"What are you two up to now?" Shichen stared at them.
"Either way, it's a good thing for you, Shichen—so don't worry about it." Chisato scooted over and hugged his arm tight, giving him some "benefits" as consolation.
"Honestly… your personality really hasn't changed much from when you were a kid," Shichen sighed, struck by the déjà vu.
"Because I've always been th— …huh?" Chisato froze, then looked up at Shichen blankly.
"What's wrong?"
"Shichen just said… when I was a kid?"
"Yeah. You remember, right? You said you wanted to be my child bride—we'd literally just met." Shichen laughed and shook his head.
"Shichen… you… remembered?" Chisato asked, eyes shining with excitement.
"Remembered—ah, almost forgot. But it's not really 'remembered'… it's more like I went through it," Shichen explained.
Their connection began seven years ago, but that was Future Shichen. Now, at last, the karmic loop had been closed.
"That's wonderful!" Chisato was over the moon. She lifted Kanna off Shichen's lap and set her aside, then threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly.
"It really is… so wonderful."
Her voice trembled like she was about to cry. Shichen immediately felt dampness soaking into his chest. His gaze softened, and he rested a hand on her head, gently stroking.
He'd given her a guidepost—made a promise—something to look forward to, a direction, a reason to keep going.
But that span of time… had been seven full years.
Seven years wasn't long, but it wasn't short either. And back then, Chisato had been so little. In those seven years, she grew up and her mind matured.
For her, seven years—minus childhood confusion—was practically half her life.
Half of a girl's life was more than enough to shape her forever.
"Yeah… it really is wonderful," Shichen replied softly.
This time, unlike everything he "knew" about her from the outside, he'd truly experienced their first meeting. Only now could it be called genuine understanding.
From this moment on, there would be nothing "strange" between them anymore.
"Shichen… Chisato… what does all this mean?" Takina asked, confused by how the two suddenly looked like a reunited couple.
"Takina, I don't really need to hide this from you. You already know I'm… not ordinary, right?"
"…Yeah." Takina nodded.
No one in this household thought Shichen was normal anymore. In fact, because of him, almost no one here was normal.
Well—Eriri was still normal, technically. Even if everyone treated her like family, and she acted like she already had one foot in the door.
"I can travel through time. So I met Chisato when she was little."
"So that's how it is… that's incredible," Takina murmured.
Just thinking about the 'fate' and 'timing' implied by that made her chest ache a little.
"What I did just now was go back to the past and live through that encounter with her," Shichen admitted.
"In that case… Shichen and Chisato… this is a reunion, right?"
"Yeah." Shichen smiled indulgently, stroking Chisato's hair.
Was it because of Shichen that he went back and met Chisato—or because of Chisato that he went back to meet her?
Cause and effect were a mess. But Shichen wasn't bound by time the way normal people were, so paradoxes didn't matter.
Their meeting was inevitable. He'd known her from the start, recognized her from the start, liked her from the start—so it was only natural he'd return to the past and cure her heart condition.
"Shichen, I think today deserves a celebration." Chisato finally steadied herself, looked up with watery eyes, and smiled brightly.
"Celebrate? Isn't it kind of late? What are we even celebrating with?" Shichen asked.
"Don't worry, Shichen—I already prepared a program." Chisato turned and smiled sweetly at Takina.
"Y-you…" Takina's cheeks flushed again.
"No backing out, okay~" Chisato reminded her, grinning.
"If I'm not backing out, then I'm not backing out! Just don't mess up yourself." Takina put on a shy, 'screw it' expression, like she'd already given up resisting.
"Heh-heh~ I'm not messing up. Tonight, I'm very strong!" Chisato lifted her chin smugly.
"..." Takina went silent.
She almost forgot—Shichen's 'reunion buff' had basically boosted Chisato. Right now, Chisato might be terrifyingly unstoppable.
She could probably endure any embarrassment.
So what was Takina supposed to do?
She never should've gambled with Chisato in the first place—Chisato was basically a cheater with hacks.
Then again… why had she agreed?
Stubborn pride?
Deep down, Takina knew she didn't truly hate the "punishment."
Because honestly, she couldn't handle Shichen by herself.
But doing it together… that was still too much. She'd never even imagined it.
Looks like tonight she'd be discovering a new world.
