While flipping through her contacts, she lightly pouted her red lips, her voice carrying a faint trace of resentment, "It's not just you two, I want to call Hikari-chan home soon too."
Kaede and Suzu didn't catch the deeper meaning in those words, taking them as nothing more than an elder's ordinary complaint about a boy staying out late.
The sisters watched Mira raise her phone to her ear and, without meaning to, held their breath.
Hoshizuki Suzu was used to keeping a blank expression, but Hoshizuki Kaede's face showed clear nervousness, her small hands gripping her skirt tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white.
Pururururur~
The ringing tone was especially clear in the quiet living room.
Five seconds, six seconds...
Just as Miss Mira's brow began to furrow and the sisters were about to run out of breath, the call finally connected.
["Hello, Miss Mira?"]
A slightly familiar male voice came through the receiver, one that had grown unfamiliar with the passage of time.
The voice was a bit deeper than what they remembered, carrying that distinct clarity of a boy transitioning into a young man.
Hoshizuki Kaede's eyelashes trembled slightly.
A nearly invisible ripple passed through Hoshizuki Suzu's amber-colored pupils.
"It's me," Miss Mira replied, but her brow furrowed right after, "Hikari-chan, what are you doing? Auntie seems to hear some strange noises over there?"
Unlike the Kaede and Suzu sisters, who hadn't heard Hikari's voice in a long time and were focused entirely on it, Miss Mira keenly noticed something off about the background noise on Hikari's end.
["Ah, that... I'm running on the treadmill at the gym,"] Hikari's voice came with slight panting, ["The people next to me are making a bit of noise, so it's kind of loud over here."]
As Hikari spoke, the somewhat noisy background immediately quieted down.
"Oh~ so that's how it is," Miss Mira glanced at the two pure and beautiful young girls still listening in. Though she still felt something was a bit off, she didn't press further.
["Miss Mira, you called me all of a sudden, did something happen?"], Hikari, who was busy with Yoshino Ayaka's ritual, asked.
"Can't I call you if there's nothing? Are you busy? You sure seem busy. You haven't been home for dinner three days out of five lately!", Miss Mira first shot back with a resentful jab.
After hearing Hikari apologize repeatedly, she finally said, "We have guests at home who came to visit, asking for you by name. If you don't have anything urgent, come home right away."
["Okay, Miss Mira, I'll be back in a bit,"] Hikari agreed promptly.
Miss Mira used her eyes to ask the sisters if they wanted to speak, and seeing Kaede and Suzu both shake their heads gently, she ended the call, "Then that's that. Make sure you come back early, okay."
———
When the call ended, night had already fallen deep on the street of a luxury residential area on the other side of Tokyo.
Creak~ Creak~
The high-end neighborhood where the Yoshino family lived had tight security, with professional guards patrolling every twenty minutes.
At that moment, two uniformed security guards were walking slowly along the sidewalk, their flashlights cutting through the thick darkness.
Suddenly, one of the younger guards vaguely saw a BMW up ahead rocking back and forth, occasionally making some strange noises.
He immediately brightened his flashlight, ready to step closer and check it out.
But he had only taken a few steps forward when his vision suddenly blurred.
"Huh? Where's the car? Where did that big car go?", The young guard on patrol looked completely dumbfounded.
"What car? What are you talking about?", The older guard patrolling with him walked over, looking at his partner in confusion.
"There was a BMW parked right there, and the car kept rocking, like something was going on, how could it just disappear?", The young patrol guard shone his flashlight directly at the spot again, but the harsh beam hit nothing.
The light went from the flashlight to the ground without any obstruction, without illuminating any object, the street looked completely empty.
"Kid, you've been watching too much adult stuff and seeing things. What BMW? Isn't that spot always empty?", The older guard looked at his partner speechlessly.
"No! I'm not lying! I really did see a BMW rocking back and forth just now!", The younger guard got anxious when his partner doubted him, and he swept his flashlight back and forth again, but still saw nothing.
"I think you've really gone loopy from watching too much of that stuff. Cut back on it, go home early and get some rest," The older guard was utterly exasperated and pulled him along to leave quickly.
"I'm telling the truth! I'm not lying to you!", The younger guard kept looking back, but his line of sight remained empty.
