Hikarigaoka, inside a certain upscale apartment building.
"Just as I thought—you're a bad thing."
Flopped unhappily over her balcony railing, Mimi sulked. After being scolded by Mrs. Tachikawa, she'd been ordered to "reflect on her actions," only narrowly escaping her mother's terrifying glare.
But more than her mother's lecture, the one Mimi resented most right now was the culprit behind everything—Chen Ze.
If that strange creature hadn't disappeared again and again, she wouldn't have been doubted repeatedly by her parents.
"Even if you are a future flower fairy, I'm definitely catching you!"
Grumbling to herself, Mimi might have been naïve, but she wasn't stupid.
After seeing Chen Ze vanish multiple times, she'd already realized something: that strange creature was consciously avoiding adults' eyes—just like real flower fairies did.
Even she had only discovered its existence by accident. That was why she could talk to it at all.
However, being a child at heart, Mimi didn't think too deeply about any of that. After her initial anger faded, her curiosity took over. Where had that creature gone this time?
She'd searched the living room, the bedroom, the study, even under the bed—yet Chen Ze was nowhere to be found.
"Mimi?"
Just as she wondered where to search next, a faint voice reached her ears.
"Koromon?"
Realizing instantly whose voice it was, Mimi turned toward the study—and sure enough, she spotted the round little creature carefully nudging the door open, peeking out nervously.
"You meanie, you actually came back?"
Mimi's face brightened for a moment, but then she suddenly remembered her indignation, turned away sharply, and adopted a "I'm not talking to you" pose.
"…"
Chen Ze forced an awkward smile. He glanced at the pouting Mimi, then at Renamon standing behind him with clear amusement in her eyes, and felt more amused than helpless.
If circumstances hadn't forced his hand, he truly hadn't wanted to return to Mimi's home.
After all, regardless of whether she would one day become a Chosen Child and journey to the Digital World, right now Mimi was still just an innocent little girl. She really shouldn't be getting too involved with a dangerous species like Digimon.
More importantly, Chen Ze didn't want to drag a child into unknown danger because of him.
Compared to Homeostasis, he considered himself someone with at least some conscience. He wasn't about to justify "child labor recruitment" with righteousness.
But he also knew that, rather than risking a random exit point from a different computer, returning to Mimi's study was by far the safest option.
And even though he'd tricked her twice earlier, judging by Mimi's childish reactions, her anger would last only a few minutes at most.
In contrast, appearing somewhere unknown brought countless risks—not least who might own those computers.
In this era, anyone who could afford a computer was either wealthy or part of a government department.
Chen Ze had no desire to escape one danger only to run straight into another, especially involving government authorities in this world.
"Mimi, I'm back."
Hopping out from the study, and confirming that Mrs. Tachikawa had left, Chen Ze immediately took advantage of his current adorable form and shamelessly acted cute toward the little girl.
"You meanie!"
Faced with such an unbelievably round, cute creature, Mimi naturally failed to maintain her angry expression.
"Where did you hide just now? Did you go back into the computer?"
Returning to the living room, Mimi watched the bouncing Koromon and asked the question that puzzled her most.
She hadn't forgotten his introduction—this "Digimon" was born in the network world. And last night, he had crawled out of her computer screen.
"Yes. To avoid being discovered by your mom, I went back into the computer."
Chen Ze didn't want Mimi exposed too early to the dangerous otherworld, so he chose an explanation she could accept.
"I knew it!"
With a triumphant expression, Mimi instantly forgot her earlier frustrations and excitedly pressed on:
"You really are a flower fairy! That's why you can't let adults see your true form!"
Chen Ze's mouth dropped open slightly. For a moment, he had absolutely no idea how Mimi connected those two concepts.
More importantly—why was she bringing up "flower fairy" again?
He had finally managed to forget about it, and now she'd brought it right back, causing him to worry about his future evolution path all over again.
And was it just his imagination… or was Renamon (still hiding in the study doorway) also staring at him with a face full of question marks—How did you get associated with flower fairies?
This… is honestly too complicated to explain.
Even knowing Renamon couldn't hear his thoughts, Chen Ze still sighed silently in his heart.
"…"
Watching from the doorway as Mimi played with Chen Ze—well, more accurately, as she manhandled the bouncing Koromon—Renamon had indeed been surprised by their relationship.
But she wasn't as confused as Chen Ze imagined.
As a pure Digimon with certain special traits, Renamon could perceive far more than he realized.
From that little human girl, Renamon sensed a glow—pure, innocent, and reminiscent of evolution.
One of the original templates for the "Digivolution Program"…?
In Renamon's Digital World, a legend had always circulated.
Somewhere in that world, a certain existence allowed Digimon to bypass long evolutionary bottlenecks, granting instant Digivolution—the "Digivolution Program."
Considering the hints Mirei Mikagura had dropped earlier, Renamon suddenly felt she was truly witnessing the birth of history.
This human world, still in the year 1995, was definitely not some simple parallel world or multiverse scenario. It was something involving timelines—far deeper and more distant.
What was about to happen in this world?
What connection did this world have with the Digital World she came from?
And most importantly—
Why had that woman, capable of commanding an Ultimate-level Digimon, sent her to this world?