"Erina, I'm going to deliver this medicine to your mother myself. You take care of our guests," said Senzaemon solemnly.
He couldn't entrust such an important task to anyone else.
"As if you needed to say that," Erina replied with a sigh, a bit exasperated. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of them."
"Good. If anything comes up, talk to Gin," Senzaemon added, before greeting everyone and departing swiftly.
With that, Erina led the group on a tour of Totsuki Academy.
Since the school term hadn't resumed, the campus was quiet and sparsely populated.
"This academy covers quite a lot of ground," noted Mirajane. "But for its size, the number of students seems really small."
Totsuki's facilities were impressive by most standards—but these were guests who came from a world where schools were built to withstand Gourmet Beasts. Compared to that, Totsuki felt quaint.
What really caught their attention, though, was the number of enrolled students.
Totsuki Middle School had over 3,000 students, while the High School division had just over 1,000. Even with staff included, the total barely exceeded 5,000—far below its capacity.
"This educational model is so strange. The elimination rate is way too high," Rukia commented, frowning.
She had studied at the Shinigami Academy, but this was her first encounter with such a brutal system. The fact that only a handful of students ever graduated was absurd to her.
After the tour concluded, Hisako had already arranged the next portion of the itinerary—her area of expertise.
Meanwhile, Senzaemon boarded a private jet bound for the WGO headquarters, where Mana was currently residing.
Mana looked up, surprised.
"Father? Why are you here all of a sudden? Did something happen to Erina?"
She quickly motioned for her assistant, Anne, to escort Senzaemon to her office.
"Yes, something happened—but it's good news," he said, taking out a small vial of glowing liquid. "Erina is back. And she brought medicine… one that cured her God's Tongue. Completely."
Mana blinked, stunned. "Wait, what did you just say?"
"The cure. It's real," Senzaemon repeated calmly.
"After all these years… it's finally been found?"
Her hands trembled as she accepted the vial. The hope she had buried long ago was now suddenly before her eyes.
"How do I use it?"
"Just drink it. It works instantly," Senzaemon instructed.
Without hesitation, Mana drank the medicine. She trusted her father implicitly—he wouldn't deceive her, not about this.
Anne opened her mouth to object but held back.
"Huh...? This taste... how can medicine be this delicious?"
Mana's eyes widened. Her God Tongue couldn't analyze it at all. Normally, she could detect regional variations in salt—yet this? Nothing.
And then, she felt it: a warm current coursing through her blood, spreading quickly through her frail body.
For years, her condition had forced her into seclusion. The God's Tongue had wrecked her constitution so thoroughly that even a light breeze could knock her over.
But now… she could feel vitality returning.
Though she wasn't completely restored, she was strong enough to move freely again.
If Zed had been present, he could've rebuilt her body completely using Regeneration Mastery. But even without him, this medicine alone brought her back from the brink. Any stronger, and her body might have been overwhelmed and... replenished to death.
"My body… I can move again!"
Mana stood and walked several steps unaided. She had been able to walk before, technically—but this was different. This was strength.
Anne's jaw dropped at the transformation. She knew how fragile Mana had been just this morning.
Senzaemon smiled with deep relief.
"Anne, prepare a meal."
Mana waved Anne off. She needed privacy now—to speak with her father about Erina, and about the medicine.
"Father, tell me everything about Erina and this cure."
Senzaemon didn't hesitate. This was his daughter, Erina's mother—she deserved the truth.
If it had been Azami, he wouldn't have said a word.
"So, Erina and her secretary traveled to another world, met powerful people there, developed the medicine together… and came back?"
Mana was dumbfounded. Her expression could have been made into an emoji.
"This sounds insane. But… I've also been to another world. I've seen magic. I guess it's not so unbelievable."
Senzaemon chuckled.
"It's hard to accept, I know. But it's real. Erina has even learned magic."
"I need a minute," Mana muttered, pinching herself. The pain confirmed it wasn't a dream.
"Your body's recovered. Come back with me. You should see her yourself," Senzaemon urged.
But the suggestion made Mana panic.
She had left. Abandoned her family. People talk about fathers walking out, but she had walked away from her husband and daughter.
And now… how could she face Erina?
"I... I don't know how to face her. What if she doesn't want me back?"
"She will. You know Erina. She's waited a long time for this. But there's another matter... You know what that fool Azami's been doing all these years."
Senzaemon's face darkened at the mention of Azami.
Mana lowered her head.
She had investigated her estranged husband and uncovered an alarming pattern. Azami's emotional resilience was like cracked glass—fragile, unstable. His idol, Saiba Seiichiro, had fallen, and even though the incident hadn't directly involved Azami, he'd spiraled anyway.
Only when he met Mana did he stabilize again. But once she left, his mental state collapsed—he took it out on Erina.
Locking her in dark rooms. Forcing his ideals onto her. He'd become a madman.
"He was lucky I let him keep the surname. That ends now. He's out," Senzaemon declared.
Mana nodded solemnly.
She knew there was no saving her marriage—not anymore. Azami was lost.
His plan to seize Totsuki had always been full of holes. As the head of the family, Senzaemon could've crushed that plan in a single night—cut the staff, cut the food, shut everything down.
Totsuki might've had an election system, but that was just a façade. Without the family, the school would collapse overnight.
And that's not even counting the influence the family held in the shadows. If Senzaemon wanted to make Azami disappear quietly, it could be arranged.
"I'll speak to him," Mana said. "But I doubt it'll help. He's too far gone."
She decided to reunite with Erina first. Whatever came after, she would deal with it.
Soon, Anne returned with freshly prepared dishes.
"This flavor… I can finally taste real food again! I still notice the flaws, but they don't overwhelm everything else anymore!"
Mana's eyes sparkled. For the first time in decades, she truly enjoys a meal.
And she ate, plate after plate. Her body, newly healed, could finally withstand the strain.
----------------------- Author's Note -----------------------
Apologies for the sudden pause; I was feeling unwell for a few days but I'm back now.