Under the Shogun and Makoto's control, the purifying light released by Musou Isshin instantly spread across all of Japan, drawing every viral crystal into the sky.
This included those whose bodies had already become partially covered in crystal due to the Apocalypse outbreak. The crystals on their bodies gradually weakened before disappearing completely. Tokyo, once corroded by the virus, now regained its pure vitality. That dreamlike violet light swept across the sky like an aurora and entered everyone's vision, as though a god had bestowed the purest blessing upon them.
The students aboard the passenger ship also saw the warm violet light descending from the sky. Each of them instinctively smiled in relief.
"This warmth... is it Mio?"
Standing at the edge of the deck, Hare gazed at the magnificent galaxy-like sky and murmured softly.
"Mm... It's Mio."
Arisa Kuhouin smiled as well.
"Raiden really is our hero..."
Kanon closed her eyes in relief.
Elsewhere, after Makoto disappeared, the Shogun carried the unconscious Inori back to the members of Funeral Parlor...
"Everyone, welcome back our savior!"
Gai called out to the others.
"OOOHH!!!" ×N
Clap! Clap! Clap! ×N
The next second, everyone began cheering and applauding for her... They treated her like a triumphant hero returning from battle. The trust and sincerity in their cheers were irreplaceable. Every one of them was cheering from the bottom of their hearts, and some even looked at her with admiration.
After glancing at the cheering crowd, she made no proud gesture. Her expression barely changed at all. As usual, she gently placed the girl in her arms inside the vehicle and told Gai that Inori needed rest, so they should return to the ship as soon as possible.
Gai nodded and organized the withdrawal of the main force. This should also have been Funeral Parlor's final mission, and it had ended in complete success. They had prevented Mana's resurrection, defeated GHQ, and most importantly, resolved the Apocalypse Virus crisis that had plagued the country for years...
Of course, most of the credit belonged to the Shogun. No one disputed that in the slightest. Far from feeling resentful, everyone was even planning to hold a celebration banquet aboard the ship that evening. After thinking it over, however, they decided to postpone it. Inori had not yet awakened, and they could not hold a celebration with one person missing. Better to wait for a more appropriate day.
The students who still had homes returned to their families. It was already December, after all, and the New Year was approaching. This was the perfect opportunity for them to reunite with their loved ones.
As for Funeral Parlor, they remained aboard the passenger ship. Their original base was no longer accessible. Although GHQ had already been defeated, the incident involving Mana had thrown the entire nation into panic, and Tokyo was currently rather chaotic. There was no reason for them to involve themselves in such troublesome matters. They might as well stay quietly aboard the ship and celebrate the New Year there.
Thus, after that long day finally ended, it was already past midnight by the time the Shogun returned to her room.
At last, all the students had been seen off the ship. She had spoken with Hare for quite a while along the way before eventually saying goodbye. Just as they had agreed beforehand, the girl would temporarily stay at Kanon's home. After returning to her room, the Shogun instinctively glanced at the clock and discovered that it was already one in the morning.
Even if her body was not tired, her mind was somewhat exhausted.
She walked to the window and looked out at the pitch-black night. The sea itself was dark, but the distant land was dotted with the colorful lights of the city, filling the scene with an air of tranquility. It was impossible to tell that so much had happened during the day. No trace remained, as though everything had been nothing more than an illusory dream.
Swish...
She drew the curtains closed. The deep nightscape gradually narrowed between them until it completely vanished from sight.
"Haa..."
She breathed out softly, relaxed her entire body, and dropped onto the edge of the bed. Perhaps because the room was well soundproofed, there was no sound around her except the ticking of the clock.
"So quiet..."
She murmured softly to herself.
Lowering her eyes, she glanced at the Tennoz school uniform she was still wearing. Thinking about it, she realized she had barely changed clothes over the entire past month. She had kept this outfit on almost the whole time.
"..."
At that thought, she frowned, immediately raised her sleeve, and sniffed the fabric. She even lifted her collar to smell it. In the end, aside from her own natural scent, there was no unpleasant odor at all. Her natural scent, of course, was a unique and delicate fragrance.
Thank goodness...
A puppet body really was extraordinary... An ordinary person would have started smelling terrible long ago. She sighed in relief.
[Hehe~]
Makoto's melodious laughter sounded inside her mind.
"...W-What are you laughing at? ///"
Her face reddened as she puffed her cheeks and asked aloud.
[Nothing. Someone was simply too adorable just now.]
Makoto answered.
"...///"
She endured her embarrassment without replying.
[Would you like Mommy to come out and keep you company?]
Makoto suggested.
"Mm..."
She answered adorably through her nose.
Hum...
The next second, a sphere of light particles gathered beside her before gradually taking the shape of a kimono-clad woman. She still remained somewhat translucent.
"...You're not solid this time?"
The Shogun asked while looking at her.
"Hm? Let me try... It may take a little effort, but it should be fine."
Hum...
Makoto looked at her own hand, closed her eyes, and made her body glow once more. Her previously transparent form gradually became physical until she fully manifested. Her plain short kimono looked somewhat out of place in this modern bedroom, yet precisely because of that contrast, her breathtaking beauty and graceful figure stood out all the more vividly.
"Are you really all right maintaining a physical form like this?"
The Shogun asked her mother with concern.
"I'm fine. And for my daughter, no amount of effort would ever be too much."
Makoto smiled with curved eyes, lifting the long sleeve that covered her hand to lightly hide her lips. The gesture emphasized her noble yet gently endearing aura.
