At night, Shichen suddenly realized a very serious problem.
With this many people in the house now… there was still only one bathroom.
Originally, he'd been thinking it'd be nice to bathe together with everyone. Even if nothing happened, getting an eyeful of beauty was already worth it.
But now that there were so many people, adding a few extra bathrooms really wasn't a big deal.
There would always be girls too shy to bathe together, always little cliques who wanted to bathe as a group, always someone who wanted to wash up first.
So Shichen didn't say another word and directly expanded the space, adding several more bathrooms at once, even a small single-occupancy one.
That one, honestly, he'd reserved for himself.
Even though some people didn't mind bathing with him, there were others who couldn't relax. Shichen still didn't quite understand—after they'd already seen each other completely, with you in me and me in you, why would they still feel embarrassed?
But he chose to respect it.
If they couldn't bathe together and were in a hurry, that little private bath could be used.
It felt a bit tragic, in a way.
But Shichen was willing to accept that little bit of "tragedy." When he was already this happy, what else couldn't he accept?
While everyone was bathing, Shichen finished installing the game and did a test run with Illya and the others.
The in-game scenes felt just like reality; even the tactile feedback was real. There just wasn't any pain system.
It was just a game, after all—something to mess around in.
The system had been greatly improved—more classes, more assigned roles.
Things like Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings were no longer just random labels; they were proper assigned roles based on players. There was also a hostage princess.
On the very first run, Shichen hadn't expected to immediately be assigned as the Demon King.
The hostage princess was Artoria.
The Hero was Illya, with Yoshino and the others as her party members.
Shichen's side only had one of the Four Heavenly Kings so far—Kanna. There just weren't enough people yet.
Once Lala's group joined, the roster would fill out.
A game run didn't have to end all at once; people could join midway and get roles assigned according to progress.
Of course, random assignment also meant some… questionable role matches.
This game also limited everyone's abilities. They could only act using stats and skills granted by the system.
That drastically reduced the "bug" potential of certain players.
Including Shichen himself. After all, as the Demon King, if the Hero party came knocking, his only fate might be to help "produce mini Demon Kings."
"Kanna, go stall the Hero party for me," Shichen said from the Demon King's throne.
"Yes!" Kanna ran off excitedly.
Once Kanna left, the Demon King's castle only had the Demon King himself left… No, there was still one other: the hostage.
Shichen rose from the throne, walked upstairs, and entered the princess's room.
The bedroom was really nicely decorated—someone who didn't know better would think it was actually a true royal bedchamber.
In the center was a large pink-and-white canopied bed. On it lay a girl in a gorgeous princess gown, eyes closed, long blonde hair spread out over the pillow, the ends just pressed under her shoulders; her small face was exquisitely beautiful.
Anyone seeing her for the first time would instantly think "princess."
Shichen sat sideways on the edge of the bed, eyes burning as he looked her over.
After a long moment, Artoria couldn't stand that gaze anymore and finally opened her eyes. "Demon King, what do you think you're doing?"
"Oh? Already in character, are we?" Shichen chuckled.
"I…" Artoria's cheeks reddened, and she glared at him in embarrassment.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm bored. I came to see you."
"Can you at least follow the game rules?"
"Who says the Demon King can't come check on the princess?"
"…I really can't with you." Artoria sat up helplessly.
Her golden hair flowed down loosely, a very un-Artoria-like look—soft, girlish, even a bit adorable.
Shichen looked at her and became more certain that bringing her over to this side had been the right choice. No matter if she still felt lost sometimes or had regrets.
A girl dealing with normal confusion was always better than a king endlessly trapped in that dream of "saving the country."
"Artoria, are you happy now?" Shichen suddenly asked, looking at her.
"Hm? Why are you suddenly asking that?" Artoria blinked at him.
"No reason, just curious." Shichen smiled.
"Is that so… I feel… okay. This life isn't bad," Artoria answered honestly after thinking about it.
"You're not still thinking about rewriting your kingship to save the country?"
"Stop teasing me. I already understand that history can't be reversed. Even if the Grail were problem-free and the wish succeeded, that would just create a parallel world. My failure wouldn't change at all." Artoria shook her head with a wry smile.