Takina was embarrassed. She was terrified to even picture it.
But she wasn't afraid.
If it was time to act, she would act.
Those feelings didn't contradict each other.
Even if she knew, rationally, that this wasn't something you were "supposed" to act on—this environment, this household, had already drifted far from anything normal.
If you didn't join in, you'd get left behind.
Some happiness had to be fought for, and there were way too many rivals.
"What are you two planning, exactly?" Shichen asked again.
He had a vague guess—Chisato's mischief plus Takina's embarrassment probably meant that kind of thing.
But he wasn't 100% sure, so he played dumb. If he got cocky and ruined it, that'd be tragic.
And honestly… he was looking forward to it.
"Aww, Shichen, you'll find out later. Go take a shower." Chisato stood, pulled Shichen up with her, and started pushing him toward the door.
"In such a hurry?"
"Yup! We might run out of time. Also, we're not going to 'ambush' you in the bath, okay? Shower fast."
"..." Shichen couldn't believe Chisato was basically reading his mind now.
As he got pushed out, he still remembered to tell Kanna, "Kanna, it's about time. Save your progress and go to bed."
"Got it." Kanna was obedient—right after Shichen left the room, she put the handheld away and trotted off to her room on her tiny legs.
In no time, only Chisato and Takina were left in the game room.
Takina pressed her lips together, suddenly not sure how to act around Chisato. Just imagining the ridiculous thing they were about to do made her fidgety.
"Takina, are you nervous?" Chisato asked with a wicked grin.
"Nervous? Not at all." Takina replied flatly—complete lie.
"Really? Then we're good. I'll get to enjoy what you look like later." Chisato said brightly.
"..." Takina snapped. "Are you a pervert? How do you even have thoughts like that?"
"Heh-heh~ Everyone else has done it together at least once. I want to make Shichen happy too."
"Then why drag me into it?"
"Because we're close~ Of course I'd bring you along for the fun. Sharing blessings, right?"
"Wow, thanks so much." Takina's tone could've frozen a lake.
"You're welcome. Now let's tidy up and go get ready in Shichen's room. We probably won't be sleeping tonight."
"N-not that exaggerated…"
"Like Shichen won't get excited? He's already absurdly strong, and he's been holding back because it's us. If he really lets loose… think about how terrifying that would be."
"..." Just imagining it made Takina's legs go weak.
Still, she never once considered running.
They cleaned up the game room, went downstairs, stopped by their own rooms to get things ready, and then—without waking everyone—snuck over to Shichen's room.
Shichen took a quick bath, changed into a yukata, and headed back.
He hadn't expected Chisato to actually keep her word and not ambush him in the bath, but that was fine. He was curious what "celebration program" she meant.
And honestly, the fact that Takina was willing to play along was… kind of miraculous.
But Shichen also understood: once he promised something, as long as it didn't truly violate someone's will, he would follow through.
Just imagining how he might "bully" Takina later was enough to make him feel fired up. He hurried back to his room.
At the door, he heard two voices inside—one bright and excited, the other restrained and shy.
Shichen steadied his expression, then pushed the door open.
The sight inside made him hold his breath.
On his bed, two lovely girls sat in a duck-sit pose—one in red, one in blue. Their tops were sheer lace like thin gauze; aside from the crucial parts, their pale skin showed clearly through, so you could practically see how fine and smooth it was.
The red one was waving, not embarrassed at all.
The blue one had her head lowered, cheeks flushed.
"Shichen, what are you waiting for? Aren't you coming over?" Takina invited softly.
"You two… you're actually serious?" Shichen asked.
"Shichen, are you happy?" Chisato asked with a mischievous grin.
"I'm about to lose my mind…" Shichen stepped into the room and closed the door.
"Shichen…" Takina whispered, then lowered her head again.
"Takina…" Shichen sat at the edge of the bed, eyes burning as he stared at her. "You really… want to do this with Chisato?"
"I… I want Shichen to be happy too." Takina looked up and met his gaze, eyes sincere.
"I'm very happy." Shichen lifted a hand and gently stroked her black hair.
"Shichen, it's getting late~" Chisato lifted her hem and fanned herself playfully.
"Yeah… it's late." Shichen wrapped an arm around both of them and pushed them down onto the bed.
A beautiful melody soon filled the room—this time, a duet.