"Shinobu, let's go play in the Monogatari world for a few days."
Three days after completing the construction of the world gates to the Kaguya-sama and Saekano worlds, Eriri suddenly had the idea as she spoke to the young girl Shinobu sitting on her lap.
"Mm, I have no objections. However, the timeline of the original plot in that world is still several centuries away. You might find it quite boring," Shinobu said seriously, looking up at Eriri.
"It's fine. We'll know when we get there."
"No problem, then when shall we go? Now that you mention it, I'm curious, kukuku."
"No time like the present. Let's go now."
As soon as she said it, Eriri stood up from the sofa with Shinobu in her arms. After notifying Arifureta and the others, she activated the world portal and headed for the Monogatari world.
...
Eriri held Shinobu's hand as they stood on a bustling street, several dozen meters wide, paved neatly and sturdily with bluestone slabs.
Occasionally, horse-drawn carriages passed through the middle of the road, though most traffic came from pedestrians.
On either side of the road stood rows of Gothic-style buildings.
Perhaps it was because Eriri wore a Gothic Lolita princess dress and Shinobu was clad in an exquisite Western-style outfit, their appearance didn't seem out of place.
At most, their beauty attracted glances from passersby, though no one dared approach. Even sneaking peeks was done cautiously.
This era was unlike the modern one—hierarchical status was strictly observed.
Eriri and Shinobu's attire and flawless beauty made them appear highborn to the onlookers, far beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.
"Eriri, where are we going now? Are we going to stroll around this city? Or head to my castle?"
Shinobu glanced around. Seeing that nothing had changed since she last left, she quickly lost interest.
Which was natural, given that only about half a year had passed since she last departed this world.
"No need. I'll now accelerate the flow of time in this world."
As she spoke, Eriri raised her empty right hand and gently swiped downward.
In an instant, the world's time began accelerating exponentially. The scenery around them rapidly changed, buildings transforming and rising higher.
Skyscrapers sprang up like mushrooms after rain. The streets became smoother, carriages vanished, replaced by modern cars.
In just over ten seconds, 582 years had passed in that world.
Seeing the now-modern city street, Shinobu sighed in awe. "Though this is quite the spectacular sight, I seem to have grown used to it."
"This is my first time controlling time over such a long span. It wasn't as hard as I expected," Eriri said, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
Hearing this, Shinobu rolled her eyes. "Only someone like you would say that. Ai-chan and I can't even control the flow of time yet."
"Don't worry, one day you'll be able to do it too."
"Mm, I believe that as well," Shinobu nodded, then her tone shifted. "By the way, Eriri, what year is it now?"
"1995, which is eleven years before the original story begins."
"This... could it be..."
Hearing "eleven years," Shinobu immediately recalled a certain scene from her memories.
Before she could finish, Eriri continued, "That's right. It's the year Mayoi Hachikuji died."
"I see, so you're planning to save that little snail girl?"
"That's right."
"Ooh! Then let's go right now!" Shinobu raised her left hand excitedly. Clearly, she had a good impression of Mayoi Hachikuji.
Hearing this, Eriri didn't hesitate. She immediately activated teleportation, and their figures vanished from the now-bustling street without attracting any attention.
When they reappeared, they had crossed half the globe, arriving in a small town in Japan.
...
May 14, 1995 — Mother's Day.
Only eleven years old and still in elementary school, Mayoi Hachikuji had made a very important decision a few days prior.
Two years ago, her parents had divorced, and she had gone to live with her father. As a result, she hadn't seen her mother in over two years.
She had started to forget what her mother looked like, and that made her very sad.
So, she decided to run away from home on Mother's Day to visit her mother.
Though her parents lived in the same town, their homes were a bit far apart.
So, at 5 a.m. that morning, before her father had woken up, Mayoi packed her beloved backpack and slipped out of the house.
"Ugh... which way do I go?"
Mayoi held a slip of paper with her mother's address on it, eyes darting across a public map trying to match the characters.
It was already past 8 a.m.—over three hours since she had left home.
But she hadn't made it far. She was still in Shirou Park, not far from her house.
She knew the address, but not how to get there.
Without a proper map or help, she was relying on street signs and public maps to find her way.
Unfortunately, she had gotten lost and couldn't figure out the route to her mother's house. It left her feeling frustrated.
Still, she hadn't given up. No matter what, she was determined to see her mother today.
At that moment, a pleasant voice called out from behind her.
"Hey, little girl, are you lost?"
Startled, Mayoi turned around toward the voice.
Standing there was a girl in a white Lolita-style princess dress. Her dazzling golden hair and dreamlike features made it impossible for Mayoi to look away.
Beside her stood an equally adorable golden-haired young girl.
They were none other than Eriri and Shinobu, who had just arrived in the town.
