— — — — — —
After some time...
"Rabbits?"
Hearing Veyron's question, Kaguya, who had been chatting with Chika, frowned and thought for a moment.
"They probably only started showing up recently. At least, I don't remember seeing any around in the past few years." She added.
"I thought maybe it was just me, running back and forth between Eientei and the training grounds and not noticing them," Veyron replied.
Once he confirmed it wasn't just him being oblivious, Veyron shifted his attention to Chika's learning progress.
"So, how's it going? About spiritual energy... any parts you're still confused about?"
"Uhh... honestly, I'm not even sure if I fully get it or if I'm still completely lost," Chika said with an awkward laugh.
"That's normal." Veyron nodded slightly. "'Spiritual energy' is basically a subjective thing. There's no 'right answer.'"
"If you feel like you kind of get it, then congratulations — you get it. Since you've grasped the basics, next we can—"
"Father, leave the next part to me," Kaguya interrupted proactively.
Veyron glanced at Chika. "What do you think?"
"Uhh...," Chika said, fiddling with her fingers under his gaze. "I think it's better if I just stick with Kaguya-nee like before."
She hurried to add, "Don't get me wrong, Mr. Veyron! It's just that... your teaching style might not be very compatible with a regular, totally ordinary person like me..."
Veyron: "..."
(What the heck is that supposed to mean?!)
Sure, back then he had to unlock his gene lock, endure simultaneous spiritual energy baptism from both Kaguya and Eirin, and even needed the help of the Trait System just to get the [Spiritual Power] tag.
But still—After unlocking the third stage of the gene lock, with his brainpower massively boosted, when he revisited the spiritual energy training advice he'd gotten from Eirin and Kaguya, he realized—He could basically write textbooks on the topic now!
He was like a master in spiritual energy.
But whatever. Since Kaguya was volunteering to take over, Veyron was more than happy to kick back and chill.
"When did you two get so close anyway?" His gaze bounced between Kaguya and Chika.
That earlier "Kaguya-nee" from Chika? Totally genuine, he could tell.
"Uhh..." Chika's mind flashed back to something that happened not long ago.
She had been walking through the courtyard with Kaguya when she noticed a weird-looking potted plant — it glowed faintly, almost like jade. Curious, she asked about it.
Kaguya answered without hesitation: "This is the Jeweled Branch of Hourai. I brought it down with me as a little keepsake after I escaped... that 'prison' a few years ago."
Kaguya... Jeweled Branch of Hourai... Prison...?!
A chill ran down Chika's spine. She asked cautiously, "Umm... we're still in Japan, right? What period is this?"
"How would I know?" Kaguya shrugged. "I haven't left this bamboo forest since arriving here."
"But, a little while ago, Father went out. According to him, the current ruler living in Fujiwara-kyo is planning to move the capital to Nara soon."
"Supposedly to shake off the influence of the powerful clans nearby, like the Soga, Abe, and Otomo families. Maybe when they do, the new era will be named after the new capital or something?"
Fujiwara-kyo to Nara relocation? That's right before the Nara Period — meaning they were at the end of the Asuka Period!
Case closed.
She really was the legendary Kaguya-hime from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter!
Now that she knew this was the Kaguya-hime, calling her "Kaguya-nee" felt totally natural.
Still, not wanting to spill this black history in front of Veyron, Chika mumbled a bunch of nonsense under her breath while trying to physically push him away and dodge the conversation.
---
Later that evening
Thanks to Veyron's introduction, Chika finally met the last resident of Eientei over dinner.
---
The next day
Her official spiritual training journey began.
Every morning at 5 AM sharp, she would get up, quickly wash up, then walk to a small hill near Eientei, facing the east to meditate as the sun rose.
Once the first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds, she would end her morning practice and head back to Eientei for breakfast with the others.
After that came physical training and mental meditation, switching between the two every thirty minutes until noon.
After lunch, she'd go for a casual stroll through the bamboo forest, wandering wherever she felt like, trying to absorb the spirit of nature.
