A supporting character in a romance anime? I became a god using a rat talisman.

The activity room suddenly fell silent.

The sound of cicadas chirping outside the window seemed rather jarring.

Chiba stared at Yukino for a few seconds before sighing.

He dropped his nonchalant attitude and then revealed the truth to the girl who was trying so hard to maintain her daily life.

"Since you're so eager to know, then I'll tell you."

"What truly caused the apocalypse was not these cards, nor was it me. It was the cosmic laws that were causing those worlds to devour each other."

"This world is being devoured by other, larger dimensions. Even without me, your so-called daily life is destined to be reduced to dust in the collision of planes."

Yukino was stunned.

All the questions and anger she had prepared vanished instantly in the face of this overwhelming despair that transcended human comprehension.

The law of mutual devouring of worlds? This statement, which was beyond all her common sense and understanding, plunged her already collapsing mind into even deeper chaos.

Seeing her so dejected, Qianyu suddenly felt a little bored.

"Alright, stop looking like the sky is falling."

"I will personally step in to end this crisis."

"After all, if this world really disappears, how am I supposed to collect the remaining cards?"

Qianyu turned around and walked towards the door of the activity room.

He paused briefly as he opened the door, but did not turn around.

"As for Yukino Yukinoshita, who is in the Service Club, you don't need to worry about saving the world. That's not for you. You just need to continue living your peaceful school life."

"You don't need to worry about anything else."

After saying that, he didn't look at Yukino again, pushed open the sliding door in the dead silence, and walked out without looking back.

Chapter 282 Mother and Daughter Reunited (Michiyo and Ichiri)

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the gates of Sakigawa High School.

As soon as Qianyu stepped out of the teaching building, she saw a figure in a pink tracksuit peeking furtively out from the flower bed not far away.

Ichiri was photosynthesizing when she saw Chiyu approaching. As if she had accomplished something incredible, she jogged over with her slightly messy pink hair.

"Dad, Dad..."

Ichiri nervously glanced around to make sure no one was watching before carefully taking out two cards emanating magical energy from her pocket and presenting them with both hands.

“I…I took back the ‘Dark’ card from that conch shell…and I also got the ‘Create’ card from Aunt Shinjo.”

Chiyu accepted the two cards that emitted completely different magical energy fluctuations.

This is a crucial piece of the puzzle at this stage. He quietly stuffed the card into his pocket, his mind already racing, figuring out where to find a quiet place to absorb it immediately, so as to raise his combat power ceiling, which was currently stagnant due to the intervention of the world's will.

"Well done." Qianyu put the card away with satisfaction and casually praised, "What kind of reward do you want? The latest guitar effects pedal?"

When Ichiri heard the praise, his eyes lit up for a moment, but quickly dimmed again.

She nervously twisted the hem of her tracksuit with both hands, her pink hair falling down to cover half of her face, looking as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Qianyu raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong? Is there anything you're afraid to say in front of me?"

"Um..." Pochi stammered, his voice barely audible, "Dad...you...you haven't...seen a long time...without...Mom...no, I mean, Aunt Michiyo, having a proper conversation?"

Qianyu was stunned for a moment, completely unexpected that the topic would turn to this.

What are you trying to say?

“I think…” Yili said, her head bowed, her voice barely audible, “Shouldn’t you…spend more time going on dates with her, and…cultivate your relationship a little more…”

Faced with this urging that sounded like something out of a family drama, Qianyu didn't even hesitate and immediately adopted a serious demeanor:

"I'm too busy saving the world to have time for romance."

He really doesn't have time.

The contract to deal with the world's will alone has already consumed most of his energy.

Upon hearing this, Yili became anxious.

She suddenly raised her head, and with a surge of courage she didn't know where it came from, she patted her not-so-sparse chest forcefully: "I... I can do it!"

"What will you do for me?"

"Save the world!" Ichiri's face flushed red, her voice becoming somewhat shrill with anxiety. "As long as Daddy is willing to take some time to go on a date with Mommy, I... I'll do anything to fight monsters! No matter what kind of Dark Ruler it is or what, I'll fight it!"

Qianyu simply couldn't understand this girl's peculiar thought process.

In order to force him to go on a date, she actually took on the task of saving the world.

"What on earth is going on in your head..." Qianyu was utterly puzzled. "When did dating become more important than your life?"

Yili stammered for a long time, her face as red as a ripe tomato, but she couldn't utter a single complete sentence.

"Oh dear, I can't stand it anymore!"

Little Ke, who had been pretending to be dead on Pochi's shoulder, couldn't stand it anymore. It flapped its little wings and flew up, loudly complaining in fluent Kansai dialect:

"You idiot, Chiyu! Aren't you usually so clever? Can't you see this? According to the original timeline, this little girl should be born in two years! But look at your progress bar with Michiyo right now, you haven't even held hands! The progress bar is practically zero!"

"Yili is scared. She's afraid that if you two keep dragging your feet, she, as the daughter, won't even have the chance to be born and will be wiped out by the time paradox!"

