Chapter 51 51: Auntie Chika?

— — — — — — A few hours later, at Eientei "Welcome home, Father." As the silver-furred giant dog landed gracefully in the courtyard, a girl appeared out of nowhere, greeting the rider on its back. "Huh... why does this scene feel so familiar?" Stepping down from the dog's back, Veyron casually took the wet towel handed over by Houraisan Kaguya. "Isn't it obvious?" Inukimi, reverting from her giant dog form, chimed in, "This is exactly what happened the last time you brought me back." Kaguya wiped the corner of her eye dramatically with her sleeve. "What can I say? It's not my fault I ended up with such a neglectful father. Sometimes it's ten days, sometimes half a month, and you don't even come home once!" "And even when you do, you just crash for a night before running off again to chase after some woman, leaving poor nine-year-old me all alone in this huge empty house..." "Hold it, hold it! Since when were you alone? Wasn't Eirin here too?" Veyron caught a glimpse of Inukimi eyeing him and Kaguya intently, her red eyes sparkling with a mischievous "This looks fun!" practically written across them. The corner of Veyron's mouth twitched. He immediately flashed Kaguya a yellow card warning. "Keep it up, and I'm gonna ask Eirin to cut your daily playtime in half." "How could you be so cruel, Father?" Kaguya gasped, her eyes filling with a mix of shock, sadness, and pure disbelief. "Is it because I'm not your real daughter?" At that moment, Veyron could only wonder: what on earth did Chika, Selena, and Gwen stuff into those hard drives when he asked them to pick up 21st-century entertainment stuff for him? ... "Come on, keep going. I'm actually curious how far you can take this story," Veyron said, meeting Kaguya's eyes through her fingers. "Hmph, you're no fun at all, Father," Kaguya pouted. "Alright, enough fooling around. Time to get to business." As they walked toward the house, Veyron mentioned casually, "There's something I wanted to ask you and Eirin about." He was, of course, referring to the matter of Fujiwara Chika wanting to come here to train her spiritual energy. "You and Kaguya can just decide among yourselves," came Eirin's voice from thin air. "And when you're done, come see me. Some of those things you gave me to study are already showing results." "..." That fast? "Got it. I'll swing by in a bit." Veyron then turned back to Kaguya. "I'm fine with whatever," Kaguya shrugged. "But..." She pointed toward the bamboo building behind them. "Where's your friend going to stay?" "I was thinking of building two new bamboo houses in the yard," Veyron said, pointing to the left and right sides of the courtyard. "Inukimi doesn't have a proper place yet either, so one for her, and the other we'll leave as a guest house." He held out a hand to Kaguya. "Alright, let's get this done quickly." — — — Just a moment later, two brand-new bamboo houses sprouted from the ground on either side of the courtyard, each connected to the main building by covered walkways. "Don't just stand there — pick whichever one you like," Veyron said, giving the stunned Inukimi a friendly pat. "They're the same inside for now. Later you can redecorate however you like — just make sure you tell Kaguya first so she can temporarily turn off the 'Eternity' barrier." Inukimi, still a bit dazed, nodded slowly. After hesitating a little, she raised a paw and pointed to the western house. "Alright, that one's yours," Veyron nodded, then opened up the group chat and pinged Fujiwara Chika. --- 『Earth's Cancer: Got it!』 Already waiting eagerly, Chika quickly switched to the task interface and accepted the mission Veyron had posted. With the teleportation complete, she found herself in a serene courtyard. The first person she spotted was, of course, Veyron standing right in front of her. After giving him a quick greeting, her eyes were immediately drawn to the small figure beside him, who was watching her curiously. It was a girl who looked around nine or ten years old, wearing a pink top and a dark red skirt, a ribbon tied neatly at her chest. Her long, silky black hair flowed elegantly down her back, styled in a classic princess cut. Her features were so perfect, Chika felt like even the best character modelers couldn't design someone this flawless. Remembering what Veyron had said before about his home, Chika had a pretty good guess about the girl's identity. Sure enough— "I'm Houraisan Kaguya," the girl said politely. "You must be the friend Father mentioned, the one coming to stay with us for a while?" "...Kaguya?" Chika blinked, caught off guard. She hadn't spoken loudly, but at this distance, there was no way Kaguya's sharp ears would miss it. "Is there something wrong with my name?" Kaguya tilted her head curiously. "N-no, not at all!" Chika waved her hands quickly. "It's just... back home, I have a friend named Kaguya too. Her last name's 'Shinomiya' though. So it kinda surprised me to hear it." "Another Kaguya?" Kaguya smiled warmly. "What a coincidence." Chika let out a sheepish laugh. "Haha, sorry, I went off-topic there. I'm Fujiwara Chika. I'll be training my spiritual energy with Veyron for a while. Nice to meet you!" "No need to be so formal," Kaguya beamed. "Since you're Father's friend... by seniority, I should actually call you Auntie Chika." "...A-auntie?!" It felt like a lightning bolt had struck from the heavens. Chika's whole body went pale. "No, no way, absolutely not!" she cried, snapping back to her senses. With a serious expression, she faced Kaguya head-on. "I'm still a girl too, you know! Calling me 'Auntie' is way too much!" . . .