A supporting character in a romance anime? I became a god using a rat talisman.

She stared at Chiyu in disbelief, her voice trembling slightly: "Chiyu-kun, you...you've always remembered? Then why did you pretend not to know me the day you transferred schools?!"

"Don't worry about that now." Qianyu raised her hand to soothe her emotions, and then smoothly presented the core logic.

"Since you can accept that I have the ability to travel back in time, do you think it's possible that our daughter also has this ability and then runs back to the present to find us?"

Following Chiba's words, Michiyo involuntarily took two steps back.

Her gaze returned to Pochi.

This time, stripping away the preconceived notion of a rival,

Michiyo was shocked to discover that the girl who always hid behind Chiba and had the same long pink hair as her had facial features that were almost identical to hers.

If she had previously considered it merely a coincidence, now, with Qianyu's guidance, an absurd yet uniquely explanatory thought was taking root and sprouting wildly in her mind.

Just as Michiyo was hesitating and her brain was still struggling to accept this crazy premise, Ichiri, who had been hiding behind Chiba, saw this and knew that there was no way to escape it.

She took a deep breath and emerged from behind the statue as if she were going to her execution.

Ichiri walked up to Michiyo, his hands nervously pressed against his trouser seams, and bowed at a perfect ninety-degree angle, his face flushed as he shouted:

"Um... my name is Kazama Ichiri! I came from the future! My father is Kazama Chiba, and my mother... you are my mother, Kazama Michiyo! Although... although we've met many times before, I hope we can get to know each other from now on, Mom!"

The cry of "Mom" was loud and clear, echoing in the quiet air at the school gate.

Michiyo stood there, frozen in place.

Faced with such a development that completely defies common sense, it might take an ordinary person two or three days to accept it.

But who is Michiyo? With Chiba's endorsement, she only experienced a brief moment of shock.

Then, the "social terrorist's" strong psychological fortitude instantly took over.

Far from being frightened by this time-space distortion, her eyes shone with an overwhelming maternal love.

"Ahhhh-"

Michiyo pulled Pochi into her arms and began to roughly knead her fair and soft cheeks with both hands.

"So that's how it is! I knew it!"

"No wonder I felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with you from the very first moment I saw you! So you're my daughter! My goodness, my future self can actually give birth to such a lovely daughter, Chiyu-kun, you are so blessed!"

As Yili was being kneaded into various shapes, she silently recalled the look in her mother's eyes when they first met—a look that seemed to want to devour her rival alive.

But for the sake of family harmony, the sensible girl chose to see through it but not say anything, and could only force out a melting smile to agree.

Having had her fill of intimacy, Michiyo turned away, ready to settle scores.

"Qianyu-kun, you've gone too far!" She glared at Qianyu reproachfully.

"You clearly knew her identity all along, why did you deliberately hide it from me? You made me think..."

Michiyo blushed slightly at the thought that she had actually treated her own daughter as a rival in love. "It almost caused a rift between us!"

Before Qianyu could even open her mouth to defend herself, Yili quickly acted as her sweet little daughter, grabbing her father's arm tightly.

"It's not Dad's fault! It's my fault!" Yili quickly took the blame. "I was afraid that telling Mom suddenly would scare her, so I begged Dad not to tell you first! Mom, please don't be angry with Dad!"

Seeing her daughter so considerately protecting Chiba, Michiyo, who had only complained before, was now overjoyed and burst into laughter through her tears.

"She's such a good daughter, just like my daughter."

Michiyo clapped her hands and immediately made a decision, "Let's go! Now that we're all family, we won't eat out tonight! Come home with me, and Mom will cook you a delicious dinner!"

She gently stroked Ichiri's hair: "What does Ichiri like to eat? No matter how difficult it is to make, Mom will make it for you."

"Konjac... konjac..." Iri whispered the name of the dish, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Great! Tonight we'll make a konjac feast!"

Without a word, Michiyo grabbed Ichiri's hand and walked towards the street, chatting and laughing. She couldn't hide her doting attitude towards her daughter.

Qianyu stood there, watching the pink-haired mother and daughter walk further and further away in the sunset.

He didn't follow immediately.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the street, bathing everything in a warm orange hue.

All that could be heard was Michiyo's energetic laughter and Ichiri's occasional soft agreement.

Chiyu let out a long sigh.

The things that had been lingering in my mind... seemed to become less important at this moment.

Just like the advice I gave Yukino Yukinoshita in the activity room ten minutes ago.

He realized that it was time for him to step out of the script of being a behind-the-scenes mastermind burdened with the pressure of "saving the world" or "destroying the world," and to truly appreciate the noisy yet real and ordinary daily life that belongs to ordinary people.

Little Ke, floating beside him, mercilessly interrupted his sentimental musings, stretching out her short arms and urging, "What are you pretending to be so profound for! Hurry up and catch up, I'm hungry!"

On the distant school path, Michiyo turned around, the setting sun making her hair even brighter.

She waved to Chiba, who was still standing there, and shouted in a vibrant voice:

"Xiaoqian—! Hurry up and catch up! We might not have enough konjac in the fridge at home, so you'll have to buy some more on your way!"

Hearing this childish nickname, Qianyu rubbed her temples helplessly.

"Don't call me by that name at school."

Despite complaining, Qianyu quickened her pace and walked towards the mother and daughter in the warm sunset.

(Finish)