"...Perverted brat, wait a moment!"
Seika quickly chased after him.
Kitahara stopped, turned to look at the jogging Seika, and smiled:
"Manager, are you perhaps trying to..."
"Less nonsense!" Seika's pretty face was hot. She handed him the shopping bag she was holding. "I'm just giving snacks and cupcakes to Hana-chan!"
Kitahara took the snacks and handed them to Hana.
Hana hugged the snacks with both hands, looked up with her small face, and thanked him expressionlessly:
"Good person, thank you."
"You're welcome," Seika's eyes immediately softened. She probably loved cute young ones far more than high schoolers due to her age. She reached out and rubbed Hana's small head, her voice exceptionally gentle. "Hana-chan, you can come over and play anytime you want. You don't have to be with the perverted brat. As long as you come to play, you'll have all the cupcakes you can eat."
Kitahara interrupted: "Manager, don't make promises recklessly."
"Hm?"
Seika looked over in confusion.
Kitahara's tone was faint: "I took Hana-chan to an all-you-can-eat buffet before, and when we left, the buffet owner almost cried. Hana-chan only looks small. If you really let her eat her fill, Manager will have to sell herself to make money."
Seika: "..."
"Besides sending snacks, does Manager have anything else?"
Kitahara asked with a smile.
Seika's pretty face flushed slightly, her arms crossed over her chest, and her gaze was a little evasive as she stubbornly said:
"Of course not."
Sending snacks was just an excuse, the real purpose was to share the ability... But how could she say something so awful out loud!
"Tsk~"
Kitahara lightly clicked his tongue:
"Seika-nee's mouth is indeed the hardest part of her."
Seika glared at him in shame and anger:
"Perverted brat, you want a beating, don't you?!"
Seeing Kitahara just smile and look at her, Seika's shame and anger grew even stronger. She bit her teeth, stomped her foot, and was about to turn and leave.
Ask this brat to help share an ability?
That would clearly be actively asking for a kiss!
Terrible!
It's absolutely terrible!
"The snacks have been delivered, I'm going back!" Seika bit her teeth and turned to leave.
Such is the nature of a tsundere, a classic case of suffering to save face.
Slap.
A hand suddenly reached out and firmly gripped Seika's wrist.
"You, what are you doing?" Seika glared, embarrassed.
"Of course, I'm concerned about the Manager's safety," Kitahara said, looking down, "...Hana-chan, you go to the bathroom and wait for me first."
Hana, as always, was obedient. Upon hearing this, she hugged the snack bag and walked into the bathroom with her short legs.
They came by train, partly to have dinner along the way, and also to buy physical game discs at the store. But going back wouldn't be so troublesome; quick travel would get them home in minutes.
Thump.
As the door gently closed, Kitahara exerted a little force with his right hand and pulled Seika into his embrace.
"Mm..." Seika let out a soft hum, her pretty face flushed crimson as she glared, stubbornly saying, "Brat, what are you doing?"
Kitahara retorted, "Seika-nee, don't you know what I want to do?"
Seika's gaze flickered, "I'm not a roundworms in your stomach, so of course I don't know!"
"Alright, then I'll be direct," Kitahara said softly, "I want to kiss the Manager."
Seika glared back, annoyed and embarrassed, "...You brat, don't push your luck!"
Kitahara was not at all afraid, "Then I'll rephrase it: I want to share my ability with the Manager."
Seika chasing him out was already her limit. Getting the Manager to actively ask for a kiss was clearly impossible for a while.
"I don't need that kind of thing..." Seika, as always, said one thing but meant another.
Kitahara was speechless, "Manager is already so old, don't be a tsundere anymore."
"You're saying I'm old?!" Seika was instantly enraged.
"I'm not, I didn't."
I clearly said you're old enough, not that you're old! At twenty-nine, many people have just finished their studies and entered society, so they're not old at all! And the point was clearly for you to stop being a tsundere!
"Brat, you clearly said I was old just now!"
"Explanation is useless, so I can only..." Kitahara simply raised his right hand, then brought it down hard.
Slap!
A crisp slapping sound echoed in the hallway.
Seika felt a sharp pain in her buttocks, and her pretty face instantly turned crimson. She widened her eyes in disbelief:
"You, you actually dared to hit me..."
Before she could finish speaking, Kitahara had already lowered his head and kissed her.
