Chapter 130: Xue Naxue

“Mm…” Ephnel suddenly broke into a smile. “Not even you?”

“I’m the exception!”

Masaki Hinaki shot Ephnel an annoyed glare.

“Not everyone from the central province is as easy to get along with as I am. Of course… there are some decent people among them, but no matter what, my feelings towards you are…”

Masaki Hinaki looked away, her fingers tightening, her words trailing off.

“Ah, forget it, it’s nothing… This is for you.”

She opened the plastic box, took out the ring, and placed it in Ephnel’s palm.

As her fingers brushed past Ephnel’s, she gently curled them, then quickly let go.

Masaki Hinaki looked out the window, her eyes dark and unreadable.

“This thing might be a clue to something… Whatever is hidden behind it, no matter which power it falls into, will probably not lead to a good outcome. Ephnel, if this power is ultimately destined to bring misfortune, I hope that you will be the one to bear it.”

Ephnel looked at the silver ring in her palm.

It was cool to the touch and, like other ruin-tech equipment, had a weight that belied its size.

Just then, Masaki Hinaki suddenly raised her gaze.

“Mm… it looks like your parents are here.”

She said, slowly getting up.

“Well then, I should be going.”

“It’s okay if you stay…”

“Not this time… Your parents are leaving Seikyo today, right? I won’t take up your reunion time.”

Masaki Hinaki waved her hand dismissively, but a flash of disappointment in her eyes was fleeting.

She picked up her jacket from the side, stood on her toes to get her hat, and when she turned around, the serious expression on her face had vanished, replaced by a playful smile.

“Ephnel, I have another appointment, so I’ll be taking my leave now.”

As she left, she even gave a smiling wave.

“Bye-bye~”

“…”

Ephnel quietly watched Masaki Hinaki leave.

The door clicked shut, and not long after, it was pushed open again.

This time it was the Yanase couple.

They shook the rainwater from their clothes outside the door before entering the room.

Ephnel imperceptibly put away the ring in her hand and smiled brightly.

“Good morning, Dad, Mom.”

“Good morning… Naoto, are your injuries okay?”

The temperature had dropped sharply today, and the previously hot weather had suddenly turned a bit chilly.

Yanase Takuma helped Yanase Kaoru take off her coat and hung it on the coat rack.

“I’m recovering pretty well.”

Ephnel’s eyes curved, filled with a smile.

Seeing that Ephnel seemed to be in good spirits, Yanase Kaoru’s tense heart relaxed a little.

“Naoto, I’ve prepared breakfast for you. Eat it while it’s hot.”

“Thanks, Mom…”

Yanase Kaoru opened the warm lunch box and placed it on the folding side table.

Wisps of fragrant white steam drifted out.

“Did you make this, Mom?”

Yanase Kaoru didn’t let Ephnel do it herself.

Instead, she carefully swirled the porridge and brought the spoon to Ephnel’s mouth.

“I just made it. It’s been so long since I’ve been back, I haven’t cooked at all. I gave it a try, and it seems I’m a bit out of practice.”

“I think it’s delicious.”

“Eat slowly, be careful, it’s a bit hot.”

Yanase Kaoru watched as Ephnel took small sips, then suddenly stopped and sighed.

“Naoto, your father and I have to leave today…”

Yanase Takuma stood silently to the side, his eyes dim.

Halfway through her sentence, a few tears suddenly dripped from Yanase Kaoru’s eyes.

“We wanted to stay with you a little longer, but…”

“It’s okay, Dad, Mom.”

Ephnel pushed away the side table, reached out to gently hug her mother, and patted her mother’s soft back.

She grinned at Yanase Takuma.

“I still have Yukina with me, so you two don’t have to worry about things at home. Don’t look at me all frail like this. No matter what, I used to be a real man. Whatever happens, you can rest assured.”

Before five in the afternoon, school was out for the first-year students of Tomosumi Girls’ Academy.

The classrooms and the school grounds became livelier than usual.

Today, Yukina left school alone again.

Her aunt and uncle had come by at noon to drop off a bento and say their goodbyes.

Yukina was alone for the afternoon parent-teacher conference.

And alone after school as well.

The classmates she occasionally spoke with were all with their parents.

Surprisingly, Hanasou Kotone’s father had come from his company in the afternoon and attended the parent-teacher conference for the first time in a long while.

That was the first time Yukina had seen Hanasou Kotone’s father in person.

Unlike what she had imagined, he had the aura of a business elite.

Anyway, because of this, Hanasou Kotone’s original plan to go to the hospital with Yukina was also ruined.

“Is Naoko doing any better now?”

The rain was cold and fine, and the damp air felt heavy, making it hard to breathe.

Dark clouds rolled towards the tall buildings in the distance.

The entire day had been gloomy, and the rain still hadn’t stopped.

Yukina stood under the shelter outside the school gate, holding her phone and talking to Ephnel.

On the other end of the line, Ephnel was laughing softly and chatting with Yukina.

Her voice sounded full of energy, and Yukina’s brow, which had been furrowed all day, relaxed a little, putting her mind at ease.

Hearing Naoko’s voice was very reassuring.

But every time she remembered the words she had heard outside the hospital room that morning, Yukina was plunged into an indescribable sadness.

“School got out pretty early today. Does the student council not have anything to do?”

“…Yeah, there wasn’t much going on at school today. Because of the parent-teacher conference, there was no need to stay for classes, so they just let us out early.”

Yukina held the phone to her ear with one hand, while holding her umbrella and tote bag with the other.

She stood under the shelter and glanced towards the bus stop.

As far as the eye could see, there was a sea of bobbing heads and colorful umbrellas.

In Seikyo City, not many families owned private cars, those expensive consumer goods that required electricity or fuel.

But even so, the road outside the school was quite congested due to the parked cars of the parents.

The traffic jam stretched from the end of the road.

So, although it wasn’t rush hour yet, most of the first-year students and their parents were crowded at the bus stop, three layers deep, already packed to the brim.

What’s more, it was raining.

The mass of umbrellas squeezed together didn’t look pretty, just noisy.

Yukina was starting to hate rainy days more and more.

She looked at the crowded bus stop, thought for a moment, and chose not to take the bus.

Instead, she walked in the other direction.

She came to a shopping street.

It wasn’t too far from the school.

Strictly speaking… this place was less of a shopping street or pedestrian street and more of a recreational street geared towards students and young people.

Whether it was trendy snacks and clothes, or interesting merchandise and peripherals, arcades, KTVs, internet cafes, and the like, you could find almost anything you could think of here.