This is not the date I wanted.

"That's why I said it at the beginning! Really, are you considered a policeman?"

Tohka said indignantly.

"Of course I know it's just a joke to liven up the atmosphere. I didn't turn on the intercom."

"I think you're just looking for trouble..."

Sighing silently, Tohka looked at Kurumi and said with a wry smile,

"Don't get me wrong, this guy's name is Tobiichi Origami, and he lives in the same apartment as me. Although he's a little weird, he's not a bad person."

After briefly introducing Origami to Kurumi, Tohka pulled the bag on her shoulder and prepared to leave.

"Well, I'm almost there too. Kurumi-chan, remember to come to my shop and play."

"Well...I'll go visit if I have time."

"Come on, don't let the store close down."

"Humph! Even if you come, I won't sell you the bread."

"Well, I'm going to go on patrol too. If you run into any trouble, just find me at the police station ahead."

Afterwards, Origami bowed and said goodbye to Kurumi.

(The reactions of these two people...did they not recognize me? Or did they not recognize me at all?)

Watching Tohka and Origami leave, Kuang San couldn't help but frown and think. From the conversation just now, it seemed that both of them met Kuang San for the first time, which made her feel a little confused.

However, compared to this, what surprised Kuang San more was the changes in the two of them.

After becoming an elf, the aging of cells will become extremely slow due to the suppression of spiritual power, almost to the point of being negligible. It has been nearly twenty years since Kurumi became an elf, but there has been no obvious change in her appearance.

But now, Tohka and Origami's bodies have indeed grown with time.

What surprised Kuang San the most was that she could not sense any fluctuation of spiritual energy from the two of them.

In other words, they are no longer elves now, but ordinary humans, living an ordinary life.

To be honest, although she knew that the reversal problem had been solved, Kurumi didn't know what happened to the reversed Pokémons later.

(Were all of them... saved?)

With a bit of curiosity and uneasiness in her heart, Kuang San walked towards the direction where Tohka was coming from.

After walking for about five minutes, I soon found a blue-haired woman holding a rabbit doll, talking to a man in a suit and glasses in front of a two-story apartment.

That is undoubtedly the grown-up Yoshino.

This time, Kuang San did not choose to make direct contact, but hid in the dark and observed quietly.

"Here, Mr. Editor. This is it, right? The original manuscript of Seven Sins."

"Yes! That's right! This is it! Great! I finally made it before the deadline!"

"Oh~ I'm sorry, editor. Nanashi-chan doesn't like to go out, so I have to trouble you to go there in person."

"It doesn't matter at all. Cartoonists are basically very individualistic, so this little thing is nothing."

"Well...if you don't mind...would you like to take a break and have some tea?"

"Ah - although it's a very attractive proposal, I still have work to do...By the way, Miss Hiyagawa, do you know where Mr. Souji is now?"

"Eiya...indeed, I was here yesterday."

"Hmm~ I remember she said she was going to Hokkaido to collect materials, and she left early this morning."

"Damn it... Did she escape? The deadline has already passed - Anyway, thank you very much for the information, I'll take my leave now!!!"

"Be careful on the road..."

After watching the editor leave, Yoshino turned around and went back into the apartment. After a while, she came back with a broom and started sweeping the nearby garbage.

(It seems... all the elves that Shidou has conquered live in this town.)

Kurumi thought.

Since she entered this town, the strange phenomena she had experienced before have never happened again. If "fate" really exists, then its purpose is to guide her to this town where elves live.

(But, what's the point of letting me watch this? How they live now has nothing to do with me. And...)

How is Meng Yue? Although she has been deliberately avoiding this question, after seeing the elves living a peaceful life, Kuang San couldn't help but have such a question in her heart.

"Grandma, good morning."

Grandma? At this moment, Shiono's words suddenly caught Kurumi's attention.

31 Unknown Tomb

==============================

"Grandma, good morning."

Grandma? Kurumi couldn't help but feel a little surprised by what Shion said.

"Good morning... Yoshino."

A slow and hoarse voice reached my ears, and I saw an old woman walking out of the apartment.

The old woman was probably around eighty years old, wearing a plain grey kimono, her hair was greying, and her dry skin had many spots and wrinkles.

Perhaps because of her age, the old woman had a slightly hunched back and was leaning on a crutch, and seemed to have some difficulty walking.

"Are you going out, Grandma?"

Yoshino asked. The old woman nodded slightly.

"Well... I just woke up and wanted to go for a walk."

"Hey, are you going for a walk alone again, Grandma Guan Meng? You are already old, what if something happens when you go out alone?"

"Grandma, do you want me to accompany you?"

"It's okay...it's not the first time. I'm just strolling around the park in town...I'll be back soon."

Shion and Shionna were a little worried. The old woman raised her free left hand, gently stroked Shion and Shionna's heads, and spoke softly.

"okay."

"——Oh my! It's really Grandma Guan Meng! She treats us like children. Yoshino-chan has already grown into an excellent lady, both in appearance and spirit!"

"Hehe... maybe. But in my opinion... you will always be just children."

"Well--!"

The old woman smiled at the little protest from the rabbit doll.