"Yeah, yeah, you're right!", The older guard couldn't be bothered with him anymore, just assuming he was having some kind of delusion.
Hearing his partner's dismissiveness, the young guard couldn't help but start doubting himself, 'Did I really see it?'
'Or maybe... Was it something supernatural?'
At that thought, the young guard shuddered and took the initiative to pull his partner away from the spot.
And after the two patrol guards walked far away and completely disappeared around the street corner, ripples like water waves suddenly appeared in the air.
As if a transparent curtain had been pulled back, the dark blue BMW slowly materialized, color, model, license plate, all matching the young guard's description exactly.
All the windows were covered with privacy film, making it impossible to see inside from outside.
The patrol guard earlier actually hadn't lied, there really was a BMW on the street.
And it was indeed Yoshino Ayaka's car.
It was just that Hikari had sensed someone approaching and immediately concealed it with an illusion spell.
"Ayaka-san, they're gone, relax...", Watching Yoshino Ayaka, who had tensed up so much from someone suddenly appearing that her manicured nails had dug into his back, Hikari spoke soothingly.
"Ah... Hikari-kun, I'm sorry!", Yoshino Ayaka's beautiful eyes were still dazed, her mind wandering for quite a while before she finally snapped back to her senses, quickly pulling her hands back and apologizing, her voice soft as if she had no strength left.
"It's fine," Hikari raised his hand and gently brushed across her smooth, warm back, his fingertips gliding over her delicate skin, "The effects of the Awakening Orchid incense should have mostly faded by now, right?"
"Mmm... yes...", Yoshino Ayaka nodded reluctantly, forcing her weak and sore body up from Hikari's embrace.
Though she still deeply missed that wonderfully comfortable feeling from just moments ago, her whole body was now too sore to move even a finger. Completely spent, she could only give up on continuing to cling to Hikari.
"Ayaka-san, was this your first time in a car?", Watching her limp form in the passenger seat, Hikari asked.
"Mhm," Yoshino Ayaka nodded shyly.
Her husband was useless, and she had long been alone in her empty bedroom for years, nearly forgetting about such things, let alone doing it in a car.
"It's getting late. Go on inside and rest," Seeing the lingering reluctance in Yoshino Ayaka's eyes, Hikari urged her.
"Okay," Yoshino Ayaka also knew that continuing might actually kill her, so she obediently put her clothes back on.
"Hikari-kun, thank you. Today I truly... was so fulfilled, so happy..."
Yoshino Ayaka's eyes sparkled with an indescribable light, staring intently at Hikari, "I feel like you're a gift bestowed upon me by Queen..."
"Heh... Heh...", Hikari chuckled and didn't argue, because although it sounded a bit far-fetched, there was actually some truth to what Yoshino Ayaka said.
After all, if it weren't for Itsumi Shima, that evil god, he would never have gone to Queen's Society, and he really might never have had the chance to meet Yoshino Ayaka.
So what Yoshino Ayaka said wasn't really wrong, if you stretched it.
"Hikari-kun, goodbye. I suddenly find myself looking forward to the next gathering~", Just as she was about to step through her front door, Yoshino Ayaka turned back and said to Hikari with a smile.
"Okay, goodbye...", Watching the strange gleam in that dignified beauty's eyes, Hikari wasn't sure if this devout believer was looking forward to the Queen's Society gathering itself, or to the next Queen's Ritual.
'Oh well, forget it for now. Whatever the case, first things first, head back to Miss Mira's house.'
Seeing that unlocking the special CG in Yoshino Ayaka's car had increased his Queen's power by another five percent, Hikari nodded in satisfaction.
Then he casually hailed a taxi and headed straight back to the Tsubakihara residence.
———
After paying the fare and getting out, Hikari pushed open the familiar door of the Tsubakihara house.
There stood Miss Mira's breathtakingly beautiful face, along with her two daughters, who had inherited that same beauty, sitting in the living room.
"Good evening, Miss Mira~"
"Yuna-nee, Nina-nee."
Hikari greeted Miss Mira, Tsubakihara Yuna, and Tsubakihara Nina in turn, and they each responded.
After thoughtfully handing Hikari his indoor slippers, Miss Mira smiled and said to him, "Hikari-chan, we have two very special guests at home today~"
"They came all the way here and asked for you by name. Guess who they are?"
Seeing the slightly mischievous, bewitching smile on Miss Mira's face, Hikari shook his head helplessly, "How am I supposed to guess that..."
Though he said that, Hikari's mind was already racing through the possibilities.
Coming to the Tsubakihara house meant the guests should know both him and Miss Mira personally.
And from Miss Mira's slightly jealous, mischievous smile, they were definitely female.
'Could it be... Miss Mira's girlfriends, or my country sweethearts, or Aunts Miyuri and Sayako came to find me?'
Though he made all sorts of wild guesses in his head, Hikari kept his face looking completely clueless.
Seeing his expression, Miss Mira stopped playing word games.
She smiled and stepped aside, gently revealing the two figures hidden behind her.
"Ta-da!"
Looking at the two slightly flustered, blue-haired young beauties before him, Hikari paused briefly, then raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Kaede and Suzu?"
"Hikari-kun, long time no see!"
"Hikari-kun... you've gotten so tall."
The twin sisters spoke one after another. The older sister, Hoshizuki Kaede, spoke with barely contained excitement and joy, while the younger sister, Hoshizuki Suzu, still had a calm voice, though it carried a faint, barely noticeable hint of cheer.
Perhaps because they hadn't seen each other for years, these childhood friends who were once so familiar now seemed a bit awkward and nervous.
The sisters looked up at Hikari and realized that the childhood friend who used to be about their height now stood more than a head taller than them.
And his appearance had transformed from a delicate, handsome little boy into a tall, handsome young man.
Hoshizuki Kaede stared at Hikari's face, even more beautiful than what she'd imagined in her daydreams, and unconsciously swallowed, her heart skipping a beat, her breath nearly stopping.
And Hoshizuki Suzu, who was typically expressionless with her deadpan personality, also quietly gazed at him, as if silently comparing past and present.
While Kaede and Suzu observed Hikari, his eyes also fell on the twin sisters.
Both girls had neat shoulder-length blue hair, looking pure and well-behaved, with delicate, well-defined features, like a pair of finely crafted dolls.
Like two-bodied, one-spirit porcelain dolls.
But on closer inspection, one could tell them apart: the older sister Hoshizuki Kaede had clear water-blue pupils, while the younger sister Hoshizuki Suzu had warm amber-gold eyes.
The sisters' eighty-percent-similar beautiful faces could still slowly overlap with the memories of their childhood, but their adolescent figures had already blossomed into youthful elegance, developed far beyond their younger days.
Unlike their childhood flat chests, the adolescent Hoshizuki Kaede had developed well, with curves that could no longer be ignored, her peaks rounding out the fabric of her uniform with soft, sweet contours unique to a young girl.
Combined with the straight, slender legs beneath her skirt, she radiated vitality.
And the younger sister Hoshizuki Suzu was even more delicately proportioned. Her chest, compared to her already well-developed older sister, was actually a size larger, standing gracefully there, pure yet subtly exuding an unconscious charm, clearly a standard beauty.
Standing side by side, the twin sisters formed a striking two-sided portrait.
After years apart, each silently marveling at the changes in the other, Hikari was the first to break the silence with a smile: "Long time no see, Kaede, Suzu. What brings you two back all of a sudden?"
When they were kids, Hikari had played plenty with the Kaede and Suzu sisters, making the three of them something like childhood friends, until they moved away with their family around the start of middle school, and the relationship grew distant.
Hoshizuki Kaede explained softly, "Our mom's job recently changed, so we've decided to move back here and live again."
Beside her, Hoshizuki Suzu gave a slight nod, confirming her sister's words.
Seeing the sisters' reactions, Hikari couldn't help but smile.
Indeed, a leopard can't change its spots.
The Kaede and Suzu sisters still had personalities much like he remembered from childhood.
The older sister Kaede was still lively and cheerful, meeting his gaze with a bright smile.
And the younger sister Suzu remained that quiet, cool type, always expressionless, speaking softly, only nodding slightly when their eyes met, all her emotions tucked beneath that smooth, unreadable face.