"...So, that's how it is."
Inside the illusionary space, Fang Wuwei set down his seemingly endless coffee and slowly began to speak.
"Your death was too heavy for Rikka, who was kept in the dark about the truth. It almost crushed her, dragging her into the abyss. If she hadn't coincidentally met Yuta at just the right time, perhaps...
And Toka, originally wanted to be like you, to cherish Rikka and indulge her chunibyo, but she will soon be working abroad. At that time, she won't be able to take care of Rikka, which is why she was so eager for Rikka to mature..."
Fang Wuwei closed his mouth again, quietly looking at the Takanashi, whose face was incredibly gloomy. At this moment, his heart was heavy...
His two daughters seemed to have some problems...
"Then... what about Mom...?"
"She... abandoned the two of them at your parents' old home and ran away alone. Your death caused your entire family to fall apart..."
Fang Wuwei quietly picked up his coffee and took a sip, moistening his throat slightly. He decided to give this father some time to think, so he said no more.
A long silence, so long that Fang Wuwei became a little impatient, before he finally spoke, asking what he wanted to know.
"Next, it's my turn to ask you a few questions, Takanashi... What kind of existence are you? Why can I not see other ghosts, but only you...?"
It was only then that the Takanashi, who had been lowering his head, moved his gaze from the seemingly endless coffee to Fang Wuwei. His eyes were dull, and some words were stuck in his throat. His expression was a little distorted, which made Fang Wuwei somewhat excited. He seemed to finally be able to hear some big secrets.
But as soon as the Takanashi spoke, he instantly extinguished his enthusiasm.
"…How would I know? Ever since I died, I found myself always here. I can't go out, and I sleep most of the time… How would I know?"
Fang Wuwei's excited expression instantly froze. Slowly, his features twisted together. This trip was completely in vain, wasn't it?
"But… actually, during this time, there's always been a voice calling me, telling me to go back…"
"What?! Elaborate!!"
Fang Wuwei instantly leaned in, his face full of excitement. As a Guardian, he wasn't afraid of encountering trouble in this world, so he would naturally go investigate if he could. Anyway, he wasn't afraid of anything happening.
Facing the suddenly excited Fang Wuwei, the Takanashi was startled, but quickly adjusted his mindset and began to slowly explain what Fang Wuwei wanted to know. In his eyes, this was an equal transaction, wasn't it fair?
"The approximate location of that voice is to my south, and there's the sea... I don't know what it is, nor why it calls me, but I can feel that if I respond to its call, I'm afraid... I'll disappear. I don't want to disappear, Rikka is still so naive..."
This was exactly what Fang Wuwei wanted to know. The seaside, the call, Takanashi's father... What did he think of? Naturally, the mysterious invisible boundary line!
It truly exists! And it's mysterious and unknown! He needed to thoroughly investigate its depths...
Fang Wuwei secretly made a plan. The invisible boundary line, that Special Point, everything recorded in the dark scripture, and even Shichimiya Satone's great war between angels and demons... This world still had too many mysteries waiting for him to uncover.
He felt the thrill of playing an RPG. He had never been so excited.
"Then, please tell me again, what is Rikka and Toka's current life like...?"
"About that... I hope you don't feel too bad when you hear it..."
......
This was a conversation that both parties were very satisfied with. Fang Wuwei learned part of the truth about this world from Takanashi, and Takanashi, after learning that Fang Wuwei was Rikka and Yuta's friend, also entrusted Fang Wuwei to mediate the relationship between Rikka and Toka.
Although it was not very reliable, this was his only chance.
Coming out of the Tsukuyomi Space, the long conversation inside had only been an instant outside. Using the Mangekyo's ability for the first time made Fang Wuwei's eyes ache a little; he still needed to adapt.
So, he hastily nodded to the white figure standing in the wasteland and left.
And the white figure, Takanashi, stared at Fang Wuwei's rapidly receding figure. Soon after, he slowly began to become transparent until he disappeared into the air...
After Fang Wuwei returned, he quickly fell asleep. He closed and opened his eyes, and the day dawned...
