That night, Mio and the others finally understood what Yoshino meant by "a lot."
In the dining hall, staring at a sea of beauties—each one distinct, lively, and eye-catching—they honestly wondered if they'd walked into some kind of "Kingdom of Women."
Even with their confidence, they had to admit it: every single girl there was ridiculously pretty and adorable. None of them felt "below" the others.
They were Spirits, so being good-looking made sense—but why were there so many gorgeous girls here?
Was this even reasonable?
Where on earth did Shichen find this many uniquely charming girls?
Compared to the shock of seeing so many cuties, the fact that Shichen was a flirt almost stopped mattering. They were already a dozen-plus themselves—of course they knew what he was like.
"Shichen, why did you bring back so many girls at once? Can you even keep up?" Aqua wandered over with a bottle of liquor and leaned into him.
"Why do you smell like booze? Don't tell me you've been drinking this whole time." Shichen waved the smell away.
"Heh heh~ Don't change the subject." Aqua flopped across Shichen's lap like she was drunk.
"Why are you worrying about it? Just drink your booze," Shichen said, lifting her off with obvious disgust.
"I have to worry! If you can't keep up, the ones who lose out are us!"
"Agreed!" Megumin immediately raised her hand.
"I-I think so too…"
Darkness raised her hand shyly. "Shichen, you haven't… punished me in a long time…"
"I… I also want to spend more time with Shichen," Yunyun said, embarrassed.
They were a squad, so they naturally followed Aqua's momentum.
"Then us too!" Kirasaka Sayaka immediately jumped in.
"Sensei, spend more time with us too," Yukina pouted, sounding wronged.
"We don't want to study every day either—we want to hang out with Shichen, go on dates with Shichen!" Aurora declared righteously on behalf of the others.
Natsuki didn't speak, but the timid look she sent him said everything.
"Shichen, looks like you're getting stretched thin." La Folia smiled and teased.
Only Natsuki Minamiya kept a neutral face—though somehow, that neutrality felt the most suspicious.
"Shichen-sama, Rem doesn't need you to accompany her. As long as you keep me in your heart, that's enough." Rem swore loyalty.
"No! Just keeping someone in your heart isn't enough—you have to be there with them." Beatrice objected at once.
"I… I think so too…" Emilia murmured.
"Daddy, I want to go to the amusement park!" Illya made sure the chaos didn't die down.
"I want to go too," Sakura added.
"Shichen really is charming." Irisviel smiled happily.
"With everyone like this… there's no way Shichen can keep up. He's only one person." Artoria shook her head.
"Shichen-nii is so popular…" Eriri couldn't help sighing from beside Utaha.
"This isn't 'popular.' It's called being a two-timing scumbag." Utaha clicked her tongue.
"But everyone obviously likes Shichen-nii…"
"Hmph. They were all tricked when they didn't know any better—just like I was back then. You too, right?"
"Eh? I… um…" Eriri turned bright red, her porcelain face blushing vividly.
"You're way too easy to read. What exactly is going on between you and him?"
"I-I'm not telling you…" Eriri refused shyly.
"…Then how am I supposed to help you?" Utaha asked.
"Help me with what?" Eriri stared blankly.
"Forget it. With you acting like this, you don't need my help anyway. He definitely won't let you go." Utaha sighed.
"?"
"Shichen~ Shichen~ don't mind them. Just play games with us!" Kanna spoke up in her soft, cute voice.
"Exactly. Playing with us is better. We're not like them—always pressuring you until you're exhausted. We only feel sorry for you." Ai Hoshino chimed in.
"Ai… that sounded nice, but maybe don't say it," Shichen finally spoke.
"Tch~"
"Alright. From now on I'll properly spend time with you. I'm not leaving for the time being, okay?" Shichen said.
"Really?!" Everyone lit up.
"Really. I'm not lying."
"Yaaay!"
"Now can we calm down? Don't scare the new family members."
