Chapitre 212: Family Bonds
"This is the Oregairu world? It doesn't seem all that different from the Saekano world," Eriri remarked.
After exiting the world passage, it didn't take long for Eriri to figure out the nature of this world.
Unlike Akino Yukinoshita, who was filled with worry, Eriri came to this world with a mindset of exploration and fun. Even though she was well aware before setting out that there might be an Level 8 powerhouse or an Advanced High-Level system lurking in this world, she wasn't particularly concerned.
Facing such opponents, Eriri was confident that even if she couldn't defeat them, she could easily escape with Akino. That's the kind of absolute confidence her cosmic energy gave her.
On the other hand, Akino Yukinoshita gazed at the sunlight shining through the window, her face showing a faint trace of worry. "It looks like time has been flowing here for a while now," she said.
They had appeared in the same location where Akino had last left this world—her own bedroom. Although it had been over half a month since she last left, she remembered clearly that it was around 7 p.m. when she left this world.
But now, it was clearly broad daylight, meaning that the flow of time in this world had resumed at least half a day ago. However, her system had only detected this change a few minutes ago, indicating a significant time discrepancy.
"Eriri, can you sense any cosmic-level powerhouses in this world?" Akino asked, her heart filled with anxiety.
Earlier, she had instructed her system to scan the world, but it didn't detect any extraordinary beings or sense the presence of any systems of the same level.
"Don't worry. Besides the two of us, there are no extraordinary beings on this universe, and no High-Level Advanced systems either," Eriri said confidently.
Due to the unique properties of cosmic energy, anyone below the ninth tier couldn't escape Eriri's perception—systems included. Unless a chat group on par with the one that Eriri belonged to had arrived and completely hidden its presence, it was unlikely for something of that level to be present in the Oregairu world.
"In that case, I guess someone just passed through," Akino said with a sigh of relief, her face lightening up with a smile.
She then tightly hugged Eriri's arm and shook it gently. "Since you're already here, why don't you stay and play in this world for a few days?" Akino's eyes sparkled with hope. Now that there wasn't any imminent danger, she didn't want Eriri to leave just yet.
For her, this was a golden opportunity. If she could spend a few more days alone with Eriri, she believed she'd finally muster the courage to confess her feelings.
"Sure thing! I came with the intention of having fun anyway. You should introduce me to Yukino later," Eriri responded without hesitation.
She didn't mind Akino's closeness at all, even though Akino's figure was far from impressive. Her embrace was still soft and sweet, and she smelled lovely.
"No problem, but we should first figure out how much time has passed. If it's been too long, it could be troublesome," Akino said with a hint of concern.
If only a single night had passed, it wouldn't be much of an issue. But if several days—or more—had gone by, the Yukinoshita household had probably been in an uproar all this time.
Akino then released Eriri's arm and walked over to the desk that was just a few meters away. On the desk sat a white laptop, which Akino quickly powered up, intending to use it to check the current date.
However, before the laptop could finish booting up, the sound of a door opening came from outside the room.
Akino immediately extended her consciousness beyond the room, sensing a familiar presence entering the apartment. The person was none other than her older sister, Haruno Yukinoshita.
This discovery made Akino feel slightly uneasy.
She and Yukino had purchased this apartment before they enrolled in Sobu High School, and after school started, they moved out of the Yukinoshita family home. Although Haruno had a spare key to the apartment, she typically wouldn't visit unless someone was home.
Earlier, Akino hadn't sensed Yukino's presence in the apartment, assuming she was at school.
Just then, the laptop finally finished booting up. When Akino saw the date displayed in the corner of the screen, her brows furrowed even deeper.
Three days had passed since she left this world!
Not wanting to interrupt the reunion between Akino and her sister, Eriri decided to stay in the room rather than follow her out.
When Akino reached the living room, she saw Haruno sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed and a troubled expression on her face.
...
Haruno Yukinoshita felt like she was on the verge of breaking down.
Two days ago, while working at the Yukinoshita family business, Haruno had received a call from her teacher and close friend, Shizuka Hiratsuka, informing her that neither of her sisters, Akino nor Yukino, had shown up for school.
At first, Haruno hadn't been too concerned. As a habit, she decided to call both of her sisters to tease them, but to her surprise, both Akino and Yukino's phones were out of service.
That was when she started feeling uneasy.
She immediately dropped everything and rushed to her sisters' apartment, but when she arrived, she found no trace of them. Her unease grew even stronger.
This upscale apartment complex was equipped with high-definition cameras at the entrances to monitor who came and went. So, Haruno went to the building management office to check the footage.
The results chilled her to the bone.
The footage showed that Akino and Yukino had returned to the apartment the evening before, but there was no record of them leaving. That meant they hadn't left the building at all.
With this new information, Haruno's worry turned into full-blown panic. She immediately called her parents and reported the situation to the police.
Now, three days had passed since her beloved sisters went missing. The family had done everything possible, from official investigations to utilizing underground networks, but there was no trace of the girls. It was as if they had vanished into thin air.