——This is a cute dividing line——
It was very late when Yuta and Rikka took the train home, but Rikka carelessly forgot her key and had to temporarily stay at Yuta's home.
After sending Toka a text message to report their safety, Yuta took Rikka and pushed open the door to his home. In his anticipation, someone should have been home.
But, fortunately... cough, unfortunately, no one was home, only the Cat Chimera, who came forward when it saw Yuta return.
Ignoring Rikka, who was curiously excited and exploring Yuta's home, a puzzled Yuta went to the calendar and began to check his family's schedule...
"Ah, I see. Kuzuha and Yumeha went to the forest summer camp, and Mom went to work the night shift...
They won't be back until tomorrow..."
At this point, Yuta suddenly realized that tonight, Rikka would be home with him, just the two of them...
What would happen with a boy and a girl alone in a room...? Unfortunately, nothing happened; they were just two blocks of wood.
Rikka was solely focused on her chunibyo. To appease Rikka's restless body, Yuta did not hesitate to unseal his former chunibyo props to cheer Rikka up, even going so far as to hang up Isshiki Makoto's call on the spot.
But soon, both of their stomachs rumbled... Neither of them had eaten dinner, especially Yuta, who had done a lot of exercise that night and only now realized he was starving.
So, Yuta prepared to cook. He certainly couldn't count on Rikka to cook.
But when Rikka saw Yuta pull a tomato from the refrigerator, she flat-out refused, speaking faintly.
"Rather than make me eat this, I'd rather fight the final boss with my bare hands."
"That's quite resolute... Then let's go to the convenience store. After all, it's so late, and probably only convenience store food is edible."
He originally thought Rikka would be averse, but unexpectedly, her eyes lit up, and her face was full of anticipation. This made Yuta a little strange. The food Toka made, whether in appearance, taste, or nutrition, completely surpassed convenience store instant food, yet it made Rikka so excited.
"What's wrong?"
"I've never been. Saint Healer never allowed me to eat these things; she always made me eat her cooking."
It was just novelty, Yuta breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that she didn't dislike it.
"I actually think you should be grateful for that."
So the two of them went out into the night.
At the same time, Koushou and Isshiki Makoto, who were far away in the countryside, also went out...
Yuta and Rikka arrived at a convenience store that Subaru Natsuki would find very familiar. Having chosen the food they wanted, they sat on a bench under the lights, leaning against each other, and began their dinner.
Yuta held a plastic bag containing their dinner for the night. Looking at Rikka, who had her hands clasped together, waiting obediently to be fed, Yuta seemed to see an excited cat's tail wagging behind Rikka.
"Is just this enough?"
Placing a seaweed rice ball into Rikka's obedient hand, Yuta resisted the urge to ruffle her head.
"I saw Yuta eat it at school, so I've always been curious about its structure." Mimicking what she had seen before, with Yuta's help, Rikka clumsily unwrapped the packaging. Holding the rice ball with both hands, she took a small bite. The crispy seaweed and the delicious rice inside brought a wave of happiness to Rikka, who had never tasted it before.
"Delicious~"
Yuta, beside her, speared a piece of fried chicken and ate it, finding Rikka, who was eating heartily, simply adorable.
"Toka would be angry if she saw this..."
Even as he said this, Yuta speared a piece of fried chicken with the wooden skewer in his hand and offered it to Rikka's mouth. He didn't care about whether it was healthy or not, as long as Rikka was happy eating it.
Rikka also showed no aversion to the skewer that had just been in Yuta's mouth. She opened her mouth and ate it, then narrowed her eyes in happiness.
"This taste is strong~"
"What kind of taste is that...?"
Ignoring Yuta's teasing, Rikka's gaze fell on Yuta's rice ball. Other people's food always tasted the best.
To this, Yuta also indifferently offered his half-eaten rice ball to Rikka's mouth, making her stick out her tongue and cry out from the spiciness.
Seeing such an adorable Rikka, Yuta would also laugh heartily beside her, then offer her a delicious drink.