Running Away From Home

"The Young Master is finally getting serious," Crow muttered.

They had just arrived to find that this was an ambush orchestrated by the Demon Spirits, which had delayed them for a while. He hadn't expected that in this short window, the Uesugi Clan Head would have already vanished.

After dealing with these people, Gen Chisaki pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Kaguya-hime, search for the Uesugi Clan Head in the vicinity of Akihabara."

"Initiator: Gen Chisaki. Executor: Kaguya-hime. Command valid. Command accepted. The system will begin the search in thirty seconds."

Erii didn't even have a phone on her, otherwise, he could have tracked her location directly. Once he found her this time, he would immediately equip her with one, Gen Chisaki thought to himself.

Upon arriving in Akihabara, Gen Chisaki announced that they would split up to search.

After searching for a while, Gen Chisaki saw a girl with red hair wearing a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit walking hand-in-hand with a man nearby.

Gen Chisaki was instantly enraged. Who dared to hold Erii's hand?

He rushed over, performed a takedown, and pinned the man to the ground.

"Who are you? What are you doing!" the girl in the red-and-white shrine maiden outfit shouted loudly.

Gen Chisaki froze and looked at the red-haired girl beside her. This wasn't Erii!

He released the man and turned to leave, his face expressionless.

The man stood up and cursed, "What kind of dog are you, daring to hit someone in the street? Do you believe I'll call the police to arrest you!"

Turning around, Gen Chisaki looked at the man with cold, indifferent eyes.

A wave of pressure descended. The man felt as if he were staring at a ferocious beast and immediately shut his mouth.

Gen Chisaki ignored him and turned away.

"Crow, what's the situation on your end?" Gen Chisaki dialed his phone.

"Young Master, we're seeing a lot of people in shrine maiden outfits here. Forget red hair—there's a whole bunch of blue, green, and purple ones too. They've almost collected the entire rainbow!"

It seemed this was a conspiracy targeting the Snake Eight Families. Gen Chisaki's eyes turned icy. Since they dared to provoke them, the provocateurs could wait to taste the wrath of the Snake Eight Families.

"Potato Chips, Potato Chips, the mission is complete. I've arranged for a free shrine maiden outfit giveaway. In a moment, the entirety of Akihabara will be a world of shrine maiden outfits," Jiu De Mai reported on the mission status.

"Received. Now, let's see how Little White Rabbit performs," Su Enxi said, sitting on the hotel bed and watching her computer, monitoring the actions of the Snake Eight Families.

This was the first time Erii had been so far from home, and in her perception, the world was full of turmoil.

Generations of Gundam and Lelouch fought in the same space-time, and Saint Seiya existed simultaneously with Ghost in the Shell, though she would sometimes doubt the logic of certain games and anime, such as Gintama.

She had always wanted to verify if the world she imagined was correct, so she often ran away from home repeatedly. She yearned for the outside world but was also terrified of it, which was why her escapes always failed.

This time, she had accidentally met Sakura. He was very strong, and his smile during the competition was infectious, which was why she trusted him so much.

Although Sakura's behavior was a bit strange at times, he really was a very interesting person.

"Sakura, I'm hungry," Erii held her newly bought notebook out in front of Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei took out his phone and glanced at the time; it was already past five in the afternoon.

Fine, he would take her for one more meal. After this, he would make her go home quickly.

Lu Mingfei took her to a small restaurant.

"Erii, is there anything you want to eat?" Lu Mingfei brought over the menu.

"The same as Sakura."

"Boss, two orders of five-ingredient fried rice!"

A short while later, two plates of five-ingredient fried rice were served. Erii poked at the rice with her spoon; it was her first time eating this kind of food.

She put a spoonful of rice into her mouth and chewed carefully. Erii's eyes lit up—delicious!

Erii ate the five-ingredient fried rice. Although she only took small bites at a time, she ate quickly, and it was clear she liked it very much.

Lu Mingfei watched the way she ate. He hadn't expected her to enjoy a plate of fried rice so much. Lu Mingfei began to eat as well; the taste was indeed quite good.

"Go home after you finish this meal," Lu Mingfei said out of the blue.

Erii's eating motion stopped instantly, and she looked at Lu Mingfei.

"Look, we only participated in the competition together, and I even bought you anime merchandise earlier. You don't have to keep following me around. Just go back after you're done eating," Lu Mingfei said slowly while eating his fried rice.

Erii felt a bit dejected. Her eyes lowered, and her usually expressionless face showed a hint of loneliness.

Her movements slowed down, as if she were savoring the fried rice.

After a while, Erii held up her notebook: "I have some questions I want to ask you. Can Sakura explain them to me?"

"Go ahead."

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, looking at her naive appearance, she would probably only ask him some simple questions. He would answer if he could.

"Why are there so many Sabers outside? Does she have a shadow clone technique?"

Lu Mingfei was stunned. What kind of question was that? He answered directly, "Because the people outside are cosplaying."

"Are there sea monsters in the ocean?"

"I'm not sure about that. There probably aren't any."

"Are A-laws and Celestial Being still at war? When did the Britannia Kingdom's enslavement of Area 11 end? Where is the Hidden Leaf Village? Is Luffy still recruiting crew members?"

Facing these questions, Lu Mingfei wondered if she was pulling his leg, but looking at her earnest expression, it didn't seem like a joke.

Her questions were bizarre and varied, yet some were quite logical, such as why the ocean has tides and where the trains come from.

Lu Mingfei explained them one by one, but after a while, he fell silent.

This girl seemed to have no understanding of the outside world at all; her impression of the world was formed solely from games and anime, leaving her with nothing but a distorted view of reality.

"Erii, have you never been out before?" Lu Mingfei interrupted her questioning.

"Because I was sick, my family wouldn't let me go out. I've run away from home many times, but I was always too scared to go far and would get brought back by my family," Erii wrote in her notebook.

She had never been out to see the world, so her worldview was a concoction of anime and games. Could it be that Erii's family had never taught her basic common sense?

Erii claimed it was because she was sick, but she looked rosy and healthy right in front of him. Even if she were ill, was it really that difficult to step out and see the world in this state?

Lu Mingfei clenched his fists, an inexplicable surge of anger rising within him.

"What's wrong, Sakura? Do you think I'm asking too many questions?" Erii cautiously placed the notebook in front of Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei calmed himself, looked up, and smiled at her. "Not at all. I think Erii's questions are all very interesting. Once we finish eating, I'll take you out for a stroll."

Erii's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly wrote: "Is it running away from home?"

"Yes, running away from home."