"Leaving Itogami Island? What do you mean?" Nanggong Nayue stared intently at Shichen, her heart inexplicably flustered.
"Nayue-chan, don't worry, I'm just leaving for a while, I'll be back soon," Shichen said with a smile.
"I'm asking you what you mean!" Nanggong Nayue demanded sternly.
"Uh…" Shichen paused, his gaze softening.
"Is Nayue-chan… reluctant to see me go?"
"Stop messing around!" Nanggong Nayue was unmoved, her small face still serious.
"Alright, what I mean is, I'm going to leave Itogami Island for a while."
"Leave? Why?"
"Nayue-chan, have you forgotten? I wasn't originally from here," Shichen reminded her with a smile.
"..." Nanggong Nayue choked for a moment. Only then did she remember that Shichen had come over illegally.
"Why so sudden?"
"Of course, to go back and see my family. Nayue-chan, I'm not alone, you know~"
"Your family… are they in China?" Nanggong Nayue asked softly.
"No, they're not," Shichen shook his head.
"Hmm? Aren't you from China? Did you lie to me?"
"No, I didn't… To be honest with you, I'm actually not from your world." Shichen decided to be frank with her.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Nanggong Nayue looked at him, bewildered.
"Nayue-chan should understand. My sudden appearance back then wasn't due to spatial movement."
"..." Nanggong Nayue fell silent.
As someone who mastered spatial magic, she naturally knew that Shichen's sudden appearance had nothing to do with spatial magic, and there was that initial feeling of incompatibility with the world.
But at that time, she really couldn't find any other reason.
Other worlds, she had never even considered it, but now that Shichen suddenly brought it up, she instantly understood.
"Are you telling the truth?"
"Didn't I tell you? I won't lie to you," Shichen replied.
"...You might as well have lied to me," Nanggong Nayue whispered softly.
"Hehe~ Nayue-chan really doesn't want me to leave, does she?" Shichen smiled happily.
"Hmph!" Nanggong Nayue snorted coldly, crossing her arms over her chest, and said frankly, "You yourself said you'd be my family. I finally got used to it, and now you're going back? What's going on?"
She believed Shichen's words. After all, there was no need for this guy to lie to her. Moreover, an improbable Fifth Progenitor, without any demon aura, with a magic-immune physique, and a uniquely extraordinary demeanor, he simply didn't seem like someone from this world.
Perhaps her thoughts were a bit of hindsight, but looking back now, various things were indeed amiss.
Only his understanding of this world was a bit bizarre, but for her, it wasn't something she absolutely needed to know.
"I'm just a little homesick for my family. Nayue-chan, don't worry, I'll be back very soon."
"Homesick… What does your coming back or not have to do with me?" Nanggong Nayue angrily turned her head away.
"Of course it has something to do with you." Shichen took a step forward, lowered his head, and met her gaze.
"Isn't Nayue-chan also my family?"
"..." Nanggong Nayue suddenly felt embarrassed and dared not look at him.
Fortunately, this body of hers was a clone, otherwise, her inner turmoil would have been exposed.
"Nayue-chan, how about I give you a hug?" Shichen saw her suddenly fall silent and boldly asked.
"What do you want to do?" Nanggong Nayue took a step back, looking at him warily.
"...That's hurtful. We're about to part, can't I even get a hug?"
"What's there to hug? You know my situation."
"It doesn't matter, feelings are more important," Shichen said indifferently.
Nanggong Nayue's small face remained calm: "No, there are no feelings."
"..."
"When are you leaving?" Nanggong Nayue changed the subject and asked.
Although she was indeed reluctant, she wasn't *that* reluctant. It wasn't a matter of life and death, so there was no need to be dramatic.
Besides, she wasn't a child.
"Still a while."
"Hmm?" Nanggong Nayue looked at him, puzzled.
Shichen smiled slightly: "I plan to accompany Nayue-chan for a while longer."
"Accompany me for what?"