"What are you talking about? That wasn't your failure. It was your useless subordinates' fault."
"Useless?"
"Don't worry about the wording. The point is, it was their fault."
"I know there's truth to what you're saying, but as king, I share the blame as well…"
"So what?" Shichen cut her off.
"Huh?"
"Everyone makes mistakes. So what if a king makes a few? Nobody's perfect."
"Shichen… I knew you'd say something comforting." Artoria looked at him and smiled softly.
"People should be a little selfish in their thinking. The past is the past. Looking ahead is more important."
"I know…"
"You don't look like you know. But I'm not here to lecture you. As long as you're adjusting well to life here, that's enough."
"Mm. I really do like my life now."
"Then let me ask you this—have you missed me these days?" Shichen reached out and stroked her cheek.
"…Why bring that up?" Artoria shot back.
"Not going to answer directly?"
"Stop messing around. Right now I'm the princess, you're the Demon King—can we please just play the game properly?" Artoria batted his hand away, trying to change the subject.
"What's wrong with princess and Demon King?"
"We're enemies!" Artoria rolled her eyes and lay down again.
Shichen chuckled, stretched out next to her, and lay facing her. "Haven't you read those 'enemies-to-lovers' stories? We're conveniently one man and one woman."
"Quit it! We're in the game right now, the game doesn't have that kind of setting."
"This is a sandbox game. Even if I, Mister Demon King, do something to the princess, who's going to stop me?" Shichen turned on his side, wrapped his arm around her.
Her small body fit easily into his arms.
"What are you doing…" Artoria's voice softened.
"I missed you," Shichen said, burying his face into her neck.
"It tickles…" Artoria shrank back slightly, heart pounding faster.
"Did you miss me?" Shichen whispered, pressing.
"…" Artoria pressed her lips together, not answering.
"So that's a yes?" Shichen hugged her tighter and gently turned her so she was facing him.
"Fine, I did, okay? Can you let go now?" Artoria answered, red-faced.
"I missed you," Shichen said with a grin, then lifted himself slightly and kissed her.
"Mm!" Artoria's eyes flew wide open.
Shichen pulled back briefly, then leaned in again—this time, going deeper.
Artoria was still stunned at first, but under his gentle coaxing she gradually lost herself, looping her arms around his back and lightly returning the kiss.
After a long while, the two separated. Artoria's face was bright red, her breathing ragged.
"Artoria… there's no one else in the castle right now…" Shichen reminded her.
"What did you say?" All she could hear was the thunder of her own heartbeat.
"I said… I'm hungry~"
"Eh? Wait—this is still the game world! You—"
Before long, the castle was filled with a very "beautiful singing voice."
…
This game made Shichen a bit lazy. He'd noticed that he always ended up as the Demon King, but the princess slot kept changing.
Which meant, every time he played Demon King, he got to "taste" the princess.
Some princesses were even more proactive than he was—like Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Of course it'd be her. She also wanted to experience the "fun" a game like this could offer.
Good days always pass quickly. Before he knew it, another month had gone by. This time, even without "her" urging him, Shichen was ready to leave.
He didn't bring Furiren this time; he planned to take Yatogami Tohka and Yoshino instead.
"Tohka, Yoshino—do you miss Kotori and the others?"
"Eh? Shichen, you mean…?" Tohka looked at him in surprise.
"Want to go back and see them?" Shichen asked with a grin.
"That's great! I really want to! But… what about school here?"
"Small problem."
"Then that's fine."
"And you, Yoshino?"
"I…" Yoshino hesitated a little.
"Can't bear to leave Illya and the others?"
"A little…" Yoshino nodded softly.
"It's okay. We're only leaving for a month. We'll take care of things and then come back."
"I—I'll do what Shichen-nii says!" Yoshino nodded hard.
"You don't have to listen to me. If you want to stay here, that's fine too…"
"I—I want to go with Shichen-nii!" Yoshino cut him off, eyes firm.
"I want to be with Shichen-nii…"
"I see. All right then, let's go back together."
"Mm!"
~~~
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