"Mm..." Seika initially tried to struggle, but as Kitahara forcefully invaded, her body quickly softened.
At the same time.
In the corner, a pink-haired girl widened her eyes in disbelief, her lips slightly parted, about to let out a soft gasp.
At the crucial moment, a hand suddenly reached out and quietly covered Hitori's mouth, while the other hand held a phone, snapping a picture.
"Shh~" Ryo raised her index finger to her lips, quietly making a shushing gesture.
"Ryo, Ryo-senpai..." Hitori quietly retreated with Ryo, leaving the corner, and finally caught her breath, "I think my eyes were playing tricks on me just now. I saw Kitahara-kun and the Manager..."
Ryo said lightly, "Hitori didn't see wrong."
"Ah?" Hitori looked up blankly.
Ryo crossed her arms, saying airily, "The Manager was indeed kissing Kitahara-kun."
Hitori: "..."
(No, no!)
(That terrifying Manager, why... why would she secretly do that kind of thing with Kitahara-kun?!)
"Does Nijika-senpai know?" Hitori covered her chest with her right hand, her voice tense, "If Nijika-senpai knew, she'd definitely be very sad, right?"
Ryo tilted her head and looked over, "Why would Nijika be sad?"
"That... that..." Hitori stammered, "Because Nijika-senpai and the Manager are biological sisters..."
Ryo said softly, "They are biological sisters, that's right, but the Manager also has the right to pursue happiness."
"Ah?" Hitori looked up blankly, and although she didn't understand, she felt like something was off.
"It's a simple deduction," Ryo gently wagged her finger, "Would Kitahara-kun force everyone to do things against their will?"
"Of course not." Hitori subconsciously shook her head.
(Although... although Kitahara-kun is very fond of being lewd, he has indeed never forced anyone. Once everyone seriously refuses, Kitahara-kun immediately stops...)
Ryo said lightly, "Since Kitahara-kun doesn't force others, then one thing can be inferred..."
Hitori subconsciously asked, "What is it?"
Ryo lowered her voice, "That kiss just now was entirely willing on the Manager's part, you know."
Hitori: "..."
Thinking about it carefully, this was indeed the only possibility.
Hitori, however, wasn't jealous or disappointed. After all, in Hitori's self-perception, she was just a rat living in a dark sewer and didn't have a strong sense of possessiveness.
"But..." Hitori stammered, still very worried about Nijika's reaction after knowing, "But Nijika-senpai..."
Ryo crossed her arms, "For her sister's lifelong happiness, even if Nijika knows, she definitely won't throw a tantrum."
"Ah?" Hitori looked up blankly.
It was clearly the Manager secretly... stealing Nijika's boyfriend, how did it become about lifelong happiness?
Ryo snapped her fingers lightly, "Given the Manager's hard-to-describe personality, if she hadn't met Kitahara-kun, wouldn't her fate be to live out her life alone?"
Hitori blinked at this, and subconsciously nodded, "I feel like it would..."
(Not just the Manager, if I hadn't met Kitahara-kun, I would also live out my life alone, right?)
Ryo said airily, "In Nijika's heart, what's more important: sadness, or the Manager's happiness?"
Hitori subconsciously replied, "The Manager's happiness is more important..."
"Exactly, that's how it is," Ryo's lips curved slightly upwards, revealing a hint of pleasure, "So, next, we need to help Nijika and the Manager achieve happiness together."
"..."
At the same time.
On the other side.
Kitahara naturally noticed Hitori and Ryo's peeking, but he didn't pay it any mind.
"Manager, thank you for the treat," Kitahara wiped the corner of his lips, saying righteously, "Exorcist Constitution has been successfully shared."
"Hoo... hoo..." Seika's pretty face was flushed, slightly out of breath. She quickly wiped away the moisture from the corner of her lips, then clenched her fist in confusion, "But I don't feel any change in my body."
Kitahara explained softly, "Exorcist Constitution doesn't strengthen your physical abilities; it allows you to harm evil spirits, ghosts, anomalies, and all sorts of other chaotic existences. If Seika-nee doesn't believe it, you can go upstairs and experiment on Auntie..."
Thump!
Seika punched Kitahara in the chest, "You want me to experiment on my mom? That's too much!"
"It was just an example," Kitahara raised both hands, quickly changing the subject, "There's one more thing I need to remind the Manager."
"What is it?" Seika looked over curiously.
