Return to Bonyari City

Not long after the two of them left, Kosaki made a request.

"Kamiki-kun, can you take me to Bonyari City?"

"Onee-chan?"

Haru was somewhat surprised to hear her sister's words.

"..."

Staring at her expressionlessly, Eiji calmly said, "I can. But it might not be a good idea for you. Even so, do you still want to go there?"

"Um. I want to see the situation with my own eyes." Kosaki put on a brave expression.

"If Onee-chan is going, then I'm going too!" Haru said.

"What about you, Nanako-san. Are you going or staying?"

Eiji shifted his gaze to Nanako, who was silently watching from the side.

"No, I'll stay here. Kamiki-kun, please take care of my two daughters."

"Leave it to me. I'll make sure they get home safely."

Listening to their conversation, Haru's mood felt sweet. She felt like her mother was entrusting her to son-in-law.

Unlike her love-filled younger sister, Kosaki couldn't rest easy until she confirmed Raku and her friends' situation.

(Kamii-sama, I beg you to protect Ichijo-kun, Ruri, and the others...)

With hands clasped in front of her chest, she prayed wholeheartedly.

Previously, she didn't believe much in the gods' intervention. However, after witnessing Eiji and Saori's supernatural powers, Kosaki began to believe that there was a god.

"Hold my hand."

She snapped back to her senses upon hearing Eiji's voice.

Kosaki saw him reaching out his left hand towards her, and her younger sister holding his right hand.

Setting aside her embarrassment of holding hands with someone other than Raku, she accepted his gesture.

"Mom, we're leaving." Haru said, hugging Eiji's hand with a blush on her cheeks.

"Um. Be careful on the way. Kosaki, don't act rashly. There might still be danger left in Bonyari City, try consulting with Kamiki-kun before taking any action. Mother doesn't want you to get hurt, let alone lose you."

Nanako specifically reminded her youngest daughter.

As a mother, she could clearly see that her mood was in a bad state, which would greatly affect her thinking.

"Understood, Mother. I'll be careful." Kosaki bowed and answered softly.

"We'll be back before nightfall."

After saying that, Eiji manipulated the space around them with Limitless Technique. Then, the three of them disappeared.

"Return safely, if not... Then I..."

Nanako was sure she would despair if she lost both of her daughters. If that happened, she suspected she would choose suicide because she had lost everything in life.

When Eiji teleported with Haru and Kosaki, the people who were secretly monitoring around the mansion panicked.

They immediately reported this news to their superiors.

＊＊＊＊＊

"Be careful where you step, there are many holes everywhere."

Standing on the road flooded with tsunami remnants, Eiji reminded the two stunned girls.

"Is this really Bonyari City?" Kosaki murmured, covering her mouth.

"It is it." Eiji nodded in response.

Upon hearing his confirmation, her knees instantly lost strength, and Kosaki almost fell.

Eiji's response was quick, he wrapped his arm around her waist to prevent her from falling.

"Onee-chan! Are you okay?" Haru asked worriedly.

"Should we go back?"

"Thank you for your concern, Kamiki-kun. I'm fine. Let's continue."

"Oh."

Seeing Kosaki standing without needing him to support her, Eiji stopped coaxing her.

"First, where do we want to go? And how do we determine the direction?"

Haru's question made Kosaki silent and unsure of what to do.

There wasn't a single building still standing in Bonyari City, everything was leveled with the ground. Plus, the water puddles covering the ground made it impossible to see the roads.

"Don't look at me, I don't know much about Bonyari City besides your sweets shop."

Feeling the two girls' gazes on him, Eiji couldn't provide the solution they hoped for.

Indeed, he had Lin Fan's memories. Normally, it would be easy to know the direction to Bonyari High School, the Shuei Clan Residence, or other important characters' homes.

However, the topography of Bonyari City had completely changed to the point where it was impossible to determine the cardinal directions.

Six Eyes wasn't Byakugan, Eiji couldn't sense the presence of ordinary people.

"It seems we can only navigate the city manually." Haru said helplessly.

"That's the only way." Kosaki nodded in agreement.

Even facing difficulties, she wouldn't give up easily.

"In that case, let's start right away. I promised your mother to bring you back before nightfall." Eiji said calmly.

"Sorry for troubling you, Kamiki-kun." Kosaki showed a apologetic smile.

She knew her request was selfish.

Their relationship and others were only as far as seller and customer. It was already a great kindness for others to save them from a disaster that destroyed a city.

"Instead of sorry, I'd rather hear thank you."

"Thank you for accompanying my selfishness."

"Um."

Haru felt a bit jealous seeing her sister's interaction with the man she liked.

(What am I thinking in a situation like this?! There's no way Onee-chan likes Kamiki-kun! The reason she wants to come here must be to check on that indecisive situation.)

The scoundrel guy she mentioned was Ichijo Raku.

She had a bad impression of him. Moreover, there were some indecent incidents that happened between them.

Haru felt foolish for being jealous of her sister.

Under Eiji's protection, Kosaki and Haru explored the ruins of Bonyari City.

＊＊＊＊＊

2 hours later.

Sitting on the ruins of a building, Kosaki and Haru vomited.

Eiji just watched the scene calmly.

There was a reason why the two girls were like that.

There were over 2 million people living in Bonyari City. In the artificial disaster caused by Saori with the power of Gura Gura no Mi, only three women from the Onodera Family survived the disaster with Eiji's help.

With the sudden 9 Magnitude earthquake, there was no chance for the city residents to seek shelter.

Even the shelter's resilience was questionable if it could withstand such a powerful earthquake.

In simple terms, 98% of Bonyari City's population did not survive!

Kosaki and Haru saw many corpses floating on the surface of the water, or people who were crushed by collapsed buildings.

When did the two girls see such a horrifying sight?

Moreover, the smell of human corpses was extremely foul. Especially those that had been submerged in water for a long time.

The pungent odor pierced their noses, causing the two girls to vomit their breakfast.

On the other hand, Eiji remained expressionless as usual even if there were corpses floating in front of him.

These people were neither family nor friends, so he didn't feel sad at all.

(I wonder if plot armor can save the protagonists?)

Eiji was slightly curious about Raku's fate.

If others could survive such a severe disaster, then plot armor was truly something difficult to deal with.

Sucking her lips, Kosaki weakly said, "Sorry for making you wait, let's continue."

"Of course." Eiji didn't refuse.

Because Haru was too weak, he carried her on his back.