"Onee-san, you and your little sister are so pretty," Mayoi said instinctively.
Since both Eriri and Shinobu had golden hair, Mayoi had assumed they were sisters.
"Mayoi-chan, you guessed wrong. Shinobu isn't my little sister."
"Eh?" Eriri's answer caught Mayoi off guard, and she scratched her head awkwardly. "Ahaha, sorry, I made a mistake."
"No worries. It's nothing important," Eriri said casually. "Mayoi-chan, you still haven't answered my question. Are you lost?"
"Yes, I am. But, Onee-san, how do you know my name? Do you know me?"
"Hmm, who knows~" Eriri smiled mysteriously. "But I can say for sure that this is our first time meeting, Mayoi-chan."
Eriri's words left Mayoi even more confused. At this age, she wasn't the clever ghost she'd later become—just an ordinary eleven-year-old elementary schooler.
Unable to make sense of it, Mayoi decided not to think too hard about it.
"Onee-san, can you help me figure out how to get to this address?"
After handing Eriri the paper with her mother's address, Hachikuji Mayoi looked up at her expectantly.
"I can, but it might be dangerous for you to go alone. Why don't we take you there? We can stroll around the area while we're at it."
"That would be amazing! Thank you, Onee-san." Mayoi spoke with urgency, as if afraid Eriri might change her mind.
The bright smile on her face showed just how happy she was, with no hint of suspicion that Eriri and Shinobu could be bad people.
And so, Eriri walked hand in hand with Shinobu and Mayoi, heading in the direction of their destination.
Along the way, they stopped frequently, exploring different places and enjoying the day.
During this time, both Eriri and Shinobu introduced themselves to Mayoi.
Shinobu and Mayoi became fast friends, and Mayoi grew increasingly attached to Eriri.
By around 3 p.m., Eriri and Shinobu finally brought Mayoi to the doorstep of her mother's house.
"Eriri-nee, will we be able to meet again?"
As the moment of parting arrived, Mayoi looked up at Eriri with visible reluctance.
"Of course. Go see your mother now. We'll meet again in the future," Eriri said with a soft smile, patting her head.
"Okay, Eriri-nee, Shinobu, let's definitely meet again. Come play with me next time, okay?"
Watching their figures disappear into the distance, Mayoi didn't realize that Eriri had said "in the future," not "next time."
After they were out of sight, Mayoi pressed the doorbell.
A gentle woman's voice came from the intercom.
Yes, that's Mom's voice.
Mayoi thought so, and the corners of her lips curled into a sweet smile.
...
Back in Shirou Park, Eriri and Shinobu sat close together on a bench.
"The snail problem is solved. So, what shall we do next?" Shinobu asked, kicking her small legs back and forth.
Although the timeline had been forcefully accelerated, the world had actually experienced over 500 years of history.
Shinobu, having stayed by Eriri's side, had not been present during those centuries of change. This meant her influence had been completely absent, and thus, there was no so-called "oddity among oddities," "oddity slayer," or "king of oddities."
Without Shinobu's presence, the apocalyptic events seen in parallel worlds wouldn't occur.
Similarly, without Shinobu, the first-generation oddity killer, Deishuu Kaiki, could never have become a vampire.
And without his ashes scattering back to the town after his suicide under the sun, the town's energy balance would remain intact, and oddities wouldn't manifest as easily.
However, that wasn't the case.
Eriri could clearly sense that the spiritual energy in this town was still much denser than elsewhere.
In other words, the oddities were still destined to appear in the future.
But the protagonist, Koyomi Araragi, wouldn't have the power to deal with them, since he couldn't become a half-vampire without Shinobu.
Unless another vampire took her place.
But that was unlikely—if it were any other vampire, Araragi might not have survived the encounter during spring break in the first place.
Still, Eriri had no intention of suppressing this surging energy.
Oddities were, by nature, born randomly. The dense energy merely increased the likelihood of their manifestation. In essence, the energy itself wasn't harmful.
Faced with Shinobu's question, Eriri didn't respond verbally. Instead, she smiled and gently patted Shinobu's head, answering through her actions.
She extended her right hand again and made a gentle downward pull in the air. Time in this world once again accelerated rapidly.
Unlike before, when the time jump took only a few seconds, this time the flow was several hundred to a thousand times slower.
After the acceleration stopped and time returned to normal, it was already five years later—now the year 2000.
Looking around the changed Shirou Park, Shinobu asked Eriri, "Eriri, who is your target this time?"
This time, she didn't ask about the specific year. Instead, she asked directly about the person. To her, it didn't matter what year it was or who the target was. As long as she could stay by Eriri's side, that was enough.
Eriri held Shinobu's right hand and stood up from the bench. Then, in a calm voice, she revealed the name of her next target.
"Sodachi Oikura."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven