After the weekend, Utaha Kasumigaoka had to go back to school.
On Monday morning, she experienced a different feeling about going to school than before.
In the morning, there was breakfast made by Tohru, and when she left, Lord Chen and Chisato Nishikigi saw her off, and she heard "Be careful on your way" which she hadn't heard for a long time.
Although she didn't really want to go to school when she woke up, after leaving the house, she seemed to have motivation for school.
Having someone accompany her was indeed different from being alone; it was very warm, very cozy, and her mood was pleasant from the morning onwards.
The loneliness and solitude of the past seemed like nothing, but now, having just experienced warmth, she could never go back to her old life.
Perhaps living together like this isn't bad?
After Utaha Kasumigaoka went to school, the situation at the coffee shop didn't change much, and none of Lord Chen's acquaintances came to drink coffee; the customers were basically fixed.
Lord Chen's game room was not decorated yet, and he planned to decorate it when he came back next time.
The things in his mind had designated this world as the main world, and he would definitely travel back and forth to this world frequently in the future, so there was no need to rush.
There's plenty of time.
As life stabilized, Lord Chen's time allocation also stabilized; every night, he would first accompany Utaha Kasumigaoka in the study until midnight, she writing her novel and he reading his.
When Utaha Kasumigaoka got sleepy, Lord Chen would carry her back to her room, then return to his own room to sleep with Tohru and Chisato Nishikigi.
At first, Utaha Kasumigaoka wasn't sleepy; in fact, due to a burst of inspiration, she had thoughts of staying up all night, but Lord Chen forcefully interrupted her and carried her downstairs.
After a day or two, it became routine.
Tohru and Chisato Nishikigi went to bed very early, always falling asleep before Lord Chen returned, leaving a large space in the middle for him, even though both of them had enough energy to stay up late.
Perhaps it was because they had gone to bed early with Lord Chen before, forming a biological clock and getting used to it.
With a sense of security nearby, it was indeed easy to fall asleep.
However, since both of them were already asleep, Lord Chen didn't seem to need to go back to his own room to sleep; it didn't matter whether he found a room to sleep alone or slept with someone.
He wouldn't consider it for now.
A few days later, in the morning, Lord Chen opened his eyes, and the mechanical prompt sound in his mind rang out.
[One month has passed. Please obtain the Divine Spark Fragment from the target in time.]
[Method of acquisition: Skin contact for one minute.]
[Three days later, forced departure to a new world to find Divine Spark Fragments.]
After listening to the prompt, Lord Chen looked at the familiar ceiling, his brows tightly furrowed.
Unbeknownst to him, he had already been in this world for over a month; comfortable days passed very quickly.
The conditions for obtaining the Divine Spark Fragment hadn't changed, but this forced departure was shortened this time.
Lord Chen was very concerned about one thing: why was he being forced to leave for other worlds when there were clearly other Divine Spark Fragments in this world?
The thing in his mind was clearly urging him to collect Divine Spark Fragments as soon as possible, as if something was chasing him.
Asking would certainly yield no answers.
Good things don't just fall from the sky; since Lord Chen was lucky enough to cross dimensions, he would naturally obey the forced departure from the thing in his mind.
It was just a forced departure, and it wasn't forcing him to do anything else; it just so happened that he also wanted to meet acquaintances from other worlds.
Moreover, even if it wasn't forced, he had already planned to leave, not only to avenge Tohru as promised, but also to find Frieren; he needed to go to other worlds to gain power.
In this world, he couldn't gain power.
Three days was enough time for him to say a proper goodbye to the three of them; Tohru and Chisato Nishikigi were actually easy to persuade, the key was Utaha Kasumigaoka, how to find a reason.
Perhaps telling the truth would be more appropriate.
Speaking of which, the time he had agreed upon with Tohru seemed to have arrived.
Lord Chen was no longer in the mood to sleep; he got up and sat up, and the softness from his two arms disappeared.
"Ugh..."
Tohru and Chisato Nishikigi were startled awake by him.
"Lord Chen? What's wrong?" Tohru also sat up, leaning softly against Lord Chen.
"I'm hungry." Lord Chen reached out and helped her pull up her clothes.
Her shoulders were a little too pink, fair with a rosy glow, and a hint of a white curve on the left side was exposed, which was a bit stimulating for him in the morning.
"Is that so? Then I'll go make breakfast for Lord Chen."
Tohru was much more awake, then she flipped over and jumped off the bed, and then left the room.
"I'll help too." Chisato Nishikigi also sat up at this time, preparing to get out of bed.
"You wait a moment." Lord Chen put his arm around her shoulder, making her look at him.
"Hmm?" Chisato Nishikigi blinked, her heart filled with joy.
"Chen ge, are you going to do something while Tohru isn't here?"
"What are you thinking?" Lord Chen flicked her forehead impatiently.
"Ugh..." Chisato Nishikigi covered her forehead, pouting in disappointment.
"Hehe~ I have something important to tell you."
"What?"
"I might have to leave for a while."
"Eh?!" Chisato Nishikigi froze.
"Leave?"
"Mm."
"Chen ge, where are you going? You're not going to abandon us, are you?" Chisato Nishikigi quickly hugged Lord Chen, asking nervously.
"How could that be?" Lord Chen shook his head and chuckled, stroking her head: "Have you forgotten how we met?"
"Of course not, I'll remember it for a lifetime!" Chisato Nishikigi shook her head in Lord Chen's arms.
"But I don't have that kind of ability right now; I need to go gain power."
"Chen ge, you don't have to go. I can protect you, and so can Tohru."
"Silly girl, have you ever thought about something? If I don't go gain power, how would you have met me when you were little?"
"Eh?" Chisato Nishikigi slowly left Lord Chen's embrace, looking up at him in confusion.
"If I didn't meet you when you were little, you wouldn't be with me now, and history would change."
"That seems to be true." Chisato Nishikigi vaguely understood: "Then what should I do?"
"So, I need to find the ability to meet you." Lord Chen stroked her face, smiling slightly.
"If Chen ge says that, then I can't stop you, can I?" Chisato Nishikigi pouted.
"Hehe~ There's plenty of time later."
"Then can Chen ge take me with him?"
"Sorry, I can't do that yet."
"Ugh... Okay."
"Be good, and watch the shop well with Tohru. I should be back soon."
"You promised, okay? You can't be gone for too long." Chisato Nishikigi hugged Lord Chen tightly again.
"Mm." Lord Chen nodded in agreement.
Although he wasn't sure when he would return, it could be the same amount of time as his departure, or it could be shorter or longer, but it would definitely not be too long.
Chisato Nishikigi and Utaha Kasumigaoka still had Divine Spark Fragments on them; the thing in his mind wouldn't allow him to be away for too long before returning.
"Chen ge, can we hug for a little longer?" Chisato Nishikigi buried her small face in Lord Chen's embrace, whining softly.
"More than just a little longer." Lord Chen said, lowering his head and kissing her forehead.
"Eh?!" Chisato Nishikigi suddenly looked up, her face beaming with a smile.
"Chen ge... can we..."
She tilted her head back, slowly closing her eyes, her eyelashes trembling.
"No, you can't." Lord Chen refused decisively.
"Why not?" Chisato Nishikigi opened her eyes, a hint of dissatisfaction in them.
"Before I meet you when you were little, you'll just have to bear with it."
"What's the big deal!"
"It's very important to me; otherwise, I always feel like something is missing."
"Chen ge is really troublesome."
"Haha~ Then do you like it very much?"
"Of course I like it the most."
"Is that so? Since that's the case, I'll give you a little more reward." Lord Chen nodded and kissed Chisato Nishikigi on both cheeks.
Chisato Nishikigi released one hand, touched her cheek, blinked, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned upwards.
"Hehe~ Then I'll bear with it a little longer."
"That's enough, isn't it? It's time to get up and help Tohru."
"Just one more hug~" Chisato Nishikigi hugged him tightly again.
"How long is 'a little while'?"
"One minute? No, three minutes!"
"You're really greedy."
"Really, just three minutes."
"You promised, okay?"
"Mm mm!"
Nearly ten minutes later, the two went downstairs, and Tohru naturally expressed her dissatisfaction with Chisato Nishikigi.
However, Chisato Nishikigi didn't care at all, grinning foolishly, as if she had gone silly.
Tohru didn't understand what was wrong with her and was too lazy to ask her; making breakfast for Lord Chen was more important.
When it was almost ready, Utaha Kasumigaoka came down on time, having also changed into her school uniform.
During breakfast, Lord Chen didn't reveal to Tohru and Utaha Kasumigaoka that he was leaving; he planned to tell them separately.
After breakfast, Tohru and Chisato Nishikigi were cleaning up in the kitchen, while Lord Chen saw Utaha Kasumigaoka off at the shop entrance.
"I'm leaving."
"Mm, be careful on your way."
"I'm not a child." Utaha Kasumigaoka turned her head and gave him a glare.
"Oh, right, I'll bring you lunch at noon."
"Okay... Huh?!"