Translator:imperfectluckEditor:Kurisu

Why are you apologizing?

Because I forgot about mom

Shes never existed, so it doesnt count as you forgetting. You dont need to apologize for this, Shingo said calmly.

Im the one who should be apologizing, he thought to himself. However, he was unable to bring himself to say it out loud.

No I believe that mom really existed. Chiaki looked directly at him. Dad, your memories are no hallucinations. They were real.

The famous artist frowned upon hearing this.

I told you, that was nothing but a dream. Dont treat it as reality, he spoke in a cold tone.

Shingo didnt want to see his daughter also being confused by these memories. It was more than enough that he was the only abnormal one.

Yet, a tiny part within him was actually happy that his daughter said so. This caused him to feel self-loathing, which was why his tone was so icy.

Dad Chiaki took a deep glance at her father, feeling like she could now understand better why her father acted the way he did.

He still remembered some vague memories of his wife, but nobody else even remembered her existence, nor was there any evidence that she had once existed. This was as if the entire world was denying her very existence!

And so, he could only deny his wifes existence as well.

Just how painful would it be to deny your own memories?

Just how much pressure would he be under to bear all of this by himself?

He didnt ask for recognition, because he didnt even believe in himself. What few memories he still had of his wife, he could only treat as hallucinations that was truly so pitiful.

After thinking deeper on this, Chiaki felt her eyes heating up as if she wanted to cry.

But, she had to withstand the urge.

She couldnt allow herself to cry because of this, because she knew her father wouldnt want to see it.

She felt that someone like herself who had forgotten about her mother had no right to cry about it in front of her father who had been dealing with his memories all by himself.

Right now, its still unknown whether these memories are real or not, Seiji spoke up. Wakaba-san, your memories regarding your wife might indeed be an illusion. However, its also quite possible that such memories really reflect events that happened, just like what Chiaki says. The evidence for this is that Chiaki dreamed about her mother Although she cant remember her dream anymore, I clearly heard her saying mommy while she was dreaming. Theres no mistaking what she said. I dont think that its a coincidence for such a thing to happen while shes being targeted by something mystical

Wait a moment. A fierce glint suddenly appeared in Shingos eyes as he stopped Seiji from continuing. You heard Chiaki talking in her sleep while she was dreaming the two of you were sleeping together?

Seiji:

Seijis cheeks twitched as he suddenly felt a powerful aura coming from Chiakis father.

Um, we werent it was just that I had Chiaki sleep in the study of my apartment in order to better protect her Uh, I just happened to hear her talking in her sleep while I was checking on her

Seiji did his best to explain things clearly when faced with this pressure from his girlfriends father. Still, he felt a little lacking in confidence here.

That was because he knew he was a scumbag who had started a harem.

Shingo adjusted his eyeglasses and judged the youth before him with an even sharper gaze than earlier.

Although Shingo was a mature adult who was somewhat mentally prepared that his daughter would eventually enter a sexual relationship with a boyfriend one day, it was impossible for him to remain calm once he truly learned such a thing.

Seeing how fidgety and lacking in confidence Seigo was behaving right now, Shingo felt that something had definitely happened between his daughter and Seigo.

I wont allow such a relationship while the both of you are still in high school. But if things are already at that level, you must remember to use protection. Shingo looked directly at Chiaki while saying this.

Chiaki, who had just wanted to cry, now wanted to laugh out loud.

Her fathers misunderstanding and serious attitude and Seijis sudden lack of confidence this scene made her feel happy for some reason.

She lowered her head in order to hide the fact that she was almost about to laugh.

This action caused Shingo to misunderstand even further. His gaze became even fiercer.

Listen to me, you absolutely have to use protection! Otherwise there will be a serious problem!

We havent had such a relationship yet We havent reached that level, Seiji hurriedly mentioned.

This was the truth. Although Chiaki had given him several blowjobs, and he had serviced her as well, they indeed hadnt crossed the final line and had sex yet.

However, Shingo didnt believe this. And even if they still hadnt had sex yet, they were probably almost at that point in their relationship.

Young people were quite lacking in self-restraint. Even if they could temporarily restrain themselves, there was no telling when they would no longer be able to withstand the urge.

Since you call yourself Chiakis boyfriend, and you say that you have responsibilities as her boyfriend, then you also need to protect her. You need to realize the possible consequences of not using protection. You need to take this seriously!

I said that we havent Seiji felt rather helpless. But, youre right. Ill remember this.

You have to remember it. Shingo glared at Seiji for a while before turning to Chiaki. That goes for you as well. You need to protect yourself. If he doesnt care about using protection, you need to break up with him as fast as possible.

Chiaki really was almost about to laugh out loud now. She made a great effort in order not to.

I will, Dad. Chiaki finally replied after holding in her urge to laugh. Actually even if we arent careful itll be fine, because Seigo is really rich. He can afford to

This isnt an issue that can be resolved by money! Shingo wanted to say this, but suddenly felt like he had no right to say something like this.

That was because he had remained distant from his daughter all this time. Apart from giving his daughter lots and lots of money since he was really rich, he knew that he hadnt done anything a father should have for his daughter at all.

Since Shingo realized this, he felt like he no longer had the right to lecture them.

At any rate, you must be careful. He ended on that note.

Seiji and Chiaki both nodded obediently.

Everyone fell silent once again.

What had they been talking about originally again?

Cough lets get back onto the original topic, Seiji coughed to put the topic back on track. Chiakis dream is probably no coincidence. It was likely brought about by something mystical. Let us hypothesize that your memories are actually real, Wakaba-san. This means that Chiakis dream might be the sign that her memories are beginning to recover. While this may seem like a good thing, if thats whats really going on, this is actually a very serious matter. Your wife, Chiakis mother, was someone who definitely existed for real. Yet, she completely disappeared from the entire world as if she had never existed at all Only a highly powerful demon or spiritual ability user could be behind this.

I think that its more likely a demon is behind this, because if a human was behind this, that person shouldnt have eliminated everyones memories of your wife but leave your memories only half-erased. And if a demon caused all of this, just how powerful could this demon be its difficult for me to calculate. Its possible that this demon has recently started targeting Chiaki. And, the worst possible outcome may be that Chiaki will vanish from the world and everyones memories, just like her mother did. Seiji said all this with a serious expression.

Disappear Chiaki couldnt help but imagine herself being captured or being kidnapped by some unknown demon, god, or human. After that, she would completely disappear from the world, as if she never existed. Just imagining it made Chiaki feel afraid.

Wait a moment, being taken away by a demon or a god? Wasnt that the same as the so-called being spirited away?

Being spirited away, as in being hidden from the world by some sort of spirit, demon, or god, was quite a famous mystical phenomenon in literature.

The most famous legend of being spirited away in Sakura Island was the story of Urashima Taro, the fisherman who had been taken to a dragons palace after hed saved a turtle. This was a fairy tale that everybody in Sakura Islandknew¹.

In modern society of today, being spirited away was treated as a superstitious way to explain someones sudden and mysterious disappearance. That was what Chiaki knew of being spirited away.

But now, it would seem that the concept of being spirited away was actually true to its roots, that the person would be erased from the world by a demon or a god was that it?

Had her missing mother actually been spirited away?