"Introduce the new family members already!"
"They're Spirits too, like Tohka, right?"
"They're this pretty—so they're all Spirits?"
"Wait… why does that one look so much like Tohka? She's just colder." Nana stared at the girl beside Tohka.
She was talking about Tohka's sister—Tenka. Shichen had brought her out too.
At first Tenka refused, but Shichen threatened her a little, and she caved.
After all, what happened between the two of them couldn't be allowed to reach Tohka.
Shichen wanted her out mainly so she could get acquainted with everyone—meet them, be seen, be part of the group.
She didn't need to go back to her original world anymore, so there was no reason to keep hiding.
And honestly, if she kept hiding inside Shichen, then anything he did—if she wanted to watch—she could. Shichen didn't really care, but it was better for her to interact with people than to just… watch him.
Wouldn't that be more meaningful than staring at that?
It was precisely because she'd watched him "play cards" with other people so often that she'd gradually developed complicated feelings toward him.
She knew him too well now. She'd gotten used to him.
Watching someone's life endlessly—having only him in your eyes, your heart, your head—how could you not end up liking him?
Maybe it wasn't "love," exactly… but it was close enough, because he was everywhere in her world.
And Tenka really was Mio's "daughter," wasn't she? Just like Mio, she apparently liked quietly watching him "play cards" with others.
"Everyone, let me introduce you—this is my sister, Yatogami Tenka," Tohka happily announced.
"So they're sisters…"
"They really do look alike… it's like the same person."
"Technically, they are basically the same person," Shichen said.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Perfect timing—if I introduce everyone properly, you'll understand."
So Shichen introduced Mio and the others to everyone, including what they'd been through.
They were all good girls. They empathized quickly, and accepted them even faster.
"I can't believe Mio waited thirty years after being abandoned by Shichen-sama…" Tohru was unusually unhappy with Shichen.
"Wait, it wasn't 'abandoned'—" Shichen hurried to explain.
"What's the difference, Shichen-nii?" Chisato also sounded displeased.
"Thirty years is nothing. I was abandoned for four hundred years," Beatrice immediately started competing.
"I think… mine was also thirty years?" Est hesitated.
"Why was yours thirty years?" Shichen asked her.
"Um… I can't say."
"Your 'Nee-sama' told you not to?"
"…Yeah." Est couldn't meet his eyes.
Shichen shook his head. He didn't blame her—but he already understood why she said "thirty years."
Before Shichen entered this multiverse, he'd been around thirty, after all.
"So who is this 'Nee-sama' everyone keeps talking about?" Tohru couldn't help asking.
"Nee-sama is Nee-sama. She's incredible." Beatrice puffed up proudly.
"Is she… the one who can casually control Shichen?" Mio finally put it together.
"It's her," Shichen admitted.
"Then who is she?"
"You'll meet her soon."
He was close to fifty Divine Fragments.
"Listening to you, it feels like we're being 'arranged,'" Utaha muttered.
"I feel that too… but whatever. If I can meet Shichen-nii, nothing else matters," Chisato said lightly.
"…Why are you suddenly swearing loyalty?" Utaha rolled her eyes.
"Heh heh~ the battle for favor has always been brutal. You let your guard down."
"Please. There's no need to fight—Shichen likes all of us equally."
"…That…" Chisato couldn't argue.
"Alright, alright—eat. The food's getting cold." Shichen cut them off.
"Mmh! I've been craving Tohru's cooking!" Tohka shoveled food into her mouth, blissful.
"Really? Then you can eat it every day from now on." Tohru was visibly pleased by the compliment.
"By the way, I have a question." Chisato's eyes sparkled mischievously.
"What?"
"If Mio is basically Tohka and Tenka's mom… then Shichen-nii, you…?"
"Of course you'd be the smart one." Shichen shot her an annoyed look.
"Ehehe~"
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— This Fanfic is Completed in Patreon!