After a week, Kisuke, Sona, and Serafall finally returned home and upon their arrival at the gates, Hestia, Artemis, Koneko, Kuroka, and the three kids were there to receive them, "Welcome back~!" Hestia ran over and jumped into Kisuke's arms.
"We're back~", Kisuke caught her and instinctively patted her head in response.
The kids and Artemis also came over and greeted them but Kuroka and Koneko only stared silently at Serafall before the former whispered in question, "...What happened to her, nya?"
"Err... Let's just say that she's tired from her training." answered Kisuke half-heartedly before changing the subject, "By the way, Is Yoruichi watching over Irina and Akeno-san?"
A worried glint flashed through Kuroka and Koneko's eyes but they didn't show it on their face, "After they started, she never left them alone as you've asked her."
Despite hiding it well, Hestia still noticed that something was amiss but didn't confront it directly and instead asked, "Say, can't we check on Irina-kun and Akeno-kun?"
Kisuke could only smile wryly and scratch his cheek, "What they're doing is a bit sensitive and Kuroka, Koneko, and Yoruichi could only approach them because they wouldn't be influencing anything around them. Let's just wait for good news, alright?"
Kisuke turned to Sona and Serafall immediately after and said, "You two should rest for a few days before continuing with what you're doing. In any case, both of you are already on track so you don't have to worry about any stagnation for a while."
Sona nodded at him, "We know what to do. Please don't worry about us since you don't have much time yourself."
"Are you leaving immediately?" Hestia suddenly asked with a sullen voice.
"I'm sorry Hestia-sama, but sometime in the future, once we're free of worries, I'll be taking you all to a good place, so please look forward to that instead."
He didn't want to make the conversation longer so he immediately turned to Kuroka and Koneko, "We'll leave after I've checked on Irina, Akeno-san, and Yoruichi."
Kuroka and Koneko nodded before Kisuke disappeared in a flash.
Artemis approached the deflated Hestia and comforted him, "I know he also wanted to take it easy but the situation doesn't really allow him. Let's just cheer for him and watch so that he won't burn himself out, alright?"
Hestia finally realized the obvious thing but only after being told about it, "I'm sorry. I'm not being considerate enough."
Hearing their conversation, Sona hurriedly intervened, "Please don't apologize, Hestia-sama. I'm not blaming Kisuke but this also came to be because of his weird obsessions to prepare for anything and everything way ahead of time as long as that thing has even a remote chance of happening. Although also thanks to that, we could be safe and give our complete trust to him."
And with a sad tone, Koneko added, "I also feel bad for Kisuke-senpai... Although he puts great importance to his shop and makes various merchandise, he can't even tend to his only hobby these days."
After Koneko's words, the expression of concern became apparent on everyone's face, including Claire and Tanis by being dragged by the atmosphere. Not wanting to see the children make such an expression, Serafall immediately hugged the two and said, "Enough of this. As long as you do what you need to do to reduce the burden on him so that he won't worry so much, then everything will turn out alright."
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Kisuke reached the room where Yoruichi was guarding Irina and Akeno, but before he entered it, he first checked the state of the seal on the room he left before leaving for the desert with Sona and Serafall, 'Hmm... Looks like it's still working fine but reinforcing it shouldn't hurt.'
The seal was placed not because he wanted to protect the place but to seal it away from any of the world's interference to the soul of everyone inside it. Since what Irina and Akeno were doing was pretty dangerous, their artificial bodies might fail them and die, leaving a very weakened soul to the outside world. If such a thing were to occur without any interference in place, they would be taken by this world's soul cycle if not outright reduced to pure spiritual particles because they are technically invaders.
And for added security, Kisuke didn't allow anyone that originated from this world to enter the room since they might negatively influence the seal even if he made it robustly.
Satisfied with his work, Kisuke then entered the room and greeted Yoruichi, who was watching the other two 'sleep' peacefully, "How is it?"
Yoruichi sighed and closed her eyes while shaking her head, "Day by day, the only change that is happening is their vitality dropping. At this rate, they might really die."
Kisuke sat beside Yoruichi and the latter immediately used this chance to lay on his lap. After finding a good spot and position, Yoruichi looked up to him and asked, "Do they really have to do this? If things go extremely wrong then we wouldn't even have a soul to save."
As Kisuke started stroking his hair, he replied with a gentle voice, "You know I've only given them a choice and it has always been like that in the past. I might be extremely manipulative but I'm never forceful nor give tasks that are beyond them. Besides, the reason I've asked you to watch over them non-stop is that I trust you and your ability to deal with the situation if something ever comes up."
Yoruichi creased her brows and said, "Aren't you putting way too much confidence in me? My Reiatsu control is way worse than yours."
"That is true." Kisuke nodded with a small smile before continuing, "However, when it comes to instantaneously reacting to unexpected and unknown situations, you're actually better than me. Much better if I have to say it twice. While I can only take pre-planned steps, you can make a more accurate and better decision at the same time with limited information. If a dangerous situation were to really arise, I at least know that you can stabilize the circumstances and give me enough time to formulate a more concrete step forward."
Yoruichi frowned for a bit but silently accepted it.