Chapter 189: Climbing the Wall
Meanwhile, Kanzaki Aoi was doing the laundry, while Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho had gone to clean the patient rooms.
After so many "patients" had left, the house was in complete disarray and needed to be cleaned.
Naturally, the task fell to Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho.
In the end, Ren took on the role of overall commander.
Warm sunlight streamed into the courtyard through the windows, illuminating the various rooms of the Butterfly Mansion.
A young girl practiced swordsmanship in the courtyard.
A small girl silently washed clothes in the backyard.
The maids swept the rooms with brooms.
The peaceful scene was deeply imprinted in Ren's mind.
Ren stretched lazily, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
He always felt that something was missing from the Butterfly Mansion.
With Shinobu absent, everything seemed slightly out of place.
Forget it. I'll go take a look in the backyard.
Ren took a step forward, intending to see how Kanao's swordsmanship practice was progressing.
But as he walked, his Compass Perception suddenly trembled.
Ren closed his eyes.
Within the sky of his Memory Palace, a gigantic array-like compass appeared out of thin air.
Five elemental dragon souls circled around the compass, flying continuously.
Finally, the Wind Dragon released a fierce gust of wind, and the needle on the compass began to move.
The needle spun rapidly before quickly pointing in a certain direction.
Ren opened his eyes.
"The backyard?"
At this moment, who would enter the Butterfly Mansion without using the front door?
Could it be a thief?
Ren was puzzled, then closed his eyes again.
"Activate the Transparent World!"
A transparent world unfolded before him.
Ren opened his eyes.
The world began to turn illusory.
His vision penetrated layers of obstacles, allowing him to see the wall surrounding the Butterfly Mansion's backyard directly.
With his enhanced perception, Ren could clearly observe everything happening in the backyard.
When he saw the sneaky figure there, Ren's expression froze.
Then, a smile slowly appeared at the corners of his mouth.
"So it's you."
Ren remembered that Shinobu's room seemed to be located in that direction.
"Why is this little idiot climbing over the wall?"
Although Ren was curious, his anticipation was clearly even greater.
So Ren quietly walked toward Shinobu.
At Ren's current level of strength, his abilities could only be described as unfathomable.
If Ren wanted to play a prank on Shinobu, she might not even realize who was behind it...
Meanwhile—
Shinobu was struggling to climb, her face filled with anxiety.
With a muffled thump, Shinobu nearly fell straight to the ground.
The girl quickly got back up, blinking repeatedly.
Then, in her heart, she added another mark against Sanemi.
There was no other reason.
Yesterday, while they had been traveling along the mountain roads, that beast of a man, Sanemi, had moved incredibly quickly, maintaining a high speed the entire journey.
Although Shinobu was faster than Sanemi, her endurance was inferior.
Running for an extended period quickly exhausted her.
By the time she reached the entrance of the Butterfly Mansion, she had practically used up all her strength.
Shinobu wiped the sweat from her forehead.
The weather was scorching, and she desperately wanted to get inside.
But she had far too little experience climbing walls.
Two blisters had already formed on her feet, yet she still hadn't managed to climb over.
"Total Concentration!"
Shinobu's beautiful eyes widened.
A surge of oxygen quickly entered the young woman's lungs.
Judging from Shinobu's posture, she was clearly intending to give it everything she had.
As the esteemed Insect Hashira, how could she possibly fail to enter her own courtyard?!
After failing twice, the girl's temper finally erupted.
She even activated Total Concentration Breathing!
Whoosh!
Her figure moved like an elegant butterfly as she leaped upward, soaring five meters into the air.
This was the last of her strength!
If she couldn't make it over now, she could only pretend that she would come back tomorrow...
As Shinobu hung in midair, she watched the wall rapidly approach, joy filling her heart.
At this distance, there's still a chance!
Bang!
Half of Shinobu's body landed on the wall.
Unfortunately, most of her body was still hanging outside.
She still needed to flip herself over to get inside.
But Shinobu had already exhausted all her strength.
After struggling once or twice, she could no longer hold on.
Her limbs loosened, and her body quickly began falling backward over the wall.
Shinobu had already prepared herself for the inevitable impact on her backside.
But at the final moment—
A pair of strong, steady hands suddenly caught her in midair!
Then, two explosive sounds rang out through the air.
Shinobu didn't even have time to react.
The next thing she knew, she was already inside the Butterfly Mansion.
Brilliant light pierced Shinobu's eyes, making it difficult for her to open them for a moment.
Yet the sensation was incredibly familiar.
"Ren... Ren?!"
Shinobu's delicate face instantly turned deathly pale.
Her mind was thrown into complete turmoil.
It's over. It's over.
Ren finally saw me looking like this!
What do I do?! Has my image in his eyes been completely ruined?!
"You're too exhausted. You should get some rest."
As he spoke, Ren used his massage techniques to massage Shinobu until she fell asleep.
Shinobu had originally wanted to explain herself.
But a wave of drowsiness washed over her, and she immediately fell asleep.
Only then did Ren carefully examine Shinobu's clothes.
She was still wearing the familiar colorful haori, but it was now covered in dirt.
Some parts even had broken branches and leaves caught on them.
She clearly looked like a girl who had run all the way back from the mountains...
Her hair was also extremely messy, and the back of her trousers was covered in dust.
There was no need to think too hard about it.
That dust was undoubtedly the punishment for failing to climb the wall.
Ren originally had no idea why Shinobu had been trying to climb over the wall.
But a simple use of the Regression State was enough to find out.
The girl had actually wanted to sneak into the mansion through the backyard because she was afraid of embarrassing herself.
Ren couldn't help laughing.
He hadn't expected Shinobu to care so much about her appearance whenever she was in front of him.
"She looks completely exhausted."
Ren gently stroked Shinobu's hair before carrying her toward her room.
For the next half a day, Ren called Kanzaki Aoi, Kiyo, Sumi, and Naho over.
They helped Shinobu change her clothes and then gave her a bath.
Meanwhile, Ren waited in the room for Shinobu.
But don't misunderstand.
Ren wasn't waiting for that kind of thing.
He was waiting to give her a massage.
Yes.
It really was just a massage.
Shinobu's prolonged exhaustion had placed considerable strain on her body.
There were only two doctors at the Butterfly Mansion, and Ren was one of the mansion's two principal stakeholders.
Therefore, Ren had a responsibility to get the Butterfly Mansion's doctor, Shinobu, back on her feet and working as soon as possible!
"Put her down. Yes, just like that. Set her down properly."
Ren instructed Kiyo and the others as they carefully placed Shinobu on the bed.
Ren prepared himself as well.
He stretched his wrists, then placed a basin of hot water and a cloth beside him.
"Mr. Ren, the last time I saw you give someone a massage was also the last time..."