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Chapter 344: Moving Forward

Meggie took a sip from her tea and looked across the table, her head still swirling.

School. It was something she hadn’t even considered since arriving in this world.

Meggie *knew* about school, of course. The concept as a whole wasn’t foreign to her. Even in the Three Realms there had been schools. Though, those had been more of the martial sorts and not the educational ones…

Still, she didn’t realize that it was something people would be going to. That Tsuki would be going to.

Meggie thought they could just sit around and play games together every day, but…

“Geez. Are you that worried about it, Meggie?”

John’s voice drew Meggie out of her thoughts.

Meggie blinked and then turned her head to the side, her face red. “I-I’m not worried! I just… Why do people have to go to school?” She looked down at her tea and said, “It’s not like Tsuki needs to work or anything later, right? Why does she want to go to school instead of just play games every day?”

John let out a wry smile.

Meggie noticed and then narrowed her eyes. “It’s not funny!”

“I know, Meggie.” John sipped his cup of coffee and said, “I’m just surprised. These days, I keep seeing myself in you and your sisters…” He sighed and said, “It’s a bit worrying.”

Meggie snorted and said, “Please. As if I’d do anything dumb like you, Dad.”

John gave Meggie a blank look and said, “Did you already forget about that incident?”

Meggie blinked and then her face turned red. “S-Shut up! It was Tsuki’s fault for that misunderstanding! And you should have told me that you were bringing her mom back to life!”

“Sure, sure.” John smiled and said, “But anyway… Why don’t you go to school with Tsuki?”

Meggie gave John a blank look and said, “You already know how bad of an idea that is, Dad.”

The mortals in this world were squishy. In fact, everything in this world was fragile.

Meggie had been careful recently and managed to not break anything, but a small mistake was all that it would take to ruin the peaceful life they had.

That was why she had been spending most of her time inside her room playing her Mintendo Switch when she wasn’t watching Little Xuan and Wu.

…And definitely not because she had been trying to shiny hunt rare CapsuMon.

But anyway, it was bad. Meggie wasn’t confident in being able to hold back if someone annoyed her. And in that case…

John nodded and said, “It *is* pretty risky. But on the other hand, it’s about time you started integrating back into society. While I *could* just keep you here and let you do whatever you want since money’s a nonissue, it’s no good to raise you up like a spoiled little princess.”

Meggie huffed and said, “I would not act like that.”

“You say that now, but you don’t know how your Mom was like when we first met.” John sipped on his coffee and shook his head. “But anyway…” He set his cup of coffee down and then looked at Meggie with a serious expression.

—–AI|IA—–

Spoiler

[collapse]

—–AI|IA—–

Meggie straightened, meeting his gaze.

“Meggie.”

“…Yes, Dad?”

“Do you want to got to school with Tsuki?”

Meggie hesitated. “It’s not that I *don’t* want to go, but…”

It should be fun. From how much Tsuki talked about it and how happy she sounded, Meggie felt like it would be enjoyable. And she’d be with Tsuki too, so it wouldn’t be like she’d be alone.

Not that Meggie was worried about that. She could handle being by herself. It wasn’t like she was a baby or a young girl anymore.

But…

“…Can I?”

This was a world of mortals. Fragile and transient people that could disappear if she looked at them funny.

The recent scare about Tsuki vanishing only reinforced that thought in Meggie’s mind.

She never thought about it before, but life could be very short. The time that Meggie spent mastering a particular move was longer than any human alive in this world could hope to live for.

Mingling into a world like this when she would exist long after everything else faded away…

“Of course.”

As if to cut away those doubts, John spoke up in a firm voice and said, “And this is the only time you can. Even if it’s just for a short period, it’s still important to experience it.” He let out a bitter smile as his blue eyes grew distant, flickering with green light. “…You’ll regret it afterwards if you don’t.”

Meggie was quiet.

…Right. She forgot about it.

Dad was originally a mortal like everyone else here. Someone whose perspective of time was originally short and fleeting. As he walked his path, he grew accustomed to the vast stretches of eternity, but he could still recall how it was back then.

