Kiana was in the middle of a dream, vaguely remembering that she'd had some big money-making scheme.
In the dream, she was wearing a beautiful miko outfit, standing in front of a large shrine, with a mountain of cash piled up before her. She bent down to pick it up, but the bills suddenly turned into cherry blossom petals, scattered everywhere by the wind.
"My money!"
At that thought, she jolted awake. The now-somewhat-familiar ceiling came into view.
"Back... back home?"
Kiana rubbed her big eyes, pulled the blanket that had been kicked aside back over herself, and only got out of bed after a moment of coming to her senses.
Siegfried was crouched in the hallway, an unlit cigarette between his fingers. He still felt a little uneasy about that strange woman.
Sure, Shiraha had said she was Natasha's family, but did normal people have fox ears?
"Why'd you skip class today?"
Siegfried asked casually.
"...!!!"
Kiana's steps faltered.
Oh no, I skipped class again. Am I really going to pass the next exam?
No, no, that's not important.
"Dad, did you see a miko sister with fox ears?"
Siegfried pointed to the side. "In Shiraha's room."
He was also a bit conflicted, it felt like Shiraha always ran into all sorts of strange people in his life.
First Elysia, then Mei, that delinquent senior, Yuno, Himeko, and then himself and Kiana.
Kiana felt a little uneasy. "Has Shiraha been with her the whole time?"
She wrinkled her small nose. That's bad. She vaguely remembered that Shiraha also wanted to make big money.
Given Shiraha's efficiency, he probably hadn't already started picking a specific date for Thanksgiving, had he?
Siegfried nodded.
After getting her answer, Kiana mustered her courage and pushed open Shiraha's door with force.
It probably wouldn't be too bad, at least there'd be turkey to eat every year.
What was inside indeed wasn't too bad.
Shiraha was sitting on the carpet, his back against the edge of the bed. One hand was gently stroking the miko's back, while the other was raised to his lips, making a "shh" gesture.
The movement was very light, as if coaxing a cat that had finally fallen asleep after great difficulty.
Kiana instinctively softened her steps.
Rin was asleep.
Her head rested on Shiraha's shoulder, her long hair falling loose, her breathing even and steady, as if she were having a dream that wasn't quite peaceful.
Rin didn't actually like sleeping at all, but sometimes she still thought, if only, in the Previous Era, her sister had shown her weary side too.
Too bad. Her sister had been strong, so strong that she never needed to lean on anyone.
Shiraha kept that position without moving, just blinking at Kiana, signaling her to stay quiet for now.
Kiana nodded obediently, sat down on the other side of the carpet, crossed her legs, propped her hands on her knees, and waited quietly.
After about two or three minutes, Rin slowly opened her eyes, quickly regaining clarity.
"Speaking of which." She sat up straight, her tone turning a bit more serious. "What's the deal with this brat named Kiana?"
She wasn't a little fox anymore, so it wasn't really appropriate to curl up and nuzzle against people.
"Kiana carries the power of the Second Herrscher." Shiraha paused, then added, "But she's a good kid at heart."
Kiana leaned in curiously. "What's a Second Herrscher?"
Shiraha continued: "A very powerful villain from the past, but it seems there were reasons behind it. I don't know the details either, that person talked in riddles."
Kiana leaned back in shock, but the bed was right behind her, so there was nowhere to retreat.
Why would a very powerful villain's power be carried by me? And why do you talk like you're familiar with her?
"What about the First Herrscher?"
After slowly coming back to her senses, Rin started asking about other things.
"He's my senior. A good person."
Shiraha didn't say much, actually, his relationship with Welt wasn't nearly as close as his relationship with Uncle Ryoma. They were just seniors and juniors with a fairly good rapport.
Rin shook her head and stood up from the kid's embrace.
"I want to go out for a walk."
Rin said softly. Shiraha rubbed his numb shoulder and nodded firmly. "I'll go with you, Rin-nee."
He didn't have to go, after all, Yae Sakura was still alive but Shiraha always needed to keep himself busy, and it was better to be safe than sorry.
Kiana followed close behind. "I'm coming too."
Rin glanced at the two little ones and didn't refuse.
She needed to assess the current level of technological development in this era, then gradually integrate into it.
And in the end, make Shiraha willingly accept her as family and tell her where the Elysian Realm was.
Because Rin was a good kid... maybe?
At the very least, Rin rarely thought about destroying the world nowadays.
Outside, April in Nagazora City didn't yet offer much in the way of scenery. The cherry blossoms had only bloomed a third of the way, but there were already plenty of people on the streets.
In the Academy City on the outskirts of Nagazora, with the establishment of one school after another, the area had gradually become prosperous, centered around the campuses and students.
As Rin walked, she observed her surroundings. They passed a bank, and she stood in front of an ATM for a while, her fingertips touching the machine.
Kiana's eyes sparkled. "Big Sister Miko must have saved up a lot of money as a shrine maiden, right?"
Shiraha fell silent for a moment.
Rin's lips curled up. "Want to guess how much money I have?"
For the Herrscher of Corruption, inside an electronic information network, she could have as much money as she wanted.
Too bad it wasn't like before, otherwise, she'd definitely buy a mountain of snacks to pile up in the room.
Shiraha said weakly, "Rin-nee..."
You're a dignified Herrscher of Corruption, can't you think of something more impressive?
Rin moved her fingers and looked at Shiraha. "Which of you has a bank card?"
Even without a card, she could still withdraw money, it was just a matter of altering some data.
But smartphones in this world hadn't reached that level of sophistication yet, and online transactions weren't common, which was a small limitation for Rin.
Shiraha and Kiana stayed quiet. You couldn't expect kids to have that kind of thing. In fact, Kiana was also curious, if you don't have a card, why are you standing here?
Rin wasn't disappointed either. "Let's keep walking and look around nearby."
The three of them wandered around the area for a long time. Rin kept observing her surroundings, she was quite satisfied with the environment. Though it wasn't as advanced as the Previous Era, the cherry blossom groves she hadn't seen in so long lifted her spirits.
She reached out and picked a bud that was about to bloom, studying it for a long time. This kind of youthful cherry blossom was quite nice too.
"Big Sister Miko, where do you live?"
Kiana asked curiously.
"Raiden Estate."
Rin answered matter-of-factly. If it came to it, she could just use the Herrscher of Corruption's abilities to change people's minds.
She had never really cared about such things, just like she'd never cared about others' opinions, except for her sister's.
Shiraha added at that moment: "Mm, I'll definitely convince Uncle Ryoma."
Rin's pretty face broke into a smile: "He'll agree."