Not long after, the doorbell rang again.
"Eh? Rikka-nee, you're here?" Miu opened the door and looked at Rikka at the entrance in surprise.
"Mhmm, is Takeru home?" Hearing Miu's words, Rikka asked hesitantly.
"Mhmm, he is. Rikka-nee, come in first." Hearing her say this, Miu reacted and let Rikka in.
The reason Rikka came looking for Takeru was because she remembered Takeru's promise that she could come find him anytime, and also Toka's encouragement.
Just after entering, seeing Takeru and the others around, Rikka was stunned. She hadn't expected so many people at Takeru's home.
"Rikka, you came. Sit down first." Rikka's arrival surprised Takeru a bit, but not shocked. After all, Takeru and Rikka had a good relationship, and her visiting his house wasn't strange.
"Rikka!" At that moment, Miki also saw Rikka and spoke directly.
"You are... Miki?" Seeing Miki, Rikka was stunned. She hadn't expected to see Miki from another world in the main world.
Because Rikka hadn't obtained any Character Materialization Cards and hadn't considered this aspect, seeing Miki from a mission world naturally astonished her greatly.
"Mhmm, does Miki-nee also know Rikka-nee?" At that moment, Miu also looked at the two in surprise.
"Mhmm, I know her." Hearing this, Miki revealed a smile.
"Rikka, this is Uzumaki Karin. And here are Hoshino Hinata, Shirosaki Hana and Himesaka Noa. And she is Takanashi Rikka." Takeru quickly gave everyone a simple introduction.
"I know, I know! Big sister uses fireballs, right?" Seeing Rikka, Hinata spoke excitedly.
"Mhmm, although not as good as Master, she seems not to be underestimated." Noa also scrutinized Rikka, shaking her head.
"Master?" Hearing their address for Takeru, Rikka was stunned.
"Mhmm, they are Miu's classmates. Three days ago, they became my disciples." Seeing Rikka's shocked expression, Takeru said with a light laugh.
While talking, Ebina, Koyoi, and Kanon also arrived hand-in-hand at Takeru's home. After introducing Rikka to everyone and learning Takeru and the others were going for special training, Rikka also wanted to go along without thinking.
Hearing her words, Takeru didn't refuse and directly used Shambhala to take everyone away.
Then, Rikka joined the training team. Seeing how strict Takeru was with the five children surprised Rikka.
However, because of this, she didn't want to lose to a few kids. Wearing the extra weight training equipment, she also trained hard.
After becoming exhausted, she enjoyed Takeru's Advanced Healing Magic with high proficiency.
Feeling her stamina quickly recover, Rikka's eyes lit up. If she could often enjoy the Advanced Healing Magic, her strength could improve considerably in a short time.
Takeru arranged everyone similarly to Thursday: physical training, meditation, lunch, rest and meditation, training, then going home...
Upon returning home, Hinata and the others seemed somewhat fatigued. Although the Advanced Healing Magic could effectively eliminate fatigue and restore stamina, mental fatigue was hard to eliminate, and accumulated tiredness still existed a bit.
However, just as Takeru had Hinata and the others go wash up, his Observation Haki instinctively sensed the surroundings and discovered a small figure sitting in front of his doorway, looking dejected.
"Onii-chan, what's wrong?" Seeing Takeru pause mid-sentence, Miu asked curiously.
"There's something." Hearing her, Takeru quickly went to the entrance and opened the door.
Because the door suddenly opened, the figure leaning against it fell in. Takeru, having anticipated it, supported her.
"Ai, what are you doing here?" After steadying her, Takeru looked at the alone Hinatsuru in surprise.
"Takeru... nii?" Feeling supported and hearing Takeru's voice, Hinatsuru trembled. Turning and seeing Takeru's familiar face, she directly threw herself into Takeru's arms and cried.
"Alright, be good." Feeling Hinatsuru's grievance, Takeru quickly comforted her.
