Two Worlds, Starting with Kaguya of Penglai Mountain

Gratitude and admiration can really be addictive.

The popular and beautiful girl, Anna Yanami, originally enjoyed being the center of attention, and thus became increasingly addicted to it.

"As expected, there's no way to interfere with reality anymore, but it's not like there's no solution."

The girl sitting on the bed looked at her empty hands and muttered her comments.

Dongdongdong~Dongdongdongdong~

Someone knocked on the door of the young girl's bedroom.

"Apricot, are you up yet? Breakfast is ready for you."

My mother's voice came from outside the door; it sounded quite gentle.

This is quite normal. After all, the daughter who has just returned from afar has just come back, so it's always good to be gentle and caring.

In fact, the level of care shown to me now is much less than when I first came back.

Based on Banami's experience, this kind of care can only last for a week or so at most, after which all sorts of disdain will follow.

Thinking of this, the blue-haired girl's lips curved slightly upwards.

She found herself actually looking forward to those days of feeling disgusted with herself.

"coming."

He called out twice towards the door.

Banami climbed off the bed, put on her slippers, and walked down the steps.

Although it was only morning, the food on the table was mostly the type that Hanami liked.

Fried pork cutlets, desserts, bread—all sorts of foods that wouldn't normally be served at breakfast time—were prepared by Hanami's mother, who got up early to make them because Hanami liked them.

Although Banami complained that eating these things in the morning would definitely make her fat, she actually ate like crazy.

At this moment, Banami had decided to temporarily forget about how much she had eaten in the past few days.

It's not too late for her to lose weight once she's gained weight, right?

In short, the family started their day's breakfast anew.

Meals with family members may seem exciting, but they're not actually as extravagant as you might imagine.

After all, Banami has been back for almost three days.

At first, my parents were rather reluctant to talk about things related to the other world.

But after discovering that Banami herself didn't seem to be opposed to the matter, the parents were able to have a smooth conversation.

This was a time when Banami was quite proud.

The girl would eat while enthusiastically telling her parents about the achievements she had made during this period.

After all, isn't this something to be proud of?

She changed the lives of many, many people.

She shared her ideas and hobbies with everyone, enabling them to obtain what they needed in life by relying on the things they loved.

There are things that are even more pride-inducing than this.

Of course, when Banami was discussing these things, they inevitably talked about various supernatural forces in the other world.

She occasionally talks about this with her parents via video, but the feeling of talking about it face-to-face is definitely completely different from talking about it in person.

And so we just kept chatting...

Banami: "Actually, I've been experimenting with my abilities these past few days. While I can't materialize objects out of thin air, I can still materialize them within the network world if I'm connected to another world."

The "Fragment of the Moon," manipulated by the power of the boundary, has transformed into a data form. This is the only extraordinary item that Anna Hachimi can currently materialize, and it can also exist in the cyber world.

Banami, who also has knowledge of extraordinary knowledge, already has many ideas in mind based on this phenomenon.

For modern people, the online world is an illusory existence.

But the other side, with its supernatural powers, is not entirely illusory.

In the eyes of the monsters who manipulate concepts, the real and the unreal are things that can be transformed into each other.

Logically speaking, when such a conclusion is reached...

Banami felt an urgent urge to send a message to Kurokawa Kazuya about the matter.

Unfortunately, he was too busy to reply to her at the moment.

Oh, when I say "no time" here, I mean having a lot of free time.

Kurokawa Kazuya could definitely squeeze out some free time outside of work.

But such a significant discovery deserves a lengthy and detailed discussion; otherwise, Banami would feel like she's missing out.

Meanwhile, the blue-haired girl was eating and enthusiastically describing her grand plan.

"Xingcai, let's put that kind of thing aside for now. Aren't you going to school?"

At this moment, Banai saw her mother suddenly speak to her daughter.

Hanami Anana: "?"

The blue-haired girl belatedly looked up.

She was slightly taken aback by her mother's words.

To be honest, she hadn't thought of anything related to it before the other person brought it up.

Banami Hōka: "Actually, with Anja's current abilities, even just the online orders she takes on are more than what the two of us old folks earn. Going to school is probably just a formality, but it would still be a bit strange if she didn't go."

As the father, Banami Touka rubbed his chin, looking like a hoodlum deep in thought.

Although he now looks like a middle-aged man with a big belly.

However, Banami Touka, who had once been addicted to pachinko and almost squandered her family fortune, was quite open-minded about this.

What other people think? That's a piece of cake for old Deng.

