Shichen didn't use the newly caught ingredients for breakfast; what he made that morning was the same as what he'd eaten with Momo.
A simple, plain-looking seafood congee—just king crab roe and tomalley and meat, some snow crab roe and tomalley and meat, plus a bit of slipper lobster meat.
Extremely "plain."
He couldn't add any other seafood; he hadn't caught more.
But everyone was easily satisfied, so there was no need to throw in anything extra.
After breakfast, Lala wanted a turn riding on Lugia as well, so Shichen took the three sisters and soared over and under the sea.
He didn't bring Frieren and Yami—not because he refused, but because the two of them didn't want to go.
Frieren had just eaten her fill and only wanted to lie on the deck chair and digest.
Yami was simply uninterested; she'd rather float on the surface and sunbathe.
This trip lasted longer than the last, and they went to plenty of different places, seeing all kinds of undersea scenery.
Lala was excited the whole way, never once losing the smile on her face.
Momo didn't feel that much anymore; she'd already seen it all earlier, and with her two sisters tagging along, she couldn't do anything "fun" with Brother-in-law, which left her feeling itchy and unfulfilled.
Nana didn't say a word the entire time—she was pretending, of course.
Just Shichen's summoned beasts alone left her too stunned to talk, not to mention all the wonders beneath the waves.
By the time Shichen brought them back, it was already afternoon.
Kotegawa Yui still hadn't woken up.
There was no rush to make lunch; Shichen went to her room first to check on her condition.
He'd already healed her, so if she was still asleep, it was just to catch up on rest—no other issues.
Shichen sat at the edge of the bed, looking at the sleeping Yui with gentle eyes.
This girl was now his woman too.
He'd always had a good impression of Kotegawa Yui. Sure, the current environment really didn't suit tsundere posturing and "I say no but I mean yes," but he wasn't a normal boy anyway.
Yui's old personality didn't really work on him, and she had no way to act like that around him.
A person's character shifts depending on the person they're with, and sometimes changes because of them.
From girl to woman, Yui seemed like she'd changed—and also like she hadn't—but there was definitely something different in her expression.
Maybe because he'd healed her, Yui's brow wasn't furrowed in discomfort. Instead, her lashes were soft, her lips faintly curved in a smile.
Like she was having a sweet dream.
Whether she really was dreaming, and what she was dreaming about, Shichen couldn't know.
Watching her, he couldn't help raising his hand to gently stroke her youthful, still slightly babyish cheek.
The change in just one morning wasn't huge, but Yui's skin really was a bit better than before.
Not that there'd been anything wrong with it in the first place.
"Mmm~"
Yui let out a little murmur, then slowly opened her eyes.
"Awake?" Shichen asked softly.
"Shi… Shichen…?" Still groggy, Yui blinked up at him, a little dazed.
"How do you feel?" Shichen brushed some hair away from her forehead.
"I feel… really good… ah!" Yui froze, then suddenly a flood of images burst through her mind.
Scenes of her and Shichen "singing together" last night.
Her fair little face went crimson in an instant, and her eyes filled with shyness.
Those scenes replayed in her head like movie clips, looping over and over, refusing to stop.
The more she recalled, the more she wanted to crawl under the bed and disappear.
That… that person last night was actually her?
At first she'd been passive, being treated gently by Shichen, heart full of tension and reserve, barely moving.
But later—how on earth did she turn so… proactive?
Too shameless!
Was that really her?
Yui simply couldn't believe that version of herself was real.
Singing and moving like that at the same time—how could that be her?
But those scenes kept replaying in her mind; it was impossible to deny.
"Hehe~ Remember now?" Shichen saw her expression and knew exactly what was happening, chuckling.
Why was it that every time a girl became a woman, she woke up like this?
Too pure-hearted.
"Uu… Shi-Shichen… that wasn't me last night…" Yui covered her face, mortified.
"It's okay, that was you. Nothing to be embarrassed about. I liked it a lot," Shichen said, patting her head with a smile.
"Uuu…"
Grrrrr~
Suddenly, a very untimely sound echoed in the room.
Shichen blinked and looked down toward Yui's stomach.
"I–it wasn't…!" Yui protested, face burning as she frantically waved her hands.