Miu and the others stared blankly at Takeru and Hinatsuru. Since Hinatsuru was completely in Takeru's arms, they couldn't see her face, but judging by her build, she seemed about the same age as Miu, Hinata, and the others. They were very puzzled about when Takeru knew such a little girl.
"Miu, is that your sister?" Looking at Hinatsuru's back and her address for Takeru, Hinata looked at Miu curiously.
"No, this is my first time seeing her." Hearing Hinata's words, Miu directly shook her head.
As for Hinatsuru, after crying for a while, she finally poured out the grievance from waiting so long.
"Ai, why are you here? How long have you been waiting?" After Hinatsuru's emotions calmed down a bit, Takeru spoke softly.
"Because Takeru-nii never came to find me, so I came to find you. I arrived around twelve, but no matter how much I knocked, you didn't answer." Hearing Takeru's words, Hinatsuru said softly between sobs.
"Sorry, I was out just now." Hearing Hinatsuru's words, Takeru spoke gently.
"Onii-chan, who is this...?" After Hinatsuru's emotions somewhat settled, Miu came over and asked.
"Wo... woman?" Hearing Miu's words, Hinatsuru looked at Miu in shock, also noticing the large number of girls behind.
"Miu, this is Hinatsuru Ai. She's one of the girls I rescued a few days ago. Ai, this is Takanashi Miu, also my sister." Seeing little Ai's expression, Takeru introduced Miu to her with a smile.
"Sister?" Hearing Takeru's words, Hinatsuru showed a hesitant expression.
"Hello, I am Hinatsuru Ai. Nice to meet you, please treat me well." Since Takeru said so, Hinatsuru politely greeted Miu.
"Hello." Seeing Hinatsuru say this, Miu could only instinctively respond.
"Never mind that for now. Ai, where are your mom and dad?" Soon, Takeru directly looked at little Ai and asked.
"Mom and Dad are still at home." Hearing Takeru's question, Hinatsuru said hesitantly.
"So you came here alone from Kanagawa?" Hearing Hinatsuru's words, Takeru was stunned.
"Mhmm!"
"Do your parents know?" Seeing this, Takeru asked again.
"No..." Hearing Takeru's words, Hinatsuru lowered her head, lightly touching her index fingers together.
"Really now." Hearing her words, Takeru sighed and couldn't help but put a hand to his forehead.
"Forget it. Ai, come in first. You've been waiting so long, you haven't had lunch either?" Gently shaking his head, Takeru looked at Ai and spoke softly.
"Mhmm." Hearing Takeru's words, Hinatsuru embarrassedly rubbed her stomach.
"Miu, you go wash up with Hinata and the others first. Karin, Miki, we're preparing dinner now." After entering inside, Takeru directly spoke to everyone.
"I understand." Hearing Takeru's words, Miu nodded obediently.
"Yes, Master!" Hinata also spoke enthusiastically.
"Master?" Upon hearing Hinata's address for Takeru, Hinatsuru was stunned, then her light blue eyes stared straight at Takeru, her mouth unconsciously puffing out.
"There's a reason for this." Seeing Hinatsuru's expression, Takeru said helplessly.
"Ai also wants to become Takeru-nii's disciple!" Hearing Takeru's words, Hinatsuru spoke directly.
"Alright, I understand. Okay, Ai, go rest first. I'll prepare dinner." Hearing her say this, Takeru nodded lightly.
Since he had accepted Hinata and the others, accepting one more Hinatsuru wouldn't be a problem. After all, herding one sheep or a flock of sheep wasn't much different. Moreover, for Takeru, teaching a few more people wouldn't be overwhelming...
"Master, let me help. Ai also knows cooking!" Hearing Takeru agreed to accept her as a disciple, Ai finally smiled again.
"Is that so?" Hearing she also knew cooking, Takeru was somewhat surprised.
"Mhmm, so let me help!" Hearing Takeru's doubt, Hinatsuru volunteered again.
"I understand. Then you come along too. But, are you okay right now?" Seeing she wanted to show herself, Takeru didn't want to dampen her enthusiasm.