The only problem is actually just...

Banami Hōka: "To be honest, high school was actually the happiest time of my life, and it's a bit of a shame to have missed it."

Yanai sees Ancai: "..."

That being said, it would be strange to make her go back to school now, wouldn't it?

Because she hadn't looked at the textbooks for a long time, Banami doubted that if she went back to her class now, she would get the lowest score.

Who knows what those girls who gossip about her behind her back will say then?

But after returning to the modern world, the inertia of life returned to normal, and Banai began to wonder if she should go back to school.

After all, this is the right path that modern teenagers must inevitably go through.

If I don't do it, I always feel like something's missing.

Anna Hanami: "Otherwise, I'll wait until Kurokawa comes back before going to school."

“…” x 2

Hana asked her mother, "Kana, didn't you say that Kurokawa wouldn't be able to come back for the time being?"

Hanami Anna: "Oh, it's true that I can't come back, but there's no rush. Ten years or so is nothing to me now."

The words slipped out unconsciously.

Spending a long time in another world, frequently interacting with a group of cultivators, inevitably leads to a slight distortion in one's sense of time, not to mention...

Faced with her mother's gaze, Banami subconsciously shifted her gaze.

Kaguya of Hourai Mountain gave me a total of two Hourai Medicine pills.

At least on the surface, only Kurokawa and Miya consumed the Hourai Elixir, while Hachimi Anzu...

Besides the "Fragment Seen Under the Moon" as insurance, the experiment that traversed the world also included a digitized Hourai Medicine that Kaguya Houraisan transmitted to her in the form of information.

The purpose is probably to ensure her safety in the real world.

From Princess Moon's perspective.

Having lost almost all of her abilities in the real world and relying entirely on other things for protection, Anna Hanami is actually in danger.

Banami wasn't planning to eat it; she had already eaten it.

The stated reason is, of course, to prevent potential dangers in the real world and to ensure one's own safety.

Traveling through the world is such a dangerous thing, who knows if there will be any side effects?

By taking the data-driven Penglai Medicine, you won't have to worry about any unnecessary side effects.

As long as the real-world network and the alternate world remain connected and can transmit data to each other.

If Banami dies in the real world, she will be resurrected in the online world as a person from Hourai.

It sounds like it's going to become like artificial intelligence.

But in reality, it's a true infinite resurrection.

The ability of Kurokawa and Mi to link the two worlds through the "Infinite Signal" can be likened to a bridge between the two worlds.

One end of the bridge leads to the modern world, and the other end leads to another world.

The other world possesses extraordinary power, while reality does not.

Banami's resurrection was bugged, freezing her state the instant she entered the network.

Death means resurrection at one end of another world, and then rushing back to the modern world to reappear.

Anna Hanami: "Your daughter will probably stay young forever. If she gets old, you can find a way to refresh her appearance and make her young again, so you don't need to worry about that."

She lowered her head and mumbled about her current state.

She is no longer like a normal Penglai person; even if she suffers a wound, she will not allow it to heal.

After all, the laws of another world cannot interfere with reality.

If Banami wants to refresh the state of her body, she either needs to actively etherealize herself and enter the network world, or she needs to die once and refresh her body again.

In a sense, this state is the true form of Banami in the online world.

The real world is nothing more than a device for her to contact and communicate with the outside world.

“…” x 2

Silence filled the dining table.

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of Banami's parents turned somewhat dark.

Especially Hanami's mother, who at this moment looked like she wanted to scold her daughter on the spot.

That's just how the culture of Japan is.

An eccentric individual will be ostracized by the group, and today's Banami can be described as utterly eccentric.

Of course, at this time, Banami's parents were not disgusted with her.

Both of them were worried about each other's future.

The two can still get along now, but what will happen to the other person a thousand years from now, when all the people close to them have disappeared from Banami's side?

Anna Hanami: "There's really no need to worry about that."

With her head down, looking somewhat afraid of being scolded, Banami picked at her rice while muttering to herself.

Anna Hanami: "It's not like I'm the only one like this, so there's no need to worry too much about the future."

“…” x 2

The only response to the blue-haired girl was the somewhat helpless expression on Bana's face when she saw her parents.

Selfish parents, parents who only think about their children.

Given that the time when Kurokawa and Mi return to the modern era is uncertain.

As parents, they had indeed considered the possibility of the two of them separating in the future.

Having experienced the ups and downs of life, adults are acutely aware of the fragility of emotions.

Five years, ten years, twenty years, thirty years...