Qianyu froze on the spot.

Two years later?

His mind went blank. He had always assumed Michiyo would become his wife at some distant point in the future, and he never expected things to progress so quickly. Two years later, he would only be nineteen! This pace of progress was simply too exaggerated.

Xiao Ke exposed his thoughts to his face, and Yi Li lowered his head even further.

"I'm sorry, Dad..." She rubbed the hem of her clothes, her voice filled with obvious grievance and pleading, so sensible that it broke your heart. "Actually...actually, if Dad really doesn't like Mom now and doesn't want to go on dates...it's okay."

Yili paused, sniffed, and said, "Even if... even if I can't be Daddy's daughter in the future, and can't be held by Daddy anymore... I... I won't complain. As long as Daddy is happy..."

She hunched her shoulders and looked extremely pitiful.

Qianyu is usually a person who is used to calculating interests very clearly, but at this moment, looking at his silly daughter who is curled up in a ball, thinking of him in every way, and even willing to erase his own existence, a string that has always been taut in his heart was inexplicably plucked.

He sighed softly, and placed his large hand directly on Pochi's somewhat messy pink hair, giving it a firm rub.

"Alright, stop putting on this melodramatic act." Qianyu withdrew his hand, his tone revealing a helplessness and indulgence that he himself didn't realize. "It's just a date. I'll agree."

Yili suddenly raised his head, his eyes instantly filling with light.

"Then...the matter of saving the world?"

"You took it on yourself just now." Qianyu went along with it and patted her shoulder solemnly. "It's yours now, the future mage. But we have a deal, the responsibility of saving the world is now officially handed over to you, so pay attention to your work."

Ichiri instantly perked up, looking as if he was about to grab his guitar and smash Gatanothor to pieces: "I promise! I will absolutely, absolutely give it my all!"

At this heartwarming moment, Michiyo happened to walk by.

"Hey, Qianyu-kun, what are you two doing here?"

Upon hearing this voice, Yili, who was just a moment ago ready to save the world, immediately had her social anxiety genes take over.

She let out a strange, distorted sound and scrambled behind Qianyu, only daring to peek out with half her head.

Qianyu turned around and looked at the beautiful girl in front of her, who was almost a carbon copy of her future daughter, but whose personality was completely different.

The atmosphere had already been built up to this point, and dragging things out any further wouldn't be in Kazama Chiba's style.

"Nothing, we were just talking about tomorrow's schedule."

"By the way, Michiyo, tomorrow's the weekend, are you free? Let's go on a date."

Michiyo was clearly stunned by this sudden, direct attack.

Her eyes, which always gleamed with a cunning light, widened for the first time, and she remained stunned for a full three seconds before she came to her senses.

"Oh my... what is this? Chiba-kun, are you inviting me on a date?" Michiyo covered her mouth with her hand, laughing with a mixture of surprise and delight.

Has this clueless blockhead finally figured it out?

I've been waiting for this invitation for ages!

"Oh dear, I knew you were all talk and no action. Since you've invited me so sincerely, I'll take pity on you and grant your request..."

"By the way," Qianyu ignored her smugness and, pressing her advantage, dropped a second bombshell.

"I've already chosen a name for our future daughter."

"Huh?" Michiyo's smile froze on her face, her brain completely shut down.

Isn't this range a bit too outrageous?

One second they've just sent out an invitation for a first date, and the next they've already thought of a name for their child?

Although she had already mentally rehearsed the funeral arrangements for both of them, hearing it from Qianyu's mouth was still incredibly impactful.

"Chi-Chiba-kun... what did you say?" Michiyo stammered, a rare occurrence, her cheeks flushing red.

"No, isn't this progress a bit too far ahead of schedule? And... is the name you chose reliable? Don't give it some weird code name."

“Absolutely reliable.” Qianyu nodded firmly. “Because the name was told to me by my daughter herself.”

Michiyo was completely baffled. She muttered to herself, "Could it be that you had some strange precognitive dream last night?"

"I wasn't dreaming." Qianyu shook her head.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Pochi, who was still hiding behind him, and said in a calm tone, "Because of this name, my daughter told me it herself."

Following Chiyu's gaze, Michiyo looked at the busty "junior" who had always made her instinctively wary.

She was even more confused, and her tone unconsciously took on a hint of sourness: "No, you're talking about our future daughter, why are you looking at her? What does this have to do with her?"

Instead of answering directly, Chiba looked into Michiyo's eyes and asked, "Michiyo, do you remember when we first truly met?"

Michiyo paused for a moment. The question seemed rather abrupt.

She tentatively replied, "Wasn't it this year... when I transferred to this school and became your deskmate?"

“No.” Chiyu shook his head decisively. He looked into Michiyo’s eyes and directly revealed the trump card that had been sealed for ten years, “Our true first meeting was ten years ago—when I traveled back in time.”

This long-buried secret was confirmed by the person involved, causing a huge uproar in Michiyo's heart.