We agreed to be in a band for life, what the heck is Dragon Raja?

Moreover, it was already very late when she arrived at her father's current residence, and she had also cleaned the place, so she had almost no free time at all.

"Um……"

Shoko Toyokawa uttered a mumbled, unintelligible sound in her sleep, then turned over and went back to sleep.

Although the bed she was sleeping in now was just a mattress placed on the floor, far less comfortable than her own room in the old Furukawa Garden, she was still sleeping soundly.

So tired...so tired...

After all, Toyokawa Shoko was just a teenage girl, and it was quite remarkable that she could maintain her composure in the face of such a sudden turn of events.

And fatigue... can easily make people dream.

Moreover, she had accumulated a lot of pressure throughout the day.

Not knowing how much time had passed in her sleep, Toyokawa Shoko felt as if she had 'woke up'.

"here it is……"

She felt her consciousness was hazy, but the scene before her was crystal clear.

At this moment, she was standing on a long set of steps.

This long staircase winds its way around an ancient tree that reaches straight to the sky, with no end in sight.

This ancient tree is verdant and profound, emanating a distant yet vibrant aura that evokes a sense of antiquity.

"Is this...that painting?"

Toyokawa Shoko was shocked.

She looked around and saw a veil of clouds all around her. Looking down, she could only see a vast expanse of white clouds and the long staircase behind her that she had walked up at some point.

"Is this... a dream?"

Toyokawa Shoko murmured.

Judging solely from her position, her current level is probably much higher than she imagined.

Climbing high mountains sometimes requires oxygen tanks, so how could a person stand at such a height without being affected at all?

But now she hesitated, because the scene before her was too real; she could even see every detail of the long steps and the grain of the ancient wood.

Toyokawa Shoko stamped her foot.

The long steps remained completely still.

She hesitated.

"Then...should I continue going up?"

Toyokawa Shoko looked up.

Above was a clear blue sky, but all around was utterly silent. Despite being such a massive and thick tree, there wasn't a single bird flying around.

She turned around and found that, for some reason, the clouds below seemed to have spread up and were getting closer to her.

The long staircase that once stretched endlessly below now seemed to have been swallowed up by the clouds, gradually disappearing beneath it.

"It seems the only option is to go up..."

Toyokawa Shoko took her first steps.

Tapping.

Each step of the long staircase was at a suitable distance, and she could easily step onto it with a light step.

But she remained cautious and dared not go too fast.

Because there is no connection between the steps, they are completely suspended in mid-air, and there are no railings along the edges of the long steps.

However... as she ascended the stairs, the surrounding scenery changed accordingly. Sometimes, when she reached a corner of the long staircase, she could even touch the branches and leaves hanging down from the ancient tree.

salsa.

Toyokawa Shoko reached out and gently pinched a leaf, wanting to try to pick it.

However, the leaf was much more resilient than she had imagined; she applied slight force, but the leaf remained completely still.

Is it because of the tree?

Toyokawa Shoko stroked the branches of the tree.

In terms of touch alone, the branches of this ancient tree are no different from ordinary trees. The rough texture rubs against her palm like sandpaper, with a slight coolness.

at this time,

wow——

A vibrant green leaf drifted down from the branches of the ancient tree.

The leaf swayed gently in the wind, drifting slowly until it landed right in front of Toyokawa Shoko's line of sight.

"Hey."

She reached out her hand, and the leaf fell right into her palm.

"what?"

Toyokawa Shoko looked up and saw that the ancient tree remained unchanged, with no more leaves falling.

It was as if the ancient tree sensed her thoughts and then gifted her this leaf.

"Does this tree... have a soul?"

Toyokawa Shoko thought.

She felt that this tree also possessed its own wisdom, and sometimes it even seemed more like a human being.

Toyokawa Shoko looked at the fallen leaf in her palm. The leaf still maintained its vitality, revealing a full life force.

She gently kneaded it, and the leaf did not bend but instead unfolded again as she applied force.

"I've never seen leaves like this before..."

Toyokawa Shoko had stopped walking and stood there on the long steps, looking at the fallen leaves in her palm.

The clouds below continued to rise, but she felt no panic whatsoever.