In the beginning, the family had been in disbelief, followed by panic, and now they were nearing despair. Even her usually strong and composed mother had broken down, spending her days staring at photos of Akino and Yukino, as if she had lost her mind.
Haruno herself wasn't faring much better. She hadn't had a proper night's sleep in three days, and her once-beautiful face was now haggard and exhausted.
If it weren't for Hiratsuka's constant support and reassurance, Haruno might have completely fallen apart by now.
...
Seeing how worn out Haruno looked, Akino couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness. She immediately rushed over to her and called out, "Haruno-nee."
Haruno's body trembled at the sound of Akino's voice, her hands shaking as she slowly raised her head to look in the direction of the voice, her exhausted eyes filled with a glimmer of hope.
But before she could fully lift her head, a familiar figure wrapped their arms around her.
"I'm sorry, Haruno-nee. I didn't mean to make you worry," Akino said softly, her voice filled with remorse as she held her sister.
"Akino?" Haruno said in disbelief, her voice trembling.
Though Akino and Yukino looked identical in both appearance and build, Haruno could instantly tell which sister she was holding based on their personality differences.
Then, relief washed over her.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Haruno hugged Akino tightly, repeating her name over and over as tears she had held back for two days finally flowed freely.
After a few minutes, Haruno regained her composure and let go of Akino, her familiar smile returning to her face.
"Akino, where have you been these past few days? Why are you only coming back now?" Haruno asked, her tone lighthearted. Then she glanced around, "And where's Yukino? I don't see her."
Akino's apologetic expression froze at Haruno's last question. Her mind went blank, and the explanations she had prepared scattered like dust.
"Haruno-nee… does that mean Yukino is missing too?" Akino asked, swallowing hard. The thought of something happening to Yukino, whom she had always been close to, was her worst nightmare.
Haruno's mood darkened again, and the smile on her face faded.
"She wasn't with you?" Haruno asked, her voice heavy with dread.
Akino didn't answer, but her silence was enough to confirm Haruno's worst fears. Her heart sank.
The worst-case scenario had come to pass. Akino's mood was terrible, and she was almost certain that Yukino's disappearance was linked to the cosmic-level entity or advanced system that had visited this world three days ago.
With the infinite universes in existence, searching for Yukino across the multiverse would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
But then Akino remembered Eriri, who was still waiting in her room. Her hope reignited as she thought of Eriri's immense strength.
"Don't worry, Haruno-nee. I'll find Yukino," Akino said with unwavering determination.
"You have a lead?" Haruno asked, her voice filled with hope.
"No, but I have a very powerful friend. I'm sure she'll be able to help us find Yukino."
"That's a relief," Haruno said, though a hint of worry still lingered in her eyes. She couldn't help but feel curious about this friend Akino had mentioned. After all, she was well aware of her sister's social circle, and no one in this world could possibly be that powerful.
This friend must be someone Akino had met during the days she had been missing. The more she thought about it, the more curious Haruno became about what her sister had been through.
"Akino, can you tell me what you've been doing these past few days?"
Up until now, Akino had never told her family anything about the extraordinary world she was involved in, nor had she revealed her abilities. Even Yukino, who lived with her, had no clue about her powers.
But after everything that had happened, and after spending over half a month living alongside Eriri, Akino realized there was no need to keep such secrets anymore.
So when faced with Haruno's question, Akino decided not to hide anything any longer.
...
When Akino finally brought Haruno to meet Eriri, almost half an hour had passed.
During that time, Akino had given Haruno a rough overview of her experiences in the alternate worlds and her life in the Saekano world.
Haruno was astonished, as if a whole new world had opened up before her. The strength, the different worlds—it all seemed so fantastical.
When she learned that her little sister, whom she often teased, possessed the power to destroy the Earth's entire surface, she couldn't help but gape in disbelief. The way she looked at Akino was as though she were some kind of non-human entity.
But when she found out that the friend Akino had mentioned earlier was a being who could destroy entire universes, Haruno Yukinoshita was rendered completely speechless.
After explaining everything to Haruno, Akino made a quick phone call to her parents. The moment her mother heard that her beloved daughter was safe, she burst into tears of joy, laughing and crying uncontrollably.
This show of familial love moved Akino deeply.
...
"Haruno-nee, this is the friend I was telling you about—Eriri. Isn't she just gorgeous and super powerful?"
Akino skillfully wrapped her arms around Eriri's, her face brimming with pride as she spoke. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought she was talking about herself.
"Hello," Haruno greeted awkwardly, standing in front of Eriri with an air of unease.
No matter how strong-willed or forceful she usually was, there was no way she could maintain her usual demeanor in front of someone who could destroy entire universes. Only a fool would act arrogant in such a situation.
And Haruno was no fool. Quite the opposite, she was a very shrewd person.
"Hello, Haruno," Eriri replied with a smile. Since she had already decided that Akino was hers, calling Haruno directly felt natural.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone