"But I've still got another sister. She's supposed to be waking up soon, so I need to tell her I'm leaving. I can't just disappear without a word and leave her unable to find me."
Yukino Kazahime ultimately agreed to Takumi's invitation, but she still had a few personal matters to take care of first.
Takumi naturally had no objection. At the same time, he took out his phone and a thick stack of cash.
"If this sister of yours doesn't have anywhere to stay, I can arrange something for both of you. And take this money too. Consider it pocket money from your boyfriend."
"Wow~ So this is what human money looks like now. It's different from before."
Holding those two things in her hands, Yukino Kazahime looked like an endlessly curious little kid.
After all, she'd only just woken up after sleeping for more than ten years, so she still didn't know much about the modern age.
Takumi ended up sitting down and giving her a proper crash course before finally leaving with peace of mind.
Of course, before he went, he also gave Yukino Kazahime a Servant Piece.
Looking at the sky darkening overhead, Takumi couldn't help feeling like the whole day had flown by.
Mainly because he'd gotten up way too late today. It had practically been noon by the time he woke up.
Rias—that little... no, that big temptress—had gone at him together with Mio, the two red-haired beauties fighting side by side. Add in Asia and Maria playing support, plus Yuki Suou launching her own offensive from below, and the combined battle power of that lineup was already on par with a goddess.
As Takumi sighed over that in his heart, he had already left the snowy mountain and arrived at a remote highway.
This road led to a small village in the distance, so very few people ever came by. There was only a single bus that made the trip back and forth.
"Should I just fly straight back to Kuoh, or use spatial transfer?"
As Takumi weighed it in his mind, he suddenly noticed something.
The place closest to him right now was where he'd rescued Karin Nanase before.
The moment he stepped onto the road, he could clearly sense thick clumps of cursed energy hanging in the air.
And yet, as far as the eye could see, there wasn't a single curse in sight.
"Oh ho~ Something's noticed I'm here."
Looking at the empty road, Takumi felt exactly like one of those horror-movie idiots who wandered into the middle of nowhere just to die.
"Come to think of it, why does it feel like I keep running into curses more and more often?"
"The effect of this Main Character Halo (Purple) is way too damn strong."
Takumi could say for sure that before he got this trait, he hadn't been this "lucky."
But ever since getting it, one event after another had come rushing at him nonstop.
Then again, that was how protagonists were—one incident after another, never giving them a chance to breathe.
The fact that he still found time to throw parties on top of that really did make him a master of time management.
Takumi swept his gaze around. Since nothing had shown itself yet, he simply kept walking.
Curses with intelligence seemed to like deliberately creating a creepy atmosphere.
They could absorb human fear and turn it into cursed energy, which was also one way for them to grow stronger.
And if they wanted fear, setting the mood was a basic necessity.
The cursed energy hanging in the air was enough to make people feel depressed and uncomfortable. Leave someone in it long enough, and their emotions would gradually start slipping out of control.
"So that's the plan? Crush me with cursed energy first?"
Absorbing the cursed energy in the air as he walked, Takumi leisurely made his way toward the nearby bus stop.
When he looked up, he suddenly spotted someone sitting there.
"Hehehe hehehee~"
Even from far away, Takumi could hear a goofy, tipsy little laugh.
Not a curse. A person.
As he got closer, he finally saw her clearly.
She was a woman around five-foot-three, with red hair tied into a single ponytail.
She had a pretty face and wore glasses, giving her a distinctly intellectual kind of beauty.
The rosy flush of drunkenness on her fair skin only made her look more seductive.
Unfortunately, that goofy laugh completely ruined the mature, alluring vibe.
Her figure was slender, and because she was dressed pretty warmly and wearing a coat, her curves were mostly hidden.
The only thing Takumi still caught with one sharp glance was that tight, perky ass.
She looked like an office lady, but apparently she worked out from time to time too.
"Hold on... isn't that Kobayashi?"
The moment Takumi got close enough, he recognized her immediately.
"Huh? You know me? Hehehe~ Want a drink?"
As soon as Kobayashi heard someone call her name, she blinked her sleepy eyes open and immediately raised the bottle in her hand.
Takumi sat down beside her and steadied her swaying body before she toppled over.
Sure, she was as flat as Eriri, but that aside, Kobayashi really was an adult woman.
And with the booze in her system, there was a mature feminine charm clinging to her that made even the air around her feel a little intoxicating.
Looking at the half-conscious Kobayashi leaning against his shoulder, Takumi was speechless.
"You really came all the way out to the middle of nowhere by yourself while this wasted? That's one hell of a death wish."
After tossing out that jab, Takumi glanced at her status panel—and immediately swallowed the rest of whatever he'd been about to say.
[Name: Kobayashi]
[Level: None]
[Traits: Main Character Halo (Purple), Magic Prodigy (Blue), Soul of a Maid (Green), Computer Expert (Green)...]
"The rank of that halo actually caught up to mine.Feels like even if I hadn't come, you still wouldn't have... wait."
A realization hit Takumi all at once. The reason he'd ended up here at all was probably because of that halo.
From the very start, Kobayashi had never been in any real danger.
Thinking back to everything he knew about her, he couldn't help admiring just how absurd her protagonist halo really was.
An ordinary human managing to win over Tohru and a whole crowd of dragon girls—honestly, even Purple felt too low for her.
Other protagonists at least got some kind of legendary artifact or cheat power. Kobayashi really did run on raw luck alone.
"I've got nothing to say. Really, nothing to say."
Takumi couldn't help giving the drunken Kobayashi in his arms a thumbs-up.
"Hm? Little onisan, what're you saying? I can't hear you Man, you're really handsome~ And there's like... three of you... bleegh—"
Before she could finish, Kobayashi threw up on the spot.
Thankfully, Takumi reacted fast enough to dodge. Otherwise, there was no way his pants wouldn't have gotten splashed.
Seeing that, Takumi really couldn't hold it together anymore.
"This is ridiculous. I swear I'm like some babysitter you summoned here."
Supporting Kobayashi with one arm, Takumi gave her firm, perky ass a hard squeeze.
At the moment, that was basically the only payment he was getting out of this.
"Mmm~~~"
Drunk out of her mind, Kobayashi only let out a soft little moan and didn't resist at all.
Instead, she hooked both arms around Takumi and slumped onto him like he was a sofa, then promptly fell asleep.
Takumi simply lifted her properly into his arms.
Standing there with Kobayashi held against him at the bus stop, Takumi suddenly felt like the wind tonight was being especially dramatic.
"By the way, Kobayashi, your grip is insane. You're this drunk and you still won't let go of that bottle."
As Takumi complained, Kobayashi muttered softly in her sleep.
"Yesterday I worked overtime... then all the company windows exploded... and they still made me keep working... I'll kill you..."
"..."
From the sound of it, today was supposed to have been her day off.
But because of the company, she'd ended up working overtime all the way into now.
That made sense, then. No wonder she'd gotten drunk off her ass.
Honestly, if it were him, he'd be drinking like this too.