It all felt so dreamlike, completely unreal and surreal.

The question is, why would she dream about the scenes in her own paintings?

Toyokawa Shoko thought.

As she was about to continue walking upwards, she felt a warm current slide through her hand for some reason.

"Ok?"

Toyokawa Shoko was startled.

She opened her palm again, and saw the leaves of the ancient tree turning into specks of green light, merging into her palm.

That warm feeling I just experienced was caused by this.

"How is this going?"

Toyokawa Shoko felt her mind clearing up a bit.

The initial hazy feeling of entering the 'dream' seemed to fade, and the part belonging to the 'self' became clearer.

She felt as if she had been awakened, and there was a voice around her saying something to her.

It seems He is saying:

Something seems to be missing around you.

What's missing?

Toyokawa Shoko suddenly had a headache. She felt her consciousness slowly slipping away from her, as if she were about to wake up from a dream.

In the last second before her consciousness left this space, she finally recalled the complete scene in her painting.

The boy beside her was gone.

…………

Consciousness is rising.

Toyokawa Shoko heard someone calling her name.

"Xiao Xiang! Xiao Xiang!"

"It's my father's voice."

In her dazed state, Toyokawa Shoko discerned the source of the sound. She slowly opened her eyes and heard her father knocking on her bedroom door.

"Pack up quickly, we need to leave now."

"What? Leave?"

For a moment, Toyokawa Shoko felt her thoughts were in complete disarray, her mind filled with confusion and bewilderment.

Didn't my father and I just arrive here today? Why are we leaving now?

She hadn't recovered from the scene in her 'dream' when she heard those words and was immediately stunned.

"Xiao Xiang, hurry up!"

"Get in the car and I'll explain it to you."

Toyokawa Kiyoshi said anxiously.

"Ah, yes, Father, I'm coming."

Shoko Toyokawa snapped out of her daze, quickly put on her clothes and shoes, and then pushed open the door.

The next moment, she paused again.

Her father changed into a set of clothes she had never seen him wear before.

This outfit is somewhat similar to the Japanese-style suits I used to wear to work, but the overall feel is completely different; for some reason, it has a sharp, ruthless quality.

He wore a badge on the right side of his chest, depicting a half-decayed World Tree.

The garment looked rather old, but it was kept very clean.

This is the uniform of the Executive Department of Kassel College.

However, Toyokawa Shoko naturally did not recognize the origin of this garment, but was shocked that the decadent aura that her father originally had completely disappeared.

Now... on the contrary, he seems to be showing his true colors.

"Father... what happened?"

"The situation is urgent. I've already packed the violin case and the doll you wanted to take. Now come downstairs with me; the car is already parked downstairs."

Toyokawa Kiyoshi said.

"downstairs?"

Shoko Toyokawa was puzzled, but when she looked at her father's expression, she felt that he suddenly seemed somewhat unfamiliar.

In her memory, her father had always been a very gentle person, and he usually spoke to her mother in a calm and unhurried manner. She didn't know why he was so anxious today.

Moreover... in the past, although he was considered a half-member of the Toyokawa family, his demeanor was no different from that of an ordinary office worker, and he did not appear arrogant in the slightest.

But now he is like a warrior about to go to the battlefield, exuding a chilling and fierce aura.

This feeling... she had never seen in her father before.

But trusting her father, Toyokawa Shoko immediately came to her senses and quickly followed him down the stairs.

A Maybach is parked downstairs.

The car is over six meters long, with a cool, metallic silver-gray paint finish. A double-M emblem stands atop the boxy front, and the chrome grille resembles armor.

In the pitch-black night, the car looked like a hidden behemoth.

This is a Maybach 62, a 5.5-liter V12 turbocharged engine, priced at approximately 1.8 million yen, equivalent to 900 million RMB.

Kiyotaka Toyokawa didn't have a strong attachment to Maybach, but a friend of his had always praised the brand's luxury cars. So, years later, he used his earnings from his past missions in the executive department to buy the Maybach in front of him.

Since this was not originally a company car of the Fengchuan Group, even though he was kicked out of the family, all rights to the car still belonged to him.

Now... this car has indeed come in handy.

"boarding."