Hope to live on

Kariya turned his head away, a bitter feeling welling up inside him. Bai Mo gently stroked Sakura's forehead and said, "Kariya, you've noticed too, haven't you? I've already taken care of those things on you. As for this child, I've taken care of her things as well, and Zouken is probably dead."

Kariya looked up, surprised and delighted, "Really?"

"Why would I need to lie to you about something like this? So, what do you want to do?"

Kariya glanced at Sakura, gritted his teeth, and said, "As long as I can get Sakura back, I'll do anything..."

Bai Mo couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed the coffee table, throwing it at Kariya. Kariya raised his hand, but his arm was still bruised from the impact. However, compared to being tormented by the insects, this pain was nothing.

"Fool, do you know Sakura's situation? Do you know what her body means to those Magecraft? Once she loses her protection, she'll be preserved in formaldehyde by those Magecraft. What do you plan to do? With your current mortal body?"

"You haven't improved at all in the end. You think that because you've given everything, victory should rightfully belong to you. That's absurd. If you were to go and kill yourself, I wouldn't care. But have you thought about what will happen to this child?"

Kariya didn't see when Ying lay down on the sofa, nor did he see when Bai Mo came to him.

"If you continue to hold such naive and foolish thoughts, death is the only way out for you. You have neither the right nor the ability to be responsible for anyone's life. Do you understand Kariya Matou?"

Bai Mo stood before him, Kariya truly felt the threat of death. Yes, what did he have left? He was just an ordinary person now, struggling to survive, let alone take care of Sakura. If those Magecraft came, all he could do was die in front of Sakura.

Behind her, Sakura rubbed her eyes and sat up.

"Cherry!"

Kariya spoke, but Ying never once looked at him.

"This child has suffered too much. Even if the physical wounds can heal, the emotional wounds will stay with her for life. She has no reason to live."

Kariya stepped forward and asked, "Sakura, it's all over. Let's go."

However, Sakura didn't glance at him once throughout, only asking, "Where's Grandpa?"

"Forget about that thing, come with me, Sakura."

"Why?"

Kariya was stunned. Yes, he thought that taking Ying away would bring everything back to the past, but the past could not be returned to, and she had lost her reason to live.

"What do I do."

Confusion welled up in his heart, and he blurted out a question. Then Bai Mo grabbed him and lifted him up, followed by a loud slap.

"Who do you want to ask about your own life? Are you even aware of what's going on?"

Bai Mo pointed to the door and said, "Now, leave here. You can't help with anything here. After you leave, you can live like an ordinary person, or go find a corner to smash your head against and die, or continue down the stupid path of Magecraft. But you can't do anything here."

Kariya still refused to leave, looking at Sakura, hoping to hear something from the girl, even though Kariya himself didn't know what he wanted to hear. But Sakura never looked at him once.

Do you want to raise this child?

Bai Mo's words were like a thunderclap, but the slap still had some effect; Kariya didn't say anything stupid like "Without Sakura, Watashi..."

Bai Mo continued, "If you want to take care of her, leave here. You still have time to become a real man, and then the child will naturally return to your side. This is your first step, Kariya."

The road to success is always full of twists and turns. The hardest part is not giving up all your previous efforts or silently gritting your teeth and persevering, but being able to make up your mind and truly take the first step. For Kariya Matou, that step was to walk out of this room.

Outside the hotel, Kariya looked at the boundless sky, took a deep breath, and was about to leave when a woman's voice called out to him from behind.

It was a strangely dressed maid, all in white, handing a document bag to Kariya.

Inside the hotel, Bai Mo watched this scene unfold. Sella, somewhat disgruntled, remarked, "You're spending money so extravagantly; it's difficult for me, as the accountant, to manage."

"Sella, this isn't much. Prisons usually give released prisoners a small allowance. It's rare for this guy to have hope, so consider it a small investment on my part."

"That's not a small amount, Bai Mo. And you went out without having lunch again, didn't you?"

"Please, spare me..."

People always need hope, and at this moment, Kariya already had a hope in his heart: to create an environment that could take care of Sakura and even allow Rin's family to live safely (excluding Tokiomi, of course). He had to become powerful, whether by accumulating power through business or by studying Magecraft. As long as there was hope, as long as he was alive, his life was not a failure.

Let's start from this step.

*

"Is your name Sakura?"

Sakura was a little stunned. Looking at the energetic girl in front of her, she didn't know how to respond to her enthusiasm.

"Illya, don't scare her."

Bai Mo spoke calmly, but judging from their state, everything seemed to be progressing steadily. He could only hope that Illya could enter the child's heart.

On the other side, Illya had already started referring to herself as the older sister, and upon hearing this, Sakura's gaze involuntarily trembled.

"Don't worry, Sakura, you'll see your family again. I might break your dad's leg, but that's not a big deal."

Sakura looked at Bai Mo, while Illya beside her burst out with discontent. "Why doesn't Bai Mo take me to find Mom and the others! I've been here for so long, Bai Mo you still won't take me out to play!"

"Who knows? Maybe your mom doesn't want you anymore."

"Bai Mo!"

Illya tried biting directly this time, but no matter how hard she bit, not a single red mark was left.

"Give in, you've dirtied my clothes, are you a dog?"

Looking at the two of them, Sakura asked, "Why?"

"Hmm?" Bai Mo and Illya stopped what they were doing and looked at Sakura.

Sakura: "Why are you helping me like this... even though I am..."

Abandoned child? Bai Mo sensed this feeling, but before she could speak, Illya stood up with a "leave it to my sister" attitude and said, "What? It's actually very simple, Sakura."

Sakura looked at Illya with curiosity, thinking that she must have some profound insights.

But Illya put her finger to her lips and whispered like a Little Devil.

"Because Bai Mo is the kind of person who's really easy to control, you just need to act cute or something..."

"Have I been too kind to you, Ilya?"

Bai Mo pinched Illya's cheeks with both hands, like making dumplings.

"Waaaaah, I was wrong."

Sella, watching this scene from a distance, couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle. She thought it wouldn't be bad if the four of them lived like this, and for a moment she was startled by her own thought.

As Yingyi watched this scene, something within her quietly began to stir.