The next day, waking up in a daze, Yagami Hayate could still feel the warmth coming from the palm of her hand.
Opening her eyes with peace of mind, Yagami Hayate looked at Rias's cute face and couldn't help but show a faint smile.
Feeling her leg resting on Rias's body, it felt soft and very comfortable; it was truly enviable skin.
Yagami Hayate sighed inwardly, then suddenly froze.
Just now, her leg... had feeling?!
Her eyes widened abruptly, and Yagami Hayate bolted upright, lifting the quilt to look at her legs.
She gently lifted a knee, then lowered it.
It was real; her legs were cured?!
"Good morning, little Hayate."
Rias's arms were wrapped around Yagami Hayate's waist as she spoke lazily.
"Rias-chan!" Yagami Hayate showed an expression of disbelief, her voice even cracking slightly as she said, "My legs, my legs are cured!!!"
"Mm."
Rias replied languidly.
"Really, they're really better..."
Yagami Hayate murmured, a brilliant smile appearing on her face.
Before long, Yagami Hayate fixed her gaze on Rias, staring intently at her lazy face.
Although she seemed cheerful, Yagami Hayate's heart was extremely perceptive.
In Rias's response just now, there wasn't the slightest bit of surprise, as if her legs being cured was a matter of course.
"Could it be that Rias-chan cured my legs?"
Yagami Hayate couldn't help but speak out.
"Mm."
Rias gave a soft hum of affirmation and said, "The loss of sensation in your legs was caused by the erosion of magic power. As long as the abnormal magic power is dispersed, it's fine; it wasn't a big problem."
"Magic power?"
Yagami Hayate repeated in confusion.
To this, Rias beckoned with her hand, and a book bound by chains floated in front of the two.
"The book of darkness, originally named the yaten no sho, was a grimoire created for people to collect and study the techniques of great mages from various worlds, traveling through worlds along with its master. Later, because one of the past masters rewrote the magic program within it, the world-traveling function and the automatic repair of damaged data went out of control, evolving into 'reincarnation' and infinite regeneration, and it went berserk, threatening the host's life."
"What happened to you was not a disease, but the pressure of the yaten no sho on you. Once this problem was solved, your legs recovered."
Rias nuzzled against Yagami Hayate's waist, making her let out a 'giggle' of laughter.
"That tickles." Yagami Hayate laughed, then asked, "So now that it's solved, does that mean I won't have any more problems with my legs in the future?"
"Yes," Rias said. "Although it's in a locked state, this book's rank is still a bit lower than mine. The magic program inside has already been modified and optimized by me; there won't be any more issues with it going berserk."
Rias had already modified the 'reincarnation' function of the yaten no sho, evolving it to carry the host along with it during 'reincarnation'.
Even if Yagami Hayate died accidentally or if something beyond her control happened, she could still leave through the yaten no sho.
At the same time, Yagami Hayate's life was also bound to the yaten no sho. If the yaten no sho were destroyed, all the Guardian Knights would gain their freedom, and the same would apply to Yagami Hayate.
As long as the yaten no sho remained intact, Yagami Hayate and the Guardian Knights would be fine.
This was based on a unilateral life-binding, which included their lifespan.
Although she didn't think Yagami Hayate would come to any harm under her care, it was good to let her develop the mindset of a long-lived species in advance.
After all, many long-lived species that evolved from short-lived ones could not adapt to the lifestyle of a long-lived species and ended up taking their own lives.
Like Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade, for example.
Pausing for a moment, Rias said, "After we get up and finish washing, you should activate the magical device. Within the yaten no sho, there are four Guardian Knights and a Master Program."
"As the Guardian Knights who have been with you since birth, waiting for you to awaken... if you treat them as servants, they are servants; if you treat them as family, they are your true family."
"Family..." Yagami Hayate's expression was somewhat dazed.
"Well, although I have a mountain of questions, I don't know where to start... let's get up and wash first."
Yagami Hayate's mind was a bit of a mess, so she simply stopped thinking about it and picked up the clothes beside her.
Although Yagami Hayate had the habit of wearing pajamas, Rias preferred sleeping naked.
When sleeping naked, hugging a naked loli was the best; wearing clothes wasn't as comfortable.
Yagami Hayate quickly got dressed.
In the past, it would take Yagami Hayate a long time to get up and get dressed.
But now she could do it quickly, which made Yagami Hayate realize once again that she could truly stand up.
Meanwhile, a flash of light covered Rias's body, and a set of clothes appeared on her.
After her hair was filtered by a red light, her slightly messy hair became neat.
"Is this magic?!"
Yagami Hayate's mouth hung open as she said in surprise, "It's so amazing, I feel like my entire worldview has been shattered."
"Mm, having magic power is very convenient in many ways."
Rias stretched, and the two walked into the living room together, after which Rias lazily lay down on the sofa.
"Go wash up. Later, I'll help you activate your magic source."
"Ah, okay," Yagami Hayate replied, then ran to the bathroom to wash up.
Soon Yagami Hayate came out, a touch of freshness on her face, and approached Rias with an expectant expression.
Then, Rias tapped her finger on Hayate's chest, and a violent burst of magic power was released.
At the same time, the yaten no sho was unsealed, emitting a dazzling light, and five magic circles appeared around it.
Then, four young girls and a young man appeared before them.
"Activation of the book of darkness confirmed."
"We are the Guardian Knights of the book of darkness, descending upon your summons."
"Signum, Vita, Shamal, Zafira, and the Will of the Book of Darkness."
"Guardian Knights, awaiting your orders."
A total of five knights appeared before them.
"Whoa, it really is amazing, people actually appeared."
Yagami Hayate exclaimed, then said cheerfully, "Hello, I am Yagami Hayate. From today on, we are family."
"Yes, my Master."
Reinforce's eyes were incredibly gentle.
Setting aside the four knights for a moment, Reinforce was the Will of the Book of Darkness and had already met Yagami Hayate many times.
It was only through dreams, so Yagami Hayate only felt a sense of familiarity when seeing Reinforce.
"You all stand up first. Although I feel like I have many questions to ask and many things to do, the foundation of everything is filling our stomachs."
"I'll go cook first. Ah, that's right, Rias-chan isn't allowed to compete with me this time~"
Yagami Hayate said with a smile.
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