After watching the two holy knights' figures disappear completely, Narumi Akira still didn't let his guard down.
"Xiao Ai—did those two holy knights really leave?"
"Yes. They have already departed."
"Phew… that nerve-wracking three-way negotiation finally landed without incident."
Only then did Akira truly relax, collapsing back onto the sofa.
Even with an equally terrifyingly strong partner sitting beside him, having a fragile elementary school body stare down two top-tier Royal Knights at once was—inevitably—stressful as hell.
Still, by forcing himself to stay razor-focused the entire time—never letting his mind wander into depressing thoughts like my luck stat or my past flip-outs—he'd managed to keep control of the meeting and secure what he deserved.
"Yeah. Keeping your elegance under pressure… that's the core competency of any entrepreneur."
After that little self-congratulation, Akira couldn't help but pull his partner into a hug, gratitude spilling out from the bottom of his heart.
"Thank you, Xiao Ai. You helped me hold the line."
"?" Xiao Ai tilted her head, puzzled. "You earned that outcome with your negotiation skills. Why are you thanking me?"
"If Homeostasis and Yggdrasil weren't mutually wary—if they didn't have to concede to me—I wouldn't have gotten any of this," Akira said. "And if you weren't sitting here as my backstop, I wouldn't have had the nerve to challenge two Royal Knights and the gods behind them."
"But…" Xiao Ai asked, still genuinely confused, "we're partners. Isn't that simply what I'm supposed to do?"
…Right. Digimon really are different from humans—purer in a way that's almost unfair.
"'Supposed to' and 'actually did it' are two different things," Akira said, feeling a complicated swell in his chest. "Anyway—thank you."
Xiao Ai copied him, returning the hug with the same straightforward sincerity.
"I understand."
Maybe the warmth of the moment was why Pipimon and Bakumon—both still waiting to reunite with their partners—didn't interrupt. They simply stayed quiet, patiently letting the two of them finish.
How much time passed, Akira couldn't tell.
Only that his sense of relief slowly started drifting into… other directions.
He jerked himself back to reality and quickly loosened the embrace.
Still growing, body still developing—don't be stupid.
"All right, all right. Let's do a results check."
He began counting on his fingers.
"A Digivice and Digi-Egg not subject to Homeostasis' confiscation, a prototype Digi-Egg with X-Antibody built in, one Crest of Destiny…"
"And… the human world's sovereignty, promised by both 'gods.'"
"The cost on my end: I don't interfere in their internal slapfight."
"On paper it doesn't look like much," he said, gazing at the items laid out, satisfaction creeping in anyway. "But the value-for-money is already insane. This is loot pried out of Homeostasis and Yggdrasil—getting even a slice is a win."
"But the real return…" Akira looked at the two Digi-Eggs the gods had given him. "Depends on whether these two pull their weight."
"They have strong potential," Xiao Ai said immediately. "Yggdrasil's egg has potential comparable to Alphamon's. Homeostasis' is not far behind."
Akira's eyes lit up.
"Alphamon is a Royal Knight who evolved from DORUmon, a prototype Digimon—so it makes sense that a prototype egg could reach that level."
"But the one from Homeostasis doesn't even have X-Antibody…" He stared at it, frowning. "Is it an Ancient species? How does it have that kind of ceiling?"
"It does have the corresponding potential, but it lacks certain elements…" Xiao Ai's hair shifted again, turning into those familiar tentacles. "I can enter the egg and analyze its core, but doing so would affect the data—"
"Yeah, no," Akira said, half-laughing. "This kid might be Homeostasis' 'make-up gift,' but it still fulfills my childhood dream. Breaking it would be tragic."
Xiao Ai obediently dropped the idea of deep analysis.
"What I can guarantee is this: the two eggs do not have a clear difference in potential."
"Potential is potential," Akira sighed. "Whether it cashes out is another story. Which god has more sincerity—let's see after they hatch."
Then his gaze shifted to the two Digimon who'd been waiting quietly, never interrupting once: Pipimon and Bakumon.
With them watching him so calmly, Akira found himself oddly curious.
"You two… aren't afraid of me?"
"Not at all!" Pipimon answered first, bright and chirpy. "The god told me you're Yukio's friend. I believe you!"
"And… the god said you're the one who brought me back…" Bakumon spoke more timidly. "You're my benefactor… I'm not scared…"
…Wait. Homeostasis actually handled this that cleanly?
So the cat can act considerate when it wants to, huh?
After that brief shock, Akira moved on to practical matters—where to place them.
"Bakumon, hang on a moment," he said, squatting down to reduce the pressure his presence might put on it, smiling gently. "I'll arrange things for Pipimon first. Okay?"
"Mm." Bakumon nodded obediently. "I'll listen."
