Mirai's hand wavered.
Her form flickered—
Almost like an illusion.
Like she might fade away completely.
But after two or three minutes—
The phenonon stopped.
Her body stabilized again.
And yet—
Neither Mirai nor Akane could ignore what had just happened.
They exchanged uneasy glances—
Then both turned to look at Minami.
They had never asked before.
But both of them knew—
Minami possessed so kind of power beyond common sense.
It was he who had brought Mirai to this world.
And now, she was disappearing.
Naturally—
They were expecting answers from him.
Minami remained silent, deep in thought.
And then, he rembered the system's ssage.
[Due to changes in the future tiline, the effects of the "Random Daughter Summon Card" have been altered.]
[A ti fluctuation has occurred.]
"I see..."
Minami let out a breath and shook his head.
Because he had used the "The Girl from the Future" route—
Matsuzaka Shio's entire future had changed.
But it wasn't just her future that had shifted.
It had also affected Mirai.
In the original tiline, Mirai had existed in the future.
But now—
She had a new sister.
A new branch in her family tree.
And that shift had created a ripple effect—
A ripple that altered her very existence.
The future had to stabilize itself.
It needed Mirai to return.
That was why her remaining ti had been cut short.
Originally, she should have had two or three more days.
But now, she had only three hours left.
"Damn... this is too sudden."
Minami clicked his tongue in frustration.
Even though he had suspected this might happen...
He hadn't expected it to be this fast.
And before he could say anything—
Mirai stared down at her flickering hand.
Then, slowly—
She whispered:
"So... I really am disappearing, huh...?"
Minami shook his head.
He had originally planned to spend two more days with Mirai.
After all, she was still his daughter.
Pulling her into this tiline without warning, then imdiately handing her off to Akane and the others—without even taking the ti to be with her—
no matter how he looked at it, that didn't sit right with him.
But...
Things always seed to happen so suddenly.
Minami wasn't omniscient or omnipotent.
So after thinking for a while, he decided not to hesitate and told Mirai the general situation.
"It looks like the future world might have shifted slightly... and because of that, your ti here has been shortened."
Mirai was stunned.
Beside her, Akane also looked slightly taken aback.
Just earlier today, they had been arguing with each other, blaming one another for being unfit parents and now, all of a sudden, they were about to part ways?
This was just too...
"I'm sorry, Mirai. I really didn't expect things to turn out like this."
Sensing her daughter's disappointnt, Minami sincerely apologized.
This was sothing he had caused. There was no doubt about it.
And if he had made a mistake, then apologizing to his daughter was the right thing to do.
"Ahh... How should I put it... it is a bit sudden, yeah."
Mirai waved her hand dismissively as she spoke, then scratched the back of her head before giving a firm nod.
"But you had a reason for it, right, Dad? You did it to save Shio, didn't you? Then there's nothing to worry about. I'm not a kid, so I wouldn't throw a tantrum over sothing like this."
She was completely different from her usual playful, carefree, and mischievous self.
When she said those words, Mirai wore an expression of complete understanding.
That's right.
She wasn't selfish.
Matsuzaka Shio was also part of the Shouji family.
What Minami did was entirely reasonable.
If she were in his position, she would have made the sa choice.
Because rather than letting her stay in this world a little longer,
it was definitely better to ensure Matsuzaka Shio's future was safe and sound.
She understood that.
But Akane, standing beside her, parted her lips slightly.
"Mirai, you..."
"Ahh, Mom, it's fine."
Mirai smiled cheerfully, waving her hand as if to reassure her.
"Co on, I already got to ti-travel back to when you and Dad were younger... That's seriously so cool! When I get back, I'll have a great story to brag about to i and the others!"
She had returned to her usual lively, mischievous self.
But strangely, that didn't make Akane feel relieved at all.
A mother always understands her daughter best.
Even with a ti gap of twenty or thirty years between them,
Akane could clearly tell—
Mirai wasn't as calm about this as she pretended to be.
But—
Sigh...
For now, Akane didn't know what to do.
So, almost instinctively, she turned her gaze to Minami.
It was a habit of hers.
Whenever she was faced with sothing she couldn't handle, she would look to Minami for an answer.
But compared to her hesitation, Minami was much more decisive.
"Mirai, is there anything you'd like or your mother to do for you?"
He raised his head, looking at his daughter with a hint of wistfulness.
Even though they had only spent a short ti together,
Mirai's playful, mischievous nature had already given him monts of both joy and frustration.
So this was what it felt like to be a father.
Saying goodbye to his own daughter...
No matter how he tried to convince himself, deep down, he couldn't help but feel reluctant.
"Dad, don't look at like that."
Mirai let out a small cough.
"I'm not disappearing—I'm just going back to the future, that's all.
Besides—"
She narrowed her beautiful eyes and gave Minami and Akane a teasing smirk.
"As long as you two keep things going between you, hmm... you know, doing this and that... I'll still be born eventually, right?"
She brought her thumb and index finger together to form a circle, then poked the tip of her other index finger into it, grinning mischievously.
She was even about to move her finger a little—
Until—
Smack.
Before she could finish, Minami's expressionless hand chop landed squarely on her head.
"Ow!"
Letting out a yelp, Mirai clutched her head in pain.
Seeing that Minami was about to raise his hand again,
she panicked and shouted—
"Dostic violence is illegal!"