And it was clear. While he didn’t talk about it much until recently… Meggie’s Dad regretted it a bit. There were a lot of things he wanted to do when he got back home, but in the end, that ‘home’ that he wanted to return to didn’t exist. Neither did the people or family he wanted to meet again.

All that John had left were memories. And from his expression right now, they were bitter memories.

So…

“…Okay.” Meggie nodded. “Then… I want to go to school with Tsuki, Dad.” She smiled and said, “At the least, I don’t want to be a loser like you who’s frowning all the time while remembering the past.”

John blinked and then he laughed. The bitter smile on his face vanished and was replaced by a warm one. “Right. It’s important to make a lot of friends and good memories when you’re young. Even if you all go different ways, those times will keep you going even when the world around you changes.”

“…Is that why you have all those weird things in your Heavenly Realm?”

John coughed. “I-Imaginary friends are still friends.”

Meggie laughed.

John smiled and then sipped on his coffee. “So… Life counseling complete?”

Meggie leaned back and crossed her legs. “…You pass, Dad. Ah, but there was something else I wanted to ask about.”

“Yeah?”

Meggie put on a cheeky smile and said, “…Can I start dating?”

The sound of shattering glass. John accidentally crushing his cup of coffee, leaving it to drip on his desk. “…What?”

Meggie laughed and said, “Just kidding~ That was a great expression though.” She stood up and waved at John before walking off. “I’ll see you later, Dad. Love you. …And thanks.”

“…Love you too, Meggie.”

—–AI|IA—–

The soft chime of the elevator echoed as Meggie left.

John sighed and then waved his hand, cleaning up the mess. “She’s joking now, but the fact that she’s thinking about it…”

John frowned and leaned forward, lacing his fingers together.

This wasn’t a problem, but it was a complication. The fact that Alphy was not so discreetly dating Asako, the fact that Betty was in an ambiguous relationship with that Emily, and the fact that Meggie was starting to joke about getting a boyfriend…

The elevator chimed again and the sound of heels echoed against the floor. Shortly after, a soft female voice called out. Jenny’s.

“You look lost in thought, Onii-chan. Something happen?”

John’s self-proclaimed baby sister walked over carrying a tablet under her arm. As usual these days, she was wearing a white dress shirt and black skirt.

John sighed and said, “No. I was just reminded about how time seems to pass by so quickly these days.”

Jenny nodded and sat down across from John. “That’s Earth for you. Unlike the Three Realms, everything happens here at a blinding pace.”

“Seems like it.” John chuckled and said, “Which makes it all the more important to get the ball rolling and keep on top of things. Speaking of which… How’s that project going?”

Jenny smiled and slid her tablet over. “See for yourself.”

A webpage appeared on screen. Simple and clean with just a logo in the center of it along with a date beneath that.

[V-Show Girls: ReIdolize]

January 8, 2024

John smirked. “Excellent.” He stood up from his chair and walked over to the window, looking out at the cityscape. “It’s a bit late, but a returnee like me should run a bit wild every now and then, right?”

“…If you’re trying to be cool, Onii-chan, you’re failing.”

“…I was having a moment.”

Jenny took back the tablet and started opening some documents. As she did that, she looked up at John and said, “If you have a moment to spare, you should be helping me sort out the permissions for the songs that Alphy wanted to sing. A lot of the record label companies are being stubborn.”

John sighed and walked back to sit in his chair. “The faceslapping never ends, huh?”

Jenny shrugged and said, “You could always throw money at them.” She slid the tablet back over, showing a list of emails. “It’s a lot, but it looks like these guys will back down once you pay up.”

John picked up the tablet and started scrolling through the list. “Yeah. But then those guys won’t know their place. And from what I remember before I got pulled into the Three Realms, music companies were being extra greedy with their rights… Mm.” He looked up at Jenny and said, “Have Fae and Co. Law Offices been on-boarded as corporate counsel yet?”

“About that…”

_________

Smith Family

Spoiler

[redacted] as a vampire/serial killer