At this moment in the villa, just as Yui Kotegawa, who was sitting close beside Eriri, put down her phone and was about to continue expressing the longing she had felt over the past ten years, the sound of the villa's front door opening rang out.
Immediately afterward, under the gaze of everyone present, Haruna Sairenji and Akiho Sairenji ran into the living room one after the other.
Although the villa was several kilometers away from both Sainan High School and the publishing house where Akiho worked, thanks to the two of them flying at high speed, they arrived in just a few seconds.
Upon seeing Eriri sitting on the sofa and smiling at them, Akiho and Haruna could no longer hold back the longing in their hearts and directly pounced toward her.
Faced with the two charging toward her, Eriri didn't dodge. Instead, she opened her arms and embraced the two soft bodies that were even taller and more well-developed than her own.
Clinging tightly to Eriri, Akiho and Haruna didn't say a word, only trying their best to feel Eriri's presence through their bodies and their breathing.
No one else in the living room interrupted them, simply watching this scene quietly.
Although Nemesis and Eve didn't quite understand what the feeling of longing was like, seeing the three of them embracing, smiles unconsciously appeared on their faces as well.
Just like that, several minutes quickly passed.
Eriri patted Akiho and Haruna's backs, a warm smile also appearing on her face.
"Alright, alright, you're all grown up now, and still acting so spoiled?"
Hearing Eriri's words, Akiho and Haruna, who had buried their heads in Eriri's embrace, hurriedly looked up, their teary eyes staring straight at Eriri.
They didn't refute her words, but instead spoke in unison: "Eriri-nee, we missed you so much!"
From their gaze and their words, Eriri could feel the depth of their emotions. She didn't say anything more, simply placing her hands on their cheeks and gently caressing them.
"Mm, I know. But it's alright now. Just like I told you ten years ago—starting today, we can be together forever."
...
In the time that followed, Yui Kotegawa, Akiho, and Haruna, after expressing the longing in their hearts, began recounting some of the events that had occurred over the past ten years.
Overall, the past ten years had been relatively peaceful. There had been no battles to eliminate evil forces or save the world.
Though they had gained power strong enough to destroy the world through tireless training, they never revealed their strength in front of outsiders.
As for when they moved into the villa—it was three years ago.
At that time, Akiho was in her second year of university, while Haruna and Yui had just entered junior high school.
Because they moved into the villa, Akiho and Haruna didn't raise pets like in the original story. As a result, the Boston black-and-white dog Maron, who liked to lick people, did not exist in this world.
Soon, it was around six in the evening.
After several hours of conversation, Akiho and the others had completely opened up to Tearju, Nemesis, and Eve. The sense of unfamiliarity brought on by ten years of separation had completely vanished.
Just like ten years ago.
Only, they had all grown up, and their conversations were no longer as childish as before.
The only thing that hadn't changed was how they addressed Eriri. Even though Akiho was now several years older than Eriri, she still called her "Eriri-nee."
After all, the title "Eriri-nee" had been repeated countless times in their hearts. It wasn't something that could be changed so easily.
...
Around ten o'clock at night, Eriri lay alone on the spacious bed, and her consciousness entered the group chat.
Although around half a year had passed in the previous timeline, there weren't many new chat logs in the group.
Perhaps because it was already quite late, no one was chatting in the group at the moment, and the last message had been sent over an hour ago.
But as soon as Eriri sent a message, the quiet group chat instantly became lively.
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): The group is so quiet. What is everyone up to?]
[Kaguya Shinomiya (Level 7, Stage 1): Good evening, Eriri-sama.]
[Kaguya Shinomiya (Level 7, Stage 1): I just finished my bath and was about to use points to cultivate for a while.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Is that so? Then do your best.]
[Kaguya Shinomiya (Level 7, Stage 1): Mm-hmm, I definitely won't let you down, Eriri-sama.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): Eriri, I'm playing the piano right now~]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 1): Uh, seriously? Playing the piano this late at night? Aren't you afraid of disturbing the neighbors?!]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): My room is super soundproof, so it won't bother anyone. Totally no problem!]
[Fumino Furuhashi (Level 7, Stage 1): Oh? I didn't know you could play the piano, Chika-chan. Totally didn't see that coming.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): Of course! I even won some awards back in the day!]
[Fumino Furuhashi (Level 7, Stage 1): That's amazing! clap.jpg]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): It's not a big deal, hehe~]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Not bad, not bad. Play something for us to hear.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): No problem, just wait a bit. I'll play a piece for you all.]
Seeing Eriri's message, Chika Fujiwara felt a surge of excitement—this was her first time performing piano in front of everyone.
Though she was fairly confident in her skills, she still focused completely, not wanting to disappoint Eriri when she heard the music.
Meanwhile, as Chika was playing, the group chat remained active.
