The topic of lifespans can be a painful one.
Not just in romantic tragedies like "you were born after me, and when I was born, you were already old."
Sometimes, the sorrow is felt even more deeply through familial bonds and friendships.
Kurumi remained the same as always—an eternally beautiful young maiden, unchanged in the slightest.
But her once-close friend had aged, now nearing her fifties, an elderly woman.
Meeting again after so long wouldn't bring joy or celebration, but rather sighs and sadness.
Fortunately, Kurumi didn't dwell on that.
The regrets of the past had been resolved, and her friend had gone on to live a normal, happy life with her help.
That alone was enough.
Perfection wasn't something Kurumi sought.
Right now, what captured her interest was Haruto.
She was extremely curious about him—not just his extraordinary existence, but also his conduct and personality.
Having lived for so many years and traversed human society collecting spirit power, Kurumi had met all kinds of people.
But someone like Haruto? She'd never encountered his kind before.
His goals and actions were all completely baffling.
In Kurumi's understanding, someone like Haruto should fall into one of two categories:
Either indifferent to humans and other lower beings, chaotic and unrestrained in behavior.
Or rigidly bound by a set of rules, regulating the flow of time, stopping evil and helping the good.
In other words—chaotic evil, or lawful good.
But Haruto was neither.
He was unexpectedly gentle.
"Big Sister Kurumi is staring at Haruto like she's in love… could this be what they call falling head over heels?"
"Makes sense. After all, she's been single for decades. As the saying goes: 'when well-fed, lust arises…'"
"Ahem, and now, since her wish has been fulfilled… that means… she's well-fed!"
"Ahh! A forbidden romance with an out-of-this-world being—how fitting of my dear sister."
Kurumi's Four Heavenly Kings muttered and gossiped nearby.
But their "secret" discussion?
Yeah… it was loud enough for not just Kurumi and Haruto to hear, but even the passersby nearby.
Though the kind-hearted citizens of Tokyo were no strangers to public weirdness—tolerant by nature—
When the ones being weird were a beautiful young man and woman?
Well, let's just say it became a feast for the eyes.
A crowd of onlookers started forming.
Kurumi's forehead twitched, a black hashtag mark appearing there.
Backstabbed by her own people. Seriously?
Haruto on the side struggled not to burst into laughter.
Meanwhile…
Origami had returned home.
In her memory, the city had once been reduced to ruins, then rebuilt.
But now, the streets looked just as they had—only some public facilities seemed worn from time.
Guided by memory, she found her way home.
As she pressed the doorbell, Origami felt nervous. But that nervousness was quickly replaced with joy.
A middle-aged woman opened the door.
Upon seeing Origami, she let out a small, scolding sigh.
"So, you do remember how to come home! Running off to 'find your prince charming' all of a sudden… Didn't even answer your phone. Rebellious phase, huh? Good grief! So? Did you find him? I don't see you bringing anyone back!"
Origami's mom half-scolded while peeking behind her daughter, Curious to see if she had really "caught" her white horse prince.
But Origami suddenly threw herself into her mother's arms.
The warmth of her mother's embrace made Origami feel incredibly happy.
A smile crept onto her face.
This was the first time since that catastrophic event that she had smiled.
After that incident, Origami had practically lost all ability to show emotion—like her face had frozen.
But now, it seemed to be healing.
Her mom paused in surprise, then gently asked:
"What's wrong? Did something happen? Were you catfished online? Don't tell me he's a scumbag—if he is, just tell me, I'll go settle the score!"
It was obvious that Origami's mom was a very open-minded person.
Probably a frequent internet user.
Very accepting and understanding of her daughter.
Origami shook her head.
"He's not a scumbag. I did find my prince charming. I just suddenly… missed you, Mom."
Her mom let out a sigh of relief.
Seemed like her daughter hadn't been ghosted and used.
That had been a real worry.
Though… her daughter had always had a bit of a romance-obsessed streak.
Hmm, better thoroughly investigate this "prince" later!
As she thought this, her mind drifted back to a strange girl she had met years ago.
She'd only seen the girl twice, but…
Origami was beginning to resemble her more and more.
Especially recently.
If she hadn't given birth to Origami herself—she might've started to wonder...
Ahem.
Just then, Origami's mind began to fill with new memories. Memories that should have been hers in this altered timeline.
A life without tragedy.
Parents healthy, a happy family.
Origami had a childhood worth remembering.
But within that childhood, she also held a quiet admiration for someone. Having seen his photo and illustrations, heard his stories—
She could no longer look at her male classmates the same way.
They all just felt so… childish and boring.
A classic case of: "Once you've seen the sea, no other water compares."
Just a few days ago, she suddenly remembered that the time from those stories was drawing near.
So she told her parents she was leaving—and ran off.
She couldn't remember what happened after.
That part was in the main world's timeline.
And that timeline was strictly controlled by Haruto.
Unless he personally intervened, the main world's timeline would never change.
Just then, Origami's father came to the door too.
Upon seeing her, he instinctively put on a stern face—ready to scold her for running away.
But before he could say a word…
Origami's mom shot him a glare, and he swallowed it back down.
Origami had always been a sensible child. So their household never really had a "strict dad, loving mom" dynamic. Her mom made most of the decisions, and usually let Origami make her own choices.
As a result, Origami's father had… a rather subtle role in the family.
After welcoming Origami back into the house, her mom didn't nag much more.
She just reminded her to be safe out there—and if she ever got knocked up, bring the guy back ASAP so she could check him out.
Origami felt like she was getting run over by a truck.
Still, Origami herself was oddly open about such matters. Even with her parents, she directly agreed leaving her father dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Haruto had already returned to the main world. He had to quickly get Reine settled in.
It was important to keep Reine and Kurumi separate, if they stayed together too long, something was bound to happen.
As for Origami—
No need to worry at all.
After all, Origami was only present in the "Spirit" parallel world as a projection. Even if something happened to the projection, it wouldn't affect her real body.
After returning to the main world's base, Haruto registered Reine as a research doctor.
No doubt, Reine would be a great fit for the position.
Additionally, Haruto gave her a special status: Special Researcher of SCP-096 (the Shy Guy).
As for Kurumi...
The Foundation established a Mobile Task Force just for her.
Its name? Spirit of Time.
Of course, the Four Heavenly Kings were not allowed to join. Who knows what chaos they'd unleash inside a task force.
Kurumi was dissatisfied by this.
Now that her wish had been fulfilled, her heart was completely tied to Haruto—driven by her curiosity.
But her request to stay close to him was firmly denied by Haruto. At the same time, another matter was reaching its end.
The full-dive game SAO—
With Haruto and Shiro's help, they had already reached the 89th floor.
Haruto's account had hit max level.
Other players would soon catch up too.
The time of liberation was near.
And it came more than a year ahead of schedule.