"If you're doing it for me, then you shouldn't push yourself too hard..."
The Shogun glanced at the woman beside her and countered with a smile.
As she spoke, she crossed her left leg over her right beneath her pleated skirt. Her suspended left foot slipped partly free of the little leather shoe restraining it, revealing the white-stockinged foot inside. Because she deliberately hooked her toes against the shoe, it did not fall off completely, leaving only her heel and the back of her foot exposed.
"Is that so~? Then I'll leave now~?"
Seeing her like this, Makoto suppressed a laugh and pretended that she was about to disappear again.
"Don't—! J-Just for today, you can stay."
The Shogun immediately grabbed her sleeve and spoke in a small voice.
"Pfft... All right~ I won't leave, I won't leave. I was teasing you."
Makoto laughed.
"—/// Why are you even meaner than Ei?"
Realizing she had been tricked, the Shogun asked sulkily, her face flushed.
"That's simple. Because I'm her older sister."
Makoto answered proudly.
"Then... did you tease her often in the past?"
The Shogun pressed closer to her mother with obvious interest, looking exactly like a daughter curious about stories from her parents' past.
"Hmm—I wouldn't really call it teasing. There was hardly any reaction when I did it, after all. Ei used to be rather slow."
Makoto reminisced about the past.
"Pfft, she's still slow now... Hehe."
The Shogun laughed softly. Her beautiful, alluring eyes curved into sweet crescents, while her white-stockinged foot, still dangling from the little leather shoe, swung lightly back and forth with her good mood. Eventually, with a soft plop, the shoe fell to the floor, leaving her foot completely exposed.
"...Is that so? She's still the same as before?"
Makoto became interested as well.
"Maybe... she's a little sharper than she used to be? I never met Ei back then. I only have the memories she gave me, and some of them are blurry, so I'm not sure. But I can say for certain that Ei has worked very hard to become a good mother. Even if she sometimes acts a little absentminded, she's never once been anything but serious and responsible when it comes to me."
As she spoke, her gaze lowered slightly toward the floor. In the process, she instinctively caught sight of her white-stockinged foot exposed to the air.
"...?"
Only then did she notice that perhaps because she had not changed clothes at all during the past month, the white stockings covering her legs had become somewhat dirty. This was especially true around the parts of her feet that had been hidden inside her shoes, where obvious yellowish stains had appeared around the toes.
She frowned at the sight and slipped off the other shoe as well, exposing that foot to the air. Its toes were in the same condition. Not only that, she turned her leg slightly to inspect the sole of the stocking. The yellowing was even more obvious around the pads of her toes and the ball of her foot.
"...What's wrong with your feet?"
Seeing what she was doing, Makoto instinctively looked toward her daughter's white-stockinged feet and asked in confusion.
"My stockings... have turned yellow."
The Shogun raised both feet onto the bed, lightly wiggled her toes inside the stockings, and rubbed the velvet-like fabric with her fingers. She spoke with some embarrassment and annoyance. She had only noticed it over the past few days. Although it was not especially conspicuous, it still bothered her somewhat.
"They have. Pfft~ They've gotten quite dirty."
Looking at the pair of delicate feet her daughter had stretched out before her, along with the stains on the stockings, Makoto could not help covering her mouth and laughing.
"My feet haven't left these shoes for an entire month. It shouldn't really be dirt. It's probably sweat, isn't it?"
The Shogun's pretty face also showed some embarrassment. She rubbed the yellow marks at the toes with her fingers while attempting to work out the cause.
"Sweat? Could it be—Pfft, does your body even simulate that kind of physiological function?"
Makoto asked in surprise.
"Of course it does. Didn't I c-cry in front of you before? Have you forgotten?"
Her face reddened as she gave Makoto a look.
"..."
Makoto froze. She knew her daughter's central system was extremely powerful and advanced, but she had never expected it to be so lifelike that it could almost create the illusion of a genuine flesh-and-blood body.
"Haa... These shoes are different from the sandals we wear in Inazuma. They don't breathe well and get rather stuffy. If I wear them too long, my feet always start sweating."
Of course, the outfit Ayaka had made for her earlier, along with its matching high heels, had been the same. The toes were completely enclosed, so her feet easily became sweaty. Whenever she removed those shoes, the soles of her stockinged feet would always be slightly damp.
"That's true, but—how should I put it? You'll get used to it~? Inazuma is about the only place where sandals like ours are fashionable. People in other nations all wear shoes like these, don't they?"
Makoto replied as she picked up one of the brown leather shoes matching the school uniform from beside the bed and casually examined it. From inside came the Shogun's own fragrant scent, mixed with the smell of fabric and leather. It was an intimate, pleasant fragrance.
"W-What are you looking at? ///"
Seeing her mother examining the inside of a shoe she had worn for so long, embarrassment immediately rose in her heart. She lightly pressed the sole of her white-stockinged foot against Makoto's smooth thigh and gave her a gentle push.
"Nothing? I'm just curious... Mommy isn't even allowed to look~?"
Makoto smiled and took the opportunity to lightly trace a fingertip across the sole of the foot extended toward her. The touch made the Shogun's body tremble.
"...///"
She immediately withdrew her yellowed white-stockinged feet and tucked them back together, looking like a startled kitten.
"Pfft~ The soles of your feet are still damp."
Seeing her reaction, Makoto could not help covering her mouth and laughing.
Am I made of water too?
The Shogun stared at the damp toes of her stockings and quietly began to wonder. She had once teased Kokomi about this very thing, yet now she was the same. How embarrassing.