Kitahara whispered, "The shared ability won't last forever, just like a temporary buff in a game. It can only last for a maximum of twenty-four hours... In other words, if the Manager wants to continuously possess the exorcism ability, I must share the ability with you every twenty-four hours."
Seika blinked, quickly understanding the meaning of his words, and was instantly both embarrassed and angry, "Brat, you deliberately made up this reason to take advantage, didn't you?"
Kitahara said flatly, "If I'm lying, then let me [beep]--."
Seika: "..."
He could even make such a terrifying vow; it seemed he really wasn't lying.
"But..." Seika's pretty face showed a conflicted expression, "Does that mean I have to kiss the perverted brat every day from now on... No, share the ability?"
"That's too terrible!"
"..."
Kitahara went into the bathroom and, along with Hana, quickly traveled back home.
"Makoto-kun, welcome back." Mutsumi's voice quietly sounded.
"I'm back, I'm going to take a shower first," Kitahara handed over his backpack, "Mutsumi-chan, go wash the cucumbers first. We'll eat them together later."
Mutsumi's eyes lit up. Although her face was expressionless, her voice clearly had a hint of happiness, "I'll go right away."
After washing up, Kitahara walked over to the sofa and sat down, eating cucumber with Mutsumi.
Then he took out the game disc he bought in the evening and started playing twin shadow wonderland with Mutsumi.
Online, there were already full walkthroughs from UP streamers, and the total game time wasn't long, just over ten hours.
But the length of the process was never the standard for judging whether a game was good or bad; at least in Kitahara's opinion, it was much better than those long games with question marks all over the map.
During this time, Anon also secretly snuck over, originally wanting to act clingy and spoiled, but seeing Kitahara and Mutsumi playing the game, she could only sit bored on the side eating fruit.
However, after watching for a while, Anon quietly became engrossed in it.
Time passed quietly.
In a blink of an eye, it was already past ten o'clock at night.
Kitahara returned from the shop around eight o'clock and played the game for over two hours straight; he simply couldn't stop.
Besides Anon, Tomori, Soyo, Ryo, Kita, and others had all come over, sitting or standing, all enjoying the game with great interest.
Ryo held her arms across her chest, her eyes bright: "It feels very interesting."
Kita raised her hand and suggested: "Let's all go to the Dream World tonight and play a real-life adventure!"
Soyo nodded lightly: "I do want to go play in the Dream World."
Tomori took out her phone: "I'll message Taki and ask Taki to come over and play together."
"..."
It proved that girls actually didn't dislike playing games; as long as the game was interesting and fun enough, both men and women couldn't refuse.
"Nijika, do you want to ask Manager-san to come and play together?"
Ryo turned to look at Nijika, suggesting casually.
"Eh?"
Nijika looked over in surprise: "Ask my sister to come over?"
Ryo extended a finger: "Manager-san should really like this game; yesterday, I even saw her browsing information about it on her phone."
Nijika hesitated: "But I've never seen my sister play games."
Ryo slowly said: "Playing games requires enough free time, and Manager-san is usually so busy that even if she wanted to play, she wouldn't have the time."
"That makes sense..." Nijika pursed her lips, then turned to look at Kitahara, "Kitahara-kun, can we ask my sister to come over and play the game with us?"
Kitahara had heard their conversation, looked speechlessly at Ryo, who wanted to cause trouble, and nodded: "Of course you can, as long as Manager-san is willing to come."
Nijika thanked him softly: "Then I'll send a message to my sister and ask..."
At the same time.
Shimokitazawa.
Seika had just finished showering and was sitting on her bed playing with her phone.
After receiving Nijika's message, her pretty face immediately showed a hint of excitement.
Entering the Dream World to play a real-life twin shadow wonderland?
She wanted to play.
She really, really wanted to play!
But going to the perverted brat's house to play games, no matter how she thought about it, seemed like a bad idea, right?
If something unexpected happened, Nijika might find out...
"I should probably refuse after all."
Seika shook her head regretfully, preparing to decline the invitation.
The next second.
Her phone suddenly vibrated lightly; Ryo had sent a message.
Seika instinctively tapped it open, and upon seeing the two people embracing in the photo, her eyes instantly widened.
"W-what's going on?!"
"When did Ryo secretly take this photo?"
Before Seika could ask, Ryo had already sent a message: "Manager-san, you wouldn't want your secret to be known by Nijika, would you?"