Naturally, distractions like chatting in the group chat were totally banned during this time.
At sunset, she'd return for dinner, then spend the evening in Kaguya's room, discussing her insights from the day's training — kind of like a self-reflection session.
After that, she'd head back to her temporary bamboo house, drink a cup of hot milk, stretch a little, and peacefully drift off to sleep.
...
『Catwoman: … Man, that's one packed schedule.』
When Chika posted her weekly rest-day routine in the chat group, Selina was seriously shook.
If even Chika Fujiwara — who used to be her best slacking buddy — could turn into this diligent after going to Veyron's world...
Did that mean she was the only lazy one left in the group now?!
Wait no, she was the lazy one...
『Catwoman: Only you, Merlin, only you...』
『Lady Avalon: Yeah, it's just us now.』
『Catwoman: Hey! I still set aside a little time every day to train my Armament Haki and Observation Haki, okay? What about you?』
『Catwoman: I've gone to Hancock's place ten times. You? You just sit on the beach and sunbathe!』
『Lady Avalon: That's where you're wrong. Magicians train by relaxing and syncing with nature...』
『Catwoman: ???』
『Ordinary Person: I believe you.』
『Earth's Cancer: Me too.』
『Ordinary Person: (just pretending)』
『Earth's Cancer: (me too)』
『Ordinary Person: →_→』
『Earth's Cancer: ←_←』
『Lady Avalon: Honestly, Chika-chan, I'm disappointed in you! Veyron used to be such a serious guy when he first joined our group...How did he end up becoming like this under your "guidance"?! (dramatic heartbreak meme.jpg)』
『Snake Empress: Am I crazy, or does something sound kinda wrong about what Merlin just said?』
『Hellish Blizzard: Trust your instincts. She's dodging by blaming both sides without any shame.』
『SnakeEmpress: ...』
『Earth's Cancer: Speaking of which, where's Gwen? Haven't seen her around today.』
『Lady Avalon:: Not just today — I think it's been two or three days now? Maybe she's busy?』
『Earth's Cancer: I'll ping her. @Ghost Spider』
『Ghost Spider: …』
『Earth's Cancer: Uh, hope I'm not bothering you?』
『Ghost Spider: No, it's fine. My head's just a little messed up right now.』
『Lady Avalon:: ???』
『Ghost Spider: You guys probably won't believe it...But I just... crossed over to another world.』
『Ghost Spider: Oh right, I don't need to explain "crossing over," right?』
『Snake Empress: We know, we know — it's like when we use the group teleport function to travel to other worlds.』
『Ghost Spider: Exactly. Here, look for yourselves.』
[Group System Notification: 'Ghost Spider' has started a live stream.]
...
Crossing over to another world... Is the plot of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse about to start?
Veyron tapped into Gwen's stream.
After watching for a few seconds, he felt something wasn't quite right.
Before he could even ask, Gwen had already started explaining what had happened to her before and after she crossed worlds.
『Ghost Spider: I was just chilling in my room, listening to music, when suddenly this black hole appeared out of nowhere and sucked me in. Next thing I knew, I crash-landed in some completely unfamiliar city.』
Even though she was streaming, Gwen seemed a bit cautious—so instead of speaking directly, she kept communicating through group chat messages.
『Ghost Spider: At first, I thought maybe someone weird had just yanked me out of New York and dumped me somewhere else. But after asking around a bit, I realized this "somewhere else" is way further than I thought.』
『Ghost Spider: Remember, Chika, you and I checked before, and the timeline between our two worlds was basically the same. For me, it was 2018, and for you, it was 2017, right?』
『Ghost Spider: But now? The year here is 2008. And I'm not in New York anymore—I'm stuck in some tiny inland country in Eastern Europe called Sokovia.』
『Ghost Spider: History class didn't cover much about these tiny European countries, so honestly, I'm not even sure if Sokovia actually existed in my original world...』
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