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): By the way, Lala, are you all still on planet Deviluke? @Lala (Level 7, Stage 2)]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 1): Eriri, you're not with Lala and the others? curious.jpg]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): Curious +1]
Since Eriri hadn't told the other members about her trip to the past, to them, she and the three Deviluke sisters had departed for the To LOVE-Ru world together earlier that day.
So Ruri Gokou and Arifureta naturally felt a bit curious about Eriri's message.
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): That's right, I'm currently on Earth in this universe.]
[Lala (Level 7, Stage 2): Eriri, you've already come back from the past timeline?]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Of course. Didn't I tell you? For you guys, I returned the very next second after leaving.]
[Lala (Level 7, Stage 2): Oh yeah, hehe~]
[Lala (Level 7, Stage 2): Nana, Momo, and I are still on Deviluke, but we're planning to leave for Earth tomorrow to see you.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Mm-hmm, I'll be waiting for you all. I'll introduce you to a few friends too.]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): Eriri, so you went to the past timeline?]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): That's right. I first went back twenty-two years and stayed in multiple timelines for a while. I've been in the past for nearly half a year in total.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Come to think of it, I haven't seen you all in half a year. I kind of missed you.]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): !!!]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): Eriri, wait for me! I'm coming to find you right now!]
Upon learning that Eriri had spent nearly half a year in the past timeline, Arifureta couldn't hold back and just wanted to rush to Eriri's side.
Putting herself in Eriri's shoes—if she hadn't seen Eriri in half a year, she would probably cling to her and not let go for several days.
Aside from Arifureta, Ruri Gokou, Kazusa, and several others who saw the message also expressed a desire to go accompany Eriri.
Eriri was deeply touched by Arifureta and the others, but she quickly sent a message to stop them.
She arranged for everyone to gather in the Saekano world a week later, which finally calmed their impulse to immediately rush to her side.
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): By the way, Eriri, did you go back twenty-two years for Golden Darkness?]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): That's right. But now there's no more Golden Darkness—only Eve. I've brought her, Tearju, and Nemesis back to the current timeline.]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): You even brought Nemesis along. What about Mea Kurosaki? Didn't you bring her too?]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Mea was created using Eve's development data as a base. When I brought Eve and the others out, I destroyed the lab completely. So…]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): I see.]
Arifureta understood what Eriri meant. Without Eve's development data, the second-generation biological weapon, Mea Kurosaki, couldn't possibly be born.
She didn't mind at all—her question had only been casual to begin with.
Whether or not Mea Kurosaki existed in this world made no difference to her.
But as for Eriri, bringing Mea into existence wouldn't be that difficult.
Maybe someday in the future, she might just make it happen.
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): Huh? What happened? I looked away for a few minutes and the chat exploded with messages.]
[Yuuki Asuna (Level 7, Stage 1): Just scroll up and read the chat history.]
[Yuuki Asuna (Level 7, Stage 1): By the way, Chika-chan, is your piano piece ready?]
Chika Fujiwara, who had just finished her performance, was about to upload the recorded video to the group when she suddenly noticed all the activity.
After quickly scrolling through the chat log, she finally understood what had happened.
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): So that's what happened.]
Her first instinct upon hearing about it was the same as Arifureta and the others—to immediately use a cross-world charm to go to the To LOVE-Ru world and accompany Eriri.
But in the end, she restrained herself just like everyone else.
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): The piano piece is already recorded. I'll send it now.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): 'untitled.mp4']
Seeing the unnamed video in the chat, Eriri and the others knew immediately it was the piano performance Chika had just recorded, and they all clicked to watch it.
The video's first scene showed Chika Fujiwara, dressed in light pink pajamas, sitting properly in front of what appeared to be a very expensive piano.
As her ten fingers danced across the keys, beautiful music began to flow.
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): So? Not bad, right?]
[Elaina (Level 7, Stage 1): Sounds great!]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Not bad at all. Looks like you've got a good foundation.]
[Fumino Furuhashi (Level 7, Stage 1): Amazing, Chika-chan.]
[Yuuki Asuna (Level 7, Stage 1): thumbs up.jpg]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 2 / Group Leader): Really nice. Not as good as Eriri's playing, but still great.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): Eh? Eriri can play the piano too?]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Um… as a proper lady, isn't playing the piano kind of expected?]
Eriri did indeed possess extremely advanced piano skills—not just due to her omniscient abilities, but also because she had actually studied piano.
Though she only learned for a few years during elementary school, her outstanding learning ability allowed her piano level to reach a peak few could match.
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): ...]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): I had no idea! Why haven't I ever seen you play before?!]
[Kanae Kochou (Level 7, Stage 1): Chika-chan, although it's rare, Eriri has played at home before—and she plays really really well.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): ...]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 1): No way, Eriri—you have to play for us at the gathering next week.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Of course, no problem.]
...
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