For Tifa, learning meant being taught by the villagers in her village and at home.
After all, there were only five children of the same age in their village. It was impossible to open separate classes just for such a small number of kids.
The only place that could barely be called a school was a temporary gymnastics training class organized by the martial arts master Zangan after he arrived in the village.
Zangan was a very pure-hearted person. He taught the villagers gymnastics to strengthen their bodies and reduce illness. He was truly a master in every sense of the word.
That's why Tifa deeply respected Master Zangan, who had taken her as his disciple.
When it came to schools, the only ones she had heard of were in Midgar. And the place she had lived in there was the slums. Most children in the slums attended church schools and the teaching quality of those schools was even worse than the lessons in her village.
So, when she heard that she had to attend high school, she felt very confused.
"After all, Ryuji will be busy here for quite a long time, at least a year. During that time, you can't just remain someone without an identity, right? And in this place, if children of school age don't attend school, it's very troublesome."
Mai spread her hands and explained the reason she had to go to school.
Although martial artists sometimes had certain privileges when it came to education, most of the time they still had to follow modern rules.
Of course, if someone truly didn't want to attend school, it wasn't impossible. But looking at Tifa's appearance and age, Mai felt it better for her to go to school.
It wasn't because she was worried about Ryuji getting into trouble or anything. According to the laws of this world, Tifa was technically already considered an adult. The main issue was that Tifa looked like she didn't understand anything about this world and school would help her adapt.
"I see… Alright. I'll do my best."
Tifa nodded. She had already looked at the writing used here earlier. Although some things were different, the overall meanings were similar. With a little time to adapt, she could learn it.
"Then that settles it."
Ryuji casually stretched his body.
"Let's go prepare for the feast."
He stretched lazily. The powerful muscles on his body made Mai's heart race and her face flush red. She subconsciously reached out and touched them lightly, but since Tifa and her grandfather Hanzo were present, she only gave him a brief touch.
"Okay, let's go to the mall together!"
Happily, she found a set of clothes for Ryuji, then hugged his arm as the whole group, like a family, headed toward the mall with Tifa.
Although there had been damage earlier, there were no casualties, so the area hadn't been sealed off. In fact, the streets had become even more crowded. Ryuji even noticed many paper cranes placed beside the hospital that Akuma had crashed into.
"Paper cranes… you can't eat them or drink them. The only real use is as fuel, right?"
Ryuji complained without hesitation.
Mai rolled her eyes and patted Ryuji's muscular arm, signaling him not to say such things out loud here.
Tifa, however, stared at the paper cranes in a daze. In her hometown, when disaster struck, people didn't help each other at all, there weren't even things like these paper cranes that carried wishes of blessing.
Still, she actually agreed with Ryuji's statement.
The best use for those paper cranes would indeed be as fuel.
So why not just give bread and water instead?
She had this question too, but she felt that the cranes still represented good intentions, so she decided not to criticize them like Ryuji did.
The group quickly arrived at the mall. Mai instantly moved around like a butterfly among flowers, running back and forth between Hanzo and her parents, introducing all sorts of things they had never seen or eaten before.
But she didn't forget Tifa either. From time to time she would ask about Tifa's tastes.
However, Tifa looked extremely nervous and behaved very stiffly.
Especially when Mai placed a rather expensive-looking steak into the shopping cart and said it was to help Tifa nourish her body, Tifa became even more anxious and uneasy.
Seeing the girl's anxious behavior, Ryuji found it a bit novel. He was used to seeing her calm smile and her ecstatic expression, so this nervous side of her felt strangely fresh.
The more he watched her, the more he felt that Tifa was an incredibly lovable girl.
She was simply too considerate.
So, he reached out and patted Tifa on the shoulder.
"You don't need to worry. Even though the time we've lived together has been short, if things hadn't gone wrong back then, you would probably have joined us. We would've formed a group together, something that could be called a family."
Ryuji sighed with a bit of emotion.
If he hadn't possessed the ability to send people back, if the 7 Days to Die world hadn't been shattered by the collision of two worlds, then he probably would have continued living with those women, gradually becoming a family.
And unlucky people like Tifa would naturally have become part of that family too.
Family?
Tifa paused for a moment. Looking at Ryuji's somewhat wistful expression, she nodded.
"Mm… Mr. Ryuji, it seems like you've experienced a lot."
Ryuji nodded. Only then did he suddenly realize that almost a year had passed since he escaped from the 7 Days to Die world, yet his body looked younger and younger.
That wasn't only because of traveling between worlds, but there were many other reasons as well.
But Ryuji could only sigh.
"Yes. But for me, it was actually only one or two years. Most of the time, I didn't even have control over my own fate. Only now can I truly say that I'm free."
Ryuji casually tossed another item into the shopping cart, then suddenly noticed that Mai had run off to the clothing section.
The corner of his mouth twitched. He glanced at Tifa, who was still pondering the meaning of his words, and felt that this girl was thinking far too much.
But if he put himself in her position, he probably wouldn't be any better.
So, the moment Mai looked over at him, Ryuji grabbed Tifa's arm and ignoring her startled expression, pushed her toward Mai.
"Mai, buy some more clothes for Tifa."
Tifa looked at Ryuji in surprise after being pulled over by Mai. She hurriedly raised her hand to explain something, but before she could say anything, Mai and her mother excitedly dragged her away.
"Okay, Ryuji!"
~~~~~~~~~~
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