After getting a wave of attention at school, Shichen went back to the café.
Bringing Eriri to school was bound to draw eyes—Eriri was a well-known beauty there. Mixed-race, blonde, unbelievably cute; a refined young lady, well-read and polite. Any one of those traits was enough to hook a bunch of hormonal teens.
Eriri used to be one of the two most famous beauties on campus, rivaling Kasumigaoka Utaha. Even though Tohka Yatogami and the others had joined and the number of "school beauties" had exploded, Eriri's popularity was still sky-high.
Unfortunately, the moment Shichen escorted Eriri to school, a lot of people's fantasies finally shattered.
Because Eriri arrived with her arm tightly looped around Shichen's—holding him close—wearing a radiant smile that screamed "girl in love."
A lot of students knew who Shichen was. His closeness with Utaha, with Tohka and the others, had long been common knowledge.
And now he was acting ambiguous with Eriri too.
So what, being handsome means you can juggle multiple relationships?
It was infuriatingly enviable.
Shichen wasn't even at school anymore, yet the whole place was buzzing with his name.
Showing up with Eriri sent his notoriety through the roof again. Campus, classrooms, group chats, even the school forum—he was everywhere.
There were even photos.
Eriri, Utaha, and the others ended up caught in the discussion too.
But none of that mattered to Shichen. He had no interest in dealing with it.
When he got back to the café, Chisato Nishikigi and the others were already in uniform, ready to welcome customers.
Three lovely girls—pleasing just to look at.
"Shichen-nii, you didn't come home last night!" Chisato planted her hands on her hips and glared at him the moment he walked in.
"Didn't I tell you I was at Eriri's?" Shichen said casually, walking up and ruffling her hair.
"Hmph. Don't think you can brush me off with that."
"Oh? Then what do you want?"
"At the very least—another kiss." As she spoke, Chisato stood on tiptoe and puckered.
"Fine." Shichen smiled indulgently and kissed her.
"Hehe~ That's more like it."
"Easy to appease…" Shichen muttered, then turned to Takina Inoue. "Takina, want one too?"
"Eh? I—I…" Takina hesitated.
"Sounds like you do." Shichen walked over.
"Mm…" Seeing him in front of her, Takina panicked, but she didn't run—she resigned herself, shut her eyes, and even lifted her chin.
Shichen kissed her effortlessly.
"Takina's getting proactive too," Chisato teased from the side.
"Chisato!" Takina shot her a mortified glare.
Shichen patted Takina's head, then looked at Lily.
"M-Master… do I have to as well?" Lily asked quietly, blushing.
Watching him kiss the other two was embarrassingly intense for her—almost too spicy.
"You don't. You're different from them," Shichen said, only rubbing her head.
"Oh…" Lily nodded, relieved—yet disappointment bubbled up inside her.
Out of the three girls present, she was the only one who didn't get a kiss. It felt like being singled out.
She knew Chisato and Takina were Master's women.
But Lily was still an inexperienced girl—she didn't mind people having less, she minded being treated unfairly.
And her relationship with Master wasn't exactly ordinary either. In the future, "she" would be Master's woman too.
Shichen didn't notice Lily's quiet thoughts. He didn't want to delay the three of them, so he went to the kitchen to say hello to Tohru and the others, then headed upstairs.
Upstairs was lively—everyone was already awake.
Breakfast was mandatory together. That was Shichen's rule, unless there were special circumstances.
Now that everyone was finally family, letting laziness keep them apart at breakfast would be too dull.
And if breakfast didn't happen together, lunch and dinner would inevitably fall apart too for all sorts of reasons, until everyone started feeling distant again.
They were going to be living together for a long time.
For the sake of everyone's bonds, Shichen planned to keep this rule going.
"Shichen, you're back. Looks like you finally took Eriri down," Jeanne said as she came out of her room.
She'd clearly come out because he was back. She was still in her pajamas.
"Morning, Jeanne."
"It's not that early. So—how was last night?" Jeanne asked with a teasing grin.
"…You're into this kind of thing too?"
"Curious."
"What's there to be curious about?" Shichen's mouth twitched.
Jeanne was still Jeanne… but she felt very different from the Jeanne in his memories.
Still, he'd gotten used to it.
Not just because she was Jeanne—because she was so close to him.
Men really were simple. A proactive girl could hook a man completely.
And Jeanne wasn't some playgirl, either.
"You've been spoiling her a lot lately. And Eriri's a top-tier girl—probably really soft and fresh, huh?" Jeanne made a face like some sleazy guy.
"Stop that. Can you act normal?" Shichen flicked her forehead in annoyance.
"I am normal. This is what I'm like when I'm just being myself—especially around you."
"And that's somehow my fault?"
"Of course it's your fault." Jeanne smiled.
"Fine, fine. It's all my fault."
"Heh. Your skin's getting thicker. Now tell me—how did last night feel?"
"…Same as with you!" Shichen snapped.
"Same as me? That doesn't sound right. Eriri's pure natural," Jeanne blinked, utterly unfazed by the comparison.
"…I'm seriously impressed by you." Shichen surrendered.
The closer he got to Jeanne, the more outrageous she became. Sometimes he wondered if she'd been possessed.
"Ha—relax, I'm just messing with you," Jeanne laughed.
"I don't feel like you're messing with me."
"Then don't stay out overnight."
"You're saying it too? Fine—how about I stop staying out overnight from now on?"
"You promise?"
"I promise," Shichen said solemnly.
"Good." Jeanne believed him instantly and nodded, satisfied.
"I've got a question. Shouldn't you already know everything I do?" Shichen asked curiously.
"I don't," Jeanne said, shaking her head. "Everything's completely different now."
"…Is that so."
"But I do know one thing." Jeanne held up a finger and blinked playfully.
"Hm?"
"You've already collected fifty Divine Fragments, right?"
"..."
Back in his room alone, Shichen lay on his bed staring at the familiar ceiling, lost in thought.
He didn't know how long "she" would need to finish shaping a body. Would it be like him at the beginning?
Even Jeanne didn't know.
All he could do was wait.
Waiting was happiness—expectation, hope.
But it was also agony—restlessness, that itching impatience.
It was painful and sweet at the same time.
Still, "she" didn't make him wait long.
"You look pretty impatient," a lively, teasing voice said in the room.
"You're done?!" Shichen jolted upright, thrilled.
"You're in such a hurry, of course I had to hurry too," she said playfully.
"Isn't that risky? Nothing will go wrong, right?" Shichen couldn't help asking—he didn't want any accidents.
"Relax. Perfect in every way."
"Then…"
"I'm right here."
The moment she finished speaking, a pure white light appeared in front of him.
A figure formed inside the glow—indistinct at first.
Then the light faded, and her features came into view. She landed softly and looked at Shichen with a simple, honest smile.
Shichen stared, dazed.
Standing there was a girl—neat, proper features; medium height; smooth skin; a nice figure, curvy where it should be. A classic "cute" type.
She gave off a feeling of being easy to be around.
Her outfit was simple too: a white dress with cute lace trim, a red coat over it, and a white beret perched on her head.
So light and gentle you wanted to hug her on instinct.
"What's wrong? You're not saying anything. Don't tell me you guessed wrong?" the girl asked, smiling.
"No way."
Shichen shook his head, beaming, and said her name.
"Megumi."
"Yes. It's me." She nodded seriously.
"Shichen—we finally meet. I've waited a long time for this moment."
As she spoke, she opened her arms and tilted her head cutely—an obvious invitation.
Shichen didn't hesitate. He stood up, stepped forward, and hugged her.
He hugged Megumi Kato.
~~~
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