A Saiyan's Journey

Having seen the work in which Eriri appeared before his transmigration, Shin immediately realized that the person wearing a hat and mask must be Sayuri Sawamura.

As Eriri's mother, Sayuri Sawamura naturally cares deeply about her daughter. However, Shin didn't think she was the type to stalk her own child.

Shin had no way of knowing that Eriri had drawn some strange sketches of herself and Shin in her room, which had caused Sayuri Sawamura to worry and led to her actions today.

With Sayuri Sawamura following them, and recalling what Eriri planned to do today, Shin couldn't help but give Eriri a strange look:

"Hey, Eriri, maybe we should just call it off today?"

"Huh? How can we just give up? I mustered a lot of courage to bring you along."

Hearing Shin's words, Eriri's face showed a hint of dissatisfaction and a faint blush.

She shook her head, her golden twin tails swaying, and spoke in a resolute tone.

"If we give up today, I might not be able to gather the courage again! So we have to do this today!"

"Alright, if that's what you want..."

Shin shrugged helplessly. He had already tried to dissuade Eriri. If Sayuri Sawamura saw what Eriri was about to do, it wouldn't be his fault.

As for why he didn't tell Eriri that Sayuri Sawamura was following her...

Shin thought that if he did, the atmosphere between Eriri and her mother would become awkward, wouldn't it?

He was considering the relationship between Eriri and her mother, not just looking for amusement.

...

Soon, under Eriri's lead, they arrived at their destination for the day.

Hmm... a rather special toy store.

According to Eriri, she had wanted to come here for material for a long time, but she had been too scared to come alone, so she never found the opportunity.

After all, Eriri draws doujinshi, and in such places, the stories often involve some creeps.

It's natural for Eriri to overthink and feel insecure.

After that, although Eriri wanted to come here many times for material, she never succeeded. Eventually, she thought of finding someone to accompany her.

This person should preferably be a boy, because if she brought a girl along, it might not help, and only a boy could give her a sense of security.

But Eriri hadn't been in contact with any boys for a long time, so this idea was put on hold until Shin appeared.

Shin is a very strong boy, something Eriri confirmed a few days ago when she observed the mana replenishment process.

Plus, Shin knows her secret, and she has seen all of him, so naturally, he became the chosen one.

"This... this is the kind of toy that only appears in doujinshi..."

Upon entering the store, Eriri's face turned bright red—despite having a mind full of lewd thoughts, she had never actually experienced such things.

The most lewd thing she had crossed was probably watching Shin and Irisviel's mana replenishment process up close, which almost made her faint from embarrassment.

She's a giant in theory but a dwarf in practice—even her theory is limited to the imaginary realm.

In reality, such toy stores are usually empty, and the staff know to protect customers' privacy, so they don't approach proactively.

At least, Shin noticed that the female cashier at the counter made no move to stop them, simply waiting for customers to check out.

The kind of cliche Eriri worried about, which only happens in doujinshi, remains confined to doujinshi.

However, compared to Eriri, who was already picking out items, Shin was more curious about Sayuri Sawamura's situation outside.

Using his ability to sense "ki," Shin could feel every move Sayuri Sawamura made outside. He sensed that she was very disoriented.

She was worried about her daughter and wanted to follow her into the store—but with no one else inside, she would likely be discovered by Eriri if she entered.

So, for now, she could only wait outside, probably thinking that if Eriri didn't come out for a long time, she could go in and check.

"Come here, help me figure out how to use this."

Just as Shin was sensing Sayuri Sawamura's movements, Eriri's deliberately lowered voice came from ahead...

Shin looked up and saw Eriri holding a box containing a strange toy, her face flushed as she waved at him.

It seemed that observing Shin's mana replenishment process had erased the sense of distance between them.

So much so that Eriri even dared to ask Shin to help her figure out how to use these toys.

But since it wasn't Shin who would be at a disadvantage, he simply shrugged and walked over.

...

Half an hour later, Shin and Eriri walked out of the toy store.

Sayuri Sawamura, who had been anxiously waiting nearby, finally saw Eriri leave and felt a mix of relief and renewed worry:

"That boy and Eriri were in the store for half an hour... Could they have done something?"

If Shin knew about Sayuri Sawamura's concern, he would probably scoff—half an hour wasn't nearly enough.

But Sayuri Sawamura was just overly worried. After following Eriri and Shin for a while, she noticed that Eriri's movements seemed unaffected.

It seemed they hadn't done anything strange... They really had just spent half an hour discussing toys in the store.

By now, Sayuri Sawamura had probably guessed why Eriri went to such a place—likely for material, and perhaps her next doujinshi would feature toy-related.

But going to such a place with a boy... Sayuri Sawamura hadn't heard that Eriri's relationship with any boy had suddenly progressed to this level.

For a moment, Sayuri Sawamura felt like her daughter had suddenly grown up.

Eriri had no idea her mother was feeling melancholic not far behind. She carried an opaque shopping bag containing several toys she had bought, her cheeks still flushed.

After walking with Shin for a while, Eriri finally managed to calm down and looked at him:

"It's already noon. As a thank you for accompanying me, let me treat you to lunch."

She looked at Shin nervously, as if worried he might refuse with an excuse like "I need to go home for lunch."

To be continued…

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