"You're back? How did it go?"
Logan instinctively nodded, "Well, it went alright… Cough! Wait, why the hell do you care!"
Realizing how naturally Olivia had asked, Logan squinted at her, 'You don't even know what I was doing, so don't act like we're that familiar, alright?'
"Heh, I did wait for you for almost two hours." Olivia lifted her chin slightly. Her cold tone made it easy to misinterpret whether she was genuinely indifferent or secretly holding a grudge.
They walked to the street and hailed a taxi. The night had grown deep, but the city lights still flickered in dazzling colors. Logan adjusted the backpack carrying the drawing tablet and let the cool wind clear his mind, though fatigue still lingered.
The clean-up at the apartment was done, and now it was time to return with Olivia.
There wasn't much to erase, as it's just retrieving a couple of kunai and tidying up any traces in the workspace. The real concern had been dealing with Kishimoto. Logan had to avoid unnecessary trouble. He didn't have any advanced Genjutsu to wipe memories, but he had learned basic hypnosis in ANBU, which was more than enough for an ordinary civilian.
It doesn't have to be perfect, just enough to steer the author's thoughts away from anything supernatural. Once Kishimoto reported it, it'd just look like a simple case of break-in and theft, and Logan would walk away scot-free.
Of course, once the hypnosis was done… knocking the guy out again was just part of the process.
…
The car ride back was silent. Olivia's gaze drifted between Logan's face and the backpack, her mind visibly working through its own conclusions. Eventually, she couldn't help but ask, "Logan, I did wait for you for almost two hours."
"..."
Logan mulled over the deliberate emphasis in her tone and decided to ignore it.
After a few seconds of no response, Olivia looked forward and spoke again: "Logan, I did wait for you for almost two hours, you know!"
Logan clenched his grip on the backpack strap and said, "Senior... I can hear you. And you already said that."
'And you even added an extra 'you know' just now.'
"It will probably be early in the morning when we get back to the hotel." Olivia remarked seemingly unintentionally.
Hearing this, the corner of Logan's mouth twitched, 'That calm tone… That identical delivery… She's rubbing in how much effort she put in, isn't she?'
'The setup was complete…' Olivia crossed her legs.
"Yu Xiaobai, who did you go see?"
"I'm not telling you."
The response was instant, so fast that it seamlessly overlapped with the end of Olivia's question.
Olivia had just started adjusting her posture when she froze for a moment.
Just like that, she stiffened. Logan caught a glimpse of her reaction from the corner of his eye, then let his gaze drift toward the taxi's meter, its numbers happily ticking away, "It's just that the time hasn't come yet... When I can tell you, I will."
With a cold snort, Olivia (￣_,￣) turned her gaze toward the window, "Of course, I know that. We agreed on an equal exchange. I moved resources to Japan for you on short notice. If, in the end, you don't give me a satisfactory answer… I won't let you off the hook."
'Yeah, rejecting her too many times is definitely going to leave a mark.' Logan chuckled awkwardly.
The car continued forward. Right now, he didn't have the energy to spar with his overly curious, slightly chuuni Senior.
He had to return to the Naruto World as soon as possible. Even logic and reason struggled to keep him grounded. If it weren't for the unknown risks still lurking, Logan would have already created a shadow clone in the apartment, let the drawing tablet drain it, and teleported back immediately.
This was a desire heavier than any he had ever carried. After all, it wasn't just about returning… it was about the story of pure love.
It was about the bright, blossoming smile of Hoshino Sumika, pulling him forward.
…
After the journey back to the hotel, Logan still had to maintain a stable, worry-free routine despite his eagerness to unravel the secrets of the tablet.
After returning to his room, he made some casual conversation with David about his outing, then took a shower. Once the night-owl David finally settled into bed, Logan finally had space to himself.
The lights were off, and in the dimly lit room, Logan carefully retrieved the tablet from his bag. The repeated process of channeling and stopping his Chakra made him far less frantic than during his first attempt.
'This thing isn't all that terrifying.'
Using the faint light filtering through the curtains, Logan focused and once again injected a small amount of Chakra into the device. As expected, the inscriptions on the back of the tablet lit up, and the weak fluctuations of Space-Time energy appeared once more.
He experimented with different ways to probe its internals, but without the right knowledge, he was getting nowhere. As he fiddled with it, Logan scratched his head in frustration.
'I can only know that it will automatically absorb Chakra after contact with it, and then cause the Space-Time fluctuations."
A Manga Author, himself, the drawing tablet, transmigration… Logan had a vague sense that all these elements were interconnected, yet he couldn't fully grasp how.
Then, in the midst of his frustration, Logan suddenly thought of something and couldn't help clenching his fists, 'Damn, I almost forgot… I can ask the Elder.'
In his impatience, Logan even forgot that he had a helper, his Summoned Beasts, especially one as high-intelligence and high-status as the elder of the Divine Bird Clan.
Logan's pressure was slightly relieved. Though he could already picture the old bird hunched over a cane with reading glasses, looking utterly unreliable, he reminded himself, 'This problem is different from before. Well, I had to respect the elders.'
Logan glanced at David, who was snoring, ensuring he was deep asleep. After checking the doors and windows, he quietly formed the necessary hand seals.
…
"Ah, it's Hattori, you're here."
As always, the center of the grove was dominated by an enormous Paulownia Tree, its crown forming a vast platform of intertwining branches. Logan stood upon the wooden structure, while the aged Elder sat in his usual spot, greeting him warmly.
"Sorry to disturb you, Elder..." Logan said, glancing to the side. Two towering red-feathered birds flanked him like living skyscrapers.
Akiyama, proud as ever, stood at the railing, gazing into the distance. Given how long he had lived here, Logan doubted there was anything new for him to see. Meanwhile, Kotonami elegantly folded her wings, watching Logan with keen interest, clearly enjoying the show.
"Logan, when are you going to summon me to your world for a visit?" Kotonami said with a smile, her golden-red wings shimmering like liquid fire.
"My world, huh… Now's not the best time. But I promise I'll call you when I get the chance."
Logan said awkwardly. Since he reversed summoned himself into this space, Akiyama and Kotonami sensed it and brought him to the center of Paulownia Forest.
The proud Akiyama was still the same as before. If not for the fact that Logan would otherwise ride on Kotonami's back, the other party simply wanted to treat Logan's arrival as if it didn't exist.
As for Kotonami, she's an elegant and good-tempered beauty, but she was also endlessly curious about the outside world. She constantly asked when Logan would summon her outside. It didn't help that after Akiyama had been 'called' to the outside world once before, her curiosity had only intensified.
'The outside world is very dangerous...' Logan thought to himself, 'If Kotonami, in her phoenix form, took a single flight over my world, she'd be all over the news by tomorrow. 'The Fantasy Revival! Magic Community Rise Again to Claim the World.'
"Actually, I came here to have Elder take a look at something." After the brief exchange of pleasantries, Logan's expression grew serious as he addressed the ancient Elder.