"Dad..."
Standing beside Eriri, Keika Kiyotaki looked at her father, Kousuke Kiyotaki, who was kneeling before Eriri, her face filled with deep emotion.
Seeing this, Eriri waved her hand slightly, and an invisible force lifted Kousuke Kiyotaki upright.
The strange sensation made surprise flash across his face, but before he could speak, Eriri's ethereal voice reached his ears again.
"Uncle, you don't need to do this. This is also fate between Keika and me."
"I see... in that case, I won't say anything more."
Kousuke smiled faintly, no longer dwelling on the matter.
"Chatting with an old man like me must be boring. Why don't you let Keika show you both around instead?"
"Mm, that's just what we had in mind. Then, we'll excuse ourselves."
...
After leaving Kousuke Kiyotaki's room, Eriri and Frieren followed Keika back to her room.
Since Keika was a passionate lover of shogi, her bookshelf was filled with all kinds of shogi-related books.
Next to the shelf stood a shogi board with two cushions placed opposite each other.
However, Keika usually played matches against her father in their dedicated shogi room. The board in her bedroom was mainly for studying moves.
"Frieren-nee, I'll teach you how to play shogi!"
"Alright."
Once they returned to the room, Keika smiled brightly and led Frieren to the shogi board.
"This is shogi. I don't think I need to explain too much—you must've seen it in the memory playback."
Keika pointed to the board, where the pieces were neatly arranged, and said excitedly.
"Yes, I have. But this is my first time seeing it in reality."
Frieren nodded, her bright eyes curiously examining the pieces.
When Eriri had brought her into this world before, she hadn't paid much attention to Keika's room, so she hadn't noticed the board then.
"Come, Frieren-nee, sit here."
Keika took Frieren's hand and guided her to sit on one side of the board.
Then, she took another cushion from the cabinet, placed it next to the board, and tugged Eriri's arm enthusiastically.
"Eriri-nee, you sit here! If I explain something poorly, you can help fill in the gaps!"
"Sure, no problem. But I believe you'll do a great job."
Eriri gave her an encouraging look before kneeling down gracefully on the cushion.
"Mm, I'll do my best."
Keika beamed happily and knelt opposite Frieren.
And so, the shogi lesson began—starting from the very basics.
...
Time passed quickly; more than three hours went by.
For someone like Frieren, who could effortlessly master complex magic, learning a mental game like shogi was almost child's play.
Under Keika's patient explanation, she learned the rules in no time and soon began playing matches with her.
With each game, Frieren's skill improved rapidly. At first, Keika easily defeated her, but before long, Frieren could hold her own in evenly matched games.
During this period, Eriri didn't just watch. Later on, she also played matches with both Keika and Frieren.
Naturally, every match ended in Eriri's victory.
Of course, she didn't use her full strength, wanting both Keika and Frieren to enjoy the experience. Otherwise, she could have ended each match in seconds instead of allowing for such balanced and extended play.
At this moment, Eriri and Keika Kiyotaki were engaged in their second shogi match, which had already lasted nearly half an hour.
As Eriri studied the board, contemplating her next move to prolong the game a little longer, she suddenly looked up—her gaze turning toward the front entrance beyond the wall.
"Keika, it seems our match will have to end early."
Retracting her gaze, Eriri smiled at Keika, who was still deep in thought.
"Huh? Why?" Keika blinked, puzzled.
"Ginko Sora has already arrived. She's at the front door now."
"Eh? Ginko Sora's already here? Time sure flies!" Keika exclaimed, realizing she had lost all track of time due to her focus on shogi.
"Then we'd better hurry up. Eriri-nee, no need to hold back anymore."
"In that case, let me show you my true skill!"
...
Five minutes later, Eriri, Frieren, and Keika returned to the room where they had first met Kousuke Kiyotaki.
This time, however, there were three more people inside.
Seated across from Kousuke were a young, beautiful woman and a cute little girl.
The adorable four-year-old girl with short, silvery hair was none other than Ginko Sora herself, while the young woman beside her—whose silver hair and facial features closely resembled Ginko Sora's—was her mother.
"Ah, Keika, you're here! I was just about to send someone to call you," Kousuke said cheerfully when he saw them enter.
Before Eriri or the others could speak, he introduced them to Ginko Sora and her mother.
"Miss Shouko, these two are Keika's friends. She mentioned Ginko Sora to them before, so they came today to witness her apprenticeship ceremony."
Upon hearing the introduction, the young woman—who had been captivated by Eriri's beauty since the moment she entered—nodded understandingly.
Then she turned and bowed politely to Eriri and Frieren.
"Hello, I'm Ginko Sora's mother, Shouko Kuuhaku. Thank you very much for caring about my daughter."
"Hello, Miss Shouko. My name is Eriri Spencer Sawamura, and this is Frieren. We really like little Ginko Sora," Eriri said warmly, placing a gentle hand on Frieren's shoulder.
After introducing themselves, Eriri stepped forward and knelt down before Ginko Sora and her mother.
"Nice to meet you, Ginko Sora. You can call me Eriri-nee~" she said softly, smiling as she reached out and patted the little girl's head.
