"Um... Victor?"
Alisa slowly opened her eyes, her vision coming into focus.
Seeing that heart-stopping handsome face hovering above her, confusion flickered in her gaze as she tried to process what had happened.
"Where... where am I?"
"Are you okay? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Victor gently set the girl down from his arms and channeled his spiritual power to carefully remove the dirt and debris from her clothes and hair.
After hearing his concerned question, Alisa looked around at their surroundings.
The sight of the devastated ruins before her triggered her memory, and her expression suddenly shifted to one of alarm.
"Victor, it's terrible! There was a monster!"
Victor nodded grimly. "Yes, I know."
BOOM!
As if summoned by their conversation, a terrifying creature suddenly materialized before them. The beast resembled a massive wolf or hellhound, its entire body wreathed in writhing black flames. It bared razor-sharp fangs as its scarlet vertical pupils fixed on the pair with predatory intensity.
Alisa trembled with fear, instinctively stepping behind Victor as her only source of safety in this nightmare scenario.
[Host, this is a sixth-level high-tier demon from the demon realm, a Hell Flame Black Dog.]
Without Victor needing to ask, the system automatically provided information about the creature confronting them.
"No matter what kind of monster it is, if it dares to act aggressively in my presence, it must die."
Victor drew his sword with fluid precision and executed a single devastating slash. The blade's energy carved through the ground like a plow, instantly obliterating the Hell Flame Black Dog without leaving so much as a trace of its existence.
Amazing!
Admiration sparkled in Alisa's eyes.
Although everyone knew that Victor possessed incredible strength, every time he took action, he never failed to amaze those who witnessed his power.
This was the man she had fallen for!
"Let's go. We should leave this place before we attract unwanted attention."
Sensing the approach of numerous rescue vehicles and police cars in the distance, Victor wrapped his arms around Alisa and took to the sky, flying toward his seaside manor with graceful speed.
Not long after the pair departed, a silver-haired woman in ornate armor climbed out from beneath the rubble near the edge of the explosion crater.
Looking up at the two figures disappearing into the distance, the woman parted her crimson lips and murmured thoughtfully, "So strong! He killed a Hell Flame Black Dog with a single sword strike. There aren't many people in the entire Continental Coalition who could accomplish such a feat. I didn't expect this world to harbor such powerful individuals."
Beep, beep...
The shrill wailing of approaching sirens brought the mysterious woman back to her senses.
Observing these strange metal vehicles that produced sounds and moved on their own, she turned and vanished into the shadows without a trace.
Meanwhile, Victor and Alisa had already returned to the coastal manor.
"You can live here from now on. I have plenty of empty rooms anyway."
Now that the rental building had been completely destroyed, Alisa had nowhere else to go. Fortunately, Victor's mansion possessed more than enough space to accommodate additional residents.
In truth, he had long considered inviting Alisa to move into the manor.
He simply hadn't found the right opportunity to broach the subject before now.
The destruction of the rental property provided Victor with the perfect excuse to extend the invitation.
"Really?!"
Of course, Alisa wouldn't refuse such an offer.
She was secretly grateful to that Hell Flame Black Dog for destroying the apartment building!
Thanks to that monster, she finally had the opportunity to live with Victor under the same roof!
"Kanae, please arrange a room for Alisa."
"Of course."
Kanae nodded gracefully and addressed Alisa with a warm smile. "Sister Alisa, please come with me."
"Thank you so much, Sister Kanae!"
Alisa stepped forward and linked arms with Kanae in a display of genuine affection.
This wasn't her first visit to Victor's manor.
However, during her previous visits, Victor had either been in cultivation retreat or traveling to other worlds.
The responsibility of entertaining Alisa had naturally fallen to the three Kocho sisters.
After several such interactions, the group had become quite familiar with each other.
When she had first learned that Victor owned a hidden estate by the sea and that there were other women in his life, Alisa had felt genuinely heartbroken for a time.
But she had soon come to terms with the reality and accepted the situation.
After all, it was perfectly natural for a man as extraordinary as Victor to attract multiple women.
Fortunately, Shinobu and the others didn't seem to reject her presence.
This acceptance was the primary reason she had developed such a close relationship with the Kocho sisters.
After watching the two women leave together, Victor turned his attention to Kanao Tsuyuri.
At this time, Kanao was still just a twelve-year-old girl.
She was petite, wore an innocent expression, and looked absolutely adorable in her simple dress.
Victor gestured toward the empty space beside him on the sofa, and the little girl didn't hesitate to approach. She settled down next to him and looked up with her large, expressive eyes.
"Would you like to go to school?"
Victor asked gently while patting her head with affectionate care.
Twelve years old was the perfect age for formal education.
If she remained at home focusing solely on cultivation and household duties, she would lack exposure to the broader world and miss crucial social development.
Moreover, Kanao Tsuyuri's particular circumstances made it especially important for her to interact with the outside world.
Kanao instinctively reached toward her pocket to retrieve the coin she typically used for decision-making, but at that moment she recalled something her sister Shinobu had told her a few days earlier. She ultimately released her hand and let it fall back to her side.
After a moment of contemplation, she tilted her head with a puzzled expression and asked in her soft voice, "What does 'going to school' mean?"
Victor explained patiently, "Going to school means learning knowledge and skills. You might also make friends your own age there."
Kanao Tsuyuri remained silent for a long time before speaking again. "I'll do whatever you think is best."
"What about your own feelings on the matter?"
"I don't know." Kanao shook her head, confusion evident in her innocent eyes.
Seeing this response, Victor became even more determined to expose her to the outside world and help her develop her own sense of autonomy.
"Try going to school for a while. If you don't like it, you can always come back home."
"Okay."
Not long afterward, Shinobu, who had been out shopping for groceries, returned home.
Two hours later, around noon, Krul also came back from her classes.
Eager to demonstrate what she had learned at Totsuki Academy, Krul announced that she would prepare lunch for everyone herself.
During the cooking process, Kanae, Shinobu, and Alisa all pitched in to help.
Working together, the four women quickly prepared a complete meal.
As for the taste, it was decent enough.
However, this represented a tremendous improvement for Krul, considering she hadn't even known how to boil water properly before attending culinary school.
This progress demonstrated just how diligently she had been studying at Totsuki Academy.
After finishing lunch, Victor shared his plan to enroll Kanao Tsuyuri in school.
Upon hearing this proposal, both Kanae and Shinobu immediately expressed their wholehearted agreement.
They also believed it would be beneficial for Kanao to have more contact with the outside world and peers her own age.
"Would you like to attend as well, Shinobu?"
Kanae looked at her younger sister with hopeful eyes.
"After all, at your apparent age, you would still be a high school student in this world."
"Absolutely not!"
Shinobu didn't even pause to consider the suggestion before shaking her head firmly in refusal.
She had no interest whatsoever in attending school.
After all, the other girls in the chat group were all working hard to advance their cultivation, how could she have the audacity to waste time on mundane education?
Kanae sighed wistfully. "What a shame! I would have loved to see you in a school uniform. You would look absolutely adorable."
Victor, who had been listening quietly to this exchange, suddenly seemed to remember something important. His eyes lit up with inspiration as he silently retrieved his phone and opened a shopping application.
He began searching for sailor suits, school uniforms, and various other outfits with obvious enthusiasm...