Yaeko Nishimiya's stubbornness left Eriri a bit speechless, but she didn't dwell on it. It wasn't something that needed to be argued over.
"Alright, I've received your gratitude, so let's leave it at that."
She paused for a moment before continuing in a playful tone, "But let's drop the honorifics, okay? Just call me Eriri. That's not too much to ask, is it?"
Seeing the smile on Eriri's face, Yaeko relaxed a little.
"It still feels a little impolite, but if you insist, it would be even ruder to keep being formal," Yaeko replied with a smile.
Then her tone shifted: "By the way, Eriri, how much did those clothes for Shouko and Yuzuru cost? I'd like to reimburse you. You've already done so much for us—I can't let you spend even more."
"Hmm, it's just a few outfits. They really didn't cost much, so don't worry about it, Auntie."
"But..."
Yaeko tried to insist, but Eriri cut her off.
"Aunt Yaeko, you really are a bit too stubborn. Actually, I do have a bit of feedback I'd like to give you—if you don't mind."
"Feedback?"
"Yes, about how you raise Shouko and Yuzuru. I hope you can stop forcing them to do things they dislike. Try to communicate more with them and be mindful of their feelings."
Yaeko looked troubled.
"Eriri, while I really appreciate everything you've done, I still think it's best if you don't interfere in how I raise my children. Everything I do is to help them grow strong—so they won't be bullied in the future."
"I understand that you mean well. But things aren't the same as they used to be. Shouko probably already told you about the chat group, right?"
Yaeko didn't respond—she simply nodded silently.
"Now that Shouko has joined the chat group, she's no longer destined to be an ordinary person. So you don't have to worry about her being bullied anymore."
"Instead of worrying about whether Shouko might be bullied, you should worry about whether she might accidentally bully someone else. Though honestly, that's not a concern either—Shouko is so gentle. She'll grow up to be a kind girl."
"So what you should focus on now is helping them grow up happy."
This time, Yaeko didn't argue. She simply fell silent.
Shouko, who had been quietly listening nearby, didn't know whether she should speak up.
She didn't want her mother to feel awkward, but she truly hoped her mom wouldn't be so strict anymore and would chat with her more often.
Over a minute passed before Yaeko finally broke the silence.
"I don't understand the world of transcendent beings, but I can't deny—you make a lot of sense. I really have neglected Shouko and Yuzuru's feelings over the years."
Yaeko sighed and gave a weary smile.
Then she lowered her gaze to Shouko, lifting her hand to gently stroke her daughter's head.
Seeing her mother looking downcast, Shouko couldn't help but softly call out, "Mom..."
"Shouko, back then I kept making you transfer schools, and I even made you cut off the long hair you liked so much. You must have really hated me, didn't you?"
Shouko shook her head firmly. "No, I love you, Mom! I know you did it for my sake. It was my fault... I was the one who held you back. If I hadn't been born..."
At that point, Shouko lowered her head and fell silent, her mood sinking into sorrow.
Hearing Shouko's words, Yaeko suddenly became very emotional.
"Shouko, what are you saying? How could you ever be a burden to me? You're the most precious treasure in the world to me!"
Yaeko held Shouko tightly in her arms, trembling slightly.
"It seems I really did make a mistake..."
Muttering softly to herself, Yaeko looked up at Eriri again—this time, her eyes full of determination.
"Eriri, I've heard what you said, and I'll make the necessary changes."
...
Soon, it was the next day.
Last night, Eriri didn't return to the Saekano world. Instead, she spent the night in Shouko and Yuzuru's room, sleeping with both of them in her arms.
After breakfast, Yaeko hurried off to work, while Shouko and Yuzuru left for their respective schools.
Actually, the night before, Eriri had proposed that Shouko and Yuzuru attend school in the Saekano world. Their ages were similar to Enju Aihara and the others, so attending school together would be livelier.
Even when Shouko entered middle school next year, she could commute with Fujino and Kanae.
Yaeko had been tempted by the suggestion but decided to ask her daughters for their thoughts before making a decision.
If it had been the day before, she likely would have made the decision herself. But the fact that she asked showed how much she had changed.
Fortunately, her daughters shared the same thoughts. Shouko and Yuzuru were more than willing to transfer to the Saekano world.
After all, in their previous schools, they had only experienced bullying. There were no classmates they could call friends, so they felt no attachment to their current schools.
Not to mention, Eriri had told them last night that many girls around their age would be attending school with them in the new world.
And those girls were all Eriri's little sisters, meaning they wouldn't be bullies. On the contrary, they'd probably become their closest friends.
With that in mind, how could Shouko and Yuzuru not want to transfer to the Saekano world?
Of course, the transfer wouldn't happen immediately. Even though Eriri could arrange the move without any paperwork, Yaeko still wanted to go through the proper process and formally withdraw them from their current schools.
