The next day, Fang Wuwei, who had received the "dark notebook" from Rikka, completely disregarded the objections of the notebook's original owner, Togashi Yuta, and took the notebook away.
From that day on, Fang Wuwei never appeared again; he didn't participate in Club Activities, and even when Yuta occasionally went to his house, he couldn't find him.
Fortunately, he could still be contacted, so Yuta wasn't as panicked as he was when Fang Wuwei disappeared last time.
However, Fang Wuwei's problem was solved, but they soon faced a new one.
As days passed, the cold winter began to descend upon the land, bringing a pallor to the world.
It snowed.
Snowflakes fell gently, bringing a sense of tranquility to the world.
The sound of the snowflakes was so soft; they landed on the ground without a sound, and only in the silence could their presence be felt.
This winter brought beautiful snow, and also an unfortunate piece of news.
Rikka was about to be forced to move.
The reason was that Rikka's mother, who was currently taking care of Rikka, had to leave due to work training and reside at the company headquarters in Hokkaido for two years; she would depart in two days.
If it were just that, it would be fine; Rikka would simply need to live alone, but what was more critical was that Rikka's mother also brought even worse news—Rikka's grandfather was an old stubborn man.
He believed that Rikka, in her current state, could not take care of herself, so upon learning this news, he strongly demanded that Rikka must move back to her hometown, just as he had done in the past.
And this bad news brought by Rikka's mother made Yuta terribly afraid.
After experiencing the pain of being separated from Rikka once, how could Yuta accept such a result?
He had finally managed to get her back, and now he had to send her away again?
Don't even think about it! The cabbage I've gotten is mine!
A mass meeting was immediately convened, and even Fang Wuwei dropped his present work and rushed over upon hearing the news... though he was simultaneously holding two world-renowned classics in his hands at the time.
A solemn and unparalleled round table meeting was thus convened...
Yuta couldn't accept such a result, and naturally, neither could the others, but they had no standing to object; they were merely ordinary friends with Rikka...
The only two people here qualified to object to this matter were Yuta and Rikka.
Although Rikka got along well with her mother, she still found it difficult to communicate with her incredibly stubborn grandfather.
Therefore, the task of pleading naturally fell upon Yuta, as Rikka's boyfriend.
Encouraged by his friends, Yuta immediately decided to depart right away and head to Rikka's hometown to plead for Rikka.
Fortunately, Rikka's mother, for some unknown reason, was quite supportive of Yuta.
So the two hit it off immediately, met, and took the train, speeding towards Rikka's hometown.
Rikka originally wanted to go too; this matter had exceeded her acceptance range.
It was so hard to finally be reunited with Yuta, so hard to finally convince her family at that time to let her live well here, so hard to take a step further with Yuta at Christmas... so hard, so hard to achieve all of this...
She absolutely didn't want to go back like this, absolutely didn't want to accept such a merciless reality.
Rikka still refused to face reality, but whereas in the past she was self-isolated, shrinking into her mental shell to escape reality, now she chose to face the challenge head-on, resisting this reality she refused to accept with practical actions.
This was a qualitative change, Rikka's first step towards accepting reality and understanding society, and also Rikka's grand step towards the world.
However, Yuta and Rikka's mother considered it and concluded that Rikka's present personality was completely unable to communicate with the incredibly stubborn old man.
Although Rikka's grandfather outwardly seemed indifferent to Rikka, he was actually quite concerned about Rikka... after all, she was his precious granddaughter.
But Rikka's grandfather was also a typical patriarch, wanting both face and substance, as well as authority and the right to speak.
Sending Rikka to confront him... would likely cause trouble, and might even backfire directly.
So the two decided to leave Rikka here, with Yuta comforting her and assuring her that he would definitely resolve this matter.
Yuta's confident and gentle smile seemed to be the greatest assurance, and Rikka's heart also settled down.
Yes, Yuta was there; this time, he wouldn't stand against her as he did in the past.
He was right beside her, standing behind her, just as they were when they first met, supporting her forever, and any problem would be easily solved...
So Rikka complied with Yuta's wishes, staying at the base camp, quietly awaiting Yuta's good news, only occasionally looking up at the sky, longing for Yuta's return, and anticipating her hero, bringing good news to her.
This was not an easy matter to solve; Rikka understood, and Yuta naturally understood too.
Especially with Rikka's grandfather's personality... it was indeed very difficult to change a decision he had already made, even if Yuta and Rikka's mother went together.
Yuta, who had arrived at Rikka's hometown, was now kneeling on the ground, performing a deep dogeza towards Rikka's grandparents on the other side, his forehead almost touching the floor, his attitude incredibly devout.
He had come in his capacity as Rikka's boyfriend and downstairs neighbor.
He hoped that even if Rikka's mother left, Rikka would still be allowed to live there alone.
He swore to Rikka's grandfather that he would absolutely take good care of Rikka and absolutely protect her.
At this moment, Yuta was like a groom after a proposal, asking the bride's parents to entrust their daughter to him.
"Please entrust Rikka to me!"
See, even the words were the same.
But Rikka's grandfather had no good impression of this guy at all; he clearly remembered that this was the guy who came in the middle of the night to steal someone... and even took Rikka away.
If his companions hadn't stopped him at the time, Yuta would probably have been shot dead on the spot.
Rikka's grandfather's attitude was very firm, not only because he didn't trust Yuta, but he also didn't trust Rikka...
Although he had little communication with Rikka, it didn't mean he didn't care or understand Rikka; he knew how poor Rikka's living standards were...
Can Rikka cook? No, she can't.
Can she do housework? Yes, but very little, and she can't do many things.
Can she handle various trivial matters in life? No, not at all.
Rikka, who fell into chuunibyou at the age when she should have understood society the most, and completely escaped reality, had long been out of touch with society.
Although she was now back on track, she was still far from being able to live alone.
Moreover, he really didn't trust Yuta; as a male high school student who was in his prime, full of drive, and easily excitable, he absolutely didn't believe that Yuta had no intentions towards Rikka...
So even when Rikka's mother spoke, personally asking Rikka's grandfather, he was only briefly moved, and after a moment of thought, he still disagreed.
Rikka's mother, in his eyes, wasn't a great person either; she had abandoned her child and run off by herself for so long, only returning recently, and Rikka had always been cared for by her older sister, Toka Takanashi...
If Rikka's mother hadn't truly been a good mother in the past, and if she hadn't taken good care of Rikka during this period, then he probably wouldn't have taken Rikka's mother's attitude seriously.
Everything seemed to be at a stalemate; Yuta and Rikka's mother were at their wits' end.
But just then, the living room door opened, letting in a few cold drafts, and also bringing in someone who surprised all of them.
Toka Takanashi, like a hero, grandly made her appearance.