"Wasn't what? I heard it very clearly~"
"H–how could this happen…"
"It just means you're hungry, your stomach growled. What's there to be embarrassed about?" Shichen teased.
The sound, of course, had been her belly.
"It's very embarrassing, okay?" Yui snapped back.
"It's fine, only I heard."
"That's the problem—you heard it!"
"What's the big deal? I watched you being embarrassed all night yesterday, I'm used to it by now."
"Uuu… Shichen, don't say anymore!" Yui sat up and, flustered, tried to cover his mouth.
Shichen caught her hand and pulled her into his arms instead. "Hungry, right? Let's go get some food. After all, with how much 'exercise' you did last night, you burned a lot of calories."
"Shi-Shichen!"
"Okay, okay, I'll stop. Let's go eat."
He scooped Yui up princess-style and carried her out of the tent.
"Yui~ You're awake! Why did you sleep so long?" Lala asked, pure-faced.
"Uh… I ate too much last night, so I fell asleep really late…" Yui blurted out the first excuse she could think of.
"Oh, that explains it." Lala didn't think too much about it.
Momo, though, stared intently at Yui, quietly sizing her up. She could tell Yui really was a bit different—somehow more… radiant.
So it was true: when a girl became a woman, she really did change.
"You definitely ate your fill yesterday… not afraid of getting pregnant at all," Shichen muttered under his breath.
"P–pregnant… ah! I won't get pregnant, will I?" Only then did the craziness from last night fully hit Yui, and she panicked.
"Relax, you won't," Shichen soothed.
"Eh? Why? Species barrier?" Yui sighed in relief, then asked, confused.
"Species barrier my ass. I just used a few tricks, that's all. You don't seriously want a kid this early, do you?"
"N–no! Absolutely not!" Yui shook her head furiously.
"Then it's fine."
"So that means with Lala and the others, it's the same?"
"Mm."
"Why?"
"Same reason as you. I don't want kids yet either."
"Why not?"
"I've still got important things to do. With a child, it'd be hard to manage. When everything's settled, then we can talk about kids—and you'll be the first I knock up."
"Eeeeh—!"
"Yui, what's wrong? Your face is so red," Momo sidled up to ask.
"N–nothing…"
First to get pregnant… Yui's poor heart thudded like crazy. She had no idea Shichen was just teasing her.
"There's definitely something. Come on, tell me~"
"I really can't say…"
"Eeh~ Yui, you're so stingy."
"I mean it, I really can't."
"Hmph~ Don't think I don't know, you were totally whispering lovey-dovey stuff with Brother-in-law."
"Uuu…"
That afternoon, after lunch, Shichen took everyone back home. Two days of island fun had been pretty satisfying.
He planned to come back often, so he bound a spare door in the house as a teleport portal. Open it, and you go straight to the little island.
Kind of like Doraemon's Anywhere Door—just locked to a single destination.
After two days of playing, everyone relaxed the moment they got back and suddenly felt exhausted.
Especially Frieren; as soon as they returned she crawled into bed and fell asleep in seconds.
Lala, on the other hand, still had endless energy and was already begging to go again.
School was tomorrow, though, so Shichen first took Kotegawa Yui home, then escorted Momo and Nana back.
They'd snuck out to play; Sastin had come to pick them up.
"Brother-in-law, Big Sis, we're heading back," Momo waved, smiling as she said goodbye.
"Mm, travel safe," Shichen nodded.
"Come visit again," Lala said.
"Wait for us."
"Okay."
"Um… bye," Nana mumbled, embarrassed.
"Bye," Shichen answered with a smile.
"Uu…"
Nana couldn't handle his smile and turned away quickly, scurrying off first.
Momo followed right behind her.
The two of them, together with Sastin, teleported up to the ship orbiting the planet, then set course for Deviluke.
"Hehehe~" Momo hummed happily aboard the ship, in a very good mood.
"Momo, you're really not sad at all?" Nana asked skeptically.
"Why would I be? I'll be right back anyway."
"What?" Nana froze.
"Heh heh, I'm going to tell Father I'm coming to live on this planet too. With Big Sis here, it'll be fine for sure," Momo explained.
"That's not… what I meant…"
"You don't have to come if you don't want to."
~~~
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