"Thanks."
Akira pulled out his phone and dialed.
"Hello, Oikawa—are you there?" he said cheerfully. "I told you to stand by near the camp site, but I kinda… solved everything and made it back home. Sorry!"
"It's—It's fine!" Oikawa Yukio sounded genuinely relieved, almost trembling with excitement. "If you finished smoothly, that's what matters most! So—how's the Digital World?"
"I honestly can't even summarize how it is," Akira laughed. "And I can't go back there for now."
"But I did bring you a late gift."
"A late gift?" Oikawa's voice went tight. "Narumi… you mean—"
Akira didn't answer. He covered the phone's microphone with his hand, held it out in front of Pipimon, and smiled.
"Pipimon. Give Oikawa a surprise."
"Yukio, it's Pipimon!" Pipimon beamed, voice bursting with sunlight the moment Akira let go. "Mr. Narumi brought me to see you!"
"...Pipimon?" On the other end, Oikawa fell into a stunned silence, then spoke like he was afraid the words might shatter. "Are you… my partner Digimon?"
"Mm!" Pipimon nodded hard, as if Oikawa could see it. "I've been waiting for you in the Digital World for a long time!"
"…That's… a time ratio of one to one thousand four hundred and forty…" Oikawa choked. "Y-You waited… that long?"
"Yeah!" Pipimon sounded almost proud. "I'm really patient. Right?"
There was a long pause.
Then, a sound—something between laughter and sobbing, bitter and blissful at once.
"I—I'm coming right now. You—You wait for me!"
"Oikawa, don't speed," Akira said, half teasing, half dead serious. "If you crash on the way over, it'll ruin the first impression between you and Pipimon."
Then he turned to Pipimon. "Right, Pipimon?"
"Mm!" Pipimon nodded rapidly. "Don't rush too much, okay?"
"I—Okay! I will!" Oikawa cried. "Narumi, I really—"
"All right, all right," Akira cut in. "No talking while driving. Save it for when you arrive safe."
Then he added, "Gearmon—watch him. Don't let him do anything stupid."
"I understand, Akira," Gearmon replied.
"See you," Akira said—and hung up.
He hadn't ended the call because he cared about phone bills.
He ended it because the exchange between Oikawa and Pipimon was so unbearably wholesome that Akira's own shadowy little heart couldn't take it.
Which also led him to a crucial executive decision:
That guy is getting worked to death.
If he's allowed to be this happy, then Akira's "emotional damages" need compensation.
"Bakumon," Akira said, "I have something important to handle soon."
"When Gearmon shows up later with an older guy knocking on the door, let Pipimon go out on its own. Don't let Oikawa come in and interrupt me."
"…Understood."
Watching Akira's slightly twisted expression, Bakumon couldn't help thinking:
This benefactor who could stare down two divine envoys… might actually be… not that scary?
After a deep breath to settle his inner darkness, Akira turned to Bakumon again.
"Bakumon, your partner—Maki Himekawa—got hurt badly because of your disappearance. Her mental state might be unstable. She'll need time."
"So for the near future, I'm not letting you meet her. Both of you need buffer time."
Bakumon nodded earnestly.
"Thank you, Mr. Narumi."
"Don't thank me yet," Akira said. "I don't have time to do your emotional rehab personally, so I'm assigning a mediator between you two."
"A mediator?" Bakumon blinked. "Who…?"
"Daigo Nishijima. You remember him?"
"Nishijima…" Bakumon searched its recovering memory. "Bearmon's… partner?"
"Yep," Akira said. "He's Maki's childhood friend."
"I'll place you with him. He can do the coordination work between both sides. Can you accept that?"
"Mm." Bakumon nodded. "Thank you for the trouble."
"You know it's trouble, good," Akira grumbled. "He's still in class, so I'll contact him tonight. For now, wait."
"I understand."
"All right. You two go play—other rooms, anywhere. I've got other things to do."
He waved them away impatiently.
"No interrupting unless it's a real emergency."
"Understood!" they both answered.
Once the two Digimon were gone, Akira—who had taken psychic damage from witnessing wholesome—flopped onto Xiao Ai's lap like a man whose dreams had been kicked to death.
Xiao Ai looked down at him, confused again.
"Akira, didn't you say you had something important to do?"
"I won't have to move until noon," he muttered. "Let me rest a bit first."
"I understand."
Xiao Ai stayed still, letting him lie there, saying nothing.
And with that obedient quietness, Akira's shadowy heart finally received a tiny bit of comfort.
At the same time, he wrote a brand-new entry into his personal ledger.
An eye for an eye—paid back tenfold.
When I grow up, I'm going to "show off" today's suffering back at the world—ten times over.
.....
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