Starting With The Sefirah Castle In The Anime World

Ren walked downstairs holding Nagi in his arms and saw Tachibana Wataru embracing Kijima Saki affectionately.

"Thank goodness… thank goodness you're alright."

"Young Master…"

Kijima Saki, blushing while being held, also looked comforted.

At the very least, her Young Master was still acting like himself. He hadn't completely shut down over Saginomiya Isumi's feelings toward the young lady.

"People often show who they truly care about when they're in danger."

"The most instinctive reaction to worry often reveals genuine feelings."

Ren looked at the two who had clearly stepped past a master-servant relationship and muttered quietly.

"Yeah."

Nagi also nodded slightly.

Although Tachibana Wataru had said he liked Isumi, when faced with a crisis, his first reaction was concern for Saki. This proved that Kijima Saki's position in his heart was quite significant.

And judging by how they both reacted, even Wataru himself might not have realized that Saki held a greater place in his heart than Isumi did.

"Ugh, such a troublesome brat. All that I said earlier was pointless. I even worried about this playboy, and yet before even sorting things out with Isumi, he just ran into his big sister's arms."

"Hmph, brats will be brats after all."

Nagi's unfiltered sarcasm reached the ears of the two hugging each other.

Tachibana Wataru quickly let go, his face flushed red. But when Saki saw shattered glass near where Wataru stepped back, she immediately rushed forward and hugged him tightly.

"Young Master, watch out!"

With a burst of strength, she pulled Wataru, who was a head shorter than her, into her arms.

"Ugh!!!"

Wataru was thoroughly stunned.

Watching the scene unfold, Ren silently carried Nagi out of the video store. There was no need to let the two inside delay their moment because of them.

Outside, things didn't feel as awkward, especially with the flames still burning on the neighboring street.

Ren quickly brought Nagi back to his home.

The explosion site was still some distance from his house, so fortunately, none of the glass in his home had shattered.

Still, the incident gave Ren a mild sense of unease. Maybe it was time to beef up his home's security.

He placed Nagi gently onto the living room sofa, then crouched in front of her and looked up.

"How are you feeling? Still dizzy?"

"How could anyone stay dizzy for that long?"

Nagi puffed her cheeks and complained, feeling like she was being treated like a child.

She then noticed the glass shards on Ren's coat.

"You should take care of yourself. Your coat's covered in broken glass. Aren't you afraid you'll get cut?"

Only after her reminder did Ren notice that his coat had been sliced open in several places by the broken glass.

The whole coat looked beyond saving.

This made Ren feel a little bitter. It had been an expensive one.

But there was no helping it. He used to take extra care of his belongings, but once they were truly damaged, replacement was the only option.

He wasn't like Maria, who had the skills to fix something like this. It wasn't something that could be restored with mere technique.

Looking up at Nagi, he noticed her hair was messy, her clothes were dusty, and some parts were torn.

"You're saying that to me, but look at yourself."

Nagi looked down and realized her coat was just as ripped.

"Well, it was all because of the explosion."

Thankfully, most of it had been blocked by the wind, and only a portion was damaged.

"Forget it. Go take a shower first. I'll clean up once you're done."

"Okay."

Nagi grabbed a change of clothes from the suitcase room and went into the bathroom.

Swish—the sound of water filled the space.

As the hot water soaked her body, Nagi finally began to relax.

Today had been a close call with an explosion.

That sudden flash of white light, followed by the violent blast and impact. Her Vision had taken the brunt of it, while she was relatively fine.

Sure enough, ever since she began grasping elemental power, she had been gradually getting stronger.

Since starting her kendo practice with Hinagiku Katsura, Nagi could feel her body growing sturdier…

But this explosion made her realize that she was still far from being immune to thermal weaponry.

If it had been Kaguya, she probably wouldn't have taken any damage standing right at the blast's center. Her elementalization made her entirely immune to physical damage.

That kind of ability is amazing—elementalization.

Immune to physical attacks. Seriously, that's totally overpowered.

A trace of envy flashed in Nagi's eyes, but she didn't feel discouraged. Once she reached the demigod level, she too could achieve elementalization.

Yes, she had to keep working hard.

Nagi never doubted she would reach the demigod realm. After all, that was what Ren had said.

She focused on the shower again.

Brushing away those idle thoughts, she turned around to grab shampoo and body wash—and found a bottle in the corner.

It was labeled as 9-in-1. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash—all combined.

At that moment, Nagi's stereotype of boys just got stronger.

But she had no better option right now.

So she had to use it.

After using the 9-in-1 to finish her shower, Nagi had only one impression.

This stuff was actually pretty good.

The scent wasn't too strong, and her hair didn't feel greasy at all. In fact, it felt especially smooth.

Her skin didn't react either. It felt clean and refreshed—maybe even better than what she had at home.

After putting on her pajamas, she stood in front of the bathroom mirror and gently combed her hair.

Once it was smooth, she gathered the ends of her hair and brought them to her nose.

"Hmm~ It smells different from usual."

She thought of Ren.

This morning, she had sat on his lap, and even just now, he had been holding her. She remembered he had smelled just like this.

Thinking of that, Nagi's lips curled into a small smile.

She didn't bother with her usual twin tails and walked out of the bathroom in slippers.

(To be continued.)