Plus, Eriri hadn't yet bought a house in this world or set up a world portal, so the earliest Shouko and Yuzuru could start at their new school would be tomorrow.
Even though they technically didn't need to go to school today, they didn't choose to stay home. They wanted to properly say goodbye after Yaeko completed the withdrawal process later that day.
Well... there may have been other reasons for going. At least for Yuzuru.
Last night, Eriri had used cosmic energy to adjust Yuzuru's body and planted an energy seed within her. Even though it had only begun to take effect, it already gave her power comparable to Shouko's.
As for Shouko, instead of planting an energy seed, Eriri simply transferred one hundred million chat group points directly to her.
Compared to the gradual power growth through energy seeds, gaining strength through points was much easier.
So today, Yuzuru was going to school for revenge. After all, many of the students there had bullied her and Shouko in the past.
Unlike Shouko's gentle nature, Yuzuru wasn't one to let things slide. Before, she had no strength to fight back. But now that she did, she couldn't wait even a moment.
As for whether she might go too far and cause serious consequences, that wasn't something she had to worry about.
With Eriri backing her, even if she accidentally killed her bullies, there wouldn't be any problems.
...
After chatting casually with Nishimiya Ito for a while, Eriri left the Nishimiya household.
She planned to purchase the largest detached house near the Nishimiya residence and, while she was at it, buy the entire apartment building where the Nishimiya family lived.
The detached house would be used to establish a World Gate and serve as a temporary residence for group members visiting this world.
As for the apartment building, Eriri intended to gift it to the Nishimiya family. Since they were renting their unit, owning the building would relieve them of their annual rent burden and also provide them with rental income from the other units.
That way, Yaeko Nishimiya wouldn't have to work long hours every day to support the family and could spend more time with Shouko and Yuzuru.
The property purchase went smoothly. In less than an hour, everything was settled. Although the owner, stunned by Eriri's beauty, wanted to sell the house at a low price—or even give it to her for free—Eriri still bought it at a price higher than market value.
Once she had the property, Eriri completely renovated the detached house from inside out, transforming it into a luxurious villa. As usual, she set up protective barriers around the villa.
Finally, she installed the World Gate on the villa's front door.
As in other worlds, Eriri left the remaining money from the purchase in the villa, so group members visiting in the future could use it for expenses.
Not that there was any concern about them spending it all—the amount was massive. It was more accurate to say the two properties were bought with just the spare change from that fund.
After finishing all these arrangements, Eriri didn't return to the Nishimiya household. Instead, she headed for Suimon Elementary School.
Of course, she kept an eye on Yuzuru's situation to ensure nothing went wrong.
Upon arriving at the school, Eriri didn't appear directly before Shouko. She chose to move invisibly to observe from nearby. She wanted to see whether Ueno Naoka and the others would treat Shouko any differently now that her hearing had returned.
If things had improved, she wouldn't bother punishing them. But if they had worsened, their futures would be anything but smooth.
What Eriri didn't yet know was that the bullying had already resumed since yesterday afternoon.
When she appeared next to Shouko, she immediately sensed something wrong in the classroom.
Although the teacher was lecturing seriously at the front, most of the students were distracted. Many kept glancing at Shouko, and some students at the back whispered among themselves.
They occasionally looked at Shouko while whispering.
Shouko appeared to be paying attention in class, but her expression was clearly gloomy.
Even though the whispers were faint, they didn't escape Eriri's ears. In fact, even Shouko could hear them clearly now.
Once Eriri heard the contents of their conversations, her expression immediately darkened. She also understood why Shouko seemed so down.
Every single conversation centered around Shouko—and none of it was kind. The remarks were ugly and malicious.
And those glances weren't filled with curiosity at her regained hearing—they were filled with disgust. The only difference was the degree of malice.
Just from these two signs, Eriri could easily guess what was happening.
To be certain, she directly accessed the memory footage from Class 6-2 for the past hour.
Upon reviewing it, she fully grasped the situation—and her face grew even colder.
That morning, Shouko had entered class without hiding the fact that her hearing had returned. She had even greeted her classmates with increasingly accurate pronunciation and told them she could hear now.
However, instead of feeling happy for her, her classmates twisted the information and accused her of pretending to be deaf to deceive them all along.
As a result, verbal bullying began immediately.
Ueno Naoka and Ishida Shouya—who already disliked Shouko—used it as an excuse to escalate their harassment.
They tripped her on purpose when she walked by, stuck papers with insults on her back, kicked her chair hard during class, and even deliberately spilled water on her.
Every act was filled with pure malice.
Despite having the power to end the bullying at any moment, Shouko's gentle nature kept her silently enduring it.
Had her personality been just a little different, Ueno and Ishida might already be in the ICU by now.
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