Chapter 104: That Unexpected First Encounter

The night wind blew, stirring the fallen leaves on the ground.

The rustling sound was especially piercing on the silent street.

Xiao Chun Miura’s conflicted feelings were on the verge of collapse.

After hesitating for a moment, she still couldn’t drive away the urge in her mind to try sending a message to Kanzaki Sou.

She didn’t need to call.

She would just send a message and casually ask if he was asleep.

—As expected, it’s no good.

Xiao Chun Miura knew she just didn’t know what to do for a moment.

…Should I just not go home tonight?

Find a Manga Café on the navigation to spend the night, then go home after sunrise tomorrow to see if it really is as she thought.

There should definitely be one near the Store Street.

Yeah, should I do that?

Just as Xiao Chun Miura hesitated, torn about whether to turn around and leave—

“Click.”

A crisp metallic sliding sound suddenly echoed in the silent night.

Xiao Chun Miura’s body instantly stiffened.

That was the sound of a door lock turning.

The source of the sound was the front door of her own house.

She looked over sharply and saw the tightly closed dark brown door slowly opening outward, inch by inch.

The light spilling from the crack grew as the door opened, stretching into a long band across the steps, finally illuminating the ground at Xiao Chun Miura’s feet.

Allowing her to see what was inside the door.

Someone came out!

Just as she was about to leave?

Run.

Should I run?

If I don’t run, will I get hit…?

Realizing the person inside was about to come out, the thought of escaping instantly popped into Xiao Chun Miura’s mind.

But her legs felt as heavy as lead, refusing to move.

A fear she had never truly experienced in the Reality World—especially dangerous for girls—felt like a massive net closing in around her, binding her in place, making her unable to move.

She could only stand there, watching helplessly as the door opened completely.

A figure appeared at the entrance.

Against the light from inside, Xiao Chun Miura couldn’t see the person’s face, only a somewhat thin outline.

From the build, it looked like a woman?

She was wearing a homely knit cardigan and loose pants, with a pair of indoor slippers on her feet.

She was holding a bag that looked like trash.

She didn’t look agile, nor did she seem like she was stealing.…?

Xiao Chun Miura froze.

Could this be a thief?

Unless thieves nowadays also help take out the trash.

Before Xiao Chun Miura could react, the woman seemed to sense movement outside the door—or perhaps she felt the intense gaze from the entrance.

The middle-aged woman lifted her head, her eyes landing on Xiao Chun Miura.

Their gazes met.

With the automatic light triggered above the door, Xiao Chun Miura finally saw the woman’s face clearly.

A stranger’s face.

Although there were traces of time on her features and her skin was a bit loose, something about her features made Xiao Chun Miura feel inexplicably familiar.

No, it shouldn’t be familiar.

She had never met her before; in this Game World, among all the people Xiao Chun Miura had seen, this was her first encounter with this middle-aged woman.

As these thoughts flashed through Xiao Chun Miura’s mind—

The woman’s eyes widened slightly the moment she saw her.

The woman let out a short sound.

Xiao Chun Miura snapped back to her senses.

She’d been discovered!

The instinct to flee finally overcame her frozen body.

Xiao Chun Miura spun around and, without thinking, was about to dash down the street.

“Wait, Xiao Chun!”

The woman behind her suddenly shouted.

But though it was a shout, the voice wasn’t sharp or filled with panic.

Instead, it carried a natural, matter-of-fact tone.

As if, at a time like this, calling out to her was the most natural thing to do.

“Xiao Chun, wait!”

She said again.

Xiao Chun Miura’s foot, already in midair, stopped abruptly.

That tone…

That tone was too familiar.

Not because it resembled anyone she’d heard in this world.

After all, the residents of this world didn’t speak her usual language.

The familiarity came from the fact that the tone was the same as in her distant memories of the Reality World—the rare moments she was nagged or cared for.

Although the voice itself was entirely different, and the timbre not alike.

But Xiao Chun Miura didn’t think she had misheard.

She understood the woman’s identity.

Xiao Chun Miura slowly, stiffly turned around.….

The middle-aged woman was still holding the trash bag, walking towards Xiao Chun Miura.

She looked at her, eyebrows slightly furrowed, an expression of helplessness and heartache on her face.

“Why are you running away when you see your Mother?”

“It’s so late, and you only just got back—we were just about to call you.”

Xiao Chun Miura stood motionless.

We?

Mother?

And Father?

This unfamiliar middle-aged woman… was her Mother?

The one who only ever appeared over the phone, always saying she was out dancing with her Old Husband, leaving her daughter home alone for days… Mother?

She came back?

At this timing?

She had just gone through the most turbulent two days since arriving in this world.

Body and mind exhausted.

“What’s wrong? Why are you just standing there?”

“Mother” sighed when she saw Xiao Chun Miura motionless, tossed the trash bag into the bin by the door, and walked over.

“Look at you, your School Uniform is all wrinkled, and your hair’s a mess…”

The woman stood in front of her and naturally reached out to smooth the bangs ruffled by the wind.

That hand was a bit rough, but warm.

When it touched her forehead, Xiao Chun Miura suddenly felt a tremor in her heart.

“Was it Sports Day these past few days? You must be tired.”

The woman’s gaze softened as she carefully studied Xiao Chun Miura’s face.

“You haven’t been sleeping well these two days either, have you? You have dark circles now.”

…Ma…Mother?

Xiao Chun Miura called out in a voice so raw and trembling it was almost foreign to her.

It had been a very, very long time since she last spoke that word.

“Mm?”

The woman responded, a curious smile on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Hearing Xiao Chun Miura’s reply, the middle-aged woman took her hand—so naturally, as if they’d been doing this for years.

“It’s cold outside. Let’s go home.”

She said.

“Father made your favorite Hamburg Steak today. If you come back any later, it’ll get cold.”

“We brought back lots of fun things from this trip, too. We’re waiting to show you.”

Xiao Chun Miura let herself be led, following along like a puppet.

Her mind was still a mess.

What is this?

She had thought her parents didn’t have physical forms in the Game World.

According to the System, to save computational resources, unnecessary resource calls and material generation would be minimized.

That’s why her parents never came home or met her—and she had never thought it strange.

Xiao Chun Miura looked at the back in front of her.

It was real—at least by Game World standards.

Koharu Miura’s Parents were at home now.

Xiao Chun Miura’s heart was still in turmoil.

Led by her Mother, she crossed the threshold and saw, by the entryway—

Two pairs of adult shoes she had never seen before.

From the living room, the sound of the Television drifted out—something she had never turned up loud.

A calm male voice said, “Is Xiao Chun back?”

In that moment, something that had been tightly wound inside her suddenly collapsed.

The loneliness that had always shrouded her, as an outsider.

The fear that made her constantly vigilant, calculating, trembling for survival.

At that moment, much of it was washed away by the sudden, mundane warmth of family.

Realizing this, Xiao Chun Miura lowered her head, and tears fell uncontrollably.

She gripped that rough hand tightly, her voice choked.

“—Mm, I’m home.”

This time, she wasn’t talking to an empty house.

“Welcome back, Xiao Chun.”

This time, there was a real response.

“Mother” said gently, closing the door behind them.

The cold night, and all its anxieties, were shut out behind her.