"And I'm leaving soon! Dad, don't you think hitting now is a little excessive? Shouldn't you be giving your daughter a hug instead?"
She protested, muttering sothing about how "dostic violence isn't allowed," "technically speaking, this is a cri," and "Dad, you're breaking the law, you know?"
Minami let out an exasperated sigh and lowered his hand.
"That's what you get for making dirty jokes about and your mother with a straight face."
Hearing that, Mirai's rebellious side flared up again, and she was about to fire back—
But the next mont—
A gentle squeeze...
"Huh...?"
Mirai's bright eyes widened.
She turned her head slightly.
Her gaze landed on Minami, who was now hugging her.
At this point, Minami's height was nearly identical to what it would be in the future, though he was still a bit leaner.
But despite his thinner fra,
Mirai could feel a warmth she had never experienced before.
And that wasn't all.
As Minami's warmth reached her from the front, another familiar warmth enveloped her from behind.
Mirai knew.
It was her mother, Akane.
As she breathed in her mother's familiar scent,
Mirai closed her eyes.
Yeah...
These two... whether it's in the future or in the present, they really do love .
A satisfied smile appeared on her lips.
After that, everything beca much simpler.
With three hours left, Mirai made two final requests:
First, she wanted to play video gas together with Minami and Akane.
And second, she wanted them to cook her favorite al together.
Neither of these were excessive requests.
In fact, they were rather simple.
Minami and Akane told her she could ask for more, but she refused.
Because, to her, this simple happiness was already enough.
Seeing how insistent she was,
Minami and Akane didn't argue.
Instead, they picked up the controllers and started playing with her.
Mirai chose a cooperative two-player ga.
It wasn't particularly difficult—
But because Akane was distracted by the thought of her daughter leaving, she kept making mistakes.
Despite Mirai pulling off all kinds of impressive maneuvers,
Akane's constant blunders—falling into cliffs, lava, and various traps—led to their repeated deaths.
Mirai shot her mother a look of pure disdain.
She was just too bad at this—there was no way she could carry her.
Just when she was about to lose her temper,
Minami calmly picked up the controller.
After just two or three minutes of getting used to the controls, he imdiately synced up with Mirai's playstyle.
In no ti, they blazed through the ga and cleared it together.
That was the mont Mirai clung to Minami and refused to let go.
On a normal day, Minami would have smacked her on the head without hesitation.
But considering that she didn't have much ti left in this world—
He decided to just let her do as she pleased.
Ga session over.
Next was the shopping trip.
This ti, Mirai completely let loose.
She ran ahead, loudly calling out "Dad! Mom!" to Akane and Minami.
Completely ignoring the puzzled stares from passersby.
After all, in the eyes of these strangers, Mirai looked even older than Akane and Minami.
So why was she calling them Mom and Dad?!
"What kind of playstyle is this...?"
So passersby looked puzzled.
But Mirai didn't care in the slightest.
Completely uninhibited, she strode ahead, occasionally turning back to ask Minami and Akane about different ingredients at the market.
However, unlike Minami, who had inherited [Shouji Hitori's Cooking Techniques of Happiness], Akane wasn't particularly knowledgeable about food.
When faced with Mirai's rapid-fire questions, she would sotis get stuck, unsure of how to respond.
In those monts, it was always Minami who stepped forward with a smile and answered in her place.
"—Ahh, as expected, Dad really is the best! I seriously have no idea how Mom managed to marry such an incredible man back then."
After they finished shopping, Mirai let out a sigh of admiration.
At this point, only one hour remained.
For Minami, that was more than enough ti to cook a al.
Upon returning ho, he imdiately got to work preparing the ingredients.
Mirai had a strong preference for fried foods—
Things like fried chicken, tempura, and other high-calorie delights.
She also loved grilled dishes, such as yakitori and barbecue.
Even though being an actress in Japan required maintaining a strict figure, she could never completely give up her favorite foods.
Minami had no reason to refuse his daughter's request.
If he could fulfill it, he would.
He prepared a special sauce, then fried most of the ingredients they had bought.
On top of that, he cooked a few simple ho-style dishes that Mirai liked.
Soon enough, a modest but hearty al was laid out on the table.
"Ahhh— as expected of Dad! Hic—"
Mirai let out an unladylike burp as she patted her stomach in satisfaction.
After wiping the oil from the corners of her mouth, she turned to Minami, her eyes full of curiosity.
"Seriously though, Dad, how do you cook so well...? Even in my tiline, no matter how often Mom cooked, she could never make anything as good as yours."
In the future, Minami rarely cooked.
But whenever he did—
The dining table was always packed.
His food had an almost magical quality—
Sothing that could soothe the soul.
One bite, and life's worries seed to lt away.
It was like what Liu Mao Xing from that old ani Chūka Ichiban! once said:
"Cooking is sothing that brings people happiness."
Mirai sighed in admiration, but before she could finish her sentence—
Her once-solid body suddenly wavered.
"Ah...?"
She stared at her fingers as they gradually beca transparent.
Then, as if accepting her fate, she let out a soft chuckle.
"Ahh... looks like my ti really is up."
Mirai straightened herself and sat properly.
Watching as her hands flickered like a ghostly afterimage, she murmured—
"I never really thought about it before... but why does it feel like these three hours went by so fast?"
Yes.
Between playing gas, shopping, and eating together—
The originally short three hours had dwindled to almost nothing.
She... was going back to the future.
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