"I'll probably be back around noon... Yoshino, I'll leave lunch to you."

"Well, I see."

Yoshino nodded sensibly.

"For lunch, I want to make the potato stew that my grandma taught me."

"Really... I'm really looking forward to it... Then I'll be out now."

"Grandma, walk slowly."

"Remember not to come back too late~"

After saying goodbye to Yoshino, the old woman left the apartment slowly, leaning on her cane.

(Who is that grandma?)

Such a question emerged in Kuang San's mind.

From the outside, the other party was just an ordinary old man with nothing special. Kuang San also didn't remember that the elves knew an old man named "Guan Meng" seven years ago. It was probably an ordinary person that the elves met after moving into this village.

However, for some reason, ever since the old man appeared, Kuang San felt inexplicably concerned.

"..."

After hesitating for a moment, Kuang San left the apartment and quietly followed the old man.

Kuang San followed the old man at a distance of 500 meters. Although the distance was far, it was not a problem for the elves with excellent eyesight, and the old man was very slow, just like a slow-motion movie. If she was too close, Kuang San might accidentally overtake the old man.

The old man didn't notice Kuang San, and strolled leisurely on the sidewalk, stopping from time to time to admire the unremarkable buildings or plants in the town as if in a daze. Sometimes he would greet passers-by warmly and distribute candies to children.

(Is she really just an ordinary old lady?)

Kuang San began to feel that she was being too suspicious.

However, as time went on, Kuang San gradually felt a sense of disharmony.

Contrary to the impression given by his appearance, the old man's physical strength was unexpectedly good. Although his pace was slow, he never rested once. After walking for such a long time, Kuang San did not see the old man shed a drop of sweat.

What was even stranger was that even though it was noon and the sun was high in the sky, the old man showed no sign of turning back. Instead, he chose to take some less traveled paths and walked towards the edge of the town.

The old man left the small town and walked into the deserted suburbs.

Watching the old man walk into the forest, Kuang San stopped hesitantly.

Following her here, it actually made her look suspicious. Maybe the other party had noticed Kuang San and deliberately lured her here.

However, since they had followed him all the way here, it would be even more painful to give up halfway. This thought prompted Kuang San to take a step forward and follow him into the suburbs.

Walking into the forest, surrounded by yellowing trees, the same scenery can easily make Kuang San lose his sense of direction. But the old man was not affected at all, just like an old horse who knows the way, he went straight in one direction without any confusion.

(There is indeed a problem.)

Even on the rugged mountain roads, the old man's steps were as steady as walking on flat ground, and he never fell down once. The cane in his hand was more of a hindrance than an aid.

The other party is not an ordinary old man at all. Kuang San is now certain.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, Kuang San only felt that she had walked very deep into the forest and did not feel any trace of human life.

Just as Kuang San was thinking about where the other party was going, the old woman suddenly stopped.

(Has it been discovered?)

Kuang San quickly hid in the shadow of the bushes, held her breath, and carefully poked her head out.

The old woman was standing in front of a mound of earth at this time. It seemed that she did not find Kuang San, but had reached her destination.

The mound was not high, less than half a meter, and the weeds and mosses covering its surface indicated that it had been there for some time. At one end of the mound stood a dead tree as thick as an arm.

Rather than a mound of earth, it is more like a grave, an unknown mound.

(Could it be that... that is...)

Some guess emerged in her mind, and Kuang San's heartbeat kept getting faster and faster.

"Long time no see... Shidou..."

Standing in front of the grave, the old man spoke with mixed emotions, like a sigh.

As soon as the words fell, Kuang San felt a faint spiritual power fluctuation from the old man. Then, a layer of light veil covered the old man's body. Then, the old woman disappeared without a trace, and was replaced by a young girl in her prime.

The girl was wearing a summer Tokiwadai school uniform with a black windbreaker of a very different style draped over it. Most of her waist-length brown hair had turned pale, and her originally dignified face now looked very tired and haggard.

(Dream Moon...)

In order to prevent her emotions from coming out with her voice, Kurumi pursed her lips tightly.

……

How long has it been since I came here? Looking at the surrounding scenery, Meng Yue couldn't help but feel a little dazed.

She only remembered that one day long ago, in order to prevent Shidao from being left dead in the wilderness, Mengyue ran to an uninhabited forest, dug a simple nameless grave, and never came back since.

Thanks to the protection of the dense forest, the tomb has been preserved so intact after seven years.

"I'm sorry, Shidao, it took you so long to come here to visit the graves. And I didn't prepare any offerings. If you don't mind, I'll give you this walking stick. Although I guess you don't want it."

Sitting on the ground, Mengyue put her crutches in front of the grave and said with a wry smile.

"Seven years have passed... Time flies. It must be boring to stay in such a remote place for so long, right?"

Gently stroking the rough dead wood, Meng Yue showed a gentle smile on her face.

"Yes, as compensation. Let me talk to you about what happened in the past few years."

"But where should I start... Anyway, DEM has been destroyed, and Westcott, Allen, and Ai Wulian have all been killed by me. It can be regarded as revenge for you."

"In the six months that followed, I worked with the people from Ratatoskr and traveled to every corner of the world before I finally found Tohka and the others."