"Aren't you very busy lately? I plan to help you out, and it'll also confirm the guesses of those people outside who are overthinking."
"Are you sure?" Nanggong Nayue looked at him seriously: "If you do that, you won't be so carefree later."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Shichen playfully winked at her: "Anyway, I'll be leaving soon."
"...Then what do you want me to do?"
"It's great, actually. That way, Nayue-chan, you'll be thinking of me every day."
"Get lost!"
Nanggong Nayue angrily swung the fan in her hand directly at Shichen's forehead, but he dodged it by stepping back.
"Nayue-chan, hitting is a sign of affection."
"Affection my ass!"
No sooner had Nanggong Nayue's voice faded than she vanished from her spot, reappearing behind Shichen in an instant, swinging her fan down again.
Shichen was prepared. Just as the fan was about to touch him, he disappeared.
Nanggong Nayue immediately gave chase.
"Let me hit you once!"
"How could I? I'm not a masochist."
"Didn't you say hitting is a sign of affection?"
"But you're adding personal vendettas now!"
"Stop quickly!"
"No!"
The two began their chase again, though their roles had swapped this time.
Perhaps only the two of them could play around so recklessly with spatial magic.
...
The next day, under Nanggong Nayue's introduction, Shichen became an Attack Mage Officer. There was no identity verification, no investigation, and he passed very smoothly.
Shichen didn't care what the people above were thinking. Whether they knew him or not, whether it was because of Nanggong Nayue's connections, whether they planned to secretly investigate him, or tried to win him over by doing him a favor, none of it mattered. He just wanted to accompany Nanggong Nayue on missions.
Attack Mages are a general term for humans with special abilities such as magicians and espers, specializing in dealing with demon beasts.
Attack Mage Officer, naturally, is an official position. The mission, of course, is to apprehend demon beasts who have committed crimes.
Attack Mages are the natural enemies of demon beasts.
Due to the mutual restraint of the Three True Ancestors, humans and demon beasts were able to coexist peacefully, including humanity's greatest enemy, vampires.
However, there were always restless demon beasts who didn't want to abide by the rules and tried to stir up riots. Humans didn't want their peaceful lives to be disrupted, which is why the Attack Mage group came into being.
The most dissatisfied with the current situation were the Black Death Emperor Faction, a group of extremist terrorists who believed in Beastman supremacy.
Recently, they were the ones causing trouble.
Shichen was very annoyed with them. They were causing trouble for no reason, adding to Nanggong Nayue's workload, and affecting his time with her.
Beastmen should act like beastmen; just let a bunch of cute beast-eared girls be adorable. Why cause trouble?
Perfect, he could use this opportunity to temper his mind.
He didn't want to encounter situations in the future where he couldn't bring himself to act, so these beastmen were the best test subjects.
Attack Mages could hunt demon beasts, after all.
For a period afterward, Shichen followed Nanggong Nayue, traveling to various places, hunting down demon beasts who had committed crimes.
The main focus was still on apprehension. Nanggong Nayue wasn't a bloodthirsty person, but if she encountered those who didn't know what was good for them, then there was nothing to be done.
In such matters, Shichen always took the initiative, ostensibly saying he didn't want to dirty Nanggong Nayue's hands, but in reality, it was to temper himself.
Perhaps because they were beastmen, he didn't have any particular reaction the first time he killed someone.
He was very calm, as if he had done something insignificant, like swatting a mosquito.
Perhaps, although it was his first time doing such a thing, having read so many stories, he had long been mentally prepared.
It was also possible that he was just naturally broad-minded.
As long as he didn't feel nauseous, it was fine; he hadn't disgraced the transmigrators.
It continued like this until June, when Shichen suddenly received a reminder from her in his mind.
[Mission complete, please acquire the Divine Spark Fragment from the target in time.]
[Acquisition method: Skin contact for one minute.]
[One week later, forced departure to a new world to find Divine Spark Fragments.]