Chapter 203: Please Let Me Stay
"Um… what are you planning to do with me?"
After waiting a while and noticing that Hikigaya Hachiman had fallen silent, frowning in thought, Sakura swallowed nervously and asked timidly.
"I originally intended to send you back home."
Hachiman answered honestly.
But before he could finish, he felt his arm being tightly grabbed.
Looking up, he saw Sakura had poked her head out from under the blanket, her expression tense, her eyes filled with pleading.
"Of course, not anymore."
With a gentle smile, Hachiman reached out and stroked Sakura's long purple hair to soothe her.
According to Sakura's description, if he returned her to the Tohsaka family, the Tohsaka household would very likely send her back to the Matou family immediately after he left.
But in this world, Hachiman was unfamiliar with his surroundings. Even the money for the inn he was staying at had come from "borrowing" from some street thugs. Without sending Sakura home, finding a safe place for her was a huge problem.
He couldn't just take her back to his own world, could he?
Well… that wasn't entirely impossible.
With his current resources and some help from Hiratsuka Shizuka, it would be easy to fabricate an identity for a person without records like Sakura.
But the problem was that doing so would mean she had to abandon everything she had in this world and move to a completely unfamiliar one. Would she even agree?
And if she went to his world, where would she live?
If she moved into his house, would Komachi or his parents agree?
If he rented a place for her elsewhere, would she feel scared being alone?
Bringing Sakura to his world required consideration of too many factors, so Hachiman had to think carefully.
Telling Sakura he wouldn't send her back to the Tohsaka household made her somewhat relieved, but seeing Hachiman deep in thought made her feel a bit scared again.
Obviously, he was thinking about where to place her. But aside from the Tohsaka and Matou families, she had no safe place in this world.
Thinking that it might be safer to stay with Hachiman rather than being sent to a completely unfamiliar household, Sakura mustered her courage to make a request:
"Um… can I stay with you?"
"Eh?"
"I can cook and do housework…"
"Wait…!"
Hearing Sakura practically pitch herself, Hachiman couldn't help but stop her, both amused and exasperated.
"Do you understand the consequences of staying with me? You would have to leave everything behind in this world and go to a completely unfamiliar world with a very high chance of never returning!"
Hachiman deliberately stressed the seriousness of following him to make her understand.
"I can do that."
Despite his warnings, Sakura showed no hesitation; instead, a look of eager anticipation appeared in her eyes.
She was impatient to leave her current life behind.
Seeing her reaction, a realization dawned on Hachiman.
"Well… then you can temporarily stay with me for now."
With a resigned nod, Hachiman got up and headed outside.
"Um… where are you going?"
Hearing his answer, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing him move toward the door, she quickly jumped off the bed, ready to follow.
"I'm going to get some food. You've been sleeping a long time; you must be hungry, right?"
Hachiman glanced at her thin frame.
"Gurgle…"
Sakura suddenly remembered that since Matou Zouken had taken her, she had been thrown into the basement directly. Her stomach, having gone over ten hours without food, protested loudly.
"Then, I'll go out first…"
Hearing her stomach growl, Hachiman showed a trace of helplessness. Just as he was about to push the door open and remind her to stay inside, Sakura suddenly ran up and hugged him from behind.
"Um… can I come with you?"
Clinging tightly to him, Sakura made her request.
"Are you afraid I won't come back if I leave?"
As soon as Hachiman spoke, he felt her body shiver.
As expected… she was lacking a sense of security.
Understanding why she wanted to follow him, Hachiman didn't refuse. He signaled for her to let go and then took her hand, walking out of the inn together.
.
.
.
Hachiman had arrived in the other world around noon.
After spending several hours quietly waiting in the inn for Sakura to familiarize herself and gathering intelligence, night had fallen outside the inn.
A withdrawn young man walked down the street holding the hand of a petite, doll-like girl, but surprisingly, no one noticed them.
No… in fact, no one could detect them at all.
This was confirmed when Sakura nearly bumped into someone, but the person didn't react at all.
"How did you do that?"
Curious, she watched the passersby while gently shaking Hachiman's arm.
"It's a secrecy charm. If you attach it to yourself and activate it with spiritual energy, your presence will be minimized."
Hachiman handed her a charm from the system space and explained its function.
"So convenient…"
Sakura looked up at him with admiration.
Her father would never have done such magic, and even if he could, he probably wouldn't have been able to make it so simple, fast, and efficient.
"It's just a little trick. Against real enemies, it'll be immediately exposed."
Hachiman waved his hand indifferently at her praise.
Even casually unleashing a strong spiritual energy burst could easily reveal him from this hidden state. This charm was only useful for deceiving ordinary people and low-level enemies.
"Hmm?"
Walking further, Hachiman suddenly felt as though he was being watched.
Without hesitation, he conjured an attack charm in his hand and flung it in the direction of the surveillance.
With a screeching shriek, a nearly transparent insect fell from a rooftop to the ground.
Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting