After bidding farewell, Takeru checked the time… only a little past 2 p.m. So, instead of going straight home, Takeru went to his single apartment. This time, Takeru planned to check on Miki in the School-Live! World.
Although the time ratio was 3:1, Takeru had spent about 51 days in the main world, meaning about 17 days had passed there.
The reasons for not bringing Miki back earlier were Takeru's insufficient strength and uncertainty about the main world's attitude toward Reincarnators like him. But now, things were clearer.
That's why Takeru decisively brought Karin back after the Ninja World. Now, Takeru intended to fulfill his promise to Miki.
Thinking this, Takeru directly entered the Reincarnation Space.
"System, I want to go to the School-Live! world. What's the cost, and what's the time ratio between the two worlds?"
[Ding. Entering the School-Live! World requires deducting one D-Rank evaluation. Staying each day deducts 100 points. Less than a day counts as a full day. The time ratio between the main world and School-Live! world is 3:1. You can spend points to change the time flow upon entry.]
Hearing the system's words, Takeru understood. The charges seemed reasonable.
"System, send me to the School-Live! World. Also, set the time ratio between the main world and School-Live! World to 1:3."
[Ding. This service requires deducting one D-Rank evaluation and 300 points. Each additional day stayed requires 200 points. Agree?]
"Agree." Hearing the system, Takeru replied without hesitation.
[Ding! Deducted one D-Rank evaluation and 300 points successfully. Remaining: S-Rank Evaluation x1, A-Rank Evaluation x1, B-Rank Evaluation x1, C-Rank Evaluation x3, D-Rank Evaluation x1. Points: 154,200.]
Glancing at his evaluations, Takeru was enveloped in light and vanished.
When Takeru regained his senses, he was back in the School-Live! World, precisely where he had left.
Perhaps sensing a new human presence, two wandering zombies slowly approached Takeru.
"Looks like this world still hasn't developed a cure." Seeing the zombies, Takeru shook his head lightly.
Then, as if remembering something, a blue light shot from Takeru's hand, hitting the two approaching zombies. Upon being hit, the seemingly mindless zombies howled, then collapsed unconscious.
Noticing the change, Takeru was surprised. He then used his Healing Spell on them. Before long, Takeru noticed the zombies seemed to have reverted to humans. This shocked Takeru.
This meant Takeru's advanced purification ability could now completely cleanse the zombie virus in this world. Takeru then ignored them.
If Takeru had just entered this world, he might have used this to get an EX rating, but now it was useless.
Thinking this, Takeru sighed and headed toward Megurigaoka Private High School.
Easily crossing the barricades used to block zombies, Takeru noticed they had been reinforced and repaired multiple times since his last visit. Clearly, even though Takeru did a major cleanup before leaving, zombies still occasionally invaded.
"Who's there?" As Takeru entered, a woman working nearby saw the unfamiliar Takeru and froze.
Due to the long-term zombie situation, fewer than a hundred people lived inside, and numbers kept decreasing due to zombie attacks. Seeing a new face, the woman was naturally puzzled.
For her, Takeru definitely hadn't been seen before. If she had, with Takeru's appearance, she wouldn't have forgotten.
Though surprised, survivors occasionally found their way here, seeing the walls and abundant crops.
However, survivors usually arrived in a sorry state. Someone as cleanly dressed as Takeru was a first for her, making her even more curious.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Nara Takeru. Sorry, may I ask who the leader here is?" Looking at the woman, Takeru smiled and asked.
"Nara Takeru?" Hearing the name, the woman felt somewhat familiar but couldn't recall.
"The leader is Wakasa Yuri-san. Others are Miyamaru and Seikai-san." Hearing Takeru's words, the woman directly answered. It was thanks to Wakasa Yuri, Miyamaru, and Seikai's protection that everyone could live like this.
"I see. Thank you." Hearing her words, Takeru nodded with a light laugh.
Seemed not much had changed. But that made sense, after all, although Takeru felt gone long, less than 18 days had passed here.
"You're an outside survivor, right? Entering requires inspection and registration. Afterward, you can live safely here by contributing labor." Looking at Takeru, the woman kindly reminded.
"I understand. Thanks for the reminder." Hearing her reminder, Takeru nodded with a light laugh, then directly left.
"Eh?" Seeing Takeru's disappearing speed, the woman was stunned. Takeru seemed too fast, and she hadn't told him where to register.
Takeru didn't mind. After leaving the woman, Takeru headed toward the school building. The building had been repaired. Though limited materials made repairs appear shabby, it was much better than the previous bloody state.
"Who are you?" Seeing Takeru approach, two guards at the building immediately stopped him.
"Hmm, how to explain? Not easy." Looking at the two guards, Takeru snapped his fingers. Their eyes went blank. Only after Takeru went upstairs did their eyes clear.
"Eh? I think I saw someone just now?" One guard, recovering, said confusedly to his companion.
"Seems so. And a handsome guy too." The other also said hesitantly, but couldn't recall Takeru's specific appearance.
Meanwhile, Takeru left the guards and, through sensing, quickly reached a room on the second floor. He opened a door and entered.
"What is it? And didn't I say to knock before entering?" Hearing the door open directly, a somewhat helpless voice came from inside.
"Long time no see, Yuri, Miki." Looking at the two inside, Takeru greeted them with a light laugh.
Hearing the familiar voice, Yuri, about to speak, paused, speechless.
Miki, pondering how to build the survivor base, froze.
Looking up dazedly, she noticed Takeru's familiar face. Almost instantly, tears fell from her eyes.
Without thinking, upon regaining her senses, she quickly stood up, ran toward Takeru, and hugged him tightly.
"Sorry for making you wait so long." Feeling Miki trembling and crying in his arms, Takeru was stunned, then his expression softened. He spoke softly to her.
Seeing this, Yurie couldn't help but smile, a tear falling from her eye… happy for Miki, yet somewhat melancholy.
She too wished someone like Takeru would appear, tell her she waited long, and let her rely on them completely...
Yurie was very aware of Miki's longing for Takeru. Even in sleep, she often heard Miki calling Takeru's name, begging him not to leave...
Waking to find it a dream, Miki would secretly cry in a corner, then immerse herself in base construction to temporarily forget Takeru.
"Am I dreaming? Takeru, are you really back?" After crying for a while, Miki looked up and spoke slowly.
"Of course. I'm back. And this time, if you're willing, I can take you with me." Hearing her words, Takeru spoke softly.
"I'm willing!" Hearing Takeru, Miki said loudly.