The warm touch in her hands suddenly disappeared. The brilliant light before her eyes instantly turned into the cold moonlight. Subconsciously looking up at the sky, Celestial Weave saw the myriad of stars and knew she had returned to the real world.
That was sudden. But...
"System, I take back what I said about you being cruel." She was very happy. At least the system had let her have a few last words with her sister.
The system didn't respond. But she didn't care. She thought that her comfort would surely soothe her sister's guilt. She really hoped she would have a happy life in the future.
Smiling, she was about to leave. But the moment she took a step, her body, unfamiliar with this new level of agility, couldn't control its movements, and she tripped on flat ground. "Guh..."
I forgot my Speed stat has been raised to B-rank. To think that my first stumble after returning to reality would be this. You win, floor!
Sitting on the ground, she looked around. Luckily, there was no one nearby. Pretending nothing had happened, she patted her butt and stood up. I just need to be careful on the way home, she thought.
The small setback didn't change her good mood. Not only because she had spoken with her sister, but also because she had seen that her friends cared about her. Knowing that there were people in this world who cared about her would make anyone happy.
Being cared for, being loved—even though she had returned to the real world, even though she knew that this precious memory could only be hidden in her heart, it didn't stop her from feeling happy in this moment.
Humming happily—
Even being careful, she soon arrived at her apartment building. "Apartment" was a bit of an exaggeration. Before her was just a shabby, two-story building.
"Oh my, Yume's back?" There was a small room at the entrance, where the dorm mother lived. Seeing her, she immediately smiled and greeted her kindly. "I'm back!" Because she was in a good mood, her reply was full of energy. The dorm mother, of course, didn't know the story she had been through, but she clearly had her own answer.
"We all watched your debut race! You were amazing, Yume!" As she spoke, she took a piece of candy from the pocket of her apron and gave it to her. As the only young person in this small building, she was very popular. She was the only one besides the dorm mother who didn't have to worry about a terminal illness. Just watching her run seemed to give everyone a bit of vitality.
Yes, as a shabby apartment building near the hospital, it wasn't just that there were many patients. The residents here were all people with terminal illnesses who were unwilling to die. Even if they couldn't afford the hospital fees, they wanted to live a little closer to the hospital. This was also why the rent was very cheap. On the one hand, it was the dorm mother's help. On the other hand, this place was too unlucky, filled with the aura of death. Ordinary people wouldn't live here.
Celestial Weave took the candy. Before she could say anything, the smiling dorm mother patted her on the shoulder and said, "You must be tired after running all day. Hurry back and rest." "Okay, okay." With the candy in her mouth, she could only nod in response.
Passing the entrance, she walked into the building, holding the shabby handrail as she went up to the second floor. At the first door, she took out the key from her backpack, unlocked it, and went in.
The room was no different from her memory. The yellowed wallpaper was slightly curled at the edges, revealing the traces of time, but the walls and floor were spotless. Training notes were stacked on the chipped old tea table. The worn-out wardrobe door was closed tightly. On the narrow single bed was a washed-out but neat blue-checkered sheet. Beside the pillow was a folded old towel.
"I'm back."
To the real world, she had just gone out for a debut race. But for her, she had actually spent nearly ten years in the scenario world. As Isami Mai's daughter, she had even forgotten what it was like to be troubled by money.
The milk candy in her mouth was sickly sweet. A faint scent of rice and salt wafted through the air. She followed the scent and saw that there was half a bowl of rice and miso soup left in the kitchen.
The memories of the past were awakened by the smell. She suddenly remembered that it was the breakfast she had prepared for herself because she had to go to the debut race today and couldn't go to the Tracen cafeteria. It was also today's dinner.
Just then, her stomach rumbled. The hunger she had temporarily forgotten due to her excitement was intensified by the milk candy and rice. The last time she had eaten in the real world seemed to be the contestant's meal during the race.
Well, first things first. She let out a long sigh, brought the rice and miso soup to the old tea table, and placed her backpack on the cushion beside it. The people here seemed to like to eat cold rice. She wouldn't judge their preferences, but she still preferred hot food. But there was no convenient thing like a microwave in the room. Already starving, she was too lazy to heat it up on the stove. She simply poured the soup into the rice and swallowed it all down.
The cold miso soup was unbearably salty. The rice, which couldn't be softened by the soup, formed cold, sticky lumps that got stuck in her throat. Fortunately, she still had half a bottle of mineral water from the debut race. After taking it out of her backpack and drinking it all, at least she didn't have to drink tap water. The solid feeling in her stomach finally relieved her hunger.
"How much money is left after paying the medical bills?" she muttered to herself as she rummaged through her backpack. Holding the now much thinner envelope, she didn't feel any sadness. She was used to this.
The scenario world was a beautiful dream. The precious memories and happiness it had given her would not change. But it was time for her to think about the problems of the real world.
"I guess I have to find a race to participate in first. I think I wrote down some races in my training notes. Oh, and I also need to get used to my body's coordination..."
The completion of the main mission was not the end. For Celestial Weave, she had just stepped onto the starting point.
The dim yellow light in the silent room flickered, making her shadow dance. She sat at the old tea table, thinking about the future, just as she always had.
-------
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