, were sitting idly in the living room. They had done everything they could and contacted everyone they knew. Now, the only thing they could do was pray for Maki's return, and now, their prayers seemed to have been answered.
"Maki!"
Hearing Ikenouchi Maki's call, the old couple immediately scrambled up from the sofa and rushed to the door. Full of hope, they opened the door and saw their daughter standing there, perfectly fine, dressed in a kimono.
Three days of fear, three days of despair, instantly vanished at this moment. The Ikenouchi couple cried, Ikenouchi Maki cried, and the three of them hugged each other, squatting on the ground, crying earth-shatteringly…
It left Fang Wuwei, who was not far away, speechless, but deep down, he felt a hint of envy...
— — — — This is the last dividing line (from now on, ... will replace the dividing line, you can't exceed it) — — — —
After calming down, Ikenouchi Maki took a good bath and changed back into her usual clothes. She was now sitting in the living room with her parents, recounting what she had experienced these past few days…
Going to the Other World… adventures… demons… and a series of events that made her dance on the edge of life and death, Ikenouchi Maki confessed everything honestly and thoroughly.
As the ancients said: Heaven is the beginning of man; parents are the root of man. When a person is in distress, he returns to his root, so when exhausted and weary, he never fails to call upon Heaven; when sick and in pain, he never fails to call upon his parents. When a child is wronged, they naturally return to their parents' embrace for comfort.
However, the turn of events seemed to exceed Ikenouchi Maki's expectations.
Her parents, after listening to Ikenouchi Maki's narration, exchanged a solemn glance…
"Maki, I'll ask you one more time, the Other World and such… Is what you said true?"
"Eh?"
Ikenouchi Maki was currently lying in her mother's arms, a little confused. Originally, her parents would usually just laugh it off and ignore such things, but this time, why…
"Tell us in more detail! What was it like over there!"
Ignoring Ikenouchi Maki's surprise, her father spoke again, his tone revealing tension.
"Over there… it was a bit like the Taisho era. People wore kimonos, and there were demons that would die if they touched sunlight, and also a team specifically for hunting demons, called the Demon Slayer Corps… Hmm, anything else…"
"Nothing else?"
"Seems like nothing else…"
Ikenouchi Maki's parents let out a huge sigh of relief. This unusual situation made her even more surprised.
However, what her parents said next astonished her even more.
"Maki… We have something to tell you…"
"Hmm, I think it's time, Maki… We were actually a family of mages in the past, from the Other World."
"Eh?!"
"Ah?!!!"
Ikenouchi Maki was shocked, but even more shocked was Fang Wuwei, who was eavesdropping from a nearby balcony. He almost fell off the balcony.