"Eriri-nee, you're so pretty!" Ginko Sora said with shining eyes, completely unbothered by meeting strangers.
From the moment Eriri entered the room, Ginko Sora's gaze had never left her. At her age, she couldn't yet understand emotions like admiration—her affection was simply born from a child's love of beauty.
So, instead of feeling shy, she expressed her feelings openly and honestly.
"Thank you, Ginko Sora. You're very cute too~" Eriri said with a grin, gently pinching the girl's cheeks.
Seeing the two interact so affectionately, even Shouko's normally composed expression softened into a faint smile.
As for Frieren, her greeting to Shouko was as brief as it had been with Kousuke earlier—a simple "Hello."
Shouko didn't mind. Although Frieren's pointed ears piqued her curiosity, she merely assumed they were part of a cosplay accessory—after all, many anime fans liked wearing elf ears for fun.
Surely, there was no such thing as real elves in this world.
...
Ten minutes later, the apprenticeship ceremony concluded.
Though called a "ceremony," it was actually quite simple—just a few formal vows and mutual acknowledgments. With that, the ceremony officially came to an end.
"Master Kiyotaki, please take good care of Ginko Sora from now on!"
Shouko Kuuhaku stood before Kousuke Kiyotaki and bowed deeply, her expression filled with sincerity.
Becoming Kousuke's live-in disciple meant that Ginko Sora would now live with him from this day forward.
Ginko Sora was born with congenital heart disease—her body extremely frail, her life constantly at risk.
Under normal circumstances, as her mother, Shouko would never have allowed her daughter to become someone else's disciple and move away from home.
But this was something she had no choice about.
When Ginko Sora was born, her father had already passed away from a heart condition. And when Ginko Sora herself was diagnosed with a congenital illness, the doctors declared she wouldn't live long. That devastating news shattered Shouko's spirit, leaving her emotionally unstable and unfit to raise a child.
Later, when she discovered her daughter's deep love for shogi, she made the painful decision to let her become a live-in disciple under Kousuke.
At the very least, she wanted her daughter to experience the joy of pursuing something she loved before her short life came to an end.
"Miss Shouko, please rest assured," Kousuke said solemnly. "Now that Ginko Sora is my disciple, I will raise her as though she were my own daughter."
Hearing that, Shouko nodded with mixed emotions. "Thank you... that puts my heart at ease."
But even as she smiled faintly, her eyes lingered on her daughter—filled with love and reluctant sorrow.
Sensing the heavy mood in the room, little Ginko Sora grew quiet as well.
Seeing this, Eriri, who had been standing quietly beside Frieren, suddenly clapped her hands together, the crisp sound drawing everyone's attention.
"Alright, alright! Today's a happy occasion—let's not look so gloomy, okay?" she said cheerfully.
"Yeah, that's right!" Keika chimed in quickly. "Don't be sad, Miss Shouko. I'll help take care of Ginko Sora too! And you can come visit her at my house anytime."
"Thank you, Keika." Shouko wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and smiled gently.
Just then, Eriri spoke again, her tone light but meaningful.
"Now that Ginko Sora has officially become a disciple, it's time I give her the gift I prepared."
"Gift?"
At the word, Ginko Sora's eyes lit up instantly, her earlier sadness vanishing like morning mist.
After all, she was still just a four-year-old child—who wouldn't be excited to receive a present?
Even Kousuke and Shouko didn't object.
Kousuke, fully aware of Eriri's extraordinary nature, was genuinely curious to see what kind of miraculous gift someone like her might bestow.
If it could somehow help Ginko Sora's fragile body, that would be the greatest blessing possible.
As for Shouko, she still believed Eriri to be an ordinary teenage girl, so she assumed the gift would be something small and sentimental. Thus, she didn't refuse.
"That's right—a gift that will surely satisfy all of you," Eriri said with a knowing smile.
Under everyone's expectant gaze, she stepped forward and knelt before Ginko Sora once more, placing her right hand gently atop the girl's head.
Then, a faint trace of cosmic energy flowed from Eriri's palm into Ginko Sora's body.
Under Eriri's control, the cosmic energy circulated throughout Ginko Sora's entire being before finally settling in her heart.
Instantly, Ginko Sora's weak and sickly body transformed—her condition restored to perfect health. Her congenital heart disease was completely cured, and her heart became even stronger than that of a normal human.
Eriri did not withdraw the energy afterward. Instead, she left a wisp of that cosmic power within Ginko Sora's heart.
Under Eriri's careful adjustment, this energy posed no harm—it would continuously nourish her body through her heart, replenishing her vitality and slowly strengthening her over time.
Eventually, this energy would allow Ginko Sora to step into the realm of the Transcendent.
This cosmic energy was entirely different from the energy seeds Eriri had used before. The energy seed granted a rapid, temporary boost in power through intensive training.
But this cosmic energy would work on its own—constantly enhancing its host's strength without the need for deliberate effort. The only difference was that its growth rate was slower than that of the seed.
And so, with just a touch from Eriri, little Ginko Sora's fate quietly shifted toward a brighter, limitless future.
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